Megaw, Basil
Megaw, Basil (1913–2002), archaeologist and folklife scholar, was born in Belfast on 22 June 1913, the third of four sons of Arthur Stanley Megaw, solicitor and writer, and his wife (Helen Isabel) Bertha (née Smith). Arthur Stanley Megaw (1873–1961) was a younger son of Robert Megaw…...
Moffett, Sir Thomas William
Moffett, Sir Thomas William (1820–1908), professor and president of QCG, was born 3 June 1820 in Castleknock, Co. Dublin, son of William Moffett, teacher. He entered TCD in 1838, obtaining first place in the sizarship examination, and…...
Molyneux (Molyneaux), William
Molyneux (Molyneaux), William (1656–98), scientist and political writer, was born in Dublin, 17 April 1656, eldest surviving son of Samuel Molyneux (1616–93), master gunner of Ireland and his wife, Margaret, daughter and co-heiress of William Dowdall, merchant of Dublin. His great-…...
Molyneux, Samuel
Molyneux, Samuel (1689–1728), scientist and politician, was born 18 July 1689, son of William Molyneux (qv) and his wife, Lucy Molyneux (née Domvile), at Chester. His mother died in 1691 and his father, who followed the…...
Molyneux, Sir Thomas
Molyneux, Sir Thomas (1661–1733), physician, natural historian, and antiquarian, was born 14 April 1661, near Gormond's (Ormond, Wormwood) Gate on Cook St., Dublin, second son among five sons and two daughters of Samuel Molyneux (d. 1693), lawyer, landowner, and army captain, and his…...
Monck, William Henry Stanley
Monck, William Henry Stanley (1839–1915), philosopher and astronomer, was born 21 April 1839 at Skeirke, Queen's Co. (Laois), third son of Thomas Stanley Monck, curate of Skeirke 1829–50, and Lydia Elinor Monck (née Kennedy). The family moved (1850) to Inistioge, Co. Kilkenny,…...
Moore, Dorothy (née King; other married name Dury)
Moore, Dorothy (née King; other married name Dury) (1612/13–1664), woman of letters, was born into the New English ruling class in Ireland, one of nine children of…...
Moore, Georgina (Sister Mary Clare)
Moore, Georgina (Sister Mary Clare) (1814–74), Sister of Mercy, foundress, Crimean war nurse, and teacher, was born 20 March 1814 in the Church of Ireland parish of St Ann's, Dublin, youngest among three children (one son and two daughters) of George and Catherine Moore, both…...
Morrison, Sir Richard
Morrison, Sir Richard (1767–1849), architect, was born probably in Co. Cork, where his father, John Morrison, practised as an architect of some pretensions. Frederick Augustus Hervey (qv), bishop of Cloyne and future earl…...
Mulholland, Roger
Mulholland, Roger (1740–1818), architect and property developer, was born in the diocese of Derry. Nothing is known of his background, but on 31 January 1770 he married Jane Russell in Belfast; she was probably related to a John Russell, whose name appears along with Mulholland's…...
Mullins, Frederick William Beaufort
Mullins, Frederick William Beaufort (1804–54), MP and gentleman scientist, was born 29 June 1804, eldest of three sons of the Rev. Frederick Ferriter Mullins of Beaufort House, Killarney, and his wife Elizabeth, daughter and heiress of William Croker of Johnstown. His grandfather…...
Mulvany, Isabella Marion Jane
Mulvany, Isabella Marion Jane (1854–1934), educator, was born on 4 September 1854 in 7 Clanbrassil Terrace, Dublin, the second daughter in a family of seven children of Christopher Mulvany (1818?–1895), an engineer, and his wife Isabella (née Fowler). An older sister and a younger…...
Murphy, Robert
Murphy, Robert (1806–43), mathematician, was born in Mallow, Co. Cork, fifth son among seven sons and three daughters of John Murphy, shoemaker and Church of Ireland parish clerk in Mallow, and his wife Margaret (maiden name unknown). His father died (1814), leaving the family…...
