Le Fanu, William Richard
Le Fanu, William Richard (1816–94), civil engineer and commissioner of public works, was born 24 February 1816 in the Royal Hibernian Military School, Phoenix Park, Dublin, youngest child among two sons and a daughter of the Very Rev. Thomas Philip Le Fanu (1784–1845), dean of…...
Lewis, Sir George Cornewall
Lewis, Sir George Cornewall (1806–63), politician, author, and assistant commissioner of the poor law in Ireland, was born 21 April 1806 in London, elder son of Sir Thomas Frankland Lewis (1780–1855), later MP for Beaumaris (1812–26) and Ennis (1826–8), commissioner for Irish…...
Lhuyd (Lhwyd, Lloyd), Edward
Lhuyd (Lhwyd, Lloyd), Edward (1660?–1709), Celtic philologist and naturalist, was born c.1660 in Cardiganshire, Wales, or near Oswestry, Shropshire, the illegitimate son of Edward Lloyd of Llanvorda and Bridget Pryse, both from landowning families. Lhuyd entered Jesus College,…...
Loftus, Adam
Loftus, Adam (1568?–1643), 1st Viscount Loftus of Ely, lord chancellor of Ireland, was the second, but eldest surviving, son of Robert Loftus of Swineside in the parish of Coverham, Yorkshire. Adam matriculated at Jesus College, Cambridge, graduating BA…...
Lowe (Thompson), Beatrice Geraldine Hill
Lowe (Thompson), Beatrice Geraldine Hill - (1869–1951), archer and Olympian, was born on 26 January 1869 at Ardee House, Ardee, Co. Louth, the youngest of five daughters and three sons of William Ruxton (1823–95), landowner, JP,…...
Lowther, James (‘Jem’)
Lowther, James (‘Jem’) (1840–1904), chief secretary for Ireland, was born 1 December 1840 at Swillington House, near Leeds, second son of Sir Charles Lowther (1803–94) and his wife Isabella (d. 1887), daughter of the Rev. Robert Morehead, rector of Easington. He was educated first…...
Lowther, Sir Gerrard (Gerard)
Lowther, Sir Gerrard (Gerard) (1590–1660), lawyer and judge, was probably the natural son of Christopher Lowther of Penrith, Cumberland. He matriculated at Queen's College, Oxford, on 7 June 1605. He entered Gray's Inn in 1608 and was called to the bar in 1614. He was in Dublin as…...
Ludgate, Percy
Ludgate, Percy Edwin (1883–1922), pioneer in digital computing, was born 2 August 1883 at the house of his parents, Michael Ludgate and Mary (née McMahon), in Townsend Street, Skibbereen, Co. Cork, the youngest of at least eight children. His father taught shorthand, later joined by…...
Lye (Leigh, Lee, Alie), John
Lye (Leigh, Lee, Alie), John (d. 1612), crown agent, is of obscure origins: he may have been the son of Francis Lasighsigh and his wife, a daughter of John O'Carroll, of Killeigh, King's County, or he may have been English-born. Lye held an important position as an agent of the crown in…...
Macartney, George
Macartney, George (1737–1806), Earl Macartney , diplomat, chief secretary, and colonial governor, was born 3 May 1737 at Lisanoure, near Dervock, Co. Antrim, the only surviving son of George Macartney (d. 1779), a landowner of Lisanoure, who in 1732 married Elizabeth (d. 1755),…...
Macartney (McCartney), George
Macartney (McCartney), George (1626–91), merchant and customs official, was the only son of Bartholomew McCartney of Auchinleck, near Kirkcudbright, Scotland, and his wife Catherine, daughter of George Maxwell of Orchardton. George spelt his name as McCartney, but the form ‘…...
Mac Brádaigh, Philip
Mac Brádaigh, Philip (c.1650–c.1719), poet and clergyman, commonly known as ‘Philip Ministir’ or ‘Parson Brady’, was born in Co. Cavan about the middle of the seventeenth century, probably in the district to the west of Cootehill that had previously formed the Cúil…...
