Allberry, Harry (1872–1952), architect, was born 8 December 1872 in Everton, Liverpool, son of Richard Allberry, mercantile clerk, and Elizabeth Allberry (née Downes); he had two younger sisters. His father abandoned the family c.1875. Harry was brought up by his grandfather and educated in London; during his training in King's College School of Architecture, he was awarded gold and silver medals. He worked for Irish architects from 1896 to 1901, when he became assistant surveyor in the Board of Works, Dublin. In 1913 he became assistant principal surveyor, and in 1921 deputy principal architect; he was responsible in 1925 for remodelling Leinster House to accommodate the dáil. In 1935 he retired, went into private practice in Dublin, and became editor of the Irish Builder, to which he had contributed regularly since about 1900. He was editor 1935–41, and architectural editor from 1950 until his death. Allberry greatly assisted the development in Ireland of architecture as a profession, having been largely responsible for reviving the Architectural Association of Ireland after 1896; he served on several committees and was president of the association 1905–6 and 1914–5. From 1922 he was first honorary secretary of the board of architectural education of the Royal Institute of the Architects of Ireland, and was president of the institute 1935–7. He was first president of the Institution of Professional Civil Servants. Through his many articles and reviews, Allberry helped architects and engineers to come to terms with the possibilities of the new building materials and styles introduced in the 1920s and 1930s. According to Sean Rothery (61), he was one of the principal propagandists for contemporary architecture.
Harry Allberry died 23 October 1952 in Whitebeam Rd, Dublin. He married (12 October 1907) Elizabeth Roche of Glengarriff, Co. Cork, daughter of a hotel owner there. They had two daughters and a son, Edward Cecil Allberry, who had a distinguished career as a physicist in England.