Biographies A-Z

Parnell, Sir Henry Brooke (1776–1842), politician and 1st Baron Congleton , was born 3 July 1776 at Rathleague, Queen's Co. (Laois), second son of Sir John Parnell (qv), Irish MP and chancellor of the exchequer, and Letitia Parnell (…

Parnell, Sir John (1744–1801), 2nd baronet and politician, was born 25 December 1744, the only surviving son of Sir John Parnell (1717–82), 1st baronet, landowner, and MP for Maryborough, Queen's Co. (1761–82), and his wife Anne, daughter of Michael Ward (1683–1759) of Castleward…

Parnell, Thomas (1679–1718), anglican clergyman and poet, was born in Dublin. His grandfather was a Cheshire man who had supported Cromwell and thought it as well, following the restoration, to go to ground in Ireland where he bought a large estate. His father, also named Thomas,…

Parrot (Parrat), William (fl. 1622–42), builder of St Columb's cathedral, Londonderry, is first mentioned in September 1622 as a pikeman mustered for the defence of the town of Coleraine. In November 1627 he went to England carrying a letter from the 1st earl of…

Parr, Richard (1617–91), Church of England clergyman and biographer, was born in Fermoy, Co. Cork, in 1617, the son of Richard Parr, a local rector. After being taught in a local school, he entered Exeter College, Oxford, on 6 November 1635, going on to graduate…

This is a co-subject for the entry on Parry, Edward. View the original entry.

Parry, Edward (d. 1650), Church of Ireland bishop of Killaloe, was born in Newry, Co. Down, son of Rhys Parry, a Welsh merchant. He entered TCD in 1616, and graduated BA (1620),…

This is a co-subject for the entry on Parry, Edward. View the original entry.

Parry, William Kaye- (1853–1932), architect and civil engineer, was born 28 June 1853 in Monkstown, Co. Dublin, son of William Parry, hotel proprietor in Salthill, Co. Dublin. Christened ‘William Kaye Parry’ at birth, he later hyphenated his middle and last names, legally changing…

Parsons, Alfred Robert (1864–1952), physician, was born 23 September 1864 in Victoria Place, Athlone, son of John Parsons, bootmaker, and Mary Parsons (née Leney). He was the second of seven children; he had three brothers (William, b. 1862; George Thomas, b. 1868; and Charles Frederick…

Parsons, Richard (c.1696–1741), 2nd Viscount and 1st earl of Rosse (first creation), first grand master of the Freemasons in Ireland, and rake, was born at Twickenham, Middlesex, England, the only surviving son of Sir Richard Parsons (d. 1703), 1st Viscount Rosse, and his…

Parsons, Sir Charles Algernon (1854–1931), engineer and scientist, was born 13 June 1854 in London, youngest among eleven children of William Parsons (qv), 3rd earl of Rosse, of Parsonstown (Birr), King's Co. (Offaly) and Mary Parsons (…

Parsons, Sir Laurence (1840–1908), 4th earl of Rosse , astronomer, was born 17 November 1840 at Birr castle, Parsonstown, King's Co. (Offaly), the eldest surviving son of William Parsons (qv), 3rd earl of Rosse, astronomer, and his wife…

Parsons, Sir Lawrence (1758–1841), 2nd earl of Rosse , politician, was born 21 May 1758 at Birr Castle, King's Co. (Offaly), eldest son of Sir William Parsons (1732–91), 4th baronet and MP for King's Co. (1757–91), and Mary Parsons (née Clere). William Parsons was a leading figure…

Parsons, Sir Lawrence (d. 1628), lawyer and planter, was a son of James Parsons of Leicestershire and his wife Catherine, sister of Sir Geoffrey Fenton (qv), secretary of state for Ireland (1580–1608). Lawrence was the youngest of…

Parsons, Sir Lawrence (c.1637–1698) landowner and soldier, was the eldest son of William Parsons, of Parsonstown (Birr), King's Co., and Dorothy, daughter of Sir Thomas Phillips (qv) of Newtown Limavady, Co. Londonderry.…

Parsons, Sir Lawrence Worthington (1850–1923), British army general, was born 23 March 1850, the only son of Lawrence Parsons, gentleman, of Parsonstown (Birr), King's Co. (Offaly). His father was related to the earl of Rosse; nothing is known of his mother. Educated at Cheltenham,…

Parsons, Sir William (1570?–1650), lord justice of Ireland, was the eldest son of James Parsons of Leicestershire and his wife Catherine Fenton. As a youth, he was a staunch puritan and client of the earl of Leicester. After Leicester's death (1588), he settled in Ireland and from…

Parsons, William (1800–67), astronomer and 3rd earl of Rosse , was born 17 June 1800 at York, England, eldest among three sons and two daughters of Sir Lawrence Parsons (1758–1841) of Parsonstown (Birr), King's Co. (Offaly), and Alice Parsons (née Lloyd), daughter of a…

Partridge, William Patrick (‘Bill’) (1874–1917), trade unionist and revolutionary nationalist, was born 8 March 1874 in Sligo county hospital, fourth child and second son among three sons and two daughters of Benjamin Partridge (d. 1892), railway engine driver, of 6 Chapel Street…

Paterson, John Thomas Farquhar (1938–2005), Church of Ireland clergyman and scholar, was born 21 December 1938 in Portadown, Co. Armagh, the only child of Henry Paterson and his wife Greta (Margreta) (née Bell). His uncle was the local historian and folklorist Thomas George Farquhar…

Paterson, William (1745–1806), lawyer, attorney general and governor of New Jersey, and US supreme court judge, was born 24 December 1745, probably in Antrim town, Co. Antrim (though some sources say he was born at sea), the eldest son among three sons and two daughters of Richard…

Patient, Thomas (d. 1666), particular baptist minister, theologian, and writer, was born in England; his date of birth is unknown, as is much of the detail of his early life. Patient was initially a practising anglican, but grew dissatisfied and abandoned anglicanism. He went to…

Patrick (Gilla-Pátraic) (d. 1084), second bishop of Dublin, was the author of five poems and a tract, ‘Liber de tribus habitaculis animae’, which was distributed throughout Europe in the middle ages. He was a Benedictine monk, presumably born in Ireland and trained at the school of…

Patrick ( Patricius, Pátraic, Pádraig) (c. 420–490?), patron saint of Ireland, was born into a Christian family of fifth-century Roman Britain, son of Calpornius, decurio and deacon, and grandson of Potitus, a priest. Nothing is known of his mother. Chronology and…