Brigit (Brighid, Bríd, Bride, Bridget) (possibly c.450–524), reputed foundress and first abbess of Cell Dara (Kildare), is the female patron saint of Ireland, but it is uncertain whether she existed as a person. Most scholars regard her as a ghost personality generated in the…
Kissane, Noel
Finnian (Vinnianus, Findbarr)
Finnian (Vinnianus, Findbarr) , abbot, bishop, reputed founder of the monastery of Cluain Iraird (Clonard, near Kinnegad, Co. Westmeath), and saint in the Irish tradition, was most likely a localisation of the Ulster saint, …
Finnian (Vinnianus, Findbarr)
Finnian (Vinnianus, Findbarr) (d. 579), abbot and bishop of the monastery of Mag Bile (Movilla, near Newtownards, Co. Down) was a saint in the Irish tradition who seems to have later acquired a number of separate identities, his most notable localisations being as…
French, Robert
French, Robert (1841–1917), photographer, was born 11 November 1841 in Dublin, eldest of the seven children of William French, a court messenger, and Ellen French (née Johnson). At the age of nineteen, in September 1860, he joined the Constabulary (later…
Harrington, Niall Charles
Harrington, Niall Charles (1901–81), soldier, writer, and broadcaster, was born 23 January 1901 at 6 Cavendish Row, Dublin, one of the eight children of Timothy Charles Harrington (qv), MP, barrister at law, and his wife…
Kenney, James Francis
Kenney, James Francis (1884–1946), archivist and historian, was born 6 December 1884 in a small farmhouse near the village of Marysville in the township of Tyendinaga, Hastings County, Ontario, Canada, the only child of Martin Kenney, farmer, and his wife Mary (née McCullough).…
Lawrence, William Mervin
Lawrence, William Mervin (1840–1932), photograph merchant, was born 5 July 1840 in the General Post Office, Lower Sackville (later O'Connell) St., Dublin, second surviving son of William Lawrence of Pembrokeshire, Wales, then clerk of works at the…
Wynne, Thomas Joseph
Wynne, Thomas Joseph (1838–93), photographer and shopkeeper, was born probably in the United States, where it is believed he grew up. His mother was third daughter of Richard MacEvilly, postmaster at Ballyglass, Claremorris, Co. Mayo; the identity of his father is not known. In…