Biographies A-Z

Houston, Thomas (1803–82), Reformed Presbyterian minister, was born October 1803 in Donegore, Co. Antrim, son of Thomas Houston. It is not known if he was related to the famous covenanter David Houston (qv). His parents were in…

Hovenden, Thomas (1840–95), painter, was born 28 December 1840 in Dunmanway, Co. Cork, second child and younger son among two sons and one daughter of Robert Hovenden, a protestant of English ancestry who was keeper of the Dunmanway bridewell, and Ellen Hovenden (née Bryan). After…

Howard, Cornelius ('Con') (1925–2009), diplomat and cultural activist, was born 26 March 1925, one of four children (two boys and two girls) of Michael and Nora Howard. He grew up in Dysert, Co. Clare, and was educated by the Christian Brothers, and in St Flannan's College, Ennis,…

Howard, Edmund Bernard Fitzalan - (1855–1947), 1st Viscount FitzAlan of Derwent , politician and last lord lieutenant of Ireland, was born 1 June 1855 in London, the third son (the second to survive infancy) of Henry Granville Fitzalan Howard, earl of Arundel and fourteenth duke of…

Howard, Frederick (1748–1825), 5th earl of Carlisle and lord lieutenant of Ireland, was born 28 May 1748, the youngest, but only surviving, son of Henry Howard, 4th earl of Carlisle, and his second wife, Isabella, daughter of Baron Byron of Rochdale. Educated at Eton and King's…

Howard, George William Frederick (1802–64), Viscount Morpeth, 7th earl of Carlisle, chief secretary (1835–41) and lord lieutenant of Ireland (1855–8; 1859–64), was born 18 April 1802 in London, first of twelve children (six sons and six daughters) of George William Frederick Howard (…

Howard, Gorges Edmond (1715–86), author of legal and dramatic works, was born 28 August 1715 in Coleraine, Co. Londonderry, one of two sons of Francis Howard and Elizabeth Howard (née Jackson). Both families were prominent in Coleraine; the Jacksons, who had been involved in a long-…

Howard, Hugh (1675–1737), painter, collector, and connoisseur, was born 7 February 1675 in Dublin, eldest of three sons of Ralph Howard (1638–1710), MD, of Shelton, Co. Wicklow, and his wife Katherine, daughter of Roger Sotheby, MP for Wicklow…

This is a co-subject for the entry on Howard, Ralph. View the original entry.

Howard, Ralph (1638–1710), president of the College of Physicians, was the only son of John Howard and his wife, Dorothea, daughter and heir of Robert Hasells. John Howard, after some time spent in England, died there in 1643. His widow returned to Ireland with their son in 1655…

This is a co-subject for the entry on Howard, Ralph. View the original entry.

Howard, Thomas (1473–1554), earl of Surrey and 3rd duke of Norfolk , one of the foremost soldiers and magnates of his generation, was eldest son of Thomas Howard, earl of Surrey, and his wife Elizabeth, widow of Sir Humphrey Bourchier. He married (February 1495) Anne, daughter of…

Howley, Henry (c.1775–1803), revolutionary, was born at Roscrea, Co. Tipperary, where he trained as a carpenter; nothing else is known of his early life. A large, aggressive man, he became involved in radical activity in the 1790s and took part in the 1798 rebellion. He…

Huband, Joseph (1750?–1835), barrister and canal developer, was the third son of Edmund or Edward Huband (d. 1757), a Dublin merchant, and his wife Eliza, daughter of Thomas Willcocks, a member of the Dublin banking firm of Sir Charles Burton, Bart & Co. Edmund Huband's father,…

Huddie, Sir David (Patrick) (1916–98), engineer, was born 12 March 1916 in Cavan, Co. Cavan, sixth among four sons and three daughters of James Huddie, farmer, and Catherine Huddie (née Frizelle), of Clara House, Lisnaskea, Co. Fermanagh. He was educated at Sligo Grammar School and…

Huddleston, Robert (1814–87), poet, was born 5 April 1814 in Moneyrea, near Comber, Co. Down, son of James and Agnes Huddleston of Moneyrea, farmers. He was educated in Cowan's school, Moneyrea; when he grew up, he farmed about fifteen acres, and, like his father, repaired guns. He…

Hudson, Edward (1742?–1804), Church of Ireland clergyman, was born in Co. Louth, the son of Thomas Hudson. He studied at TCD, graduating BA in 1760. He was rector of Forkill, Co. Armagh, from 1779…

Hudson, Edward (1772–1833), United Irishman and pioneer dentist, was born in October 1772 in Co. Wexford, son of Capt. Henry Edward Hudson and Jane Hudson (née de Tracy). Orphaned at a young age, he was adopted by his cousin, Dr Edward Hudson (c.1742–1821), a distinguished…

Hudson, Henry (1798–1889), collector of traditional music, was born 23 March 1798, probably in Rathfarnham, Co. Dublin, third son of Edward Hudson and Frances Hudson (née Barton). Family tradition states that he was given the middle name ‘Philerin’ (‘love of Ireland’), which suggests…

Hudson, William Elliott (1796–1853), lawyer and patron of Gaelic scholarship, was born 18 August 1796, probably at his family's country residence, then known as Fields of Odin, Rathfarnham, Co. Dublin. It was later called The Hermitage: Robert…

Huggins, Margaret Lindsay (1848–1915), pioneer astrophysicist, was born 14 August 1848 at 62 Lower Gardiner Street, Dublin, first child of John Majoribanks Murray (1822–93), a Dublin solicitor who had been born in Scotland, and Helen Murray (née Lindsay) from Taree, Arbroath. A…

Hughes, Angela (1806–66), Sister of Charity, was born Ellen Hughes in Annaloghan, Co. Tyrone, one of seven children (four sons and three daughters) of Patrick Hughes and Margaret Hughes (née McKenna). In 1819, when aged 13, she emigrated with her family to Chambersburg,…

Hughes, Anthony George ('Tony') (1928–2007), musician and university professor, was born 6 July 1928, in south Dublin, the son of George Hughes, an optical technician, and his wife Lilian (née Jones); he had three younger sisters. Brought up in Donore Road, off the South Circular…

Hughes, Bernard (‘Barney’) (1808–78), master baker, entrepreneur, and liberal reformer, was born 8 July 1808, second among eight children of Peter Hughes, probably a tradesman or labourer, and Catherine Hughes (née Quinn), of Blackwaterstown, near Armagh. Bernard, known as ‘Barney…

Hughes, Brendan (1948–2008), IRA activist, was born at Blackwater Street off the Grosvenor Road in west Belfast in June 1948, the second of six children (five boys and one girl) of Kevin Barry Hughes, a builders' labourer. A great-grandfather was an IRA member in Co. Louth wounded in…