Miscellaneous

Guinness, Mariga (1932–89), architectural conservationist and socialite, was born Hermione Maria-Gabrielle von Urach on 21 September 1932 in London, the only daughter of Albrecht von Urach (d. 1969), a member of the royal house of Wurtemberg from Schloss-Liechtenstein in southern…

This is a co-subject for the entry on Guinness, Oonagh. View the original entry.

Guinness, Oonagh (1910–95), socialite, was born 22 February 1910 in London, third daughter of Ernest Guinness (1876–1949), second son of the 1st earl of Iveagh (qv), and a chairman of the board of Guinness, and his wife, Marie…

This is a co-subject for the entry on Gunning, Maria. View the original entry.

Gunning, Maria (1732–60), afterwards countess of Coventry , society beauty, eldest of the four daughters of John Gunning of Castlecoote, Co. Roscommon, and Bridget Gunning (née Bourke), daughter of the 6th Viscount Bourke of Mayo, was born at Hemingford Grey, near St Ives,…

Hanley, Ellie (1803–19), the ‘Colleen bawn ’, was born in Ballycahane, near Croom, Co. Limerick, daughter of Michael Hanley, farmer, and his first wife (née Connery). At 6 years old, she was adopted by her mother's brother, John Connery, ropemaker, also of Ballycahane. Connery's…

Harmsworth, Geraldine Mary (1838–1925), matriarch, was born 24 December 1838 in Dublin, fifth child and daughter among eight children of William Maffett of Co. Down and Dublin, and his second wife, Margaret (née Finlayson) of Dublin, whom he had married in 1831. By his first marriage (…

Healy, James (1824–94), priest and raconteur, was born 15 December 1824 in Francis St., Dublin, son of John Healy, provision merchant, and his first wife, Mary (née Meyler), who was from Co. Wexford. There were twenty-three children in the family. James was to inherit his father's…

Hetherington (Hethringham, Edrington), William (d. p. 1684), informer, was apparently from Ganderstown, Co. Louth. Little is known of his early life, but in 1667 he was employed to hunt tories in Laois and Offaly by …

Higgins, Francis (‘Sham Squire’) (1745?–1802), adventurer, was born in Dublin, one of the large family of Patrick Higgins, an attorney's clerk, and his wife, Mary, who were said to have moved from Downpatrick, Co. Down. Patrick Higgins may have been the Patrick Higgins of Dublin…

Jocelyn, Percy (1764–1843), disgraced bishop, was born 29 November 1764, third of four sons of Robert, 1st earl of Roden (qv), and his wife Anne, née Hamilton. Educated at TCD, he graduated…

Johnson, Esther (1681–1728), Jonathan Swift's ‘Stella ’, was born 13 March 1681 in Richmond, Surrey, England, daughter of Bridget Johnson, housekeeper to Sir William Temple (qv) of Moor Park in Surrey. It was rumoured, from early in her…

Joyce, Myles (1837?–1882), victim of a miscarriage of justice, was the second of three sons of Shaun Joyce of Cappanacreha, Co. Galway, a desolate and isolated townland in the parish of Ross in the Joyce Country bordering Co. Mayo. Myles Joyce, a small farmer at Cappanacreha, who…

Kelly, Sarah (1801–56), landowner and murder victim, was born Sarah Birch in Ramsgate, Kent, England, sixth child of John Birch, husbandman and innkeeper, and his wife Elizabeth. At the age of 15 she was seduced by Joshua Paul Meredith, an Anglo-Irish gentleman who took her to…

Kiernan, Catherine Brigid (‘Kitty’) (1893–1945), hotelier, and fiancée of Michael Collins (qv), was born 26 January 1893 in Granard, Co. Longford, fifth child and fourth daughter among six daughters and one son of Peter Kiernan, a…

Kyteler (Kettle, Keyetler), Dame Alice (fl. 1324), accused of witchcraft and sorcery, was probably from a Kilkenny family, though nothing is known of her life prior to marriage. The Kytelers were a family of Flemish merchants who came to Ireland some time in the mid to late…

Lamb, John George Dalkeith ('Keith') (1919–2011), horticultural scientist and plantsman, was born on 19 August 1919 in Dublin, the younger son of John Lamb, who had been a doctor in the British army, and his wife Constance (née Johnston). Constance's father, also a doctor, was a…

Lavery, Hazel (1880–1935), Lady Lavery, artist, model, actress and socialite, was born 14 March 1880 at 514 North Avenue, Chicago, Illinois, the daughter of Edward Jenner Martyn (1846–1897), a self-made man who became vice president of Armour & Co. (a successful meat packing firm)…

Le Caron, Henri (Thomas Billis Beach) (1841–94), agent provocateur and informer, was born Thomas Billis Beach on 26 September 1841 at Colchester, England, second son among thirteen children of John Joseph Billis Beach, rate-collector, and Maria Beach (née Passmore). He was…

Legge, Thomas (d. 1808), traveller and mystic, was born in Donaghadee, Co. Down, the son of a ship-owner who transported Irish emigrants to America. Little else is known about his family background, although towards the end of his life he reportedly told a Scottish doctor that his…

Lovett, Ann (1968–84), schoolgirl, was born in Cobh, Co. Cork, on 6 April 1968, the seventh of nine children (three girls and six boys) of Diarmuid Lovett (d. 1987), builder and publican, and his wife Patricia (née MacNamee, d. 2015). EARLY LIFE AND EDUCATION The Lovett family moved…

Lynch, Eliza Alicia (1834–86), mistress of Francisco Solano Lopez (dictator of Paraguay, 1862–70), was born in Charleville, Co. Cork, the eldest of at least three children of John Lynch, MD, AB, and his wife, Jane Elizabeth, second daughter of…

MacMahon, Hugh Óg (d. 1644), soldier and conspirator, was the eldest legitimate son of Sir Brian MacHugh Óg MacMahon of Dartree (Dartry), Co. Monaghan, by a daughter of Hugh O'Neill (qv), 2nd earl of Tyrone. Fostered until the age of 16…

This is a co-subject for the entry on MacMoyer (Moyer, Weyer), John (‘Fr Francis’ ‘Maor na Canoine’). View the original entry.

MacMoyer (Moyer, Weyer), John (‘Fr Francis’ ‘Maor na Canoine’) (c.1650–1709?), dissolute Franciscan friar and perjured witness against Archbishop Oliver Plunkett (qv), was a native of Co. Armagh, where the MacMoyer family…