Davies, Christian (alias ‘Mother’ Ross, Kit ‘Kitty’ Cavenaugh)
Davies, Christian (alias ‘Mother’ Ross, Kit ‘Kitty’ Cavenaugh) (c.1667–1739), female soldier and adventurer, was apparently born in Dublin, daughter of a brewer and maltster named Cavenaugh . It is difficult to establish the truth about her colourful career; most accounts…...
Dawson, Joshua
Dawson, Joshua (1660?–1725), government official and property developer, was born c.1660, the third of four sons of Thomas Dawson (1630?–1683), deputy commissary of musters of the army, who in 1657 purchased from the heirs of Sir…...
Deane, Sir Thomas
Deane, Sir Thomas (1792–1871), architect, and his son Sir Thomas Newenham (T. N. ) Deane (1828–99), architect, were the most noted members of a family of builders and architects, originally established in Cork in the eighteenth century, but based in Dublin from the 1850s to the 1920s.…...
Deane, Thomas Manly
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Deane, Thomas Newenham (T. N. T N)
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De Breffny, Brian
De Breffny, Brian (1931–89), architectural historian, genealogist, and author, was born Brian Michael Lees on 14 January 1931 at 66 Gordon Avenue, Isleworth, London, the only son of Maurice Lees (Moses Leese), a turf accountant and taxi driver, and his wife, Marguerite Mary (née O'…...
De Chenu, (Roger) Noël
De Chenu, (Roger) Noël (1924–2002), architect, artist and actor, was born on 25 December 1924 in Drumcondra, Dublin, the son of Roger Louis de Chenu (1891–1964) and his wife Aileen (née McShane; b. 1893). Roger, a dress designer, originally came from Poitiers in France, and is said…...
De Keyser, William
De Keyser, William (c.1603–p.1685), sculptor and architect, was born in Amsterdam, the Netherlands, one of four sons of Hendrik de Keyser, an architect and sculptor in Amsterdam; all four sons trained with their father in the family workshop. An elder sister, Maria…...
Denham, Sir John
Denham, Sir John (1615–69), poet and architect, was born in Dublin, the only son of Sir John Denham (qv), lord chief justice of Ireland 1612–17, and his wife Eleanor, daughter of Sir Garret…...
De Valois, Dame Ninette
De Valois, Dame Ninette (1898–2001), ballerina, choreographer, and founder of the Royal Ballet, was born Edris Stannus 6 June 1898, at Baltiboys, near Blessington, Co. Wicklow. She was the second daughter of Lieutenant-colonel T. R. A. Stannus and Lilith Stannus (née Graydon-Smith;…...
Devane, Andrew (‘Andy’)
Devane, Andrew (‘Andy’) (1917–2000), architect, was born 3 November 1917 at 1 Upper Hartstonge St. in the heart of Limerick city, the eldest of four sons of John Francis Devane, medical doctor, and his wife Vera (née Keogh). He was educated at Belvedere College, Dublin, from which he…...
Devereux (D'Evereux, Devereaux), John
Devereux (D'Evereux, Devereaux), John (1778?–1860), soldier and adventurer, was born in Co. Wexford, son of a prominent catholic landowner, probably William Devereux of Taghmon, Co. Wexford. He and his father may have been United Irishmen: they certainly took part in the 1798…...
Dowden, Hester Meredith
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Drew, Sir Thomas
Drew, Sir Thomas (1838–1910), architect and antiquary, was born 18 September 1838 at Victoria Place, Belfast, into the large family of the Rev. Dr Thomas Drew (qv), son of a Limerick grocer, and Isabella Drew (née Dalton; 1802–69), daughter…...
Ducart, Davis
Ducart, Davis (fl. c.1760–85), engineer and architect, was probably born in Savoy. Contemporary variations of his name include Daviso de Arcort and Davis Duckart. His family background is obscure; one possibility is that he grew up in Piedmont and later served as a military…...
Duff, Thomas
Duff, Thomas (c.1792–1848), architect, was born in Newry, Co. Down. Nothing is known of his parentage and early life, except that he was a catholic. It is possible that he was the ‘Thomas Duffe’ who won a prize at the Dublin Society (1805) for an architectural design. It…...
Early, Biddy
Early, Biddy (c.1798–1874), clairvoyant and healer, was born in the townland of Faha, near Kilanena, Co. Clare, as Bridget Connors (or O'Connor) ; the name Early, by which she was known throughout her life, was her mother's maiden name. Little is known about her, despite…...
Ensor, George
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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…...
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 …...