Clarke, Frances

Carr, George Whitmore (1780–1849), clergyman and temperance pioneer, was born in New Ross, Co. Wexford, eldest son of the Rev. Edward Carr, rector (1802–15) of Kilmacow, Co. Kilkenny, and Sarah Carr (née Foster) of Thomastown, Co. Kilkenny. Educated at the John Ivory endowed…

Cartan, Joseph (1811–91), newspaper proprietor, journalist, and writer, was born in January 1811 of a farming family in Tullyallen, Co. Louth. He showed an interest in politics from an early age, being inspired by the catholic emancipation movement and in particular the election in…

Carver, Robert (d. 1791), landscape and scene painter, was born in Dublin, the son of Richard Carver (d. 1754), a Waterford-born history and landscape painter, who practised mainly in Dublin and was known for an altarpiece executed at Waterford. Robert received his early training…

Cary (Tanfield), Elizabeth (1585–1639), Viscountess Falkland , writer and translator, was born at Burford Priory, Oxfordshire, the only child and heir of Lawrence Tanfield (c.1551–1625), a wealthy lawyer, later appointed chief baron of the exchequer, and his wife,…

Caulfield, Richard (1823–87), antiquary and local historian, was born 23 April 1823 in Cork, one of five sons of a merchant, William Caulfield, and his wife Catherine, who was the daughter of Henry Gosnell, a Cork doctor and surgeon. Richard was educated at Bandon endowed school,…

Ceannt, Áine (1880–1954) republican, was born Frances Mary O'Brennan on 23 September 1880 in Dublin, the youngest of four children of Francis O'Brennan (d. 1880), auctioneer and former Fenian, and his wife, Elizabeth (née Butler). She was educated at the Dominican College, Eccles…

Chancellor, (Lilias) Betty (1910–84), actress, was born 9 January 1910 at 8 Fitzwilliam Place, Dublin, the younger daughter of John William Chancellor, a Dublin clockmaker, jeweller, and photographer, and Cicily Chancellor (née Granger). Educated in Dublin at Nightingale Hall and…

Chapman, Mary Francis (1838–84), novelist, was born 28 November 1838 in Dublin, the daughter of Robert Chapman, of Walthamstow, Essex, who in 1838 was landing surveyor and surveyor of warehouses in Dublin port. When he was transferred to London the family moved with him to England,…

Chatterton, (Henrietta) Georgiana (1806–76), writer, was born 11 November 1806 at 24 Arlington Street, Piccadilly, London, the only child of the Rev. Lascelles Iremonger , prebendary of Winchester cathedral, and Harriet, sister of Admiral Lord Gambier. Educated primarily by a…

Chenevix, Helen Sophia (1886–1963), trade unionist, suffragist, and social campaigner, was born 13 November 1886, at Ivy Bank, Blackrock, Co. Dublin, only child of Henry Chenevix and Charlotte Chenevix (née Ormsby). Educated at Alexandra College, Dublin, she went on to…

Chesson, Eleanor (‘Nora’) (née Hopper ) (1871–1906), poet and writer, was born 2 January 1871 at 8 Radnor Place, St Leonards, Devon, the daughter of Captain Harman Baillie Hopper, an Irish officer retired from the 31st Bengal native infantry, and Caroline Augusta Francis, who was…

Chetwood, William Rufus (d. 1766), prompter, publisher, and author, was most probably born in England. Little is known of his early life, but his own accounts, and the fact that he wrote several seafaring adventures, indicate that he had travelled around the world as a young man,…

Clarke (Crilly), Margaret (1881–1961), artist and teacher, was born 29 July 1881 in Newry, Co. Down, the daughter of Patrick Crilley and his wife Mary. After working as a baller in a rope factory she initially trained, with her sister Jane, at Newry technical school, and, in 1905,…

Clarke, Kathleen (Caitlín Bean Uí Chléirigh) (1878–1972), republican activist, was born 12 April 1878 in Limerick, the third daughter of Edward Daly (d. 1890), a timber measurer, and Catherine Daly (née O'Mara), a dressmaker. The Daly family were prominent republicans; her father and,…

Clarke, Maud Violet (1892–1935), historian, was born 7 May 1892 in Belfast, second child and only daughter of Richard James Clarke, rector of Trinity church, Belfast, and Anne Nugent Clarke (née Jessop), of Mount Jessop, Co. Longford. In 1903 the family moved to Coole Glebe,…

Clarke (McFall), Frances Bellenden (Sarah Grand) (1854–1943), novelist and feminist, was born 10 June 1854 at Donaghadee, Co. Down, where her father, Edward Bellenden Clarke, a lieutenant in the Royal Navy, was stationed in the coastguard. Her mother was Margaret (née Bell Sherwood…

Clayton, Eleanor (‘Ellen’) Creathorne (1834–1900), illustrator and writer, was born 15 February 1834 in Gloucester Terrace, Dublin, the eldest child and only daughter of Benjamin Clayton III (1809–83), a member of a long-established family of Dublin engravers, and his wife Mary (née…

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…

Clive (Raftor), Catherine (Kitty) (1711–85), comic actress, singer, and writer, was probably born in London on 5 November 1711. Her father, William Raftor or Rafter, was a Kilkenny-born lawyer, who lost his claim on a large estate following his support of…

Coffey, Charles (1700–45), playwright, was born in Dublin, where he worked as a schoolmaster; nothing more is known about his early life. Distinguished more for editing the works of others than for writing his own, his first production was a ballad opera entitled ‘The beggar's…

Coffey, George (1857–1916), archaeologist and nationalist, was born 2 July 1857 in Dublin, the third and youngest son of James Charles Coffey (d. 1880), county court judge for Londonderry, and his wife, Anna Maria Coffey (formerly Lee Trafford, née Wilkinson). Educated at…

Collie, George Joseph (1904–75), artist and teacher, was born 14 April 1904 at Greaghdrummit, Carrickmacross, Co. Monaghan, the second child of George Collie, an Aberdeen-born chef, and Ellen Collie (née Donovan) of Carrickmacross. Brought up in Dublin, he was educated at St Kevin's…

Collis, John Stewart (1900–84), writer and naturalist, was born 16 Febuary 1900 in Kilmore, Killiney, Co Dublin, one of twin sons (his twin was Robert Collis (qv)) of William Stewart Collis, a solicitor in the…

Collis, Maurice Stewart (1889–1973), author, artist, and civil servant, was born 10 January 1889 in Eglinton Road, Donnybrook, Dublin, the eldest son of William Stewart Collis, a solicitor in the firm of Collis & Ward, and Edith Lilla Collis (née Barton);…

Collis, (William) Robert Fitzgerald (‘Bob’) (1900–75), paediatrician, author, and rugby player, was born 16 February 1900 at Kilmore, Killiney, Co. Dublin, one of twin sons (his twin was John Stewart Collis (qv)) of William Stewart…