De Chenu, (Roger) Noël
De Chenu, (Roger) Noël (1924–2002), architect, artist and actor, was born on 25 December 1924 in Drumcondra, Dublin, the son of Roger Louis de Chenu (1891–1964) and his wife Aileen (née McShane; b. 1893). Roger, a dress designer, originally came from Poitiers in France, and is said…...
de Jubainville, Marie-Henri d'Arbois-
de Jubainville, Marie-Henri d'Arbois- (1827–1910), Celtic scholar and linguist, was born 5 December 1827 at Nancy, France, son of Charles-Joseph d'Arbois de Jubainville, judge-auditor of the civil tribunal of Nancy and later advocate to the bar of that district, and his wife…...
De Keyser, William
De Keyser, William (c.1603–p.1685), sculptor and architect, was born in Amsterdam, the Netherlands, one of four sons of Hendrik de Keyser, an architect and sculptor in Amsterdam; all four sons trained with their father in the family workshop. An elder sister, Maria…...
Delamain, Henry
Delamain, Henry (1713–57), delft manufacturer, was the eldest son of at least four sons and one daughter of Henry Delamain (1688–1781) of Dublin, latterly of Co. Kildare, and his wife, Sarah (Mary?) Steele, the daughter of the deputy clerk of the Irish privy council. A French…...
Delane, Solomon
Delane, Solomon (c.1727–1812), landscape painter, was the son of Robert Delane, clergyman, of Co. Tipperary, and his wife Sarah. He appears to have spent his childhood in Upper Coombe, Dublin. He studied art under Robert West (qv)…...
Delaney, Edward
Delaney, Edward (1930–2009), sculptor, was born 1 August 1930 (registered as Edmund Vincent Delaney) at Farmhill, Claremorris, Co. Mayo, seventh among nine children of Patrick Delaney (d. 1955), a small farmer who also tended beehives and a wood mill on the estate of Lord Oranmore…...
Delany, Mary
Delany, Mary (1700–88), artist, was born 14 May 1700 in Coulston, Wiltshire, England, elder daughter and second among four children of Col. Bernard Granville and his wife Mary, daughter of Sir Martin Westcomb, former consul at Cadiz. Her father, the younger brother of George…...
Delmonte, (Simeon) Koert
Delmonte, (Simeon) Koert (1913–82), portrait and landscape painter, was born 15 April 1913 in van Mierlestraat, Amsterdam, the Netherlands, eldest of three children of Solomon Delmonte, banker, and his wife Nanetha, daughter of Simon Speyer, diamond merchant. His younger brother…...
Denham, Sir John
Denham, Sir John (1615–69), poet and architect, was born in Dublin, the only son of Sir John Denham (qv), lord chief justice of Ireland 1612–17, and his wife Eleanor, daughter of Sir Garret…...
De Nógla, Éadbhard
De Nógla, Éadbhard (fl. c.1710–c.1792), Irish-language poet and tailor, was probably born in Cork city, son of the Jacobite lawyer Patrick Nagle. His mother's name is unknown. His father was originally from the area between Mallow and Fermoy and was a close friend of…...
De Renzy, Sir Matthew
De Renzy, Sir Matthew (1577–1634), Irish planter, customs official, and Gaelic scholar, was born in Cullen (probably Cologne), Germany. His career reflects the possibilities open to continental immigrants in early seventeenth-century Ireland. Having spent some time as a cloth dealer in…...
Dering, Henrietta
Dering, Henrietta (c.1674–1729), portrait painter, was born in France, the only daughter among two children of Francis and Suzanne de Branlieu , a huguenot family who came to England in 1687. The will of her daughter, Mary Dering, dated 23 April 1746 and proved 13 June…...
De Róiste, Liam
De Róiste, Liam (1882–1959), politician, writer and Irish-language activist, was born 15 June 1882 in Fountainstown, Co. Cork, son of Edward Roche and Eliza Roche (née Ahern), both schoolteachers. He attended the local national school and, although little Irish was spoken in his area,…...
