Aikenhead, Mary
Aikenhead, Mary (1787–1858), foundress of the congregation of the Religious Sisters of Charity and of St Vincent's Hospital, Dublin, was born 19 January 1787 in Cork city, eldest of four children – three daughters and one son – of David Aikenhead, apothecary, son of a Scottish…...
Atkinson, Sarah
Atkinson, Sarah (1823–93), philanthropist and author, was born 13 October 1823 in Athlone, Co. Roscommon, eldest of five daughters and one son of John Gaynor , gentleman, and Anna Gaynor. The family moved to Dublin for the sake of the children's education, but no details are known…...
Bolster, Angela
Bolster, Angela (1925–2005), historian and nun, was born Evelyn Bolster in Mallow, Co. Cork, on 1 April 1925, only daughter of Michael Bolster, railway employee, and his wife Ellen (née Buckley). She had three brothers of whom James remained in Mallow and Pearse became a priest and…...
Bowe, Catherine Mary (Sister Celeste)
Bowe, Catherine Mary (Sister Celeste) (1931–76), Daughter of Charity and nurse, was born 23 February 1931 in Newberry, Mallow, Co. Cork, daughter of James Bowe, labourer, and Julia Bowe (née Ducey). She was educated at the local national and secondary schools. In 1949 she trained as an…...
Brazil, Dame Johanna
Brazil, Dame Johanna (Sister Mary Phillipa ) (1896–1988), Sister of Mercy, teacher, and nurse, was born 25 December 1896 in Kilfinane, Co. Limerick, daughter of Thomas Brazil, farmer, and Julia Brazil (née Devane). Educated at the local convent national school, she was one of a group…...
Bridgeman, Joanna (Sister Mary Francis)
Bridgeman, Joanna (Sister Mary Francis) (1813–88), Sister of Mercy, educator, and Crimean war nurse, was born in Ballagh, Ruan, Co. Clare, one of four children (two sons and two daughters) of St John Bridgeman and his wife Lucy Reddan. Her mother was a relative of…...
Browne, Kathleen Anne
Browne, Kathleen Anne (1878–1943), agriculturist, writer, and politician, was born 1 October 1878 in Wexford, eldest among five children of Michael Browne, farmer, shopkeeper, and local politician, of Rathronan Castle, Bridgetown, Co. Wexford, and his wife (and cousin) Mary…...
Buckley, Christine
Buckley, Christine (1946–2014), nurse, midwife and advocate for survivors of childhood abuse in religious and state-supported institutions, was born Christine West on 10 October 1946 at Mile End Hospital, London, the daughter of Anna West (née Kershaw) from Longford, and Ariwodo Kalunta…...
Burke, Honora
Burke, Honora (1674–1698), was the youngest daughter of William Burke (qv), 7th earl of Clanricarde, and his second wife, Helen, daughter of Donough MacCarthy (qv), 1st earl of Clancarty…...
Burke, Joan
Burke, Joan (1929–2016), nurse, politician and farmer, was named Hanna Teresa at her birth on 8 February 1928, at Roughgrove House, Bandon, Co. Cork, the last of four children, and the only daughter, of Denis Crowley and Bridgid (‘Cissie’) (née Russell). The family farmed at Roughgrove…...
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…...
Carney, Winifred (‘Winnie’)
Carney, Winifred (‘Winnie’) (1887–1943), trade unionist, feminist, and republican, was born Maria Winifred Carney 4 December 1887 at Fisher's Hill, Bangor, Co. Down, youngest child among three sons and three daughters of Alfred Carney, commercial traveller, and Sarah Carney (née Cassidy…...
Carroll, Margaret Anna (Sister Mary Teresa Austin)
Carroll, Margaret Anna (Sister Mary Teresa Austin) (1835–1909), Sister of Mercy, educator, historian, and writer, was born 23 February 1835 in Clonmel, Co. Tipperary, second eldest daughter and fourth eldest among nine children (four sons and five daughters) of William Carroll,…...
