Biographies A-Z

O'Reilly (Ó Raghallaigh), Cathal (d. 1467), king of East Breifne, was probably third son of Eóghan O'Reilly (qv), king of East Breifne. Cathal became king in the aftermath of the O'Reilly defeat at the hands of the English…

O'Reilly (Ó Raghallaigh), Cú Chonnacht (d. 1367), king of East Breifne, succeeded his brother Risderd O'Reilly (qv) as king on the latter's death (1349). From the outset of his reign, Cú Chonnacht faced a considerable…

O'Reilly (Ó Raghallaigh), Eóghan (d. 1449), king of East Breifne, was eldest son of Seoán O'Reilly (qv). After the death of Seoán from a fit at Tullymangan castle in November 1400/1401, he was succeeded by his brother Giolla Íosa (qv), who…

O'Reilly (Ó Raghallaigh), Pilib (d. 1384), king of East Breifne, was one of the thirteen sons of Gilla Ísu Ruad O'Reilly (qv) (d. 1330), king of East Breifne. In 1365 Pilib succeeded his elder brother…

O'Reilly (Ó Raghallaigh), Riocard (d. 1369), bishop of Kilmore, was the son of Máel Sechlainn O'Reilly (qv), king of East Breifne. Nothing is known of his early life before or after the death of Máel Sechlainn (1328). Without doubt his progression through…

O'Reilly (Ó Raghallaigh), Risderd (d. 1349), king of East Breifne, was one of thirteen sons of Gilla Ísu Ruad O'Reilly (qv), king of East Breifne. Risderd succeeded his elder brother Máel Sechlainn O'Reilly as king. Máel Sechlainn had succeeded after his father…

O'Reilly (Ó Raghallaigh), Tomás Mór (d. 1390), king of East Breifne, was a son of Mathgamain O'Reilly, a noble of the O'Reillys. Nothing is known of his early life, but he married the daughter of Pilib Maguire (qv) of…

O'Reilly, Philip MacHugh (1599–c.1664), politician and soldier, was son of Hugh O'Reilly of Ballynacargy, Co. Cavan, one of the ‘deserving’ native Irish of the Ulster plantation, and Katherine MacMahon. Another …

O'Reilly, Philip (Pilib Ó Raghallaigh) (d. 1596), Gaelic nobleman and bardic patron, was the son of Aodh Conallach O'Reilly, lord of east Bréifne from 1565 till his death in 1583, and his wife Janet, daughter of Betagh of Moynaltie. As with other Gaelic families in the borderlands…

O'Reilly, Richard (1746–1818), catholic archbishop of Armagh, was born either in Co. Kildare (perhaps at Kildangan castle near Monastereven) or in Co. Meath (before his family moved to Kildangan). Although he is not named by Burke, he appears to have belonged to the same family as…

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Organ, Nellie (1903–8), pious and saintly child, was born at Waterford 24 August 1903, the youngest in the family of two sons and two daughters of William Organ and his wife Mary (née Aherne). William Organ, a native apparently of Dungarvan, had been a labourer at Portlaw, his…

Ó Riada, Seán (John Reidy) (1931–71), composer, was born John Reidy on 1 August 1931 in Cork city, the first child of Seán and Julia Reidy (née Creedon). A second child, Louise, was born in 1935. His father, from west Clare, was a member of the Garda Síochána, and was an amateur…

Ó Riain, Flann (1929–2008), cartoonist, writer and Irish-language activist, was born on 18 September 1929 in Lucan, Co. Dublin, the son of Edmund Ryan, a garda originally from Hollyford, Co. Tipperary, and his wife Nora (née Brennan) from Co. Laois. His father spoke little Irish himself…

Ó Riain (O'Ryan), Henry (fl. 1633), Dominican priest and Latin poet, probably received his classical education at Munster and pursued his philosophical and theological studies at Rome or elsewhere in Italy. Resident at Rome in 1633, he was commissioned to compose a…

Ó Ríordáin, Seán (1916–77), poet, diarist, and essayist, was born in Ballyvourney, Co. Cork, on 3 December 1916. His father, also named Seán, was a cobbler by trade and a native of the area, in which the Irish language was, by then, in sharp decline. The writer's mother, Margaret…

Ó Ríordáin, Seán Pádraig (1904–57), archaeologist, was born 17 December 1904 in Monkstown, Cork, son of James Reardon (Ó Riordáin) (1865–1939) and his wife Annie Barry (d. 1930). Initially apprenticed in Cork dockyard, Ó Ríordáin studied at night for Department of Education…

O'Riordan, Catherine (‘Kay’) (née Keohane) (1910–91), communist, was born 22 September 1910 on Convent Rd, Clonakilty, Co. Cork, fourth child among four daughters and three sons of Laurence Keohane , stonemason, originally from Ballintemple, Darrara, near Clonakilty, and Julianna…