De Siúnta, Earnán (Ernest Edwin Joynt)
De Siúnta, Earnán (Ernest Edwin Joynt) (1874–1949), engineer and Irish-language enthusiast, was born Ernest Edwin Joynt, 11 November 1874, at the family residence in Knox St., Ballina, Co. Mayo, only son among four children of Richard Watson Joynt, editor of the Ballina Herald…...
De Valera, Sinéad
De Valera, Sinéad (1875–1975), teacher, folklorist, and writer, was born Jane Flanagan , 1 June 1875, in Ballbriggan, Co. Dublin, one of three daughters and four children of Laurence Flanagan, a carpenter, and Margaret Flanagan (née Byrne). When she was seven the family moved to Munster…...
Devane, Andrew (‘Andy’)
Devane, Andrew (‘Andy’) (1917–2000), architect, was born 3 November 1917 at 1 Upper Hartstonge St. in the heart of Limerick city, the eldest of four sons of John Francis Devane, medical doctor, and his wife Vera (née Keogh). He was educated at Belvedere College, Dublin, from which he…...
Devas, Nicolette
Devas, Nicolette (née Macnamara ) (1911–87), artist and writer, was the second-born child and eldest daughter among three daughters and one son of Francis Macnamara (see below), of Ennistymon House, Doolin, Co. Clare, and Mary Yvonne Macnamara (née Majolier); her youngest sister…...
Digby, Simon
Digby, Simon (c.1645–1720), miniature-painter and bishop of Elphin, was born at Kilminchy, Queen's Co. (Laois), youngest son of Essex Digby and his wife Thomasine, daughter of Sir William Gilbert of Kilminchy, Queen's Co. Essex Digby became dean of Cashel in 1661 and…...
Dillon, (Francis) Gerard
Dillon, (Francis) Gerard (1916–71), painter, was born 20 April 1916 in Belfast, eighth and youngest child of Joseph Henry Dillon, postal sorter, and Amie Dillon. The family lived at 26 Clonard St. in the Falls Road area of Belfast. Dillon was educated at the Raglan St. public…...
Dillon, Myles Patrick
Dillon, Myles Patrick (1900–72), Celtic and Sanskrit scholar, was born 11 April 1900 in Dublin, third son among five sons and one daughter of the Irish nationalist leader John Dillon (qv) and his wife Elizabeth, eldest daughter of the Rt Hon.…...
Dinneen, Patrick Stephen
Dinneen, Patrick Stephen (Ó Duinnín, Pádraig Stiabhna ) (1860–1934), Irish language lexicographer, was born 25 December 1860 on a smallholding in Carn townland near Rathmore in the Sliabh Luachra district of Co. Kerry, fifth of ten children of Maitiú Ó Duinnín, farmer and livestock…...
Diver, Bridget
Diver (Divers, Deaver, Deavers, Devens, Devins, Devan), Bridget (‘Irish Biddy’, ‘Michigan Bridget’) (fl. 1861–4), vivandière and ‘daughter’ of the First Michigan Cavalry regiment, was born in Ireland sometime before 1840. It has been suggested that the ‘Michigan Bridget’ legend…...
Dix, Ernest Reginald McClintock
Dix, Ernest Reginald McClintock (1857–1936), solicitor, book collector, and Irish language enthusiast, was born 8 April 1857 in Dublin, elder son of Henry Thomas Dix (1825–1902), a prominent solicitor, and his wife Emma Patience, daughter of an army officer, Henry McClintock of…...
Dixon, James
Dixon, James (1887–1970), painter, was born 2 June 1887 on Tory Island, one of seven children of Denis Dixon, a farmer from Meenlaragh, Co. Donegal, and Madgey Dixon (née Diver) of Tory island. He spent almost all his life on the island working as a farmer and a fisherman, painting…...
Dixon, John
Dixon, John (c.1740–1811), engraver, was born in Dublin, youngest of four sons of Thomas Dixon (d. 1758), hosier, of Cork Hill, Dublin. He studied at the drawing school of the Dublin Society. He may have worked with his elder brother …...