Digby, Simon
Digby, Simon (c.1645–1720), miniature-painter and bishop of Elphin, was born at Kilminchy, Queen's Co. (Laois), youngest son of Essex Digby and his wife Thomasine, daughter of Sir William Gilbert of Kilminchy, Queen's Co. Essex Digby became dean of Cashel in 1661 and…...
Dillon, Sir Robert
Dillon, Sir Robert (d. 1597), judge, was the eldest son of Thomas Dillon of Riverston, Co. Meath, and his wife Anne, daughter of Sir Thomas Luttrell (qv), chief justice of the common pleas. He studied law at Lincoln's Inn, appearing…...
Dobbs, Arthur
Dobbs, Arthur (1689–1765), politician and colonial governor, was born 2 April 1689 in Girvan, Ayrshire, Scotland, second son of Richard Dobbs of Castle Dobbs, Carrickfergus, Co. Antrim, and Mary Dobbs (née Stewart) of Ballintoy, Co. Antrim. His father was an army captain serving…...
Docwra (Dowkra, Dockwra, Dockwraye, Dockquerye, Docura), Sir Henry
Docwra (Dowkra, Dockwra, Dockwraye, Dockquerye, Docura), Sir Henry (1564–1631), 1st baron of Culmore , soldier and administrator, was baptised on 30 April 1564, younger son of Edmund Docwra of Chamberhouse manor, Thatcham, Berkshire, England, and his wife Dorothy. He joined the…...
Donnellan, Nehemiah
Donnellan, Nehemiah (1649–1705), MP and chief baron of the exchequer, was born in Dublin, third son of Sir James Donnellan (qv), MP and lord chief justice of the common pleas, and his second wife, Sarah, fourth daughter of Jonas…...
Dougherty, Sir James Brown
Dougherty, Sir James Brown (1844–1934), presbyterian minister, academic, politician, and under-secretary for Ireland (1908–14), was born 13 November 1844 at Garvagh, Co. Londonderry, eldest of two sons of Archibald Dougherty, surgeon, and Matilda Dougherty (née Brown), both of…...
Drury, Sir William
Drury, Sir William (1527–79), soldier and administrator, was born on 2 October 1527 at Hawstead, Suffolk, the third son of Sir Robert Drury of Hedgerley, Buckinghamshire, and Elizabeth, daughter of Edmund Brudenell. He was educated at Gonville Hall, Cambridge, then became a…...
Duff, David
Duff, David (1883–1959), doctor, barrister and colonial civil servant, was born on 11 April 1883 in Enniskillen, Co. Fermanagh, one of ten children of John Duff, the secretary of the Sligo, Leitrim and Northern Counties Railway, and his wife Anne Marie (née Elkins). Educated at the…...
Duggan, George Chester
Duggan, George Chester (1885–1969), civil servant, was born 5 February 1885 in Parsonstown, King's Co. (Offaly), second son of George Duggan, born in Co. Fermanagh, manager of the Provincial Bank, College Green, Dublin, and Emily Duggan (née Grant). The family later lived at…...
Dunlop, Henry Wallace Doveton
Dunlop, Henry Wallace Doveton (1844–1930), sports promoter, civil servant and engineer, was born in February 1844 in Bombay (Mumbai), India, the only son of (William) Henry Glasgow Dunlop (d. 1869), deputy superintendent of the Bombay Water Police, and his wife Mary Anne (née Pilkington…...
Eden, William
Eden, William (1744–1814), 1st Baron Auckland , politician, diplomat, chief secretary for Ireland, was born 3 April 1744, the third son of Sir Robert Eden, 3rd baronet, of West Auckland, and his wife, Mary Eden (née Davison). Educated at Durham (1755–8), Eton (1758–62), and Christ…...
Elliot, William
Elliot, William (1766–1818), chief secretary for Ireland (1806-7) and MP, was born 12 March 1766 in Reigate, Surrey, only child of William Nassau Elliot, barrister, and Martha Elliot (née Meade). Although English-born, he was of Scottish descent and was educated first privately,…...
Ellis, John
This is a co-subject for the entry on Ellis, Sir William. View the original entry....
