Byrne, Thomas Joseph
Byrne, Thomas Joseph (1876–1939), architect, was born 15 November 1876 in Kingston upon Thames, Surrey, son of Richard Byrne (d. c.1876), who served with the Royal Irish Fusiliers, and Harriet Byrne (née Knight). He was articled (1892) to Edward Carter,…...
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…...
Cameron, Robert Rupert Gibson
Cameron, Robert Rupert Gibson (1903–79), naval architect, was born 24 October 1903 at Carrickfergus, Co. Antrim, second of three children of Gibson Cameron, a baker, and his wife Jane, daughter of Henry Beattie, master mariner of Carrickfergus. He was educated at Carrickfergus model…...
Campbell, Patrick Gordon
Campbell, Patrick Gordon (1913–80), 3rd Baron Glenavy , journalist, wit, and television personality, was born 6 June 1913 in Dublin, the eldest of the three children (two sons and a daughter) of Gordon Campbell (qv) and his…...
Carey, Patrick
Carey, Patrick (1916–94), film-maker, was born Gerard Patrick Carey 5 September 1916 in Streatham, London, the youngest of four children of Cork-born William Denis Carey (d. 1959), a revenue commissioner (1923–44; chairman 1939–44), and May Frances (Wilkinson) Carey (d. 1966) from…...
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…...
Carte, Alexander
Carte, Alexander (1805–81), natural historian, was born 11 August 1805 at Newcastle, Co. Limerick, one of two sons of Edward Carte, JP, agent for the Devon estates in Co. Limerick, and Margaret Carte (née Elliot), of Killocrin, Co. Kerry. After…...
Carty, James
Carty, James (1900–59), historian, librarian, and bibliographer, was born in Wexford on 7 August 1900, one of the four sons of Francis Carty, a barber, and his wife, Margaret (née Storey). In 1920, while he was still a student at UCD…...
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…...
Castle (Castles, Cassels, Cassells), Richard
Castle (Castles, Cassels, Cassells), Richard (c.1690/95–1751), was one of at least four sons in a huguenot family and was possibly born in Kassel, Hesse, Germany; his parents' names are not known. An officer (c.1715) in a regiment of engineers, he travelled…...
Chambers, Sir William
Chambers, Sir William (1723–96), architect and writer, was born 23 February 1723 in Gothenburg, Sweden, of Scottish parents, eldest among two sons and three daughters of John Chambers (d. 1752), a merchant who had settled in Sweden, and Sara Chambers (née Elphinstone). Educated in…...
Chancellor, (Lilias) Betty
Chancellor, (Lilias) Betty (1910–84), actress, was born 9 January 1910 at 8 Fitzwilliam Place, Dublin, the younger daughter of John William Chancellor, a Dublin clockmaker, jeweller, and photographer, and Cicily Chancellor (née Granger). Educated in Dublin at Nightingale Hall and…...
Chart, David Alfred
Chart, David Alfred (1878–1960), archivist and historian, was born on 13 August 1878 in the Lucknow cantonment in north-west India, the second child of David Chart, a colour sergeant with the King’s Shropshire Light Infantry regiment who was originally from Betchworth, Surrey, and Mary…...
Cherry, Andrew
Cherry, Andrew (1762–1812), actor and playwright, was born 11 January 1762 in Limerick, eldest son of John Cherry, printer and bookseller; nothing is known of his mother. Educated at the Limerick grammar school, he left at the age of 11 to work in Dublin for…...
Chetwood, William Rufus
Chetwood, William Rufus (d. 1766), prompter, publisher, and author, was most probably born in England. Little is known of his early life, but his own accounts, and the fact that he wrote several seafaring adventures, indicate that he had travelled around the world as a young man,…...
Chevron, Philip
Chevron, Philip (1957–2013), musician, songwriter and composer, was born Philip Ryan on 17 June 1957 in the Rotunda hospital, Dublin, the elder of two children of (Philip) Brendan Ryan (1927–97) and Christine Ryan (née LaGrue), both born in inner city Dublin. He grew up in Lorcan Drive…...
Clancy, Thomas (‘Tom’)
Clancy, Thomas (‘Tom’) (1924–90), folk singer and actor, was born 29 October 1924 on William St., Carrick-on-Suir, Co. Tipperary, seventh child and second son among four sons and seven daughters of Robert Joseph Clancy, accountant, and Johanna Clancy (née McGrath), from a family of…...
Clarendon, Frederick Villiers
Clarendon, Frederick Villiers (c.1820–1904), architect and civil engineer, was born in Dublin, one of several sons of Thomas Clarendon (fl. 1800–20), linen draper, of Westmoreland St., and estate developer. Nothing is known of his mother. He entered…...
Clarke, Desmond
Clarke, Desmond (1907–79), librarian, historian, and writer, was born 2 July 1907 in Dublin, eldest son of John Clarke and Marcella Clarke (née Shaw). His entire career was with the RDS library, which he joined as an assistant in 1925. In…...
Clements, Nathaniel
Clements, Nathaniel (1705–77), treasury official, property developer, architect, and MP, was third of four surviving sons of Robert Clements (1664–1722), landowner, of Rathkenny, Co. Cavan, and Abbotstown, Co. Dublin, and his wife Elizabeth (d. 1742), daughter of…...
Clive (Raftor), Catherine (Kitty)
Clive (Raftor), Catherine (Kitty) (1711–85), comic actress, singer, and writer, was probably born in London on 5 November 1711. Her father, William Raftor or Rafter, was a Kilkenny-born lawyer, who lost his claim on a large estate following his support of…...
Cluskey, Mary Elizabeth (‘May’)
Cluskey, Mary Elizabeth (‘May’) (1927–91), actress, was born 18 May 1927 at 83 St Ignatius Road, off Lower Dorset St., Dublin, one of three daughters and two sons of Francis (‘Frank’) Cluskey, butcher and trade unionist, and Elizabeth Mary Cluskey (née Millington). Her father, a close…...
Coakley, Daniel John
Coakley, Daniel John (1872–1951), accountant, teacher, and town planner, was born 29 September 1872 at Donoughmore, Co. Cork, one of five sons and two daughters of John Coakley, farmer, and Mary Coakley (née Hegarty). A railway audit accountant, he was one of five candidates…...
Cobden, Thomas Alfred
Cobden, Thomas Alfred (fl. 1814–42), architect, was born in England; his family background and early life are unknown. In 1814 and 1815 he produced drawings for Gurteen le Poer house, Kilsheelan, Co. Waterford, and he exhibited designs for buildings in Ireland at the Royal…...
Cochrane, Robert
Cochrane, Robert (1844–1916), engineer, architect, and antiquarian, was born 21 July 1844 in Co. Down, eldest son of Hugh W. Cochrane, of an ancient Scottish-Danish family that came to Ireland in the seventeenth century. He graduated in engineering from…...