Ensor, John
Ensor, John (d. 1787), architect and developer, travelled as a young man from Coventry, England, to Ireland in the 1730s with his younger brother George. Their parents are said to have been Job Ensor and his wife Mary Hill. John was associated with…...
Falloon, Cecil Samuel Gordon ('Paddy')
Falloon, Cecil Samuel Gordon ('Paddy') (1911–2003), businessman, hotelier, and restorer of historic buildings, was born 10 July 1911 in Camly Macullagh, a townland near Newtownhamilton in south Co. Armagh, younger son and youngest of four children of Samuel Falloon, farmer, and his…...
Fergus, John
Fergus, John (c.1700–1761), doctor of medicine and collector of books and manuscripts, was born in Co. Mayo, where a branch of the Ó Fearghusa family was to be found. His father's name was Mac Raith, and hence Dr Fergus was sometimes referred to in Irish as Seán mac Mac Raíth Ó…...
Ferguson, Sir Samuel
Ferguson, Sir Samuel (1810–86), poet and archivist, was born 10 March 1810 in Belfast, youngest of six children of John Ferguson, landowner, and his wife Agnes, daughter of John Knox, clockmaker. Ferguson attended the Belfast Academical Institution, and went on to be a student at…...
Ferris, Richard
Ferris, Richard (1754–1828), priest and adventurer, was born 10 February 1754 at Ballymalis, near Killarney, Co. Kerry, youngest among four sons of Daniel Ferris, tenant farmer; his mother was a Hassett, apparently a protestant. His brothers emigrated to France, where one, Edward…...
Finaghty, James
Finaghty, James (1614–p.1671), catholic priest and faith healer, was attached to the diocese of Elphin. During the confederate period in the 1640s, he was a supporter of the papal nuncio, Rinuccini (qv). Utilising the…...
FitzGerald, Desmond
FitzGerald, Desmond (1911–87), architect, was born 5 November 1911 at Saint-Jean-du-Doigt (Finisterre) in Brittany, France, eldest of four sons of Desmond FitzGerald (qv), writer and future minister for external affairs in…...
FitzGerald, Desmond John Villiers
FitzGerald, Desmond John Villiers (1937–2011), Knight of Glin , scholar, conservationist, and fine arts dealer and collector, was born 13 July 1937 in Cambridge Square, London, the only son and youngest of three children of Desmond Wyndham Otho FitzGerald, Knight of Glin, of Glin Castle…...
Fitzgerald, George Robert
Fitzgerald, George Robert (c.1746–1786), duellist, was born in Turlough, Co. Mayo, elder son of George Fitzgerald, landowner, and his wife, Lady Mary Fitzgerald, daughter of John, Lord Hervey. His mother's brother was …...
Fitzgibbon, Theodora
Fitzgibbon, Theodora (1916–91), cookery expert and writer, was born Joan Eileen Rosling on 21 October 1916 in London, the only child of Adam Rosling, motor engineer with the Royal Naval Air Service, and Alice Winifred Rosling (née Hodgkins). Her parents were divorced soon after…...
Fitzsimons, Jack
Fitzsimons, Jack (1930–2014), architect, writer and politician, was born on 26 April 1930 in the county home at Trim, Co. Meath, one of a family of six of John (Jack) Fitzsimons, a farm labourer, and Annie Fitzsimons (née Monaghan), a former domestic servant, living at Kilbeg,…...
Fossett, Edward
Fossett, Edward (c.1895–1951), horseman and circus owner, was born near London, son of Sir Robert Fossett, originally of Islington, and Mary Fossett (née Francis), a bareback rider from Co. Wexford who performed as ‘Miss Mini’ in the family business, Sir Robert Fossett's…...
Fowke, Francis
Fowke, Francis (1823–65), captain in the Royal Engineers, architect, and engineer, was born 7 July 1823 at Ballysillan, Belfast, Co. Antrim, elder of two sons of John Fowke (1794–1851), lieutenant of the 68th Regiment of Foot, and his first wife, Jane (née Ferguson; d. 1828). He was…...
French, (William) Percy
French, (William) Percy (1854–1920), songwriter, humourist, entertainer, and painter, was born 1 May 1854 in Cloonyquin House, parish of Tulsk, Co. Roscommon, second son and third child among four sons and five daughters of Christopher French (1821–97), landowner, and Susan Emma French…...
Fuller, James Franklin
Fuller, James Franklin (1835–1924), architect, novelist, and antiquary, was born at Nedanone, near Derryquin, Co. Kerry, the only son among three children of Thomas Harnett Fuller (d. 1886), landowner, and his wife Frances Diana (d. 1872), daughter of Francis Bland,…...
Gailey, Robert Alan
Gailey, Robert Alan (1935–2013), folklife scholar and museum director, was born on 4 October 1935 in Galway. Known by his middle name, Alan was the second child of Andrew J. Gailey (d. 1963), a presbyterian minister in Galway, and Mary Gailey (née Porter). He had two sisters. From…...
Gandon, James
Gandon, James (1742–1823), architect, was born 20 February 1742 in London and baptised one week later at St George's, Hanover Square, London. His father, Peter Gandon (b. 1713), was a gunsmith of huguenot family, who was declared a bankrupt in 1754. Gandon's mother (née Wynne) was a…...
Gardiner, Charles
This is a co-subject for the entry on Gardiner, Luke. View the original entry....
Gardiner, Luke
Gardiner, Luke (a. 1690–1755), MP, treasury official, and property developer, was a native of Dublin city, possibly son of James Gardiner of the Coombe. From humble beginnings, of which little is known, he became the founder of the family fortune; his combined career as…...
Gardiner, Luke
Gardiner, Luke (1745–98), 1st Viscount Mountjoy (second creation), MP and property developer, was born 7 February 1745, eldest son of Charles Gardiner (qv) of Dublin and his wife Florinda, daughter of Robert Norman of Lagore, Co. Meath. His grandfather and…...
Gardiner, Marguerite (Margaret)
Gardiner, Marguerite (Margaret) (1789–1849), countess of Blessington , writer, journalist, and society hostess, was born 1 September 1789 at Knockbrit, Co. Tipperary, the second daughter and fourth child of Edmund Power and his wife Ellen (née Sheehy), both from well-established…...
Garzia (Garcia), John
Garzia (Garcia), John (d. p.1723), priest-catcher, was almost certainly born in Spain. He was the most notorious of a profession – which included Edward Tyrell (qv) – active in the early eighteenth century, who, in return…...
Gay, Thomas Earnan
Gay, Thomas Earnan (1884–1953), librarian and republican, was born in Dublin on 22 January 1884, the eldest of six children (two girls and four boys) of Thomas Patrick Gay, a porter and later a warehouseman, and his wife Catherine (née Coleman). He was educated at the…...
Geldof, Zenon
Geldof, Zenon (1882–1939), chef, restaurateur, and entrepreneur, was born 28 February 1882 at Boesinghe (Boesinge), near Ypres, Belgium, son of Zenon Geldof, schoolteacher, and his wife Mini. He served his apprenticeship in confectionery in Bruges. His experience working in London's…...
Gibb (Gibson), Rosemary Elizabeth Jane (‘Rosy’)
Gibb (Gibson), Rosemary Elizabeth Jane (‘Rosy’) (1942–97), social worker, clown, and magician, was born 8 November 1942 in Dublin, the only child of Jack Gibson, a well-known surgeon and hypnotist, and Elizabeth Maude Gibson (née James). She passed her early childhood in Guernsey, where…...