Delany, Cathleen
Delany, Cathleen (1907–97), actress, was born Kathleen Mary Delany on 21 July 1907 at 98 Marlborough Road, Donnybrook, Dublin, daughter of Alfred Patrick (A. P.) Delany, journalist, and his wife Kathleen Mary (née Kilgannon); she had at least two siblings, a brother and a sister. By…...
Delany, Mary
Delany, Mary (1700–88), artist, was born 14 May 1700 in Coulston, Wiltshire, England, elder daughter and second among four children of Col. Bernard Granville and his wife Mary, daughter of Sir Martin Westcomb, former consul at Cadiz. Her father, the younger brother of George…...
Delany, Maureen
Delany, Maureen (c.1888–1961), actress, was born in Kilkenny, daughter of Dr Barry Delany, medical officer to the Kilkenny mental home, and his Kerry-born wife (née Nagle). Her father died when she was three months old. She was educated at the Dominican College in Galway…...
Delmonte, (Simeon) Koert
Delmonte, (Simeon) Koert (1913–82), portrait and landscape painter, was born 15 April 1913 in van Mierlestraat, Amsterdam, the Netherlands, eldest of three children of Solomon Delmonte, banker, and his wife Nanetha, daughter of Simon Speyer, diamond merchant. His younger brother…...
Dering, Henrietta
Dering, Henrietta (c.1674–1729), portrait painter, was born in France, the only daughter among two children of Francis and Suzanne de Branlieu , a huguenot family who came to England in 1687. The will of her daughter, Mary Dering, dated 23 April 1746 and proved 13 June…...
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;…...
Devas, Nicolette
Devas, Nicolette (née Macnamara ) (1911–87), artist and writer, was the second-born child and eldest daughter among three daughters and one son of Francis Macnamara (see below), of Ennistymon House, Doolin, Co. Clare, and Mary Yvonne Macnamara (née Majolier); her youngest sister…...
Digby, Simon
Digby, Simon (c.1645–1720), miniature-painter and bishop of Elphin, was born at Kilminchy, Queen's Co. (Laois), youngest son of Essex Digby and his wife Thomasine, daughter of Sir William Gilbert of Kilminchy, Queen's Co. Essex Digby became dean of Cashel in 1661 and…...
Digges, (John) Dudley
Digges, (John) Dudley (1880–1947), actor, stage manager, and director, was born 9 June 1880, son of James Dudley Digges, clerk, of 16 Beechwood Avenue, Ranelagh, Dublin, and Catherine Digges (née Forsythe). He was educated by the Christian Brothers (1886–90), and at St Mary's college,…...
Digges, Mary (née Quinn)
Digges, Mary (née Quinn) (1872–47), actress and nationalist, was born Mary Roden Quinn on 9 June 1872 in Co. Fermanagh. A founding member of Inghinidhe na hÉireann (Daughters of Ireland), the nationalist society formed in Dublin on 15 April 1900, she was appointed its executive…...
Dillon, (Francis) Gerard
Dillon, (Francis) Gerard (1916–71), painter, was born 20 April 1916 in Belfast, eighth and youngest child of Joseph Henry Dillon, postal sorter, and Amie Dillon. The family lived at 26 Clonard St. in the Falls Road area of Belfast. Dillon was educated at the Raglan St. public…...
Diver, Bridget
Diver (Divers, Deaver, Deavers, Devens, Devins, Devan), Bridget (‘Irish Biddy’, ‘Michigan Bridget’) (fl. 1861–4), vivandière and ‘daughter’ of the First Michigan Cavalry regiment, was born in Ireland sometime before 1840. It has been suggested that the ‘Michigan Bridget’ legend…...
Dixon, James
Dixon, James (1887–1970), painter, was born 2 June 1887 on Tory Island, one of seven children of Denis Dixon, a farmer from Meenlaragh, Co. Donegal, and Madgey Dixon (née Diver) of Tory island. He spent almost all his life on the island working as a farmer and a fisherman, painting…...
Dixon, John
Dixon, John (c.1740–1811), engraver, was born in Dublin, youngest of four sons of Thomas Dixon (d. 1758), hosier, of Cork Hill, Dublin. He studied at the drawing school of the Dublin Society. He may have worked with his elder brother …...
Dixon, Samuel
Dixon, Samuel (d. 1769), watercolour painter and textile designer, was third of four sons of Thomas Dixon (d. 1758), hosier, of Cork Hill, Dublin. His younger brother, John Dixon (qv), became a noted mezzotint engraver in London. By 1748…...
Doggett, Thomas
Doggett, Thomas (c.1670–1721), actor and manager, was born at Castle St., Dublin, but little is known about his early life. An unsuccessful actor in Ireland (1684–8), he moved to England as a strolling player. At Drury Lane he played Solon in the first performances of ‘The…...
Donnelly, Donal
Donnelly, Donal (1931–2010), actor, was born on 6 July 1931 in Bradford, Yorkshire, the third son among seven children of James Donnelly (d. 1964), a general practitioner, and his wife Nora (née O'Connor). Dr Donnelly was originally from Tyrone and Nora from Kerry, and the family moved…...
Doonican, Val
Doonican, Val (1927–2015), singer and musician, was born Michael Valentine Doonican on 3 February 1927 at 10 Passage Road in Waterford, the youngest of eight children (four boys and four girls) of John Doonican, a metal worker, and his wife Agnes (née Kavanagh). To distinguish him from…...
Dowling, Vincent
Dowling, Vincent (1929–2013), theatre actor, director and producer, was born in Kimmage, Dublin, on 7 September 1929 the sixth of four sons and three daughters of William Dowling, a ship's captain, and his wife Mary (née Kelly). His father was violent towards the family and left when…...
Doyle, Henry Edward
Doyle, Henry Edward (1827–92), artist and gallery director, was born in Dublin, third of seven children and third of five sons of John Doyle (qv), political cartoonist, of Dublin, and Marianna Doyle (née Conan; d. 1832). He was the only…...
Doyle, Jack
Doyle, Jack (1913–78), boxer, actor, singer and playboy, was born Joseph Alphonsus Doyle, 31 August 1913 at 12 Queen Street, Queenstown, Co. Cork, eldest son among four sons and two daughters of Michael Doyle, sailor, of Queenstown, and Anastasia Doyle. His schooling, at St Joseph's…...
Doyle, John
Doyle, John (1797–1868), portrait painter, lithographer, and caricaturist, was born in Dublin, one of two sons of a catholic silk mercer whose forebears had been dispossessed of their lands. Expressing his artistic talent from an early age, he studied drawing at the Dublin Society…...
Doyle, Michael Anthony (‘Tony’)
Doyle, Michael Anthony (‘Tony’) (1935–2000), actor, was born 21 July 1935 in Ballyfarnan, near Boyle, Co. Roscommon, youngest among four children of James Doyle, garda, and his wife Nora. His father was later stationed in Frenchpark, Co. Roscommon, and in the mid 1950s in Churchtown,…...
Doyle, Richard (‘Dickie’)
Doyle, Richard (‘Dickie’) (1824–83), illustrator, printmaker, and watercolour painter, was born 18 September 1824 in London, son of John Doyle (qv), political cartoonist, of Dublin, and Marianne Conan who died in 1832 after the birth of…...
Drew, John
Drew, John (1827–62), actor, was born 3 September 1827 in Dublin, one of three sons and two daughters of Francis N. Drew, a cabinetmaker who later made pianos, and Elizabeth Drew (née Connor). The family emigrated to the US in 1837 on the SS South America and settled in…...