Allen, Dave
Allen, Dave (1936–2005), comedian, was born David Edward Tynan O'Mahony on 6 July 1936 in a nursing home at 37 Lower Leeson Street, Dublin, youngest of three sons of (Gerard John) Cullen Tynan O'Mahony (nicknamed 'Pussy'), journalist, manager of the Irish Times, and raconteur,…...
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…...
Ashlin, George Coppinger
Ashlin, George Coppinger (1837–1921), architect, was born 28 May 1837 at Carrigrenane House, Co. Cork, third and youngest son of four children of John Musson Ashlin, a Corkman established as a corn merchant in London, and Dorinda Maria Ashlin (née Coppinger), from an old Co. Cork…...
Aston, Ernest Albert
Aston, Ernest Albert (1873–1949), journalist and urban planner, was born 6 October 1873 in Dublin, eldest of at least three sons and a daughter of Thomas J. Aston, book-keeper, and Jane Hawkshaw Aston (née Bennett). After education at Wesley College and training as an engineer, he…...
Barrett, James Rupert Edward Boyd
Barrett, James Rupert Edward Boyd (c.1904–1976), architect, was born in Loughborough, Leicestershire, eldest of at least four sons of James Charles Boyd Barrett, electrical engineer, and Mary Jacqueline Boyd Barrett (née Robinson), and grandson of J. L.…...
Barry, Billie (Lillian)
Barry, Billie (Lillian) (1921–2014), performer and stage school founder, was born on 27 January 1921 in Drumcondra, Dublin, the youngest of fifteen children to John Clarke-Barry, orchestra leader and musician, and his wife Anne (née Hughes), an amateur operatic singer. The family were…...
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…...
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…...
Bellamy, George Anne
Bellamy, George Anne (1731?–1788), actress, was born in Fingal, Co. Dublin, illegitimate daughter of James O'Hara (qv), 2nd baron of Tyrawley, then British ambassador to Lisbon, and a Miss Seal, an actress of quaker extraction from Kent. Her mother married a…...
Bernelle, Agnes
Bernelle, Agnes (1923–99), singer and actress, was born Agnes Elizabeth Bernauer on 7 March 1923 in Berlin, Germany, daughter of Rudolph Bernauer (1880–1953), a Jewish-Hungarian actor, playwright, librettist, and theatrical director and impresario, and his second wife, Emmy (née Erb) (b…...
Boylan, Patricia
This is a co-subject for the entry on Boylan, Henry Joseph. View the original entry....
Breen, Dermot H.
Breen, Dermot H. (1924–78), founder of Cork International Film Festival and film censor, was born 18 August 1924 in Waterford, sixth child of James Breen and Brigid Breen. He was educated in Cork at the Presentation Brothers College and at the Provincial College. Initially a…...
Bull, (George) Lucien
Bull, (George) Lucien (1876–1972), inventor, was born 5 January 1876 at 16 Upper Gloucester St., Dublin, one of two sons and two daughters of Cornelius Bull of Bedford, England, and Gabrielle Jouvé of Paris, owners of Bull's religious depository, Suffolk St., Dublin. Educated at…...
Bushell, Ellen Sarah ('Nellie')
Bushell, Ellen Sarah (‘Nellie’) (1884–1948), silk weaver, usher and activist, was born on 23 January 1884 at 57 Francis Street, Dublin, to Edward Bushell (d. 1904), a silk weaver, and his wife Ellen (née Walshe). Bushell’s mother was dead by 1901 and Edward had…...
Butler, Eleanor Grace
Butler, Eleanor Grace (1914–97), countess of Wicklow, senator, social campaigner, and architect, was born 7 September 1914 at 89 Lower Baggot Street, Dublin, one of five children of the architect Rudolf Maximilian Butler (qv), a…...
Byrne, Patrick
Byrne, Patrick (c.1782–1864), architect, was possibly the son of John Byrne, architect; his mother's name is not known. He entered the Dublin Society's schools in 1796, studied under Henry Aaron Baker (qv), and won premiums…...
Caldbeck, William Francis
Caldbeck, William Francis (c.1824–1872), architect and civil engineer, was the son of Richard Caldbeck and grandson of John Frederick Caldbeck (d. 1848) of Moyle Park, Clondalkin, Co. Dublin; his mother's name is not known, but she is said to have been Roman catholic, and…...
Capper, Wilfrid Meredyth
Capper, Wilfrid Meredyth (1905–89), conservationist and creator of the Ulster Way, was born in Belfast on 12 July 1905, the second son of four children (two boys and two girls) of John Malcolmson Capper, a cotton yarn merchant, and Elizabeth Jane Capper (née Stewart); the family was…...
Carson, Frank
Carson, Frank (1926–2012), comedian, was born Hugh Francis Carson on 6 November 1926 in the 'Little Italy' area of Belfast, around Great Patrick Street, one of six children of John Carson, a binman and messenger, and his wife, Josie (née Agusta), originally from Dublin, whose family…...
Casson, Christopher Thorndike
Casson, Christopher Thorndike (1912–96), actor, was born 20 January 1912 at Prestwich, Manchester, Lancashire, England, younger son among two sons and two daughters of Sir Lewis Casson (1875–1969) and Dame Sybil Thorndike (1882–1976), both of whom were among the foremost actors…...
Colbert, John Patrick
Colbert, John Patrick (1898–1975), public servant and economist, was born 12 February 1898, the son of William Colbert JP, a farmer of Templeathea, Co. Limerick, and Norah Colbert (née Danaher). Educated at Rockwell College, near Cashel,…...
Colgan, Eileen
Colgan, Eileen (1934–2014), actor, was born on 2 January 1934 in Dublin to Charles Colgan, a cabinet maker, and his wife Eileen (née McNamara). She was one of five children (three boys and two girls) and grew up on Russell Street on the north side of the city. Her father and an elder…...
Comber, Patrick Forstall
Comber, Patrick Forstall (1831–1909), civil engineer, was born 30 April 1831 in Castlebar, Co. Mayo, eldest son of Thomas Comber, architect and builder, and his wife Catherine, daughter of Edward Gannon, all from Kilmena, Co. Mayo. He was educated by private tutors and by the…...
Conefrey, Peter
Conefrey, Peter (1880–1939), catholic priest and social critic, was born 9 June 1880 in Mohill, Co. Leitrim, son of James Conefrey, publican, and his wife Mary McGivney. There were many priests on both sides of the family. His uncle, Fr Thomas Conefrey, parish priest of Drumlish,…...
Conniffe, Denis
Conniffe, Denis (1942–2011), economist, was born on 10 January 1942 in Dublin, the only child of Patrick Conniffe, of Dublin, who had a career in law, and his wife Brigid (née Toland), of Derry. The family lived in Whitehall on the north side of the city and he attended the School of…...