Abbán
Abbán (d. 520?), saint in the Irish tradition, although primarily associated with the churches of Mag Arnaide (‘Moyarney’/Adamstown, near New Ross, Co. Wexford) and Cell Abbáin (Killabban, Co. Laois), is also linked to other parts of the country, most notably Ballyvourney, Muskerry, Co…...
Abercrombie, Sir (Leslie) Patrick
Abercrombie, Sir (Leslie) Patrick (1879–1957), architect and town planner, was one of the most influential figures in the development of town planning in early twentieth-century Ireland. He was born on 6 June 1879 at Ashton upon Mersey in Cheshire, England, seventh of nine children…...
Adams, William George Stewart
Adams, William George Stewart (1874–1966), economist, academic, and public servant, was born 8 November 1874 at Hamilton, Lanarkshire, Scotland, youngest child of John Adams, headmaster of St John's Grammar School, Hamilton, and Margaret, daughter of John Stewart, Glasgow cotton…...
Adomnán
Adomnán (c.624–704), son of Rónán, was 9th abbot of Iona (679–704), biographer of Colum Cille, and saint in the Irish tradition. According to the genealogies, he was son of Rónán son of Tinne, one of the Cenél Conaill branch of the Uí Néill, and a kinsman of…...
Áedán (Aidan)
Áedán (Aidan) (d. 651), founder and first bishop of Lindisfarne, was effectively ruler of the church of Northumbria from c.635 till his death. The mission of Paulinus from Canterbury (begun in 625) was superficially successful, culminating in the establishment of an…...
Affraic
Affraic (d. 743) was abbess of Kildare 733–43. Her rare personal name, a borrowing of the Latin Africa, was also borne by a later abbess of Kildare who died in 834 and by an obscure minor saint, daughter of one Cumlachtach, associated with Imlech Tuascirt (LL…...
Ailbe
Ailbe (d. 527?), patron of the church of Imlech Ibair (Emly, on the Limerick/Tipperary border), Munster's most important church till it was superseded by Cashel in the early twelfth century, was Munster's premier saint, whence the saying Mumu uili . . . iar cúl Ailbe, ‘…...
Ailerán (Aileranus Sapiens)
Ailerán (Aileranus Sapiens) (d. 665), fer léigind (lector or chief scholar) of the monastery of Clonard, Co. Meath, died in the great cholera or plague, termed the Buide Conaill (AU 665). His obit is given as 29 December in the Martyrology of Tallaght and in the…...
Ainsworth, Sir John Francis
Ainsworth, Sir John Francis (1912–81), 3rd baronet, palaeographer, and archivist, was born 4 January 1912 in London, the only son of Thomas Ainsworth, later 2nd baronet, a racehorse breeder and master of various packs of foxhounds in Ireland, and his first wife, Edina Dorothy Hope (…...
Aldworth, Elizabeth
Aldworth, Elizabeth (1692/5?–1772?), freemason, was born probably in Doneraile, Co. Cork, daughter of Arthur St Leger , 1st Viscount Doneraile (1703), and his wife Elizabeth, heir of John Hayes. Around 1710 she accidentally overheard a masonic lodge meeting in Doneraile Castle, and…...
Alexander, Thomas A.
Alexander, Thomas A. (1847–1933), professor of civil engineering, was born 2 May 1847 in Maryhill, Glasgow; his parents' names are not known. Educated at the Normal School in Cowcaddens, Alexander entered Glasgow University in 1867, where he won prizes in mathematics, mechanics,…...
Alison, Francis
Alison, Francis (1705–79), presbyterian minister and educator in America, was born in the parish of Leck, Co. Donegal, son of Robert Alison, weaver, who may have been fairly well off, and who seems to have died in 1725; his mother's name is unknown, but her first name was possibly…...
Allberry, Harry
Allberry, Harry (1872–1952), architect, was born 8 December 1872 in Everton, Liverpool, son of Richard Allberry, mercantile clerk, and Elizabeth Allberry (née Downes); he had two younger sisters. His father abandoned the family c.1875. Harry was brought up by his…...
Almqvist, Bo Gunnar
Almqvist, Bo Gunnar (1931–2013), folklore scholar, was born on 5 May 1931 in Edsgatan, a small community in Alster, a farming district in the province of Varmland, Sweden, an area noted for its old customs and traditions. He was the youngest child, born eleven years after his…...
Anderson, Alexander
Anderson, Alexander (1858–1936), physicist and university administrator, was born 12 May 1858 near Coleraine, Co. Londonderry, son of Daniel Anderson of Camus, Coleraine. He attended QCG, graduating BA…...
Anderson, Charles Frederick
Anderson, Charles Frederick (1802–1869), architect, was possibly born in Bedford, England. He was educated at Fermoy College, Co. Cork (c.1816–c.1818). From 1820 to 1824 he was apprenticed to the English architect Thomas Harrison (1744–1829), and to the Irish…...
Anderson, Emily
Anderson, Emily (1891–1962), academic, civil servant, and translator, was born 17 March 1891 at Taylor's Hill, Galway, second daughter of Alexander Anderson (qv), professor of natural philosophy and later president of…...
Anderson, John
Anderson, John (1815–1905), woollen merchant, geologist, bibliographer, and local politician, was born 8 July 1815 near Coleraine, Co. Londonderry. After moving to Belfast he entered (1840) the woollen business in Donegall St. founded by James Young in 1795. Anderson's eminence…...
Andrew (Andreas)
Andrew (Andreas) (fl. 9th cent.), Irish pilgrim saint and archdeacon of the cathedral of Fiesole, accompanied the more famous and better documented Donatus (qv) (d. 876), scholar and bishop of Fiesole, on pilgrimage to the holy…...
Andrews, Francis
Andrews, Francis (1718–74), provost of TCD and MP, was born, allegedly, in Derry jail. Gossips claimed that his father, Alexander Andrews, was imprisoned as a debtor, though he had apparently owned property in Co. Antrim; in later years Francis Andrews possessed lands in the…...
Andrews, Thomas
Andrews, Thomas (1813–85), doctor, physical chemist, and university administrator, was born 19 December 1813 at 3 Donegall Square, Belfast, eldest son of Thomas John Andrews, linen merchant, of the well known Andrews family of Comber, and Elizabeth Andrews (née Stevenson) of…...
Archdeacon, Matthew
Archdeacon, Matthew (1798–1853), writer and schoolmaster, was born 17 March 1798 in Castlebar, Co. Mayo. He was probably the son of G. Archdeacon, recorded in 1810 as running a 'mathematical and mercantile school' in Castlebar, since from 1825 Matthew Archdeacon himself ran a '…...
Archer, James
Archer, James (1550–1620), Jesuit priest and administrator, was born at Kilkenny and belonged, it can be deduced, to a patrician family prominent in that city. To prepare for an ecclesiastical career he went (c.1564) to the Spanish Netherlands, to Louvain, a hotbed of the…...
Archer, James
Archer, James (c.1632–c.1680), military engineer and architect, was born in Kilkenny. His early life remains obscure, but he was a royalist, left Ireland at some point, and entered the French service; he later claimed to have served six years as a…...
Archer, William
Archer, William (1827–97), naturalist and librarian, was born 6 May 1827 (some sources have 1830), the eldest son of Richard Archer (1796?–1849), perpetual curate of Maghera hamlet, Co. Down, and his wife, Jane Matilda (née Campbell). Nothing is known of his education, though his…...