Bourke, Toby (‘Don Tobias’)
Bourke, Toby (‘Don Tobias’) (1675–1742), Baron Bourke , courtier and diplomat, was born at Farranatlaba, barony of Shanid, Co. Limerick, son of Richard Bourke and his wife Silena O'Brien. In 1688, at the age of 13, he travelled to the University of Bordeaux, where an Irish college…...
Bowen, Gretta (Margaretta)
Bowen, Gretta (Margaretta) (1880–1981), artist, was born 1 January 1880 at Harbour House, North Circular Rd, Dublin, daughter of Samuel Arthur Bowen, railway official and amateur wood-carver. Educated at Marlborough St. School, she worked for a time as a cashier with a Dublin…...
Boylan, Henry Joseph
Boylan, Henry Joseph (1911–2007), civil servant and writer, was born 21 December 1911 in Drogheda, Co. Louth, the seventh of nine children (five boys and four girls) of John Boylan, merchant sea captain, and his wife Mary (née Coleman; d. 1958). He enjoyed a comfortable childhood,…...
Boyle, William
Boyle, William (1853–1923), dramatist and civil servant, was born 4 April 1853 in Dromisken, Co. Louth, the son of Patrick Boyle and his wife, Mary (née Meehan). Educated at St Mary's College, Dundalk, in 1874 he entered the civil service in London and worked in the inland revenue…...
Brabazon, Edward
Brabazon, Edward Sir (c.1549–1625), 1st Baron Brabazon of Ardee , administrator, was the elder son, of the two sons and two daughters, of Sir William Brabazon (qv), vice-treasurer and thrice lord justice of Ireland, and…...
Brabazon, Sir William
Brabazon, Sir William (d. 1552), vice-treasurer and lord justice of Ireland, was the son of John Brabazon, a landowner of Eastwell in Leicestershire, and his wife, whose maiden name was Chaworth. By 1526 he had entered the royal service as a land surveyor and accountant, gaining…...
Bracken, Joseph K.
Bracken, Joseph K. (1852–1904), monumental sculptor and builder, local politician, and a founder in 1884 of the ‘Gaelic Association for the Preservation and Cultivation of National Pastimes’ which evolved to become the Gaelic Athletic Association (…...
Bradshaw, Henry
Bradshaw, Henry (1831–86), bibliophile, librarian, and scholar, was born 2 February 1831 at 2 Artillery Place, Finsbury Square, London, third son of Joseph Hoare Bradshaw (d. 1845), a native of Mile Cross, near Newtownards, Co. Down, and a partner in the city banking firm of Barnett…...
Brady, Charles
Brady, Charles (1926–97), painter, was born 27 July 1926 in New York, son of Arthur Brady, an industrial hardware merchant. He is best known for small-scale paintings of still life and landscape. At the end of the second world war, while serving with the US navy, he suffered an…...
Brady, Maziere
Brady, Maziere (1796–1871), lord chancellor of Ireland and patron of the arts, was born 20 July 1796 in Dublin, second of three sons of Francis Tempest Brady (1763–1821) of Willow Park, Booterstown, Co. Dublin, manufacturer of gold and silver thread, and Martha Brady (née Hodgson…...
Brandt, Muriel (Kathleen)
Brandt, Muriel (Kathleen) (1909–81), artist, was born 16 January 1909 in Colenso Parade, Belfast, second child of Hugh McKinley, post-office official, and Florence Ann McKinley (née Furness). Having attended the Belfast College of Art (1932–3), she won the Sorelba scholarship for…...
Brandt, Ruth
Brandt, Ruth (1936–89), artist and teacher, was born 22 June 1936 in Dublin, eldest child of Frank Brandt, graphic designer, and the artist Muriel Brandt (qv) (née McKinley). She was educated at the Dominican convent, Santa…...
Breathnach, Micheál (‘Tóchar Mhairtin’)
Breathnach, Micheál (‘Tóchar Mhairtin’) (1886–1987), civil servant, was born 26 October 1886 in Sylane, Tuam, Co. Galway, youngest of seven sons of Michael Walsh (originally of Kilmaine, Co. Mayo), principal of Sylane national school, and Bridget Walsh (née Joyner), schoolteacher, of…...
Breen, Dermot H.
Breen, Dermot H. (1924–78), founder of Cork International Film Festival and film censor, was born 18 August 1924 in Waterford, sixth child of James Breen and Brigid Breen. He was educated in Cork at the Presentation Brothers College and at the Provincial College. Initially a…...
Brenan, James
Brenan, James (1837–1907), painter and educationalist, was born in Dublin, the eldest son of Thomas Brenan. After studying art at the RDS school of design (then in Leinster House) and at the school of the…...
Brenan, John
Brenan, John (c.1625–1693), catholic archbishop of Cashel, was born in Kilkenny city and educated in the famous Jesuit School, formerly Peter White's Academy, the alma mater of Richard Stanihurst (qv),…...
Brennan, Joseph
Brennan, Joseph (1887–1976), civil servant and banker, was born 18 November 1887 at Hill Terrace, Bandon, Co. Cork, eldest son among seven children of Joseph Brennan (d. 1948), businessman, and his wife Mary (née Hickey). He was educated at the local national school, Clongowes…...
Brennan, Martin
Brennan, Martin (1900–56), revolutionary, doctor, politician, and film censor, was born 9 August 1900 in the family home at Rhue, Tubbercurry, Co. Sligo, sixth of thirteen children of Matthew Brennan (d. 1921), farmer and Fenian, and his wife Bridget (d. 1934), teacher, daughter of…...
Brennan, Robert
Brennan, Robert (1881–1964), republican, journalist, writer, and diplomat, was born in Co. Wexford on 22 July 1881, second child and eldest son among four children of Robert Brennan (d. 1919), cattle dealer, and Bridget Brennan (née Kearney; d. 1938), dressmaker. He was educated…...
Brett, (Sir) Charles Edward Bainbridge
Brett, (Sir) Charles Edward Bainbridge (1928–2005), solicitor, architectural historian and public figure in Northern Ireland, was born 30 October 1928 in Holywood, Co. Down, eldest of three children, two boys and a girl, of Charles Anthony Brett, a Belfast solicitor, and his wife…...
Bridgwater, John (Savan) of (John de Ponte)
Bridgwater, John (Savan) of (John de Ponte) (c.1248–1306/7), administrator, lawyer, and justice, was born no later than 1248 and perhaps several years before that (he was acting as an attorney by 1269 and therefore probably 21 or older in that year); his birthplace was…...
Bridle, Kathleen
Bridle, Kathleen (1897–1989), artist and art teacher, was born 19 November 1897 at Swalecliff, Kent, England, second of three daughters of James Bridle, a lieutenant and coastguard, and Janet Bridle (née Flower), a school teacher. Due to her father's profession, her family moved to…...
Brocas, Henry
This is a co-subject for the entry on BROCAS, Henry, senior. View the original entry....
BROCAS, Henry, senior
BROCAS, Henry, senior (1762/5–1837), painter and engraver, was born in Dublin, the fifth son of Robert Brocas of Dublin, and Bridget Brocas (née Taylor) of Wexford. His brother James (1754–80) was also an artist. Self-taught, Henry made a particular study of the English masters, and…...
Brocas, James Henry
This is a co-subject for the entry on BROCAS, Henry, senior. View the original entry....