Purser, Louis Claude (1854–1932), classical scholar, was born 28 September 1854 at Dungarvan, Co. Waterford, the youngest son of Benjamin Purser, a merchant of Dungarvan, and his wife, Anne, daughter of John Mallet, an ironmonger originally from Devon. Anne's brother was the…
Sturgeon, Sinéad
Quin, James
Quin, James (1693–1766), actor, was born in King Street, Covent Garden, London, on 24 February 1693, the only child of James Quin, a barrister (educated at TCD and Lincoln's Inn, London), and Elizabeth Grindzell. Quin's paternal…
Robinson, Richard
Robinson, Richard (1709–94), 1st Baron Rokeby , Church of Ireland archbishop of Armagh, was the sixth son of Sir William Robinson (1675–1720), landowner, of Rokeby Park, Greta Bridge, Yorkshire, and Anne (d. 1730), daughter of Robert Walters of Cundall, Yorkshire. Robinson was…
Shadwell, Charles
Shadwell, Charles (c.1675–1726), playwright, was born in London, the son of the English poet laureate and playwright Thomas Shadwell (c.1640–1692). Charles Shadwell served in the army in Portugal under Major-General Newton and in 1710 was appointed supervisor of…
Sheil, Justin
This is a co-subject for the entry on Sheil, Richard Lalor. View the original entry.
Sheil, Richard Lalor
Sheil, Richard Lalor (1791–1851), playwright and politician, was born 17 August 1791 at Drumdowney, Co. Kilkenny, eldest of four sons of Edward Sheil, merchant, and his wife, Catherine McCarthy, of Spring House, Co. Tipperary. Richard was tutored at home by a French priest before…
Sheridan, Richard Brinsley
Sheridan, Richard Brinsley (1751–1816), playwright and politician, was born in September or October 1751 at 12 Dorset Street, Dublin, the third child of Thomas Sheridan (qv), actor and orthoepist, and his wife,…
Smith, Charles
Smith, Charles (1715?–1762), apothecary, topographer, and writer, was born in Co. Waterford. Details of his life remain obscure, but he was educated in medicine and worked as an apothecary in Lismore (1739–44) and Dungarvan, Co. Waterford (1744–60). He is remembered as a pioneer of…
Smith, John
Smith, John (1797–1861), singer and composer, was born in Cambridge, where he received his early education as a member of one of the chapel choirs. While still young, Smith moved to Dublin, where he remained for the rest of his life. He is said to have possessed ‘a fine robust…
Stacpoole, Henry de Vere
Stacpoole, Henry de Vere (1863–1951), doctor and novelist, was born 9 April 1863 at Kingstown (Dún Laoghaire), Co. Dublin, the youngest child and only son of Rev. William Church Stacpoole, clergyman and director of Kingstown school, and his wife, Charlotte Augusta (née Mountjoy),…
Stafford, Sir Thomas
Stafford, Sir Thomas (1857–1935), 1st baronet, doctor and medical commissioner, was born 3 May 1857 at Portobello, Co. Roscommon, the second son of John Stafford, JP, of Portobello. He qualified as licentiate of the…
Stokes, Whitley
Stokes, Whitley (1830–1909), lawyer and Celtic scholar, was born 28 February 1830 in Dublin, the eldest son of Dr William Stokes (qv), heart specialist, and his wife, Mary, daughter of John Black of Glasgow. The Stokes children were raised…
Taylor, Thomas Edward
Taylor, Thomas Edward (1811–83), politician, was born 25 March 1811 at Ardgillan Castle, Co. Dublin, the eldest son of Rev. Edward Taylor, of Ardgillan Castle, and his wife, Marianne, daughter of the Hon. Richard St Leger. He was educated at Eton and held several military…
Tennant, Margaret Mary Edith (May) (née Abraham)
Tennant, Margaret Mary Edith (May) (née Abraham) (1869–1946), promoter of workers’ rights and public health, was born 5 April 1869 at Rathgar, Co. Dublin, the only daughter of Dr George Whitley Abraham, a lawyer in the civil service, and his wife, Margaret, daughter of Cornelius Curtain…
Thom, Alexander
Thom, Alexander (1801–79), printer and founder of Thom's Almanac, was born 18 April 1801 in Scotland (sources variously name Bervie, Findhorn, or Aberdeen as his place of birth), son of Walter Thom, writer, editor, and journalist. He was educated at the High School in…
Thompson, Sir William John
Thompson, Sir William John (1861–1929), registrar-general of Ireland, was born at Tattyreagh, Co. Fermanagh, the son of William Thompson, a farmer of Tattyreagh. He was educated at TCD and the…
Torrens, William Torrens McCullagh
Torrens, William Torrens McCullagh (1813–94), politician and writer, was born 13 October 1813 at Delville, Co. Dublin, as William Torrens McCullagh, eldest son of James McCullagh, merchant, of Delville, and his wife Jane, daughter of Andrew Torrens of Dublin. He entered (1829)…
Tyrrell, Robert Yelverton
Tyrrell, Robert Yelverton (1844–1914), classical scholar, was born 21 January 1844 at Ballingarry, Co. Tipperary, the youngest son of Rev. Henry Tyrrell, vicar of the parish of Ballingarry, and his wife, Elizabeth (née Shea). His first cousin was the modernist theologian…
Young, Mary Ursula
Young, Mary Ursula (1783–1830), Ursuline nun and writer, was born 9 October 1783 at Dublin, the eldest child of Charles Young (qv), merchant, and his wife Margaret Young (née Hervey). They were a devout family: four of Mary's brothers became…