Bell, John
Bell, John (c.1793–1861), antiquary, collector, and landscape painter, was the second son of John Bell, gentleman landowner, of Camelon, near Falkirk, Scotland. It is unclear when he settled in Ireland, but he was contributing articles to local newspapers in Newry, Co. Down…...
Benson, Sir John
Benson, Sir John (1812–74), architect and engineer, was the only son of John Benson of Collooney, Co. Sligo. He probably trained at the Dublin Society school of architectural drawing, and won premiums in 1832. His commissions in Co. Sligo included restoration work on Markree Castle…...
Beresford, Lord Charles William de la Poer
Beresford, Lord Charles William de la Poer (1846–1919), admiral and MP, was born 10 February 1846 in Baronstown, Dundalk, Co. Louth, second son of the Rev. John de la Poer Beresford (1814–66), 4th marquis of Waterford, and Christiana Beresford (1820–1905; née Leslie). He was…...
Best, Richard Irvine
Best, Richard Irvine (1872–1959), Celticist and librarian, was born 17 January 1872 at 3 Bishop Street, Derry, son of Henry Best, excise officer, and his wife Margaret Jane (née Irvine), and educated locally at Foyle College. He did not attend university but worked briefly in banking…...
Betham, Sir William
Betham, Sir William (1779–1853), archivist and scholar, was born 22 May 1779 at Stradbrooke, Suffolk, eldest surviving son among fourteen children of William Betham (d. 1839), clergyman and antiquary, and Mary Betham (née Damant). He was apprenticed to a printer, was employed to revise…...
Bindon, Francis
Bindon, Francis (c.1690–1765), portraitist and architect, was fourth son among nine children of David Bindon (c.1650–1733) of Clooney, Co. Clare, landowner and MP for Ennis 1715–27, and Dorothy, daughter of Samuel Burton of Buncraggy, Co. Clare. He studied painting…...
Bingham, Edward Barry Stewart
Bingham, Edward Barry Stewart (1881–1939), rear-admiral, RN, was born 26 July 1881 in Bangor Castle, Co. Down, third of seven sons and three daughters of John George Barry Bingham (1852–1916), 5th Baron Clanmorris, landowner, and Matilda Catherine Bingham, daughter and heiress of…...
Blackwood, Sir Henry
Blackwood, Sir Henry (1770–1832), vice admiral, was born 28 December 1770 at Ballyleidy, Upper Clandeboye, Co. Down, seventh son of Sir John Blackwood (qv), 2nd baronet, and Dorcas Blackwood (née Stevenson), afterwards 1st Baroness…...
Bouhéreau, Élie (Elias)
Bouhéreau, Élie (Elias) (1643–1719), huguenot bibliophile, librarian, cleric, diarist, and administrator, was born 5 May 1643 at La Rochelle, France, son of Élie Bouhéreau, pastor of Fontenay, and Blandine Bouhéreau (née Richard). The family was of the upper middle class. He was…...
Bowden, John
Bowden, John (fl. 1798–c.1822), architect, was possibly born in Blessington, Co. Wicklow; nothing is known of his family. He was educated at the Dublin Society school of architectural drawing (1798–c.1801), apprenticed to…...
Boyle, Francis
Boyle, Francis (fl. 1811), blacksmith and poet, lived in Gransha, near Comber, Co. Down; the surname appears locally in the form ‘Boal’. In his volume of Miscellaneous poems (Belfast, 1811), he stated that he was 80 years old and had written verse for ‘lang forty…...
Bracken, Joseph K.
Bracken, Joseph K. (1852–1904), monumental sculptor and builder, local politician, and a founder in 1884 of the ‘Gaelic Association for the Preservation and Cultivation of National Pastimes’ which evolved to become the Gaelic Athletic Association (…...
Bradshaw, Henry
Bradshaw, Henry (1831–86), bibliophile, librarian, and scholar, was born 2 February 1831 at 2 Artillery Place, Finsbury Square, London, third son of Joseph Hoare Bradshaw (d. 1845), a native of Mile Cross, near Newtownards, Co. Down, and a partner in the city banking firm of Barnett…...
Bransfield, Edward
Bransfield, Edward (c.1785–1852), sailor and explorer, was born in Ballinacurra, Midleton, Co. Cork, about 1785; the date is calculated from his age at date of death, as recorded from his death certificate. He was the son of a sea captain who is thought to have been of…...
Bretland, Josiah Corbett
Bretland, Josiah Corbett (1846–a.1921), engineer, architect, and city surveyor, was born 4 January 1846 in Nottingham, England, and articled (1863–7) to M. O. Tarbottom; nothing is known of his parents or early education. He was successively assistant surveyor (1868–84) and…...
Brett, (Sir) Charles Edward Bainbridge
Brett, (Sir) Charles Edward Bainbridge (1928–2005), solicitor, architectural historian and public figure in Northern Ireland, was born 30 October 1928 in Holywood, Co. Down, eldest of three children, two boys and a girl, of Charles Anthony Brett, a Belfast solicitor, and his wife…...
Browning, Michael
Browning, Michael (d. 1689), captain of the Mountjoy, whose Christian name occurs in various forms, including Micah, Micaiah, Micaill, and Mihal, is said to have been a native of Derry city, although the family is not mentioned in the city's hearth-money rolls. He was a…...
Brown, Stephen James Meredith
Brown, Stephen James Meredith (1881–1962), Jesuit priest, bibliographer, and librarian, was born 24 September 1881 in Holywood, Co. Down, eldest of four children of Stephen James Brown (1853–1931), solicitor and JP, and Catharine Brown (…...
Brown, William
Brown, William (1777–1857), merchant captain and first admiral-in-chief of the Argentine navy, was born 22 June 1777 in Foxford, Co. Mayo. (John De Courcy Ireland has suggested that Brown was the extramarital son of a Roman catholic woman from Foxford and George Browne (c.…...
Burges, William
Burges, William (1827–81), architect, was born 2 December 1827 in London, elder son among at least two sons and one daughter of Alfred Burges (c.1801–1886), marine engineer; his mother's name is not known. He was educated at King's College school (1839–43) and the…...
Burgh, Thomas
Burgh, Thomas (1670–1730), architect and military engineer, was born in Drumkeen, Co. Limerick, third son of Ulysses Burgh, dean of Emly and later bishop of Ardagh, and Mary de Burgh, daughter of William Kingmill of Ballibeg, Co. Cork. Educated at Delany's school, Co. Dublin, he…...
Burgoyne, Francis James Powell (‘Frank’)
Burgoyne, Francis James Powell (‘Frank’) (1881–1956), librarian, was born 21 February 1881 at 22 Rosedale Terrace, Newcastle upon Tyne, England, the son of Francis Thomas Burgoyne, librarian, and Mary Ann Burgoyne (née Powell). Educated at the City of London School and King's College,…...
Burn, James Dawson
Burn, James Dawson (1801?–c.1889), tradesman and author, was born probably in Co. Down, son of a farmer surnamed McBurney. Shortly afterwards his mother took him to Scotland, begging along with an alcoholic ex-soldier, an Irishman with whom she had other children. Burn's early…...
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…...
Butler, Rudolph Maximilian
Butler, Rudolph Maximilian (1872–1943), architect, professor, and editor, was born 30 September 1872 in Dublin, only son of John Butler (d. 1882), barrister, and Augusta Butler (née Brassart), a German from Schleswig-Holstein. He was educated in Dublin and (after the death of his…...