Elmes, Mary
Elmes, Mary (1908–2002), humanitarian worker 'righteous among the nations', was born Marie Elizabeth Jean Elmes on 5 May 1908, at Culgreine, 120 Blackrock Road, Ballintemple, Cork, the home of her parents, Edward Thomas Elmes, a pharmacist, and his wife Elizabeth Octavia (née Waters…...
Faulkner, Lucy (Barbara Ethel), Lady Faulkner of Downpatrick (née Forsythe)
Faulkner, Lucy (Barbara Ethel) (née Forsythe) (1925–2012), Lady Faulkner of Downpatrick, political private secretary and public figure, was born on 1 July 1925, the only daughter of William James Forsythe, JP (d. 1954), and his wife Jane Ethel (née Sewell); she had an older brother. Her…...
Fenton, Sir Geoffrey
Fenton, Sir Geoffrey (1539–1608), secretary of state for Ireland, was the son of Henry Fenton of Fenton, Nottinghamshire, England, and his wife Cecily, daughter of John Beaumont of Coleorton, Leicestershire, and may have been related to both the Dudleys and the Cecils. Until 1580 he…...
Ferguson, Robert Campbell
Ferguson, Robert Campbell (1880–1945), civil servant, was born 12 July 1880 in Belfast, son of Alfred Campbell, plumber and tinsmith, and Ellen Campbell (née Ferguson), both presbyterians. The family lived at 23 Suir St., Belfast. An outstanding student, he was educated at the…...
Fitzgerald, Richard
Fitzgerald, Richard (d. 1647?), politician and agent for the Irish government in London, was born into an Old English background but became a convert to protestantism like his cousin Maurice Eustace (qv). In 1625 he appears on…...
Fitzgerald, William Vesey
Fitzgerald, William Vesey (1783–1843), politician and chancellor of the Irish exchequer, was the second, but eldest surviving, son of James Fitzgerald (qv), prime serjeant, and Catherine Fitzgerald (née Vesey). Educated at Christ…...
Fitzherbert, Alleyne
Fitzherbert, Alleyne (1753–1839), Baron St Helens , chief secretary for Ireland and diplomat, was born 1 March 1753 at Derby, fifth and youngest son of William Fitzherbert, MP, of Tissington Hall, Derbyshire, and Mary Fitzherbert (née Meynell). Educated locally and then at Eton,…...
Fitzwilliam, Sir William
Fitzwilliam, Sir William (1526–99), vice-treasurer and lord deputy of Ireland, was eldest son of Sir William Fitzwilliam of Milton, Northamptonshire, England, and Anne, daughter of Sir Richard Sapcote of Elton, Huntingdonshire. Fitzwilliam was a relative of John Russell, 1st earl of…...
Forbes, John
Forbes, John (1750–97), MP and governor general of the Bahamas, was born possibly at Newstone, Co. Meath, youngest child of John Forbes and his wife Sophia, daughter of John Curtis of Mount Hanover, Meath. After studying with a Mr Williamson, he entered…...
Fremantle, Sir Thomas Francis
Fremantle, Sir Thomas Francis (1798–1890), 1st Baron Cottesloe of Swanbourne , chief secretary for Ireland, and civil servant, was born 11 March 1798 in Bolton Row, Piccadilly, London, eldest son of Vice-adm. Sir Thomas Francis Fremantle (1765–1819) and Elizabeth Fremantle (née Wynne; d…...
French, (William) Percy
French, (William) Percy (1854–1920), songwriter, humourist, entertainer, and painter, was born 1 May 1854 in Cloonyquin House, parish of Tulsk, Co. Roscommon, second son and third child among four sons and five daughters of Christopher French (1821–97), landowner, and Susan Emma French…...
Gahan, (Winifred) Muriel Françoise
Gahan, (Winifred) Muriel Françoise (1897–1995), promoter of cooperation and traditional crafts, was born 27 October 1897 at Magherabeg House, near Donegal town, the second daughter of (Fredrick George) Townsend Gahan, a civil engineer with the Congested Districts Board, and…...