Biographies A-Z

Gray, Edmund William Dwyer (1845–88), newspaper proprietor and politician, was born 29 December 1845 in Dublin, second son of Sir John Gray (qv) and Mary Anna Gray (née Dwyer; c.1821–87). He had three brothers and two sisters…

Gray, Edward Joseph (‘Ned’) (1925–72), director general of the Confederation of Irish Industry, was born 2 May 1925 in Portlaoise, Co. Laois, eldest son among three sons and nine daughters of Michael Gray, army officer, and his wife Mary, daughter of Edward Power of Portlaoise and…

Gray, Eileen (1878–1976), furniture designer and architect, was born 9 August 1878 at the family home, Brownswood House near Enniscorthy, Co. Wexford, youngest child and third daughter of James McLaren Smith , son of Richard Smith of Hazelgreen and his wife Eveleen, only child of…

Gray, Elizabeth (‘Betsy’) (d. 1798), heroine of the 1798 rebellion, may have been the daughter of the widowed farmer Hans Gray (d. 1807) of Six Roads Ends, Gransha, Co. Down. However, as her story quickly lent itself to myth-making, establishing precise facts is not easy. The…

This is a co-subject for the entry on Gray, Tony (George Anthony). View the original entry.

Gray, Moses Wilson (1813–75), lawyer and politician, was born 26 March 1813 in Claremorris, Co. Mayo. Known as Wilson Gray, he was the second son of John Gray of Claremorris, a farmer and excise officer, and his wife Elizabeth Wilson. He was an elder brother of Sir…

Gray, Philip (1821–57), revolutionary, was reputedly born near Westland Row, Dublin, though his father, Thomas Gray, was a farmer and native of Rathcore, Co. Meath. Little else is known of his family background. Friends heard that an uncle was hanged for his role in the 1798…

Gray, Samuel (‘Sam’) (1782–1848), Orangeman and magistrate, was born 18 June 1782 in Ballybay, Co. Monaghan, son of William Gray, innkeeper and property-owner, and his wife (name unknown). Soon after 1798 he joined the yeomanry and the Orange order; by the 1820s he was master of…

Gray, Sir John (1816–75), newspaper proprietor and politician, was born 13 July 1816, the third son in the family of six sons and four daughters of John Gray (d. 1856), a farmer and excise officer of Claremorris, Co. Mayo, and his wife, Elizabeth or Eliza, only child of George…

Gray, Tony (George Anthony) (1922–2004), journalist and author, was born 23 August 1922 in Sandymount, Dublin, elder son of George Gray, a first world war veteran (wounded in the Balkans after serving with the Leinster Regiment at the Dardanelles and Palestine), who worked as a…

Greacen, Robert Henry (1920–2008), poet and critic, was born on 24 October 1920 in Bennett Street, Derry city, only child of Henry Greacen and his wife Elizabeth (née McCrea). Henry Greacen, from a presbyterian farming background in north Co. Monaghan, had at one time held a…

Greatrakes, Valentine (1628–83), healer, was born 14 February 1628 in Affane, Co. Waterford, son of William Greatrakes, farmer, and his wife Mary, third daughter of Sir Edward Harris, chief justice of Munster. The Greatrakes (other spellings include Greatorex, Greatorix, and…

Greatrakes, William (1723/5–81), barrister and soldier, was born in Waterford, third son of Allen Greatrakes, gentleman, of Mount Lahan, Co. Cork, and Frances Greatrakes (née Supple) of Aghadoe, Co. Kerry. He entered TCD (July 1740) and…

Greaves, Charles Desmond (1913–88), political activist and labour historian, was born 27 September 1913 at 7A Rockville St., Birkenhead, Merseyside, son of Charles Edward Greaves, post office official, and Amy Elisabeth Greaves (née Taylor), both methodists, of mixed English, Irish…

Green, Alice Sophia Amelia Stopford (1847–1929), historian and nationalist, was born on either 30 or 31 May 1847 in Kells, Co. Meath, seventh among nine children of Edward Adderly Stopford , archdeacon of Meath, and Anne Catherine Stopford (neé Duke) from Sligo. With the exception of…

Greene, David William (1915–81), Celtic scholar, was born 22 October 1915 in Denmark House, Dublin, son of David Wilson Greene, salesman, and Edith Greene (née Young). After the death of his father from influenza during the first world war and the premature death of his mother, he was…

Green, Edward Rodney Richey (1920–81), historian, was born 1 March 1920 in Belfast, only son of Edward Thomas Green, businessman, and his wife Evelyn Green. He was educated at the RBAI, matriculated in 1937 into…

Greene, Harry Plunket (1865–1936), singer, teacher, and author, was born 24 June 1865 at his parents’ home, 49 St Stephen's Green, Dublin, son of Richard Jonas Greene, barrister, and Louisa Lillias (neé Plunket), writer of children's stories and fourth daughter of John, 3rd Baron…

Greene, Juan Nassau (1918–79), farmer and medical doctor, was born 19 September 1918 in Argentina, third son and fifth child of John Nassau Greene (1890–1973), native of Kilkea, Castledermot, Co. Kildare, and Annie Kathleen Greene (née Jackson) (1888/9–1973), third daughter of…

Greene, Philip Desmond (1920–2011), sports broadcaster, was born on 2 October 1920 in Broadstone, Dublin, the eldest of four children of Patrick Henry Greene, a clerk with the Midland Great Western Railway, and his wife Agatha (née Malone). He was educated at St Canice's…

Greene, Sir William Conyngham (1854–1934), diplomat, was born 29 October 1854 in Dublin, eldest among three sons and one daughter of Richard J. Greene, Dublin barrister and children's author, and Louisa Lilias Plunket, 4th daughter of the 3rd Baron Plunket. Greene was educated at…

Green, Frederick Lawrence (1902–53), novelist, was born in Portsmouth, Hampshire, England, son of George Edward Green, schoolteacher, and Elizabeth Green (née Jermy). His education at Salesian College, Farnborough, was interrupted by frequent bouts of illness that required long…

Green, William Spotswood (1847–1919), marine scientist, was born 10 September 1847 in Youghal, Co. Cork, the only son and eldest of six children of Charles Green, JP, merchant of Youghal, and his wife Catherine Frances, daughter of Walter…

Greenwood, Sir Hamar (1870–1948), last chief secretary for Ireland, was born 7 February 1870 in Whitby, Ontario, Canada, elder son among two sons and six daughters of John Hamar Greenwood, barrister, originally from Llanbister, mid Wales, and his wife Charlotte Churchill Hubbard. He…

Greer, Samuel McCurdy (1809–80), barrister, judge, and politician, was born 20 July 1809 in Springvale, Co. Londonderry, the eldest son of Rev. Thomas Greer, presbyterian minister of Dunboe, Co. Londonderry, and his wife Elizabeth, daughter of Capt. Adam Caldwell,…