Ussher, Richard John
Ussher, Richard John (1841–1913), ornithologist and speleologist, was born 6 April 1841, the only child that survived infancy of Richard Kiely Ussher (1778–1854) of Cappagh, Co. Waterford, and his second wife, Isabella Ussher, daughter of Col. Jasper Grant, of Kilmurray, Co. Cork…...
Vallancey, Charles
Vallancey, Charles (1725?–1812), soldier and antiquary, may have been connected with the French noble family of d'Estampes de Vallancey (or Valençay), but the names of his parents are unknown. It has been stated he was born at Windsor, but in neither the records of Windsor parish church…...
Vandeleur, Sir John Ormsby
Vandeleur, Sir John Ormsby (1763–1849), British army general, was eldest son of Richard Vandeleur, captain in the 9th Lancers, of Rutland, Queen's Co. (Laois), and Kilrush, Co. Clare, and his wife Elinor, daughter of John Firman of Firmount. Educated privately, he joined the army…...
Vane, Sir Francis Patrick Fletcher
Vane, Sir Francis Patrick Fletcher (1861–1934), soldier, radical, author and scout leader, was born 16 October 1861 at 10 North Great George's Street, Dublin, the only son of Frederick Henry Fletcher Vane (1807–94), a former army officer, and his wife Rosa Linda (née Moore; d. 1895), an…...
Vaughan, Sir John
Vaughan, Sir John (d. 1643), servitor, was born in Wales. He arrived in Ireland in early 1599 as a lieutenant in reinforcements sent from the Low Countries. In May 1600 he landed in Lough Foyle as part of an expedition to Ulster led by Sir…...
Wade, Walter
Wade, Walter (c.1740–1825), botanist, was born in Dublin, son of John Wade (d. 1799), chemist and apothecary, and Katherine Wade. In 1767 John Wade's proposal, sanctioned by (Royal) King and Queen's College of Physicians Ireland ((R)K&QCPI; forerunner of RCPI), to establish…...
Walker, George
Walker, George (1643×8–1690), clergyman and military governor of Derry during the siege of 1689, was born between 1643 and 1648, probably at Wighill, near Kirk Deighton, Yorkshire. His grandfather, the Rev. Gervase Walker (d. 1642), probably came to Ireland from Ruddington in…...
Wallace, Robert Hugh
Wallace, Robert Hugh (1860–1929), Orangeman, soldier and political activist, was born in English Street, Downpatrick, Co. Down, on 14 December 1860, son of William Nevin Wallace, solicitor and landowner, and his second wife, Catherine Mary (d. 1877), daughter of Francis Charles…...
Walton, Ernest Thomas Sinton
Walton, Ernest Thomas Sinton (1903–95), scientist, educator, and Nobel prize laureate, was born 6 October 1903 in Abbeyside, Dungarvan, Co. Waterford, elder of two children of the Rev. John Arthur Walton and Anna Elizabeth Walton (née Sinton). His father, a methodist minister, was born…...
Warren, Nathaniel
Warren, Nathaniel (c.1737–1796), merchant, MP, and first commissioner of police, was born in Dublin. His parentage is unclear, but a number of Warrens were engaged as merchants and glaziers in the city prior to his birth. Alternatively, he may be the son of Oliver Warren…...
Warren, Sir Peter
Warren, Sir Peter (1703–52), admiral in the British navy, was born 10 March 1703 at Warrenstown, Co. Meath, third son among three sons and two daughters of Michael Warren, Roman catholic landowner, and Catherine Warren (née Aylmer). Educated locally, he entered the Royal Navy in…...
Wellesley (Wesley), Arthur
Wellesley (Wesley), Arthur (1769–1852), 1st duke of Wellington , soldier and politician, was born 1 May 1769 at Mornington House, 6 Merrion Street, Dublin, the third surviving son of Garret Wesley (qv) (1735–81), 1st earl of Mornington, and…...
West, Trevor
West, Trevor (1938–2012), mathematician, politician and sportsman, was born on 8 May 1938 in Cork, the eldest of four sons of Timothy Roberts West, headmaster of Midleton College, Co. Cork, and Dorothy Trevor West (née McNeill), of Charleston, Ballinacurra, Co. Cork, who was CEO of…...
