Allen, Nicholas

Mecredy, Richard James Patrick (1861–1924), cyclist and journalist, was born 18 May 1861 at Ballinasloe, Co. Galway, son of the Rev. James Mecredy, DD, a Church of Ireland clergyman then in the parish of Inveran, Spiddal, Co. Galway.…

Miller, Liam (1924–87), publisher, was born William Miller 24 April 1924 in Mountrath, Co. Laois, son of James Miller, victualler, and Elizabeth Miller (née Carbery). He studied architecture at UCD and travelled to London after 1945 to…

Molloy, Joseph Fitzgerald (1858–1908), author, was born 19 March 1858 at New Ross, Co. Wexford, son of Pierce Molloy and Catherine Molloy (née Byrne). Educated at St Kieran's College, Kilkenny, he intended to join the catholic clergy. At the age of twenty he decided instead on a…

Montgomery, Leslie Alexander (‘Lynn Doyle’) (1873–1961), humorist and banker, was born 5 October 1873 in Downpatrick, Co. Down, son of Henry Montgomery, grocer and spirit merchant, and Sarah Montgomery (née Moore). He was educated at Dundalk, Co. Louth; his parents died, and he…

Moore, Frank Frankfort (1855–1931), journalist and author, was born 15 May 1855 in Limerick, son of a successful Belfast jeweller. His family (of whom nothing else is known) moved to Belfast, where he was educated at the Royal Belfast Academical Institution. Hearing…

Murphy, Edmund Terence (‘Terry’) (1917–95), zookeeper, was born 28 July 1917 in Dublin, son of Edmund Murphy, civil servant, and Lizzie Murphy (née Shaw). Expelled from school for truancy at 15, he worked as a draughtsman for an engineering firm before employment in public relations…

Prendergast, Patrick Joseph (‘P. J.’) (d. 1980), horse trainer, was born in Athy, Co. Kildare, son of Patrick Prendergast, horse breeder. Little is known of his early life except that he worked in stables in Australia by 1932 and returned to Ireland by 1935; his father placed him…

Reddin, John Kenneth Sheils (1894–1967), district justice and writer, was born 24 March 1894 in Clontarf, Dublin, one of three sons of John Joseph Reddin, clerk of the Dublin Port and Docks Board, and Annie Teresa Reddin (née Sheils). His parents were keen patrons of the Irish…

Redmond, William Archer (1825–80), MP, was born in March 1825 at Ballytrent, Co. Wexford, second son of Patrick Walter Redmond, JP and high sheriff of Co. Wexford, and his wife Hester, only daughter of Joseph Kearney of Rocklands, Co.…

Reid, Forrest (1875–1947), novelist, was born 24 June 1875 at 20 Mount Charles, Belfast, youngest of six surviving children of Robert Reid, manager of Anderson's Felt Works, and his second wife, Frances Matilda (née Parr), of an aristocratic English family. His family moved to 15…

Reid, Richard Tuohill (1823–83), lawyer and academic, was the only surviving son of Herbert Reid, a Killarney merchant, and Catherine Reid (née Tuohill). His father died young and he entered TCD as a sizar in 1841; he was admitted as a…

Rentoul, John Laurence (1846–1926), presbyterian minister, academic, and poet, was born 6 July 1846 at Garvagh, Co. Londonderry, fourth son of the Rev. James Buchan Rentoul (d. 1886) and his wife Sarah, daughter of the Rev. William Wilson of Crossgar. He was educated at…

Rhys, Grace Little (1865–1929), author, editor, and poet, was born 12 July 1865 at Knockadoo, Boyle, Co. Roscommon, youngest of three daughters of Joseph Bennett Little , landowner, and Emily Little (née White), of a wealthy Dublin family. Her father gambled his estate away and she…

Robb, Nesca Adeline (1905–76), author, was born 27 May 1905 in Belfast, daughter of Charles Robb, managing director of J. Robb & Co., and his wife Agnes, daughter of Dr Wilberforce Arnold. She was educated at Richmond Lodge (of which she later wrote a record) and went up to…

Robinson, William (1838–1935), horticulturist and author, was born 15 July 1838 in Co. Down to a family of agricultural labourers. He worked as a garden boy on the estate of Sir Hunt Johnson-Walshe in Ballykilcaven, Co. Laois, before taking the position of under-gardener at the…

Rodgers, William Robert (‘W. R.’; ‘Bertie’) (1909–69), poet and presbyterian minister, was born 1 August 1909 in Belfast, son of Robert Skelly Rodgers, insurance clerk, and his second wife, Jane Ferris Rodgers (née McCarey). Brought up in a puritan household in Ballymacarrett, his early…

Ross, Lt-col. Sir Ronald Deane (1888–1958), lawyer, soldier, and politician, was born 13 July 1888, the only son of John Ross (qv), lawyer and last lord chancellor of Ireland, and Katherine Mary Jeffcott Ross (née Mann), of Dunmoyle, Co.…

Russell, George William (‘Æ’) (1867–1935), journalist, writer, artist, and cooperator, was born 10 April 1867 in William Street, Lurgan, Co. Armagh, son of Thomas Elias Russell (d. 1900), a bookkeeper, and Marianne Russell (née Armstrong; d. 1897). Early life and marriage The youngest…

Ryan, Frederick Michael (1873–1913), socialist and journalist, was born 12 October 1873 in 8 Brunswick Place, Dublin, son of John Ryan, book-keeper, and Catherine Ryan (née Davis). Little is known of his early life; he moved to London after school in the early 1890s to spend a year as a…

Ryan, Patrick (1853–1900), boxer, was born 15 March 1853 in Thurles, Co. Tipperary. He emigrated with his family from Ireland to America in 1861 and made his career as a professional heavyweight boxer. He was popularly known as ‘the Tory Terror’ and his first major fight was against…

Salkeld, Blanaid (1880–1958), poet and actor, was born Florence ffrench-Mullen on 10 August 1880 in India, daughter of Lt Colonel Jarlath ffrench-Mullen and Anna Maria (Mina) Byrne. Her father was in the Bengal medical service and brother to St Laurence ffrench-Mullen (father of…

This is a co-subject for the entry on Salkeld, Blanaid. View the original entry.

Siggins, John Allan Edward (‘Jack’) (1909–95), rugby footballer, was born 28 June 1909 at 12 Agincourt St., Belfast, son of George McKinnon Siggins, RIC man, and Ella Siggins (née Foy). Educated at Methodist College, Belfast, he played…

Simpson, Alan Patrick (1920–80), theatre director, was born in Baggot Street, Dublin, son of Walter Simpson, Church of Ireland minister. Sent to Belfast to broaden his outlook, he was educated at Campbell College and spent a brief period in Germany before returning to Dublin in the late…

Stephenson, George Vaughan (1901–70), rugby footballer and medical doctor, was born 22 December 1901 in Dromore, Co. Down, son of a Church of Ireland clergyman. Educated at Clanrye preparatory school in Belfast and at the RBAI…