Piers (Pierse), Sir Henry
Piers (Pierse), Sir Henry (d. 1638), administrator, whose parentage is unknown, served as secretary to Sir Arthur Chichester (qv) throughout his eleven years as lord deputy of Ireland, from 3 February 1605 to 30 August 1616. For…...
Ponsonby, Brabazon
Ponsonby, Brabazon (1679–1758), 2nd Viscount Duncannon , 1st earl of Bessborough , revenue commissioner and lord justice of Ireland, was eldest son of William Ponsonby (1659–1724), 1st Baron Bessborough and Viscount Duncannon, of Bessborough, Co. Kilkenny, and his wife Mary (d.…...
Pratt, John
Pratt, John (1670–1741), MP and government official, was fourth son of Joseph Pratt of Cabra Castle, Co. Cavan, and his wife Elizabeth, daughter of Sir Audley Mervyn (qv) of Co. Fermanagh. One of his brothers,…...
Ridgeway, Sir Thomas
Ridgeway, Sir Thomas (1565?–1632), 1st earl of Londonderry, planter and treasurer of Ireland, was born at either Torwood or Tor Abbey, Devonshire, England, heir of Thomas Ridgeway of Tor Mohun, and his wife Mary Southcote of Bovey Tracey, both of Devonshire. After matriculating (…...
Robinson, Joseph
Robinson, Joseph (1816–98), baritone singer, composer, conductor, and professor of music, was born 20 August 1816 in Dublin, second son of Francis Robinson, also a baritone singer and professor of music; nothing is known of his mother. Joseph's family was steeped in music, particularly…...
Rochfort, Robert
Rochfort, Robert (1651/2–1727), MP and chief baron of the exchequer, was second son of Prime-Iron Rochfort, army officer and landowner, and Thomazine Rochfort (née Pigott). Prime-Iron served as a lieutenant-colonel in Cromwell's army and was found guilty by court martial in 1651 of…...
Roseingrave, Daniel
Roseingrave, Daniel (d. 1727), musician, and his sons Thomas and Ralph, were at the forefront of musical activity in Dublin in the first half of the eighteenth century. They may be descendants of the Ralph Roseingrave who died in Dublin in 1667. Daniel Roseingrave had contact with…...
Roseingrave, Ralph
This is a co-subject for the entry on Roseingrave, Daniel. View the original entry....
Roseingrave, Thomas
This is a co-subject for the entry on Roseingrave, Daniel. View the original entry....
Ross, Jane
Ross, Jane (1810–79), folksong collector, was born 5 August 1810 in or near Limavady, Co. Londonderry, eldest child among four daughters and two sons of John Ross (1781–1830), captain in the Limavady yeomanry and owner of land, flour mills, and a bleach green, and his second wife…...
Savage, Philip
Savage, Philip (1644–1717), chancellor of the exchequer, was born in February 1644 in Dublin, only son of Valentine Savage (d. 1670?) and his wife Anne Haughton, both of Dublin. He had three younger sisters. He was educated by Mr Golbourne of Dublin, entering…...
Sheridan, Thomas
Sheridan, Thomas (1646–1712), writer, royal official, and Jacobite, was born in St John's, near Trim, Co. Meath, fourth son of Denis Sheridan (qv), a Church of Ireland clergyman from Co. Cavan, and an Englishwoman named Foster. In the rebellion of 1641…...
Singleton, Robert Corbet
Singleton, Robert Corbet (1810–81), clergyman, classical scholar, and hymn-writer, was born 9 October 1810 in Dublin, second son of Francis Corbet, gentleman, of Dublin and Aclare, Co. Meath, and his wife, Frances (d. 1860), daughter of Joseph Deane, MP, of Terenure, Co. Dublin.…...
Smith, John
Smith, John (1797–1861), singer and composer, was born in Cambridge, where he received his early education as a member of one of the chapel choirs. While still young, Smith moved to Dublin, where he remained for the rest of his life. He is said to have possessed ‘a fine robust…...
Smith, (Mabel) Olive
Smith, (Mabel) Olive (1906–93) music campaigner and founder of the National Youth Orchestra of Ireland, was born 19 June 1906 in Dublin, youngest of three daughters of Charles E. Richardson of 47 Kenilworth Square, Rathgar, Dublin, merchant and wholesale grocer, and his wife Alice…...
Smith, Sir Thomas
Smith, Sir Thomas (1512–77), officer of state, author, and colonial projector, was born at Saffron Walden, Essex, son of John Smith, high sheriff of Essex and Hertfordshire, and Agnes Charnock. He entered Queens' College, Cambridge, in 1526, and was made king's scholar (1527) and…...
Smythe, Percy Clinton Sydney
Smythe, Percy Clinton Sydney (1780–1855), 6th Viscount Strangford and 1st Baron Penshurst , diplomat and writer, was born 31 August 1780, in Queen St., Mayfair, London, eldest son of Lionel, 5th Viscount Strangford, formerly a captain in the 23rd Foot during the war of American…...
Southwell, Sir Robert
Southwell, Sir Robert (1635–1702), diplomat, landowner, and public official, was born 31 December 1635 at Battin Warwick, on the River Bandon, near Kinsale, Co. Cork. He was the eldest son of Robert Southwell of Kinsale and his wife Helena, daughter of Robert Gore of Shereton,…...
Southwell, Sir Thomas
Southwell, Sir Thomas (c.1665–1720), Baron Southwell of Castle Mattress, Co. Limerick, revenue commissioner, was born at Glanamorohe Rhaiaile, Co. Limerick, first of four sons of Richard Southwell of Callow (d. a. February 1680) and his wife Elizabeth, daughter…...
Spender, Sir Wilfrid Bliss
Spender, Sir Wilfrid Bliss (1876–1960), army officer and civil servant, was born 6 October 1876 in London, the fourth son and fifth child of Edward Spender (1834–78), co-founder and proprietor of the Plymouth Western Morning News, and his wife Ellen Spender (née Rendle).…...
Spenser, Edmund
Spenser, Edmund (1552?–1599), poet, political writer, government official, and settler in Ireland, was born in London, probably of artisan backgrounde, though little is known of his family. He attended Merchant Taylors’ grammar school, then Pembroke Hall, Cambridge, as a sizar.…...
Stanford, Sir Charles Villiers
Stanford, Sir Charles Villiers (1852–1924), composer, teacher, conductor, and organist, was born 30 September 1852 at 2 Herbert St., Dublin, the only son of John James Stanford (1810–80), an eminent lawyer (clerk of the crown for Co. Meath and examiner in chancery), and his second…...
Stephens, Edward Millington
Stephens, Edward Millington (1888–1955), barrister, civil servant, and biographer, was born 8 November 1888 at 3 Orwell Park, Rathgar, Dublin, second child and younger son among two sons and one daughter of Henry Francis Colclough Stephens (1856–1935), a solicitor distantly…...
Stevenson, Sir John Andrew
Stevenson, Sir John Andrew (1762–1833), composer, was born in November 1761 at Crane Lane, Dublin, son of John Stevenson, violinist in the city's state band; his mother's name is not known. In 1771 he became a chorister at Christ Church cathedral, Dublin, and later sang (1775–80)…...
Stewart, Robert
Stewart, Robert (1769–1822), Viscount Castlereagh and 2nd marquess of Londonderry , chief secretary for Ireland, politician, was born 18 June 1769 at 28 Henry Street, Dublin, the second, but only surviving, child of Robert Stewart (…...