Beere, Thekla (June)
Beere, Thekla (June) (1901–91), civil servant and first chairman of the Commission on the Status of Women, was born 20 June 1901 in Kilmore, Columbkille, near Granard, Co. Longford, one of two daughters of the Rev. Francis John Armstrong Beere, Church of Ireland vicar of Streete, Co.…...
Bellamy, George Anne
Bellamy, George Anne (1731?–1788), actress, was born in Fingal, Co. Dublin, illegitimate daughter of James O'Hara (qv), 2nd baron of Tyrawley, then British ambassador to Lisbon, and a Miss Seal, an actress of quaker extraction from Kent. Her mother married a…...
Bellingham, Sir Daniel
Bellingham, Sir Daniel (c.1620–1672), 1st baronet, government official, was the elder son, of the two sons and one daughter, of Robert Bellingham, attorney in the court of exchequer, and his wife, Margaret, née Whyte, of Clongill, Co. Meath;…...
Bellingham, Sir Edward
Bellingham, Sir Edward (a.1507?–1550), soldier and administrator, was the younger son of Sir Edward Bellingham of Erringham, Old Shoreham, Sussex, and Jane Bellingham (née Shelley) of Michelgrove, Sussex. He and his brother spent their early life till 1514 as wards of the…...
Bell, Sir William Ewart
Bell, Sir William Ewart (1924–2001), rugby international and civil servant, was born 13 November 1924 in Belfast, son of the Rev. Dr Frederick George Bell, an ordained minister of the presbyterian church, and Margaret Jane Bell (née Ewart), a qualified teacher. He was the eldest…...
Belton, John (‘Johnnie’) Aloysius
Belton, John (‘Johnnie’) Aloysius (1903–69), diplomat, was born 6 November 1903 at 37 Ballymahon St., Longford town, youngest child and second son of John Belton (b. 1861), corn and wool buyer, and his wife Margaret (b. 1867; née Farrell) who ran a stationery shop. He was educated…...
Benmohel, Nathan Lazarus
Benmohel, Nathan Lazarus (1802/3–69), linguist, was born in Hamburg, Germany, son of Lazarus Benmohel (d. 1841), a rabbi, and his wife, a rabbi's daughter. He settled in Ireland c.1827–9 as a teacher of languages in Dublin. Aged twenty-nine, he entered…...
Bermingham, John
Bermingham, John (d. 1329), earl of Louth and justiciar of Ireland, was eldest son of Peter Bermingham (qv), lord of Tethmoy, and Ela, daughter of William de Oddingeseles, justiciar of Ireland 1294–5. After his father's death his…...
Bermingham, Patrick
Bermingham, Patrick (c.1460–1532), judge and administrator, was born in Ireland, and entered Lincoln's Inn, London, where between 1478 and 1476 he kept at least four terms and suffered a period of expulsion. He inherited his brother John's Irish estates in 1483. He appears…...
Bermingham, Walter
Bermingham, Walter (d. 1350), lord of Carbury and justiciar of Ireland, was eldest son of William de Bermingham (qv), lord of Carbury, by his first wife. He took part in the campaign against…...
Bermingham, William de
Bermingham, William de (d. 1332), lord of Carbury and deputy justiciar, was second son of Peter de Bermingham (qv), lord of Tethmoy. Much of his early career was closely tied to that of his brother…...
Bernard, James Francis
Bernard, James Francis (1850–1924), 4th earl of Bandon, landowner and kidnapping victim, was born 12 September 1850, the son of Francis Bernard (b. 1810), 3rd earl of Bandon, and Catherine Mary (née Whitmore), daughter of Thomas Whitmore, of Apley Park, Shropshire. The Bernard family…...
Bernelle, Agnes
Bernelle, Agnes (1923–99), singer and actress, was born Agnes Elizabeth Bernauer on 7 March 1923 in Berlin, Germany, daughter of Rudolph Bernauer (1880–1953), a Jewish-Hungarian actor, playwright, librettist, and theatrical director and impresario, and his second wife, Emmy (née Erb) (b…...
