Military

Clare, Thomas de (c.1245–1287), magnate, was the second son of Richard de Clare, earl of Gloucester and of Hereford, and Maud, daughter of John de Lacy, earl of Lincoln. He attended Oxford university with his younger brother Bogo from 1257 to 1259. Initially destined for a…

Clarke, George (1661–1736), Williamite secretary at war, was born 7 May 1661 in Pell Mell, London, son of Sir William Clarke, secretary for war, and his wife Dorothy Hilliard (Hyliard) of Hampshire. His father died from wounds received during a naval engagement at Harwich during the…

Cleburne, Patrick Ronayne (1828–64), confederate general, was born 17 March 1828 at Annbrook, near Queenstown, Co. Cork, son of Joseph Cleburne, physician, and Mary Ann Cleburne (née Ronayne). He was educated locally, and at 18 was apprenticed to a local chemist, a trade for which…

Clery, Sir (Cornelius) Francis (1838–1926), soldier, was born 13 February 1838 at 2 Sidney Place, Cork, fourth son of James Clery, wine merchant of Cork, and Catherine Clery (née Walsh). Educated at Clongowes and Sandhurst, he became an infantry officer (1858), and after two years…

Clifford, Robert (fl. 1690s), soldier and apparent traitor, has left no record of his origin, parentage, or early military career. Clifford was with James II's (qv) forces assembled on Salisbury Plain in response to…

Clifford, Sir Conyers (d. 1599), soldier and administrator, was the eldest son of George Clifford and Ursula Clifford (née Finch) of Bobbing Court, Kent. He distinguished himself under the command of the earl of Essex (qv) in the…

Clissmann, Helmut E. (1911–97), German intelligence officer, was born at Aachen in northern Germany. His association with Ireland dates from 1930, when he made his first visit to Dublin as a member of the left-wing nationalist Young Prussian League. Through its link with romantic…

This is a co-subject for the entry on Upton, Arthur. View the original entry.

Cockburn, Sir George (1764–1847), soldier, traveller, writer, and antiquary, was born 18 February 1764 in Dublin, only child of George Cockburn (d. 1775), a Scottish businessman who settled in Ireland in 1739 and married Ann (d. 1769), second of two children of Charles Caldwell,…

Cogan, Geoffrey de (d. 1186), Anglo-Norman adventurer, was probably a member of the same family as Miles de Cogan (qv) and his brother Richard, though the relationship is uncertain. Late in 1185…

Cogan, Miles (Milo) de (d. 1182), Anglo-Norman adventurer, belonged to a family which had settled near Cogan in the area of Cardiff. As a younger son – his brother Richard being heir to the family estate – Miles opted in 1170 to join the expedition to Ireland in support of…

Colclough (Colcloght), Sir Anthony (d. 1584), military governor of Co. Wexford, was the eldest son of Richard Colclough, of Woolstanton, Staffordshire, and Eleanor, daughter of Sir John Draycote, of Paynesley. He moved to Ireland about 1538, presumably as a soldier. From that…

Cole, Sir (Galbraith) Lowry (1772–1842), army officer and colonial governor, was born in Dublin on 1 May 1772, second son in the family of five sons and five daughters of William Willoughby Cole (1736–1803), 1st earl of Enniskillen, and his wife, Anne, daughter of Galbraith Lowry…

Cole, Sir William (1571?–1653), English soldier and planter, was the only son of Emmanuel Cole, third son of Thomas Cole of London, and appears to have been raised in Devonshire. He may have studied at Cambridge, graduating BA and…

Collins, Dominic (c.1566–1602), soldier, Jesuit, and martyr, was born in Youghal, Co. Cork, son of John Collins, previously mayor of Youghal, and Felicity Collins (née O'Dril or O'Duala). In the aftermath of the passing of the acts of supremacy and uniformity (1560) he was born…

Collins, Michael (1890–1922), revolutionary leader, chairman of the Irish provisional government, and commander-in-chief of the provisional government army, was born 16 October 1890 at Woodfield, Sam's Cross, west Co. Cork, last born of three sons and five daughters of Michael Collins,…

Colthurst, John Colthurst Bowen- (1880–1965), army officer and murderer, was born John Colthurst Bowen in Cork on 12 August 1880, eldest son of Robert Walter Travers Bowen JP (who changed the family name to Bowen-Colthurst in 1882 to meet the…

Conneff, Thomas Patrick (1866–1912), athlete and soldier, was born in Kilmurry, Clane, Co. Kildare, the son of James Conneff and his wife Marcella (née Rourke). The Conneff family were blacksmiths plying their trade in the neighbourhood of Clane, in the shadow of the Jesuit college at…

Conway, Edward (1594–1655), 2nd Viscount Conway and Killultagh, nobleman and army officer, was baptised at Arrow, Warwickshire, on 10 August 1594, the eldest son, of the three sons and four daughters, of Edward, later 1st Viscount Conway, army officer, and his wife, Dorothy,…

Conway, Henry Seymour (1719–95), soldier and politician, second son of Francis Seymour Conway (Baron Conway and Killultagh, Co. Antrim) and Charlotte Conway (née Shorter), was baptised 12 August 1719 at Ragley, Warwickshire, and educated at Eton. He began military life as…

Conway, Thomas (1733–95), French army officer and governor of Mauritius, was born on 27 February 1733 at Templenoe, near Nedeen, Co. Kerry, elder son of James Conway (1711–87), a French army officer, and his wife, Julia, daughter of Denis Mahony of Dromore. The Conways and Mahonys…

Conyngham, David Power (c.1825–1883), historian, journalist, and soldier, was born in Crohane, Co. Tipperary, the eldest son of John Cunningham and Catherine Cunningham (née Power), who were well-to-do tenant farmers. On his mother's side he was related to…

Conyngham, Sir Albert (d. 1691), Williamite officer, was born at Mount Charles, Co. Donegal, son of the Very Rev. Alexander Conyngham, dean of Raphoe, and Maria Conyngham (née Murray). On the restoration of King Charles II (1660) he was made lieutenant-general of the ordnance in…

Cooper, Bryan Ricco (1884–1930), soldier and politician, was born in Jotogh, Simla, India, on 17 June 1884, the eldest son of Major F. E. Cooper (Royal Field Artillery), of Markree Castle, Collooney, Co. Sligo, and his wife, Ella, the half-Swiss eldest daughter of Major-General…

Coote, Sir Charles (c.1609–1661), 1st earl of Mountrath , lord president of Connacht, and military commander, was the eldest of the four sons of Sir Charles Coote (qv), provost-marshal of Connacht, and his wife Dorothea,…