Sturgeon, Sinéad

Ashe, St George (1658–1718), scholar and Church of Ireland bishop, was born in Co. Roscommon, in 1658, the second of three sons of Thomas Ashe, a landowner of English extraction, and Jane White of Richerstown. He entered TCD in 1671,…

Atkinson, Joseph (c.1743–1818), army officer, poet, and dramatist, was born in Dublin and served in the English army, reaching the rank of captain. He wrote a comedy and two comic operas, all of which were produced in Dublin. His first play, ‘The mutual deception’,…

Baillie, William (1723–1810), printmaker and art dealer, was born 11 June 1723 at Kilbride, Co. Carlow, the second son of the upholsterer Robert Baillie of Celbridge, Co. Kildare, and his wife Susanna (née Antrobus). After his education at Dr…

Balfe, Michael William (1808–70), composer and musician, was born 15 May 1808, at 10 Pitt Street, Dublin (renamed Balfe Street in 1917 by the Dublin Corporation, later demolished), and baptised in the parish church of St Ann, Dawson Street, Dublin. He was the third child and only…

Barnard, Thomas (1727–1806), Church of Ireland bishop, was born in Surrey and baptised there on 22 February 1727, the eldest son of Dr William Barnard (1697–1768), bishop of Derry, and his wife, Anne (d. 1782), sister of the Irish primate …

Barry, Spranger (1717–77), actor and theatre manager, was born in November 1717, in Skinner Row, Dublin, the second son of William Barry, a wealthy silversmith, and Catherine Barry (née Sprainger). He was educated in Dublin and apprenticed to his father's trade; with his first wife…

Bickerstaff, Isaac John (1733–c.1808), dramatist and soldier, was born 26 September 1733 in Dublin, the son of John Bickerstaff (d. 1751), an officeholder in the viceregal household, and Jane Brereton (d. 1744). Bickerstaff spent his early years in Dublin, where his musical…

Bruce, William (1702–55), publisher and writer, was born in Killyleagh, Co. Down, the youngest of the three sons of the Rev. James Bruce (qv) (1660?–1730), and his wife, Margaret (née Trail), of Tullychin (d. 1706). He was educated at the…

Buckley, Timothy (1862–1945), tailor and storyteller, was born 23 December 1862 in Lounihan, Kilgarvan, Co. Kerry, seventh among thirteen children of Pádraig Buckley, farmer; his mother was one of the Healys Seamhrach of east Kerry. He attended Kilgarvan primary school, and at the…

Bunbury, Selina (1802–82), novelist and short-story and travel writer, was born in 1802 at Kilsaran House, Co. Louth, one of the fifteen children of the Rev. Henry Bunbury, a Church of Ireland clergyman and rector of Mansfieldstown, and Henrietta Shirley, of Loughrea, Co. Galway.…

Byrne, Donn (1889–1928), writer, was born Brian Oswald Donn-Byrne 20 November 1889 in New York, the son of Thomas Fearghaill Donn-Byrne, an architect, and Jane D'Arcy (McParlane). Shortly after his birth, his parents returned to their home in Forkhill, Co. Armagh, where Donn and his…

Caddell, Cecilia Mary (Maria) (1814–1877), novelist, was born at Harbourstown, Co. Meath, the second daughter of Richard O'Ferral Caddell (1780–1856) and Paulina (d. 1856), daughter of Thomas Arthur, second Viscount Southwell. Despite being a lifelong invalid, Caddell managed to…

Callan, Margaret (née Hughes) (Thornton MacMahon) (c.1817–c.1883), writer, teacher, and nationalist, was born in Newry, Co. Down, the daughter of Phillip Hughes, a local flax buyer, and his wife, Susan Gavan, of Latnamard, Co. Monaghan, the aunt of…

Campbell, Gertrude Elizabeth (née Blood ) (1857–1911), writer, journalist, and critic, was the second daughter of Edmond Maghlin Blood (d. 1891), of Thurloe Square, London, and Brickhill, Co. Clare, and Mary Amy Fergusson (d. 1899), of Leixlip, Co. Kildare. Owing to her father's…

Cobbe, Frances Power (1822–1904), feminist, journalist, anti-vivisectionist, and philanthropist, was born 4 December 1822 in Dublin, the fifth child and only daughter of Charles Cobbe (1781–1857), a landlord and magistrate of Newbridge House, Co. Dublin, and Frances Cobbe (née…

Coffey, Brian (1905–95), poet, academic, teacher, and publisher, was born 8 June 1905 at Glenageary, Co. Dublin, son of Denis J. Coffey (qv), president of UCD, and Maude Coffey (née Quin…

Coffey, Charles (1700–45), playwright, was born in Dublin, where he worked as a schoolmaster; nothing more is known about his early life. Distinguished more for editing the works of others than for writing his own, his first production was a ballad opera entitled ‘The beggar's…

Collier, Michael (1780–1849), highwayman, was born at Bellewstown Hill, Co. Meath, son of a small farmer; no other details of his parents are known. Aged 13, he was employed as a farm labourer in Co. Louth, and he later worked as a carman on the Dublin–Drogheda mail coach (where he…

Congreve, William (1670–1729), playwright and poet, was born 24 January 1670 at Bardsley, Yorkshire, the son of William Congreve (1637–1708), an army officer, and Mary Browning (d. 1715) of Doncaster. In 1674 his father gained a commission as lieutenant in the army in Ireland, and…

Connellan, Thomas (1625/40–c.1700), harpist and composer, was born in Cloonamahon, Collooney, Co. Sligo. Though details of his life remain obscure, he was reputedly the most accomplished predecessor of…

This is a co-subject for the entry on Coppin, William. View the original entry.

Coppin, William (1805–95), sailor, shipbuilder, and inventor, was born 9 October 1805 in Kinsale, Co. Cork; no details of his parents are known. From his childhood he displayed a strong affinity to the sea, and at the age of 15 was involved in the rescue of six customs men from a…

Croker, Bithia Mary (‘B. M.’) (née Sheppard ) (c.1849–1920), novelist and short-story writer, was born in Roscommon, the youngest daughter of the Rev. William Sheppard (d. 1856), Church of Ireland clergyman for the parish of Kilgeffin, Co. Roscommon. She was educated in…

Croly, George (1780–1860), clergyman and writer, was born 17 August 1780 in Dublin, the son of Robert Croly, a physician. In 1795 he enrolled at TCD, becoming a scholar (1798), graduating BA (1800)…

Crowe, Eyre Evans (1799–1868), journalist, fiction writer, and historian, was born 20 March 1799, at Redbridge, near Southampton, of Anglo-Irish parents. His father, David Miles Crowe, was a captain in an East India regiment; his mother died shortly after his birth. He was educated…