Berry, Peter
Berry, Peter (1909–78), civil servant, was born 7 June 1909 at 41 New Street, Killarney, Co. Kerry, the son of Peter Berry, RIC sergeant, and his wife, Ellie Lucy (née Barry). The family later moved to Charleville, Co. Cork, where Berry was…...
Berwick, Edward
Berwick, Edward (1754?–1820), classicist and anglican clergyman, was born in Co. Down, son of Duke Berwick, gentleman. After attending the Rev. Saumarez Dubourdieu's school in Lisburn, Co. Antrim, he entered TCD (1770), gained a…...
Betty, William Henry West
Betty, William Henry West (1791–1874), actor, was born 13 September 1791 in St Chad's parish, Shrewsbury, England (his mother's home), son of William H. Betty of Lisburn, Co. Antrim, who was in the linen trade; they moved back to a farm near Ballynahinch, Co. Down. His mother, Mary…...
Bewley, Charles Henry
Bewley, Charles Henry (1888–1969), barrister and diplomat, was born 12 July 1888 in Dublin, eldest son among four children of Henry Theodore Bewley (qv), MD and quaker, and Elizabeth…...
Bewley, (Thomas) Kenneth
Bewley, (Thomas) Kenneth (1890–1943), civil servant, was born 3 July 1890 in Dublin, one of four children of quakers Henry Theodore Bewley, MD, of 26 Lower Baggot St., and his wife Eveleen, daughter of Thomas Pim of Greenbank, Monkstown, Co…...
Bicknor, Alexander
Bicknor, Alexander (d. 1349), archbishop of Dublin and administrator, was apparently of undistinguished English parentage. A graduate of Oxford university, Bicknor (whose name derives from Bicknor in Gloucestershire) arrived in Ireland in 1302 as clerk and attorney to a landed…...
Bieler, Ludwig Josef Georg
Bieler, Ludwig Josef Georg (1906–81), Hiberno-Latin scholar, was born 20 October 1906 in Vienna, Austria, first child of Ludwig Bieler and Antonie Bieler (née Bäder), and educated at the Landstrasser Gymnasium, Vienna, where he obtained his Matura (leaving certificate) in…...
Biggs, Christopher Thomas Ewart-
Biggs, Christopher Thomas Ewart- (1921–76), UK ambassador to Ireland, was born 5 August 1921 in England, the only child of Lt-col. Henry Ewart-Biggs, of the Royal Engineers, and Mollie Hilda Madelene Ewart-Biggs (née Brice). For much of his childhood his father was on active service, so…...
Billy in the Bowl
Billy in the Bowl (fl. 1780s), beggar and robber, lived on the northside of Dublin. Nothing is known of his earliest years and most of the details of his life are hazy. He first came to public notice in the 1780s begging around Stoneybatter, Grangegorman and Oxmantown. Born…...
Binchy, Daniel Anthony
Binchy, Daniel Anthony (1899–1989), historian and diplomat, was born 3 June 1899 on Main Street, Charleville, Co. Cork, second son (there were at least three other surviving children) of William Patrick Binchy, shopkeeper, and his wife Annie (née Browne). EDUCATION AND EARLY CAREER He…...
Bingham (Byngham), Sir Richard
Bingham (Byngham), Sir Richard (1528–99), soldier and administrator, was third son among eight sons and two daughters of Richard Bingham of Melcombe Bingham (or the nearby Bingham's Melcombe), Dorset, and Alice Bingham (née Coker) of Mappowder, about three miles away. He served…...
Bingley, Sir Ralph
Bingley, Sir Ralph (c.1570–1627), servitor, and second of at least three brothers from Broughton, Flintshire, Wales, served with Drake and Hawkins on their last Caribbean raid (1595–6), helped to raise troops in southern England (1596–7), and commanded 150 foot under Sir…...