Curran, Sarah
Curran, Sarah (1782–1808), fiancée of Robert Emmet, was born at her father's residence in Newmarket, Co. Cork, the youngest daughter and seventh child of John Philpot Curran (qv), orator, barrister, and politician, and Sarah (Creagh…...
Daiken, Leslie Herbert
Daiken, Leslie Herbert (1912–64), author, film-maker, and expert on children's toys, was born in Dublin. He graduated M.Litt. from TCD in 1933. As a student he was already publishing poetry and short…...
Darley, Frederick
Darley, Frederick (1764–1841), builder, alderman, and police magistrate, born in Dublin and baptised on 6 July 1764, was one of the many children of Henry Darley (1721?–1798), a wealthy public works contractor, and his first wife, Mary (née Steele; d. 1770). Henry's grandfather,…...
Davies, Christian (alias ‘Mother’ Ross, Kit ‘Kitty’ Cavenaugh)
Davies, Christian (alias ‘Mother’ Ross, Kit ‘Kitty’ Cavenaugh) (c.1667–1739), female soldier and adventurer, was apparently born in Dublin, daughter of a brewer and maltster named Cavenaugh . It is difficult to establish the truth about her colourful career; most accounts…...
Dawson, Joshua
Dawson, Joshua (1660?–1725), government official and property developer, was born c.1660, the third of four sons of Thomas Dawson (1630?–1683), deputy commissary of musters of the army, who in 1657 purchased from the heirs of Sir…...
Deane, Sir Thomas
Deane, Sir Thomas (1792–1871), architect, and his son Sir Thomas Newenham (T. N. ) Deane (1828–99), architect, were the most noted members of a family of builders and architects, originally established in Cork in the eighteenth century, but based in Dublin from the 1850s to the 1920s.…...
Deane, Thomas Manly
This is a co-subject for the entry on Deane, Sir Thomas. View the original entry....
Deane, Thomas Newenham (T. N. T N)
This is a co-subject for the entry on Deane, Sir Thomas. View the original entry....
De Breffny, Brian
De Breffny, Brian (1931–89), architectural historian, genealogist, and author, was born Brian Michael Lees on 14 January 1931 at 66 Gordon Avenue, Isleworth, London, the only son of Maurice Lees (Moses Leese), a turf accountant and taxi driver, and his wife, Marguerite Mary (née O'…...
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 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…...
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 Valois, Dame Ninette
De Valois, Dame Ninette (1898–2001), ballerina, choreographer, and founder of the Royal Ballet, was born Edris Stannus 6 June 1898, at Baltiboys, near Blessington, Co. Wicklow. She was the second daughter of Lieutenant-colonel T. R. A. Stannus and Lilith Stannus (née Graydon-Smith;…...
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…...
Devereux (D'Evereux, Devereaux), John
Devereux (D'Evereux, Devereaux), John (1778?–1860), soldier and adventurer, was born in Co. Wexford, son of a prominent catholic landowner, probably William Devereux of Taghmon, Co. Wexford. He and his father may have been United Irishmen: they certainly took part in the 1798…...
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, Frederick E.
Dixon, Frederick E. (1913–88) meteorologist, historian, and philatelist, was born 27 March 1913 in Oundle, near Peterborough, England, a son of Nathan Dixon and his wife, Edith, née Howitt, who also had another son and a daughter. He attended Deacon's School, Peterborough, and…...
Dobbs, Francis
Dobbs, Francis (1750–1811), Volunteer, author, and MP, was born 27 April 1750, second son among four sons and a daughter of the Rev. Richard Dobbs (c.1694–1775), rector (1743–75) of Lisburn cathedral, Co. Antrim, and his wife Mary (d. 1796), widow of Cornet McMannus, and…...
Dolley, (Reginald Hugh) Michael
Dolley, (Reginald Hugh) Michael (1925–83), numismatist and historian, was born 6 July 1925 in Oxford, England, the son of A. H. F. Dolley, a civil servant, and Margaret Dolley (née Horgan). His father had Co. Galway antecedents while his mother's were from west Co. Limerick. Michael…...
Doran, Charles Guilfoyle
Doran, Charles Guilfoyle (1835–1909), civil engineer, Fenian, and bibliophile, was born on 1 February 1835 at Knockanna, Co. Carlow (not as previously stated at Dunlavin, Co. Wicklow), the first of seven surviving children of John Doran and his wife Mary (née Guilfoyle). He was…...
Dowden, Hester Meredith
This is a co-subject for the entry on Dowden, Edward. View the original entry....
Doyle, Henry Edward
Doyle, Henry Edward (1827–92), artist and gallery director, was born in Dublin, third of seven children and third of five sons of John Doyle (qv), political cartoonist, of Dublin, and Marianna Doyle (née Conan; d. 1832). He was the only…...
Drew, Sir Thomas
Drew, Sir Thomas (1838–1910), architect and antiquary, was born 18 September 1838 at Victoria Place, Belfast, into the large family of the Rev. Dr Thomas Drew (qv), son of a Limerick grocer, and Isabella Drew (née Dalton; 1802–69), daughter…...
Ducart, Davis
Ducart, Davis (fl. c.1760–85), engineer and architect, was probably born in Savoy. Contemporary variations of his name include Daviso de Arcort and Davis Duckart. His family background is obscure; one possibility is that he grew up in Piedmont and later served as a military…...
Dudley, Thomas (‘Bang Bang’)
Dudley, Thomas (‘Bang Bang’) (1906–81), eccentric, was born on 13 February 1906 in the Rotunda hospital, Dublin. Raised in an orphanage in Cabra, he lived for much of his adult life on Mill Lane near The Coombe in the Liberties. Although he worked briefly as a kitchen porter in Rialto…...