Murnaghan, Sheelagh Mary
Murnaghan, Sheelagh Mary (1924–93), barrister and politician, was born in Dublin on 26 May 1924, eldest of the six children of Vincent Murnaghan of Omagh, Co. Tyrone, and his wife, Josephine (née Morrogh). Her grandfather was George Murnaghan…...
Nelson, Rosemary
Nelson, Rosemary (1959–1999), human rights lawyer, was born Rosemary Magee at Lurgan, Co. Armagh, daughter of Thomas Magee and his wife Sheila. A strawberry birthmark partly paralysed the left side of her face, and from the age of ten she endured several years of facial surgery and skin…...
Niland, Nora
Niland, Nora (1912–88), Sligo county librarian and founder of the Sligo municipal art collection, was born 21 March 1912 in Galway, eighth child among six sons and three daughters of John Niland, of Ballinastack, Tuam, Co. Galway, railway worker and small farmer, and his wife Elizabeth…...
O'Donnell, Erica Marie-Josèphe
O'Donnell, Erica Marie-Josèphe (1920–99), art historian and SOE officer, was born 11 March 1920 in Dublin, the only child of Eric Hugh O'Donnell, a British army officer of Dublin and Ballingaddy, Co. Limerick, and his wife Mary Mabel Elizabeth, second daughter of Joseph Charles Dunbar…...
O'Kelly, Countess Mary de Galway
O'Kelly, Countess Mary de Galway (1905–99), Belgian resistance operative, was born 24 April 1905 in Dublin, one of ten children of Thomas Patrick Cummins , a plumber, of Waterfall Cottage, Richmond Rd, Dublin, and his wife Ellen Black. Mary attended Fairview National School before…...
O'Sullivan, Maureen Patricia (‘Paddy’)
O'Sullivan, Maureen Patricia (‘Paddy’) (1918–p. 1950), undercover agent, was born 3 January 1918 in Dublin, daughter of John O'Sullivan, journalist, and his English wife, Adelaide (née Redmond), who died when Maureen was a year old. She briefly attended St Louis' convent…...
Owens, Evelyn
Owens, Evelyn (1931–2010), trade unionist and women's rights advocate, was born on 22 January 1931 at 23 Vernon Gardens, Clontarf, Dublin, the fourth of six children of William Owens, a civil servant of Clontarf, originally from Co. Roscommon, and his wife Ellen (née Monaghan), from…...
Pilkington, Ellice
Pilkington, Ellice (1869–1936), women's activist and artist, was born 1 September 1869 as Louisa Ellice Esmonde , second daughter of Sir John Esmonde, MP and lieutenant-colonel of Waterford artillery militia, of Ballynastragh, Gorey, Co. Wexford, and Louisa Esmonde (née Grattan),…...
Redmond, Mary
Redmond, Mary (1863–1930), sculptor, was born in Nenagh, Co. Tipperary, daughter of a quarry worker, and moved at a young age with her family to Ardclough, near Straffan, Co. Meath, where her father was employed in the local limestone quarries, the chief source of wealth in the…...
Redmond, Mary
Redmond, Mary (1950–2015), solicitor and founder of the Irish Hospice Foundation, was born on 25 August 1950, third in a family of six girls and a boy, to Dr John Redmond, civil servant, and his wife Mary (Máire) (née Lannin). She described her childhood in the family home on Mount Eden…...
Reid, Nano
Reid, Nano (1900–81), painter, was born Anne Margaret Reid on 1 March 1900 in Drogheda, Co. Louth, eldest among four children of Thomas Reid, publican, and Anne Reid (née Downey). The family lived above their pub on the corner of Peter St. and Fair St., and enjoyed a prosperous…...
Rivers, Elizabeth Joyce
Rivers, Elizabeth Joyce (1903–64), artist, was born 5 August 1903 in the family home, Bonks Hill House in Sawbridgeworth, Hertfordshire, England, the daughter of Thomas Alfred Rivers, nurseryman, and his wife Mabel (née Hall). Her family had run a renowned nursery plant operation from…...
Sugrue, Elizabeth (‘Lady Betty’)
Sugrue, Elizabeth (‘Lady Betty’) (1740/50–1807), executioner, is thought to have been born in Co. Kerry into a tenant farming family between 1740 and 1750. The location of her birth and names of her parents are not known, and available details of her life are largely anecdotal or…...
Thornton, Brigid Lyons
Thornton, Brigid Lyons (1896–1987), public health doctor and first female commissioned officer in the Irish Free State army, was born 13 May 1896 in Northyard, Scramogue, Co. Roscommon, the eldest child of the two daughters and one son of Patrick Lyons, farmer, and Margaret Lyons…...