Whittaker, Sir Edmund Taylor
Whittaker, Sir Edmund Taylor (1873–1956), mathematician, theoretical physicist, and director of Dunsink observatory, was born 24 October 1873 in Birkdale, near Southport, Lancs., eldest child of John Whittaker, railway engineer and contractor, and his wife Selina, daughter of…...
Widdess, John (‘Jack’) David Henry
Widdess, John (‘Jack’) David Henry (1906–82), medical historian, librarian, and biologist, was born 1 August 1906 in Limerick, son of Matthew Widdess, pharmaceutical chemist, and Emily Widdess (née Irwin). He was educated at Wesley College, Dublin. He won prizes, was admitted…...
Willcocks, Sir Richard
Willcocks, Sir Richard (1768–1834), yeomanry officer and policeman, was born in 1768 at Palmerston (Palmerstown) near Chapelizod, Co. Dublin. His parents' names are unknown and his own surname is variously given as Willcocks, Wilcox, or Wilcock. He became a Dublin police…...
Williams, Charles Frederick
Williams, Charles Frederick (1838–1904), journalist and war correspondent, was born 4 May 1838 in Coleraine, Co. Londonderry. His parents' names are unknown, but he claimed to be descended paternally from Worcestershire yeomen (of Tenbury and Mamble), and maternally from Ulster Scots…...
Williamson, Benjamin
Williamson, Benjamin (1827–1916), mathematician, was born 9 January 1827 at Old Dromore, near Mallow, Co. Cork, third son of Benjamin Williamson, rector of Mourne Abbey, and Abigail Williamson (née Roberts). The family claimed descent from Robert Williamson, free burgess, who held…...
Wilmot, Sir Charles
Wilmot, Sir Charles (1570/71–1643/4), 1st Viscount Wilmot of Athlone , English soldier and governor of Connacht, was son and heir of Edward Wilmot of Culham, Oxfordshire, England, and his wife Elizabeth, daughter of Thomas Stafford of Bradfield, Berkshire. He matriculated at…...
Wolfe, George
Wolfe, George (1859–1941), soldier, landowner, antiquarian, and politician, was born 16 December 1859 at Bishopland, Ballymore Eustace, Co. Kildare, younger son among two sons and one daughter of Theobald George Samuel Wolfe (1815–72), landowner, of Bishopland and Forenaghts, Naas…...
Wolseley, William
Wolseley, William (1640–97), soldier and politician, was the youngest of five sons (there were also six daughters) of Sir Robert Wolseley, 1st baronet, of Wolseley, Staffordshire, and his wife, Mary Wolseley (née Wroughton), daughter of Sir George Wroughton, knight, of Walcot,…...
Wright, Edward Perceval
Wright, Edward Perceval (1834–1910), naturalist, was born 27 December 1834 in Dublin, eldest of five sons in a family of ten children of Edward Thomas Wright (1810–81), barrister, and Charlotte (née Wright), his wife and cousin. He was educated at home, and at 16 became a clerk in…...
Wright, Sir Almroth Edward
Wright, Sir Almroth Edward (1861–1947), bacteriologist, was born at Middleton Tyas, near Richmond, Yorkshire, England, second of five sons of the Rev. Charles Wright (qv), an Irish clergyman, and his Swedish wife Eva…...
Wynne, Owen
Wynne, Owen (1665–1737), soldier and politician, was third son of Col. Owen Wynne of Lurganboy, Co. Leitrim, and his wife Catherine, daughter of Sir John Hamilton, 2nd Baron Strabane and earl of Abercorn. Wynne entered TCD on 10 May…...
Young, Matthew
Young, Matthew (1750–1800), clergyman, Irish scholar, and natural philosopher, was born 3 October 1750 at Castlerea, Co. Roscommon, fourth son of Owen Young, a minor landowner who impoverished his family through dissolute habits, and Olivia Maria Young (née Bell). He was educated at the…...