Newman, John Henry
Newman, John Henry (1801–90), cardinal, theologian, and educationist, was born 21 February 1801 at 80 Old Broad Street, London, the first of the six children of his banker father, John Newman (d. 1824), and Huguenot-descended mother, Jemima Fourdrinier (d. 1836). He attended Ealing…...
Nicholson, Ernest Wilson
Nicholson, Ernest Wilson (1938–2013), biblical scholar, was born on 26 September 1938 in Portadown, Co. Armagh, the youngest of three children of Ernest Tedford Nicholson, a soldier and baker, and Veronica Muriel Nicholson. After attending Hart Memorial Primary School in Portadown, he…...
O'Brien, Matthew
O'Brien, Matthew (1814–55), mathematician, was born at Ennis, Co. Clare, the son of Matthew O'Brien, a doctor. Educated initially by a private tutor, he entered Trinity College, Dublin, in July 1830 at the age of sixteen, but in November 1834 transferred to Gonville and Caius…...
O'Connor, Patricia
O'Connor, Patricia (1905–83), writer and teacher, was born Henrietta Norah O'Connor (known within her family as Norah) at Sheephaven coastguard station, Dunfanaghy, Co. Donegal on 4 December 1905, third of four children (three daughters and a son) of Patrick O'Connor, coastguard and…...
O'Neill, (Katharine) Jean
O'Neill, (Katharine) Jean (1915–2008), Lady O'Neill of the Maine , plantswoman and horticulturalist, was born 16 January 1915 at 41 Brook Street, Mayfair, London, one of five children of William Ingham Whitaker, landowner and horticulturalist of Pylewell Park, near Lymington, Hampshire…...
Orpen, Richard Francis Caulfeild
Orpen, Richard Francis Caulfeild (1863–1938), architect and painter, was born 24 December 1863, the eldest of four sons and two daughters of Arthur Herbert Orpen, a solicitor, of Oriel, Blackrock, Co. Dublin, and Anne Orpen (née Caulfeild), daughter of Revd Charles Caulfeild (1804–62),…...
Parrot (Parrat), William
Parrot (Parrat), William (fl. 1622–42), builder of St Columb's cathedral, Londonderry, is first mentioned in September 1622 as a pikeman mustered for the defence of the town of Coleraine. In November 1627 he went to England carrying a letter from the 1st earl of…...
Parsons, William
Parsons, William (1800–67), astronomer and 3rd earl of Rosse , was born 17 June 1800 at York, England, eldest among three sons and two daughters of Sir Lawrence Parsons (1758–1841) of Parsonstown (Birr), King's Co. (Offaly), and Alice Parsons (née Lloyd), daughter of a…...
Patterson, Robert
Patterson, Robert (1743–1824), mathematician and educator, was born 30 May 1743 at Hillsborough, Co. Down, eldest son among three sons and two daughters of Robert Patterson, presbyterian farmer, and Jane Patterson (née Walker). Educated locally, he displayed a natural talent for…...
Perceval, Robert
Perceval, Robert (1756–1839), physician, chemist, traveller, and founding member of the RIA, was born 30 September 1756 in Dublin, third and youngest son of William Perceval, barrister, and his second wife, Elizabeth Perceval (née Ward; d.…...
Phillips, Walter Alison
Phillips, Walter Alison (1864–1950), historian and first Lecky professor at TCD, was born 21 October 1864 at Lewisham, England, youngest son of John Phillips, merchant, and Jane Phillips (née Atkins); throughout his career he was known as W. Alison Phillips. His father died in…...
Pollen, John Hungerford
Pollen, John Hungerford (1820–1902), architect, artist, and author, was born 19 November 1820 in London, second son of Richard Pollen, barrister, and his wife Anne, daughter of Samuel Pepys Cockerell. Educated at Durham House (1829–33) and Eton (1833–8), in May 1838 he…...