Griffith, Richard
This is a co-subject for the entry on Griffith, Elizabeth. View the original entry....
Guernsey, Wellington
Guernsey, Wellington (1817–85), musician and songwriter, was born in Mullingar, Co. Westmeath, son of an army officer who named him after the victor of Waterloo; nothing more is known of his family. He was a delicate child and his schooling was limited, but he read widely and was…...
Guinness, Rupert Edward Cecil Lee
Guinness, Rupert Edward Cecil Lee (1874–1967), 2nd earl of Iveagh , agriculturalist, businessman, and philanthropist, was born 29 March 1874 in London, eldest among three sons of Edward Cecil Guinness (qv), of the wealthy brewing…...
Gulston ('Scott'), Peter Craig
Gulston ('Scott'), Peter Craig (1931–2013), thief, variously described as the 'king of the cat burglars' and 'the human fly', was born on 18 February 1931 in Belfast, the younger of two children, to Frederick Arnott Gulston, chief commercial traveller for White, Tompkins and Courage…...
Halloran (O'Halloran), Laurence Hynes
Halloran (O'Halloran), Laurence Hynes (1765–1831), schoolmaster, clergyman, writer, and forger, was born 29 December 1765 in Co. Meath. Orphaned while still a young child, he was raised by his uncle, Judge William Gregory, before attending Westminster School. In 1785 he opened a…...
Hammond, David Andrew ('Davy')
Hammond, David Andrew ('Davy') (1928–2008), singer, folklorist, television producer and documentary maker, was born on 5 December 1928 in Miss Kells's nursing home on the Castlereagh Road in Belfast, the son of Leslie Hammond, a tram driver, and his wife Annie (née Lamont). His parents…...
Handel, George Frederick
Handel, George Frederick (1685–1759), composer, was born 23 February 1685 in Halle, the son of Georg Händel (1622–97), a barber-surgeon to the court of the duke of Saxe-Weissenfels. From c.1692–3 the young Georg Friederich received a thorough musical education (keyboard…...
Hanley, Ellie
Hanley, Ellie (1803–19), the ‘Colleen bawn ’, was born in Ballycahane, near Croom, Co. Limerick, daughter of Michael Hanley, farmer, and his first wife (née Connery). At 6 years old, she was adopted by her mother's brother, John Connery, ropemaker, also of Ballycahane. Connery's…...
Hanna, Geordie
This is a co-subject for the entry on O'Neill (née Hanna), Sarah Ann. View the original entry....
Hardebeck, Carl Gilbert
Hardebeck, Carl Gilbert (1869–1945), collector and arranger of traditional songs, teacher of music, and composer, was born 10 December 1869 in Clerkenwell, London, son of Carl Joseph Hardebeck, an expatriate German and a successful jeweller, and Catherine Hardebeck (née Jones), who was…...
Hare, William
This is a co-subject for the entry on Burke, William. View the original entry....
Harrison, Frank Llewelyn
Harrison, Frank Llewelyn (1905–87), musicologist, organist, and composer, was born 29 September 1905 in Dublin, the second son of Alfred Francis and Florence May Harrison. He became a chorister at St Patrick's cathedral in 1912, occasionally playing the organ for cathedral…...
Harshaw, James
Harshaw, James (1797–1867), farmer, diarist, and presbyterian nationalist, was born in the townland of Ringbane, Donaghmore parish, Co. Down, last child of James Harshaw and Mary Harshaw (née Bradford). The senior James was one of the major landholders in the eastern part of the…...
Harte, Francis ('Frank')
Harte, Francis ('Frank') (1933–2005), architect, lecturer, singer, and collector of traditional songs, was born 14 May 1933 in Dublin. His father, Peter Harte (d. 1977), was originally from a farm in Co. Sligo, but moved to Dublin and bought a pub, The Tap, in Chapelizod, then still…...
Harty, Sir (Herbert) Hamilton
Harty, Sir (Herbert) Hamilton (1879–1941), pianist, accompanist, composer, arranger, and conductor, was born 4 December 1879 in Hillsborough, Co. Down. His father, William Michael Harty (b. Limerick, 1852; d. Hillsborough, Co. Down, 1 November 1918), became a chorister and organ…...
Hay, Edward Norman
Hay, Edward Norman (1889–1943), composer, organist and critic, was born 19 April 1889 in Faversham, Kent, the only child of parents from Coleraine, Co. Londonderry, his father a customs and excise officer on a temporary posting. When his mother died some six weeks after the birth,…...
Hayes, Catherine
Hayes, Catherine (1818–61), soprano, was born 25 October 1818 at 4 Patrick St., Limerick, younger of two daughters of Arthur W. Hayes, a bandmaster with the local militia, and Mary Hayes (née Carroll) who worked in the household of the earl of Limerick. The Rev. Edmund Knox, the…...
Hayward, (Harold) Richard
Hayward, (Harold) Richard (1892–1964), author and singer, was born 25 October 1892, one among five sons and a daughter of Walter Scott Hayward and Louise Ivy Hayward. The family was English, but settled in Larne, Co. Antrim, and Richard attended Larne grammar school. After his marriage…...
Healy-Rae, Jackie
Healy-Rae, Jackie (1931–2014), politician, was born John Patrick Healy on 9 March 1931 at Reascaisleach, Meelick, near the village of Kilgarvan, Co. Kerry, the first of four sons and two daughters of Danny Healy, a farmer of Reascaisleach, and his second wife Mary (née Riordan). Danny…...
Heeney, Patrick
This is a co-subject for the entry on Kearney, Peadar. View the original entry....
Hempson (O'Hempsy), Denis
Hempson (O'Hempsy), Denis (1695?–1807), harpist, was born at Braigmore, near Garvagh in the parish of Aghadowey, Co. Londonderry, one of three children born to Brian ‘Darrogher’ (‘Livid’) O'Hempsy, a substantial farmer; his mother was from the townland of Woodtown nearby. An attack…...
Hennessy, Christie
Hennessy, Christie (1945–2007), singer and songwriter, was born Edward Christopher Ross on 19 November 1945, in Tralee, Co. Kerry, the youngest of nine children (four boys and five girls) of James Ross, an electrician, and his wife Julia (née Griffin). They lived in a two-bedroom house…...
Henry, Augustine
Henry, Augustine (1857–1930), plant collector and forester, was born at Dundee, Scotland, on 2 July 1857. His father, Bernard Henry (c.1825–1891) was a catholic originally from Tyanee, Co. Londonderry. In 1847, during the great famine, he had emigrated to America and tried his…...
Henry, Samuel (‘Sam’)
Henry, Samuel (‘Sam’) (1878–1952), folk-song collector, was born in Coleraine, Co. Londonderry, youngest among five sons of William Henry and Mary Henry (née Biggart). He had two sisters; one of his brothers became town clerk of Coleraine. Educated locally, he entered the customs…...
Herbert, Victor
Herbert, Victor (1859–1924), composer, was born 1 February 1859 in Dublin, son of Edward Herbert, artist, and Fanny Herbert (née Lover). Victor's father died when he was 3, and he was initially raised by his grandfather, the novelist and composer …...