Ancketill (Anketell), Henry
Ancketill (Anketell), Henry (1855–1930), writer, journalist and politician, was born 4 May 1855 in Ancketill's Grove, Co. Monaghan, the fourth son of Major Matthew John Anketell, deputy lieutenant and JP, and his wife, Catherine Frances…...
Archdall, Mervyn
Archdall, Mervyn (1723–91), clergyman and antiquary, was born 22 April 1723 in Dublin, elder son among two sons and three daughters of William Archdall, goldsmith, and his wife Henrietta, a widow who was daughter of Henry Gonne, curate of Finglas. William Archdall was Dublin assay…...
Arthur, William
Arthur, William (1819–1901), methodist minister and author, was born 3 February 1819, probably in Kells, Co. Antrim, son of James Arthur and Margaret Arthur (née Kennedy), and spent his childhood in Westport, Co. Mayo. Though brought up an episcopalian, he attended (1837–9)…...
Baird, George Courtenay
This is a co-subject for the entry on Baird, William Savage. View the original entry....
Baird, Robert Hugh Hanley
This is a co-subject for the entry on Baird, William Savage. View the original entry....
Baird, William
This is a co-subject for the entry on Baird, William Savage. View the original entry....
Baird, William Savage
Baird, William Savage (1824–86) and George Courtenay Baird (1833–75), printers and newspaper proprietors, were brothers, natives of Randalstown, Co. Antrim; they had at least one other brother, Thomas Drew Baird (d. 1890), who joined the business after George Baird died. Both William…...
Barlow, James William
Barlow, James William (1826–1913), historian and writer, was born 21 October 1826 in Co. Dublin, eldest son of the Rev. William Barlow and Catherine Barlow (née Disney). He was marked by his mother’s unhappiness: as a young woman she had been in love with…...
Barrett, Richard
Barrett, Richard (c.1793/4–1854), journalist, was born possibly in Co. Cork, son of Richard Barrett, gentleman. His mother may have been Eleanor Stannard. Little is known of his early life but after working briefly as a brewer he became a journalist. A protestant, he was…...
Barrington, Sir Jonah
Barrington, Sir Jonah (1756/7–1834), memoirist, judge, and MP, was born at Knapton, near Abbeyleix, Queen's Co. (Laois), third son among sixteen children of John Barrington, country gentleman, and his wife Sibella, daughter of Patrick French of Peterswell, Co. Galway. He spent his…...
Barton, Arthur Henry ('Harry')
Barton, Arthur Henry ('Harry') (1916–2006), naval officer, writer, broadcaster, and public figure in Northern Ireland, was born 13 January 1916 in Belfast, only son of Arthur Willis Barton (qv), then Church of Ireland curate in…...
Barton, Frederick (Derick)
Barton, Frederick (Derick) (1900–93), athlete, farmer, and political activist, was born in London on 19 June 1900, the eldest son of Bertram Hugh Barton and his wife, Lilian (née Carden). The Barton family had lived in Ireland since Elizabethan times and built Straffan House, Co.…...
Barton, Robert Childers
Barton, Robert Childers (1881–1975), agriculturist and revolutionary, was born 14 March 1881, eldest son of Charles William Barton, DL, landowner, of Glendalough House, Annamoe, Co. Wicklow, and Agnes Alexandra Frances, fourth daughter of the…...
Beaty, James
Beaty, James (1798–1892), politician and newspaper proprietor in Canada, was born near Killeshandra, Co. Cavan, in 1798, possibly on 2 September. He was the youngest of five sons of Robert Beaty, land surveyor, and Catherine Beaty (née Crawford); his father was of a fairly…...
Beckett, James Camlin
Beckett, James Camlin (1912–96), historian, was born 8 February 1912 in Belfast, third son of Alfred Beckett, linen salesman, and Frances Lucy Beckett (née Bushell). He was educated at the Royal Belfast Academical Institution, and at QUB…...
Bewley, Sir Edmund Thomas
Bewley, Sir Edmund Thomas (1837–1908), judge, genealogist, and professor of law, was born at the family home at Clara, King's Co. (Offaly), only son of Edward Bewley of Moate, Co. Westmeath, and Mary Bewley (née Mulock) of Kilnagarna, King's Co. He entered…...
Bielenberg, Peter
This is a co-subject for the entry on Bielenberg, Christabel Mary Harmsworth. View the original entry....
Binns, John
Binns, John (1772–1860), radical politician and journalist, was born 22 December 1772 in Dublin, second son of John Binns, a wealthy ironmonger, and his wife Mary, daughter of Benjamin Pemberton of Mount Olive, near Raheny, Co. Dublin. The Binnses were Moravians in religion and…...
Bladen, William
Bladen, William (c.1585–1663), printer and bookseller, was born in England, son of Thomas Bladen, yeoman of Derbyshire; nothing is known of his mother. In 1602 he became an apprentice in the London Stationers’ company, being freed on 7 May 1610. Thereafter he worked in…...
Blanshard, Paul
Blanshard, Paul (1892–1980), journalist and author, was born 27 August 1892 at Fredericksburg, Ohio, USA, one of twin sons of Francis George Blanshard, a congregational clergyman, and his wife Emily (née Coulter), both of whom had been born in Canada. His maternal grandfather came…...
Borlase, Edmund
Borlase, Edmund (d. 1682), historian, is recorded first as a young man in 1642. His father, Sir John Borlase (qv), was major-general of ordnance in Ireland in 1634, and served as a lord justice between 1640 and 1643. Edmund may have…...
Boucher, Edgar William John ('Billy')
Boucher, Edgar William John ('Billy') (1918–2003), musician and broadcaster, was born 5 December 1918 in Dublin, the son of George Alexander Boucher, a plumber, and his wife Sarah Maria (née Jones), a dressmaker; he had two older brothers and two or three older sisters. The family…...
Bourchier, James David
Bourchier, James David (1850–1920), journalist and Balkan intermediary, was born 18 December 1850 at Baggotstown, Bruff, Co. Limerick, fourth son among six children of John Bourchier, landowner and JP of Baggotstown, and Sarah Bourchier (…...
Boyce, James
Boyce, James (1909–66), actor and broadcaster, was born on 17 March 1909 in Belfast, the oldest of three sons of Hugh Boyce, a coachbuilder, and his wife Ellen (née Hayes), a dressmaker before marriage. The family, who were Christian Brethren in religion, lived in Rosebury Road, Ormeau…...
Boyd, John
Boyd, John (1912–2002), radio producer and playwright, was born 19 July 1912 at 9 Baskin Street, in a working-class area of east Belfast, the first of three children (two boys and a girl) of Robert Boyd, a fireman on steam engines and later an engine driver, and Jane Boyd (née Leeman).…...