Ó Siochrú, Micheál

Archer, Patrick (d. 1686), merchant, was fifth and youngest son of Walter Archer and Elizabeth, daughter of Henry Shee, from two of the leading families in the city of Kilkenny. Walter Archer served as mayor of Kilkenny in 1610; Patrick's older brother Henry sat as MP for the city…

Bagenal, Walter (1614–52), soldier and politician, was eldest son of George Bagenal of Dunleckney, Co. Carlow, and Joan, daughter of Walter Butler (qv), 11th earl of Ormond. The Bagenals originated from Staffordshire in England and only…

Barnewall, Patrick (c.1584–c.1660), politician, was eldest son of John Barnewall of Kilbrew and his wife Eleanor, daughter of Christopher Seagrave of Dublin. John died in 1590, and Eleanor remarried successively Edward Aylmer, John Cheevers, and Thomas…

Barnewall, Sir Richard (1602–79), politician, was eldest son of Sir Patrick Barnewall of Crickstown, Co. Meath and his wife Cicely, daughter of William Fleming, Lord Slane. Sir Patrick, head of a minor though long-established branch of the Barnewall family, died in 1624, and…

Barron (Baron), Geoffrey (1606–51), lawyer, politician, and diplomat, was eldest son of Lawrence Barron, a catholic merchant from Clonmel, and Mary Wadding of Waterford, sister of the Franciscan scholar Luke Wadding (qv). The Barrons, a…

Bellings (Bealing), Richard (c.1603–1677), lawyer, politician, and historian, was eldest son of Sir Henry Bellings (of an Old English catholic family with properties in Dublin and Kildare) and his wife Maud, about whom nothing else is known. Richard gained admittance to…

Bermingham, Francis (d. 1677), 12th Baron Athenry, politician, was second son of Edward Bermingham, heir to the title, and Mary, daughter of Feagh Burke of Dunamon, Co. Galway. Edward died sometime before 3 May 1641, at which date the eldest son, Edmond, a Dominican friar, transferred…

Blake, Richard (c.1595–1663), lawyer and politician, was the eldest son of Robert Blake, a wealthy merchant from Ardfry, Co. Galway, and Katherine, daughter of Richard Darcy of Gorteen, Co. Galway. The Blakes, one of the fourteen ‘tribes’ of Galway, were centrally…

Bourke, Theobald (c.1615?–1653), 3rd Viscount Mayo , soldier and politician, was son and heir of Miles Bourke (qv), 2nd Viscount Mayo, and Honora, daughter of Sir John Bourke of Derrymaclaghtny, Co. Galway.…

Bourke, William (1623–67), 5th Baron Castleconnell , soldier, was son and heir of Edmund Bourke and his first wife, Thomasine, daughter of Sir Thomas Browne of Hospital, Co. Limerick. Edmund held over 3,000 acres in Co. Limerick, primarily in the barony of Clanwilliam, alongside the…

Bryan, Patrick (d. 1663), lawyer and politician, was third son of James FitzJohn Bryan of Whiteswall and Eleanor, daughter of Piers Butler of Callan, Co. Kilkenny. Patrick qualified as a barrister, having studied in Gray's Inns in the late 1630s, and married a daughter of James…

Bunting, Ronald (‘Ronnie’) (1947–80), republican, was born into a middle-class Belfast protestant family. His father, Maj. Ronald Bunting, a close associate of…

Butler, Piers (d. 1652), soldier and politician, was eldest son of Edward Butler, 1st Viscount Galmoy (cr. 1646), and Anne, daughter of Edmund Butler, 2nd Viscount Mountgarret. Piers entered Gray's Inn in 1623 and on his return to Ireland married Margaret Netterville, daughter of…

Comyn, George (d. 1663), lawyer and politician, second son of Edmund Comyn and Gennett Sarsfield, was born into a family that had played a leading role in the civic life of Limerick for over two centuries. George trained as a lawyer, entering Gray's Inn on 11 February 1621, before…

Costello, Séamus (1939–77), republican socialist, was born at Old Connaught Avenue, Bray, Co. Wicklow, son of John Costello, farmer and cattle-dealer, and his wife Elizabeth. He attended the Christian Brothers' college at Monkstown, before taking a job as a car salesman in central…

Crosbie, Thomas (d. 1694), soldier and politician, was the eldest son of David Crosbie of Ardfert, a protestant planter whose family had moved to Kerry in the early seventeenth century. His mother (d. 1628), whose name does not survive in the records, was a daughter of John Steere,…

Cusack, James (c.1590–c.1659), lawyer and politician, was third son of Edward Cusack and Elizabeth Aylmer, both of whom belonged to prominent Old English catholic families of the Pale. The Cusacks had a distinguished history of governmental service, and James…

Fitzgerald, George (1612–60), 16th earl of Kildare , politician, was born 23 January 1612, third but only surviving son of Thomas Fitzgerald, second son of William, 13th earl of Kildare (1536–97), and Frances, daughter of Thomas Randolph, postmaster general in England under Elizabeth I…

Fitzharris, Edward (d. 1641), lawyer and politician, was second son of Matthew Fitzharris (or Fitzhenry) of Moghmaine, Co. Wexford, and Margaret, daughter of Sir Walter Browne of Mulrankin, Co. Wexford. His father, a prominent figure in the town of New Ross, sat as member of…

Fleming, William (c.1611?–1642), 14th Baron Slane , politician, was second son of Christopher Fleming, 12th Baron Slane, a leading catholic lord of the Pale, and Elinor, daughter of Sir Patrick Barnewall of Turvey. The eldest son, Thomas, joined the Franciscan order, became an…

Jones, Roger (d. 1644), 1st Viscount Ranelagh , politician, was the only son and heir of Thomas Jones (qv), archbishop of Dublin and lord chancellor of Ireland, and Margaret, daughter of Adam Purdon of Lurgan-Race, Co. Louth. The family…

Lynch, (Robert) Roebuck (c.1606–1667), 2nd baronet, lawyer, and politician, was eldest son of Henry Lynch (d. 1634), 1st baronet (1622), and Elizabeth, daughter of Richard Martin and widow of James Darcy. The Lynches, one of the ‘tribes of Galway’, had extensive…

MacCarthy, Donough (1594–1665), 2nd Viscount Muskerry, 1st earl of Clancarty , soldier and politician, was second (but first surviving) son of Cormac Oge MacCarthy, 1st Viscount Muskerry, and Margaret, daughter of Donough O'Brien, 4th earl of …

MacDonnell, Alexander (1615–99), 3rd earl of Antrim , politician and soldier, was the second son of Sir Randal MacDonnell, 1st earl of Antrim (qv), and Alice, daughter of Hugh O'…

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…