Coffey, Victoria
Coffey, Victoria (1911–99), one of the first female paediatricians in Ireland, was born 16 September 1911 at 108 Brunswick Street, Dublin, the daughter of John Coffey, a weigh-master, and Ellie Coffey (née McCall). Her paternal grandfather, William Coffey, had been lord mayor of Dublin…...
Concannon, Helena
Concannon, Helena (1878–1952), historian and politician, was born 28 October 1878 in Magherafelt, Co. Londonderry, one of two daughters of Louis Walsh, hotel owner in Maghera, Co. Londonderry, and Elizabeth Walsh (née Donnelly); there were also three sons. Louis Walsh had been a…...
Conroy, Sheila (née Williams)
Conroy, Sheila (née Williams) (1918–2012), trade unionist, social activist and administrator, was born on 22 April 1918 (or 4 April 1917) in Bantry, Co. Cork, only child of Harry and Jane Williams. A Welsh petty officer in the Royal Navy, Harry Williams was stationed at Bantry (1914–…...
Cosgrave, Mary Anne (Patrick)
Cosgrave, Mary Anne (Patrick) (1863–1900), pioneer nurse in Rhodesia, educationist, and Dominican prioress, was born 22 May 1863 in Summerhill, Co. Meath, one of four children of a member of the Irish Constabulary, who came from Ballysilla, near Oulart Hill, Co. Wexford. Her…...
Courtenay, Ellen
Courtenay, Ellen (1802–c.1837), accuser of Daniel O'Connell (qv), was born in Co. Cork, daughter of a native of the county. In 1817, at the age of 15, she moved to Dublin, and the catholic bishop of Cork,…...
Cowley, Jane (Sister Mary Teresa)
Cowley, Jane (Sister Mary Teresa) (1857–1914), Sister of Mercy, Boer war nurse, and educator, was born in Dunshaughlin, Co. Meath, daughter of John Cowley and Margaret Cowley (née Loughran). She entered the Convent of Mercy, Strabane, Co. Tyrone, on 2 February 1877, taking the…...
Crowley, Mary Frances
Crowley, Mary Frances (1906–90), nurse and educator, was born 1 August 1906 at 12 William Street, Wexford town, the home of her maternal grandparents, James Williams, a retired lighthouse keeper, and his wife Margaret. Mary was the eldest of six children born to John Crowley, a…...
Cummins, Catherine
Cummins, Catherine (1879–1967), Sister of Charity and founder member of Cappagh Orthopaedic Hospital, was born 6 February 1879 in Dublin, one of thirteen children of Patrick Cummins and Mary Cummins (née Kelly). Patrick was the proprietor of four pawnbroking establishments in Dublin, so…...
Curtayne, Alice
Curtayne, Alice (1901–81), writer and journalist, was born 6 November 1901 in Upper Castle Street, Tralee, Co. Kerry, the youngest child of John Curtayne, founder and proprietor of the Tralee Carriage Works, and Bridget Curtayne (née O'Dwyer). She received her initial education at…...
Cusack, Margaret Anna (‘The nun of Kenmare’)
Cusack, Margaret Anna (‘The nun of Kenmare’) (1829–99), nun and author, was born 6 May 1829 at Coolock, Co. Dublin, the elder of two children of Dr Samuel Cusack and his wife, Sarah (née Stoney). Early life and conversion to catholicism She was educated privately, learning informally…...
Daly, Miriam
Daly, Miriam (1928–80), historian and political activist, was born Miriam Annette McDonnell at the Curragh Camp, Co. Kildare, on 16 May 1928, daughter of Commandant Daniel McDonnell (d. 1972) and his wife Anne McDonnell (née Cummins); she had one sister. Her father came from a Dublin…...
De Paor, Máire
De Paor, Máire (1925–94), archaeologist, was born 6 May 1925 in Buncrana, Co. Donegal, second child among four children (one son and three daughters) of Eamonn (Ned) McDermott, grocer, and Delia McDermott (née McVeigh), teacher; both parents were veterans of the republican movement, who…...