West, Robert
West, Robert (d. 1790), stuccodore and Dublin property developer, was probably born in Dublin between c.1720 and 1730. His family background and early life is unknown but it is possible that he was descended from a long line of Dublin-based builders and artisans such as…...
West, Robert Lucius
West, Robert Lucius (c.1774–1850), painter, was born in Dublin, son of Francis Robert West (qv), painter and master of the Dublin Society figure school, and his second wife, Ellen (née Walsh). His grandfather,…...
Wheatley, Francis
Wheatley, Francis (1747–1801), artist, was born in Wild Court, Covent Garden, London, son of a master tailor; no other details of his parents are known. He studied under the artist Daniel Fournier (c.1700–c.1766) and in William Shipley's drawing school, where he…...
Whelan, (Michael) Leo
Whelan, (Michael) Leo (1892–1956), portrait and genre painter, was born 17 January 1892 at 20 St George's Villas, Fairview, Co. Dublin, one of two sons and three daughters of Maurice Whelan, a draper, of Co. Kerry ancestry, and Mary Whelan (née Cruise), from Co. Roscommon. The…...
Whitehead, O. Z. (Oothout Zabriskie; 'Zebby')
Whitehead, O. Z. (Oothout Zabriskie; 'Zebby') (1911–98), actor and Bahá'í pioneer, was born 18 March 1911 in New York city, USA, the son of O. Z. Whitehead, a wealthy banker living in Manhattan's Upper East Side, and his wife Maria. Enjoying a comfortable childhood, he attended the…...
White, (Patrick) James
White, (Patrick) James (1913–2003), arts administrator, art critic and art historian, was born 16 September 1913 in Holles St. maternity hospital, Dublin, son of Thomas John White, a bank clerk, of Grove Cottage, Blackrock, Co. Dublin, and (Mary) Florence White (née Coffey). His…...
Whitty, Sophia St John
Whitty, Sophia St John (1877–1924), woodcarver, teacher, and cooperativist, was born 4 November 1877 at 69 Upper Leeson St., Dublin, daughter of Richard Lawrence Whitty, gentleman, of that address, and his wife Jane Alicia, second daughter of Hugh Palliser Hickman (1805–83),…...
Wilde, Oscar Fingal O'Flahertie
Wilde, Oscar Fingal O'Flahertie (to which he, like his father and brother, later added ‘Wills ’) (1854–1900), playwright, poet, and prose writer, was born 16 October 1854 in his parents’ house, 21 Westland Row, Dublin, second son of Dr…...
Wilkinson, George
Wilkinson, George (c.1814–1890), architect, was probably born in Witney, Oxfordshire, England, and was baptised early in 1814, first among six children (two sons and four daughters) of William Anthony Wilkinson (1782/3–1838) from Witney, carpenter and builder, and his wife Mary…...
Wilks, Robert
Wilks, Robert (c.1665–1732), actor and manager, was born in Rathfarnham, Co. Dublin, second among three sons of Edward Wilks, pursuivant to a lord lieutenant; nothing is known of his mother. Educated locally, he was appointed a clerk in the office of Sir…...
Williams, Alexander
Williams, Alexander (1846–1930), artist, naturalist and singer, was born 21 April 1846 in the Diamond, Monaghan town, eldest of three sons of William Williams, hatter, of Drogheda, Co. Louth, and was educated at Drogheda Grammar School. His father moved in May 1860 to 19 Bayview Avenue…...
Williams, Jane
Williams, Jane (1771–1845), silversmith, was born 2 December 1771 in Cork, the eldest of seven daughters and two sons born to Carden Terry , silversmith, and his wife Catherine (née Webb), daughter of Stonewell Webb, also a silversmith. Carden was born 1742 to John Terry, a burgess…...
Wills, William Gorman
Wills, William Gorman (1828–91), playwright and painter, was born 28 January 1828 in Kilmurry, Co. Kilkenny, third child of the writer James Wills (qv) and his wife Katherine, daughter of the Rev. W. Gorman and niece of the chief justice…...
Wilmot (De Bhilmot), Séamus
Wilmot (De Bhilmot), Séamus (1902–77), educator, theatre administrator, and writer in Irish, was born 4 May 1902 in Listowel, Co. Kerry, fourth child and only son of Edward Wilmot, blacksmith, and Mary Wilmot (née Dillon). He was educated locally at St Michael's College, Listowel, and…...
Wingfield, Lewis Strange
Wingfield, Lewis Strange (1842–91), traveller, writer, actor, and painter, was born 25 February 1842 at Powerscourt, Enniskerry, Co. Wicklow, third and youngest son of Richard Wingfield, 6th Viscount Powerscourt, and his wife (and first cousin) Lady Elizabeth Frances Charlotte, eldest…...
Wingfield, Mervyn Edward
Wingfield, Mervyn Edward (1836–1904), 7th Viscount Powerscourt , landowner, politician, and connoisseur, was born 13 October 1836 at Powerscourt Castle, near Enniskerry, Co. Wicklow, the eldest of the three sons of Richard Wingfield (1815–44), sixth viscount, and his wife, Lady…...
Wingfield, Mervyn Richard
This is a co-subject for the entry on Wingfield, Mervyn Edward. View the original entry....
Woffington Margaret (‘Peg’)
Woffington Margaret (‘Peg’) (c.1720–1760), actress, was born in Dublin, elder of two daughters of John Woffington, bricklayer, and his wife, Hannah. Her funeral monument at St Mary's church, Teddington, Middlesex, claims she was born 18 October 1720, though it is quite…...
Woffington, Mary
This is a co-subject for the entry on Woffington Margaret (‘Peg’). View the original entry....
Wogan, Sir Terry
Wogan, Sir Terry (1938–2016), broadcaster, was born Michael Terence Wogan in Limerick city on 3 August 1938, the elder of two sons of Michael Thomas Wogan, who managed the local branch of the upmarket grocers Leverett and Frye, and Rose Wogan (née Byrne), a bookkeeper. His father was…...
Woodward, Benjamin
Woodward, Benjamin (1816–61), architect, was born 16 November 1816 in Tullamore, King's Co. (Offaly), seventh child among five sons and four daughters of Capt. Charles Woodward (1781–1864), formerly of the Royal Meath Militia, and his wife Mary (d. 1824), daughter of Dr Edward Atkinson…...
Yeats, Anne Butler
Yeats, Anne Butler (1919–2001), painter and stage designer, was born 26 February 1919 in Dublin, daughter and elder child of William Butler Yeats (qv), poet, and George Yeats (qv) (née Bertha Georgie Hyde Lees)…...
Yeats, Elizabeth Corbet (‘Lollie’)
Yeats, Elizabeth Corbet (‘Lollie’) (1868–1940), publisher and painter, was born 11 March 1868 at 23 Fitzroy Road, London, daughter of John Butler Yeats (qv), painter, and Susan Yeats (née Pollexfen). She stayed in Merville, Sligo, at the…...
Yeats, Jack Butler
Yeats, Jack Butler (1871–1957), painter, was born 29 August 1871 at 23 Fitzroy Road, near Regent's Park, London, youngest of the four surviving children of John Butler Yeats (qv) and brother of…...
Yeats, John Butler
Yeats, John Butler (1839–1922), painter and critic, was the eldest of the three sons of the Rev. William Butler Yeats (1806–62), Church of Ireland rector of Tullylish, Co. Down, and his wife, Jane Grace Corbet (1811–76). John Butler Yeats was brought up in a strict protestant…...