Mac Conmara, Donnchadh ‘Rua’
Mac Conmara, Donnchadh ‘Rua’ (c.1715–1810), poet, is believed to have been born in Cratloe, Co. Clare, but his early life is obscure and nothing is known of his family. According to tradition, he studied for the priesthood at the Irish college in Rome for five years, was…...
MacDonnell, Sir Alexander
MacDonnell, Sir Alexander (1794–1875), resident commissioner of national education, was born in Belfast, elder of two sons of James MacDonnell (qv), MD, of Belfast and Murlough, Co. Antrim, and…...
MacDonnell, Sir Richard Graves
MacDonnell, Sir Richard Graves (1814–81), judge and colonial governor, was born 3 September 1814 in Dublin, the eldest son of Rev. Richard MacDonnell (qv), provost of TCD (1852–67), and…...
Mac Gearailt, Piaras (Fitzgerald, Pierce)
Mac Gearailt, Piaras (Fitzgerald, Pierce) (c.1709–c.1792), poet, was born in Ballykinealy, near Ballymacoda, Co. Cork, into a branch of the Fitzgeralds who were related to the knights of Kerry but had lost most of their property as a result of their involvement in the…...
Maguire, Sam
Maguire, Sam (1877–1927), revolutionary, was born 12 March 1877 in Maulabracka, Dunmanway, Co. Cork, one of five sons and three daughters of John Maguire and Jane Maguire (née Kingston), farmers who had a substantial holding on the Shouldham estate. Educated at the Model School,…...
Mahony, Harold Sigerson
Mahony, Harold Sigerson (1867–1905), tennis player, was born 13 February 1867, probably in Edinburgh, only son of Richard John Mahony (1828–92) of Dromore Castle, near Kenmare, Co. Kerry, JP and high sheriff (1853), and his wife Mary…...
Mainwaring, Sir Philip
Mainwaring, Sir Philip (1589–1661), secretary of state for Ireland and royalist, was the fourth son of Sir Randle Mainwaring, of Over Peover, Cheshire, and his wife Margaret Fitton of Gawsworth, Cheshire. In 1609 he entered Gray's Inn and on 29 August 1610 matriculated from…...
Marsden, Alexander
Marsden, Alexander (1761–1834), barrister, East India Company agent, and government official, was born in Dublin, probably in October 1761 – he was baptised at St Michan's, Dublin, on 17 October – the youngest of the sixteen children of John Marsden (1716?–1801) and his second…...
Mason, Henry Joseph Monck
Mason, Henry Joseph Monck (1778–1858), miscellaneous bilingual writer, librarian, and evangelical reformer, was born 15 July 1778 at Powerscourt demesne, Enniskerry, Co. Wicklow, son of Lt-col. Henry Monck Mason and his second wife, Jane, only daughter of…...
Mason, William Shaw
Mason, William Shaw (c.1774–1853), administrator and statistician, was born in 1774 or 1775 in Dublin, where his father, Henry Mason, was a tax official; nothing is known of his mother. It is not known if he was related to the Monck Masons, his contemporaries. He was…...
McDonnell, Sir Schomberg Kerr
McDonnell, Sir Schomberg Kerr (1861–1915), civil servant and private secretary to the British prime minister, was born 22 March 1861 at Glenarm Castle, Co. Antrim, fifth son of Mark McDonnell, 5th earl of Antrim, and his wife, Jane Emma Hannah McDonnell (née Macan). Educated at…...
Mecredy, Richard James Patrick
Mecredy, Richard James Patrick (1861–1924), cyclist and journalist, was born 18 May 1861 at Ballinasloe, Co. Galway, son of the Rev. James Mecredy, DD, a Church of Ireland clergyman then in the parish of Inveran, Spiddal, Co. Galway.…...
Methold (Methwold), Sir William
Methold (Methwold), Sir William (c.1560–1620), chief baron of the exchequer and chief justice of the king's bench, was eldest son of William Methold of Rushworth and South Pickenham, Norfolk, England, and his wife Susanna, daughter of George Alington of Swinhope,…...