Bates, Daisy May
Bates, Daisy May (1859–1951), welfare worker for Aborigines, anthropologist, and eccentric, was born 21 October 1859 in Roscrea, Co. Tipperay, third among six children of James Dwyer , catholic tradesman and blacksmith, and Bridget Dwyer (née Hunt). Her twin brother, Francis, died…...
Batt, Narcissus
Batt, Narcissus (1767?–1840), banker and merchant, was born in Belfast, eldest of five sons of Capt. Robert Batt, who sold his commission in the 18th Regiment after marriage to become a Belfast merchant, and his wife Hannah, daughter of Samuel Hyde, a Belfast linen draper. In 1779…...
Bayne, Alexander Wallace (‘Alec’)
Bayne, Alexander Wallace (‘Alec’) (1902–73), civil servant and businessman, was born 21 February 1902, son of Thomas Alexander Bayne, iron-turner, of Carrignafoy, Cobh, Co. Cork, and Sarah Edith Bayne (formerly Prefscott; née Jones). His education at the Cork Grammar School,…...
Beale, Abraham
Beale, Abraham (1793–1847), ironmonger and philanthropist, was born 16 August 1793 in Cork, into a quaker family, second of five sons and four daughters of Thomas Beale and Elizabeth Beale (née Abell). He was educated at the Friends' Provincial School, Newtown, Co. Waterford. He…...
Beale, James
Beale, James (1798–1879), entrepreneur in Cork, was a member of a prominent quaker family that included Abraham Beale (qv) who established an ironworks at Monard, Co. Cork, and may have been James's brother; if so, his parents were…...
Beamish, Francis Bernard
Beamish, Francis Bernard (1802–68), politician and brewer, was born 5 April 1802, eighth son among twelve children of William Beamish (qv), founder of the Beamish & Crawford porter brewery, and his wife Anne, daughter of Robert…...
Beamish, William
Beamish, William (1760–1828), merchant and landowner, was born 10 May 1760, third son of William Beamish (d. 1772), captain RN, of Willsgrove, Co. Cork, and Alice Beamish (née Bernard; d. 1792) of Castle Bernard, Co. Cork. He entered the navy like…...
Beatty, Alfred Chester
Beatty, Alfred Chester (1875–1968), mining engineer, art collector, and philanthropist, was born in New York on 7 February 1875, third son of John Cuming Beatty and his wife Hetty, daughter of William Gedney Bull. His paternal grandparents were born in Co. Armagh and Queen's Co. (…...
Beaufort, Daniel Augustus
Beaufort, Daniel Augustus (1739–1821), clergyman, architect, and cartographer, was born 1 October 1739 in London, son of Daniel Cornelius Beaufort and Esther Beaufort (née Gougeon), members of the huguenot community. The family moved to Ireland when Daniel's father became chaplain…...
Beckett, George Francis
Beckett, George Francis (1877–1961), architect, was born 15 April 1877 in Dublin, one of several sons in a family of five children of James Beckett , builder (founder and president of the Dublin Master Builders' Association), and his second wife, Frances (née Horner). He was…...
Beckett, James Walter
Beckett, James Walter (1875–1938), building contractor and politician, was born 5 August 1875 in Dublin, son of James Beckett, building contractor, of Riverside, Sandymount, and Fannie Beckett, daughter of Roger Horner of 138 Leinster Rd, Rathmines. Among nine children he was the…...
Beddy, James Patrick
Beddy, James Patrick (1900–76), public servant and economist, was born 28 September 1900 in Cobh, Co. Cork, the eldest son and second of the three children of Thomas Robert Beddy, RIC constable, and Mary Beddy (née Barry), of Macroom, Co…...
Beirne, Bryan Patrick
Beirne, Bryan Patrick (1918–98), entomologist and pest control expert, was born 22 January 1918 in Ballygeary, Co. Wexford, the elder son of Patrick Beirne, tax inspector with UK Customs and Excise and later the Irish Revenue Commissioners, and his wife Mabel, daughter of…...
Bellew (Bedlowe), James
Bellew (Bedlowe), James (d. 1606), merchant and mayor of Dublin, was the son of John Bellew and Anne, daughter of Edward Dowdall, of Co. Louth. Most likely he was born in Louth, but by 1560 he had moved to Dublin. A wealthy merchant trading with Spain, he was very active in…...
Bell, John
Bell, John (c.1793–1861), antiquary, collector, and landscape painter, was the second son of John Bell, gentleman landowner, of Camelon, near Falkirk, Scotland. It is unclear when he settled in Ireland, but he was contributing articles to local newspapers in Newry, Co. Down…...
Belton, Andrew
Belton, Andrew (1882–1970), OBE, soldier, adventurer, and businessman, was born 17 April 1882 in Cleator Moor, Cumberland, son of John and Susannah Belton of Bowthorn Road, Cleator Moor. Educated locally at St Patrick…...
Belton, Paddy
Belton, Paddy (1926–87), politician and businessman, was born Patrick Fitzgibbon Belton on 26 June 1926 at 5 Mount Street Crescent, Dublin, the third of four sons of Patrick Belton (qv) and his wife Mary (née Fitzgibbon). His father, a…...
Belton, Patrick
Belton, Patrick (1884–1945), revolutionary, politician, and businessman, was born 7 November 1884, youngest of seven children of Richard Belton, farmer, and Mary Belton (née Rhatigan), of Rathcline, Lanesborough, Co. Longford. Educated at McKenna's School, he joined the civil service in…...
Benn, George
Benn, George (1801–82), businessman and historian of Belfast, was born on 1 January 1801 at Tandragee, Co. Armagh, the youngest son in the family of four sons and five daughters of John Benn (1767–1853), a Belfast brewer, and his wife Elizabeth (d. 1859), daughter of James Craig…...
Benson, Ernest Edmondson
Benson, Ernest Edmondson (1898–1975), businessman and politician, was born 5 October 1898 in Dublin, second child of Robert Benson, company director, and Bessie Benson (née Hulme), quakers. The family lived at 3 Orwell Rd, Rathgar, Dublin. His maternal grandfather was a draper and…...
Benson, Peter
Benson, Peter (c.1570–1642), builder, was born in London, son of John Benson. He had three brothers and three sisters; one died of plague. A London bricklayer, he was selected in 1614 to build the walls of Derry, and also supervised the building of houses in the city. The…...
Benson, Sir John
Benson, Sir John (1812–74), architect and engineer, was the only son of John Benson of Collooney, Co. Sligo. He probably trained at the Dublin Society school of architectural drawing, and won premiums in 1832. His commissions in Co. Sligo included restoration work on Markree Castle…...
Beresford, John Claudius
Beresford, John Claudius (1766–1846), politician and banker, was born 23 October 1766 in Dublin, third son among nine children of John Beresford (qv), commissioner of revenue and son of Marcus Beresford (1694–1763), 1st earl of Tyrone…...
Bergin, Liam Diarmuid
Bergin, Liam Diarmuid (1913–94), newspaper proprietor and editor, was born 15 August 1913 at Athy Road, Carlow town, son of Patrick C. Bergin, publican and merchant, and Kathleen Bergin (née Conlan). Educated at Newbridge College boarding school, he joined the Nationalist and…...
Beshoff, Ivan
Beshoff, Ivan (1882?–1987), Russian immigrant and purveyor of fish and chips, was said in obituaries in the Irish Times and elsewhere to have been born in 1882 (or perhaps 1884) at Dacha Rurey, near Odessa in Ukraine, son of a magistrate, and, after briefly studying chemistry,…...