Biographies A-Z

Barry, Garret (Gerat) (d. 1646), army officer, entered Spanish military service about 1601, by his own reckoning. It has been suggested that he departed Kinsale with the Spanish army in March 1601 with his father David Fitz Garrot Barry of Rincorran, his mother and three…

Barry, James (c.1792–1865), army doctor, was possibly born in Cork. Information on Barry's origins is scanty and speculative, as is proof of gender. Accepted in life as a male, he or she was hailed three weeks after death as Britain's first female doctor, and celebrated as such…

Barry, James (1603–73), 1st Baron Barry of Santry , lawyer and judge, was the eldest surviving son of the six sons and three daughters of Richard Barry, merchant, of Dublin, and his wife, Anne, daughter of James Cusack of Rathgar. Richard Barry served as sheriff (1604–5), alderman…

Barry, James (1667–1748), 4th earl of Barrymore , soldier, and Jacobite, was second but first surviving son of Richard Barry, 2nd earl, and his third wife, Dorothy, daughter of John Ferrar of Dropmore, Co. Down. His father sat in James…

Barry, James (1741–1806), history painter, was born 11 October 1741 in a cottage in Water Lane (latterly Seminary Road), Cork, the eldest child in a family of four boys – his brothers were Patrick, Redmond, and John – and a girl, Mary Ann. Background and early training…

Barry, John (1745–1803), United States Navy captain, was born at Ballysampson, Tacumshane parish, Co. Wexford, son of John Barry, clerk and small farmer, and Catherine Barry (née Kelly). After his family were evicted, they moved to Rosslare and the young Barry went to sea as a cabin boy…

Barry, John (1845–1921), Fenian and MP, was born at Bannow, Co. Wexford, son of a local coastguard, who was later transferred to the north of England. He lived from an early age at Newcastle upon Tyne. In the 1860s he was chief commercial traveller for a large Scottish firm of…

Barry, John de (c.1265–1330), son of David de Barry III and his wife Joan, was head of one of the foremost magnate families in the lordship of Ireland in the early fourteenth century. His family had held three cantreds in eastern Co. Cork from the early thirteenth century…

Barry, John (Jack) (d. 1650), army officer, was the son of William Barry; his mother, presumably having remarried, was named in 1661 as Margaret Stephenson, widow. From his grandfather John FitzJames Barry, he inherited extensive properties centred on Liscarroll castle, Co. Cork, which…

Barry, John Joseph (1924–94), ‘the Ballincurry Hare’, middle-distance athlete, was born 5 October 1924 in Joliet (near Chicago), Illinois, USA, eldest among four sons and a daughter of Michael Barry, gardener, from Knockview, Co. Roscommon, and Mary Jo Barry (née Cashin), from The…

Barry, John Maxwell- (1767–1838), MP, soldier, and 5th Baron Farnham , was born 18 January 1767 in Dublin, eldest of two sons of Henry Maxwell (d. 1798) – bishop of Dromore (1765–6) and Meath (1766–98), and third son of John Maxwell (d. 1759), 1st Baron Farnham, of Farnham, Co.…

Barry, John Milner (1768–1822), physician, was born in Kilgobbin Castle, Ballinadee, Co. Cork, eldest among two sons and nine daughters of James Barry (d. 1804) and Elizabeth Barry (née Milner), co-heiress of William Milner of Dunmanway, Co. Cork. Educated at a school near Bandon…

Barry, Katty (1909–82), restaurateur and famous Cork character, was born on Dalton's Avenue, off the Coal Quay, Cork, daughter of John Barry. Her mother ran a provisions shop on Dalton's Avenue, which Katty took over and turned into an eating house. Beautiful, witty, earthy, and…

Barry, Kevin Gerard (1902–20), republican, was born 20 January 1902 at 8 Fleet St., Dublin, fourth of seven children of Thomas Barry, dairyman, and Mary Barry (née Dowling), both originally from north-east Co. Carlow. Educated at several schools in Dublin and Carlow, he joined the…

Barry, Margaret (‘Maggie’) (1917–89), folk singer, was born 1 January 1917 in Peter Street, Cork city, one of five children of Timothy Cleary and his wife Mary or Margaret (née Thompson ); the family were travellers who had been loosely settled in the Cork city area for two…

Barry, Matthew (d. 1696?), government official, was elder son among two sons and one daughter of Nicholas Barry, merchant of Dublin, and Joan Barry, daughter of Nicholas Howard of Dublin, chamberlain of the exchequer. He married (c.1630) Jane Bermingham, and had two sons…

Barry, Michael Joseph (1817–89), Young Irelander, poet, and journalist, was born 26 March 1817 in Blackrock, Cork city, eldest among five children of Michael Joseph Barry, a catholic merchant, and his wife Anne (née England). John England (qv…

Barry, Mother Mary Gonzaga (1834–1915), pioneer Loreto sister in Australia, was born Mary on 24 July 1834 in Wexford town, the eldest of seven children of John Barry, bank manager, and Elizabeth Barry (née Cowan). Mamie, as she was known, lived with her maternal grandmother and…

Barry, Moyra Aloysius (1886–1960), artist, was born in Dublin, eldest of eleven children of Bernard Barry, merchant, and Jane Barry (maiden name unknown), and was called ‘Mary’ by her parents. She was educated at Loreto Convent, North Great George's St., Dublin, before studying at…

Barry, Philip of (fl. 1169–77), Anglo-Norman adventurer, belonged to the same family group as the Geraldines and the FitzHenrys. His mother, Angharad, was a daughter of the famous Nesta, while his father was William de Barri, lord of Manorbier, in Pembrokeshire. Philip had at…

Barry, Ralph Brereton (1899–1943), lawyer, was born 2 October 1899 in 18 Upper Mount St., Dublin, youngest son of Ralph Brereton Barry, QC (later judge), and Clare Mary Barry (née Roche). Educated at Mount St Benedict, Gorey, Co. Wexford, and the…

Barry, Richard (d. 1648), merchant, was second but eldest surviving son of James Barry (d. 1600), merchant, alderman, and sometime sheriff of Dublin (formerly from Arklow, Co. Wicklow), and his first wife Katherine, daughter of Alderman Edmund Barran (Burn). Richard was admitted (…

Barry, Richard (1769–93), 7th earl of Barrymore , spendthrift, was born in London on 14 August 1769 and succeeded his father, Richard, to the Irish earldom of Barrymore just before his fourth birthday. In his youth he became excessively interested in racehorses, gambling,…

Barry, Robert (c.1588–1662), catholic bishop of Cork and Cloyne, was born in Britway parish, Co. Cork, son of David Barry of Ardra and his wife Helen or Ellen (née Waters). He was educated at the Irish College, Bordeaux, and ordained there in 1612. Thereafter he acted,…

Barry, Sir Edward (1696–1776), physician and MP, was born in Cork city, second son among seven children of Edward Barry, MD, and Jane Barry of Cork. He graduated BA at…