Biographies A-Z

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Fachtna (Fachanan)

Fachtna (Fachanan) (c.554–c.600), abbot and founder of Ros Ailithir (Ross Carbery, Co. Cork), was born at Tulach Tenn, in the territory of the Corco Loígde. The Martyrology of Donegal describes him as ‘of the race of Lughaidh, son of Íth’. According to a twelfth-…

Fáelán

Fáelán (d. c.645), son of Colmán Már and king of northern Leinster, was an early representative of Uí Dúnlainge and is viewed by many historians as the founder of that dynasty's fortunes. According to the genealogies, his father was Colmán son of Cairpre, and his mother was…

Fáelán

Fáelán (d. early 8th cent.), Irish missionary to Scotland, was a son of Caintigern (qv) (d. 734), who is supposed to have gone to Scotland in the early eighth century with her brother Comgán and her sons, one of whom was Fáelán.…

Fáelán

Fáelán (d. 738), son of Murchad and overking of Leinster, belonged to the dynasty of Uí Dúnlainge. As is the case with his brothers Dúnchad (qv) and Bran Becc, the identity of Fáelán's mother is unknown; only the mother of their half-brother…

Fagan, James Bernard

Fagan, James Bernard (1873–1933), actor-manager, director and playwright, was born 18 May 1873 in Belfast, the eldest son of the surgeon John (later Sir John) Fagan (qv) of Queen's County (Laois) and Mary Catherine Fagan (née Hughes) of…

Fagan, Luke

Fagan, Luke (c.1656/7–1733), catholic archbishop of Dublin, was born to a gentry family in Lick Bla near Castlepollard, Co. Westmeath. He may have attended an Irish Jesuit school during the restoration period and appears to have been ordained in 1682. He was received as a…

Fagan, Michael

This is a co-subject for the entry on Brady, Joe. View the original entry.

Fagan, Sir John

Fagan, Sir John (1843–1930), surgeon and inspector of reformatory and industrial schools, was born 16 July 1843 at Lismacaffrey, Rathowen, Co. Westmeath, the eldest son of James Fagan, esq. Educated at St Vincent's College, Castleknock, Co. Dublin (1858–61), and the Catholic…

Fahey, Denis

Fahey, Denis (1883–1954), catholic priest and anti-Semite, was born in Kilmore, Golden, Co. Tipperary, on 2 July 1883, youngest of three sons of Timothy Fahey, farmer, and his wife, Brigit Fahey (née Clery). Timothy Fahey's farm was located in the parish of Knockavilla, whose pastor,…

Fahy, Anthony Dominic

Fahy, Anthony Dominic (1805–71), Dominican priest and chaplain to the Irish in Argentina, was born 11 January 1805, the third of seven children (five boys and two girls) of Patrick Fahy, a brewer of Barracks Street, Loughrea, Co. Galway, and Belinda Cloran. Two of his brothers…

Fahy, Francis Arthur

Fahy, Francis Arthur (1854–1935), songwriter and Irish-language activist, was born 27 September 1854 at Kinvara, Co. Galway, one of eight children of Thomas Fahy, shopkeeper, of Co. Clare, and Celia Fahy (née Marlborough) of Gort, Co. Galway. Educated at Kinvara national school, he…

Fahy, Francis Patrick (‘Frank’)

Fahy, Francis Patrick (‘Frank’) (1879–1953), politician and Irish-language activist, was born 23 May 1879 at Glenatallan, Kilconickny, Loughrea, Co. Galway, eldest among five sons and two daughters of John Fahy, teacher, and Maria Fahy (née Jones). After receiving initial education at…

Fahy, John

Fahy, John (1893–1969), priest, republican, and agrarian radical, was born 8 June 1893 in Burroge, Killeenadeema (Kilnadeema), Loughrea, Co. Galway, one of at least four sons of John Fahey, a small farmer who had been a fervent land leaguer, and his wife Honoria (née Davock).…

Fáilbe

Fáilbe (d. 679), 8th abbot of Iona and predecessor of Adomnán (qv), was a third cousin of Cumméne Find (qv), 7th abbot, and therefore a distant kinsman of…

Fáilbe Flann

Fáilbe Flann (d. 637/9), son of Áed Dub and overking of Munster, belonged to the Éoganacht dynasty of Cashel. His father may have been a local ruler, but seems not to have achieved particular prominence. Neither the name of his mother nor that of his wife survives, but he had at…

Fainche

Fainche (6th cent.), anchoress, abbess of Ros Airthir (Rossory, Co. Fermanagh), and saint in the Irish tradition, most likely belonged to the dynasty of Cenél Lóegaire. Later medieval genealogies (Book of Lecan and Leabhar Breac) name her father as Crimthann son of Guaire –…

Fairbrother, Samuel

Fairbrother, Samuel (c.1684–1758?), printer, bookseller, and ‘king's stationer’ in Ireland. Details of his early life and ancestry go unrecorded, though he probably served his apprenticeship in Dublin under Joseph Ray (qv), inheriting…

Fair, James Graham

Fair, James Graham (1831–94), mining tycoon, was born 3 December 1831 near Clogher, Co. Tyrone (perhaps in the townland of Annagh), son of James Fair and Susanna Fair (née Graham). He had a sister and four brothers, and possibly other siblings. The family migrated to the United…

Falkiner, Caesar Litton

Falkiner, Caesar Litton (1863–1908), lawyer and historian, was born in Dublin on 26 September 1863, the second son in the family of three sons and four daughters of Sir Frederick Richard Falkiner (qv) and his first wife,…

Falkiner, Sir Frederick Richard

Falkiner, Sir Frederick Richard (1831–1908), recorder of Dublin, was born 19 January 1831 at Mount Falcon, Co. Tipperary, third son of Richard Falkiner (1778–1833), a soldier in the 4th Dragoon Guards, and Tempe Falkiner (née Litton; 1796–1888). His older brother Travers Hartley…

Fallon, Conor Hubert

Fallon, Conor Hubert (1939–2007), sculptor, was born 30 January 1939 at Holles Street hospital, Dublin, the third of six sons of Padraic Fallon (qv), poet, playwright, and civil servant in customs and excise, residing at 9 Rhoda Villas,…

Fallon, Gabriel Joseph

Fallon, Gabriel Joseph (1898–1980), actor, author, and critic, was born 17 August 1898 at 28 Leinster Avenue, Dublin, son of Peter Joseph Fallon, law clerk, and Mary Josephine Fallon (née Rafferty). Educated at O'Connell's school in Dublin, he joined the civil service as a land…

Fallon, Padraic

Fallon, Padraic (1946–2012), journalist and businessman, was born on 21 September 1946 in the County Hospital, Wexford, the youngest of six sons of Padraic Fallon (qv), a poet, playwright and customs official of Rowe Street, Wexford, and his…

Fallon, Padraic

Fallon, Padraic (1905–74), poet and playwright, was born 3 January 1905 in Athenry, Co. Galway, first son and second child among seven children of John Fallon, cattle dealer, hotelier, and butcher, and Ellen Fallon (née Dilleen). He was educated at Mount St Joseph's College, Roscrea, Co…

Fallon, Sean

Fallon, Sean (1922–2013), footballer and coach, was born on 31 July 1922 in Sligo, one of nine children (six girls and three boys) of John Fallon (1897–1980) and his wife Margaret (1897–1990; née Forde). In 1914 John Fallon quit his job in McArthur’s bakery in Sligo to join the…