Leech, William John
Leech, William John (1881–1968), painter, was born 10 April 1881 at 49 Rutland (latterly Parnell) Square, Dublin, the third among the five sons and a daughter of Henry Brougham Leech (1843–1921), chief registrar of deeds and regius professor of law at…...
Leeson, Joseph
Leeson, Joseph (c.1701–1783), 1st earl of Milltown , landowner, patron of the arts, was one of six surviving children – and apparently the only surviving son – of Joseph Leeson (qv), brewer and property developer, and his wife…...
Leslie, John
Leslie, John (1571–1671), ‘the fighting bishop’, was born 14 October 1571 in Crichie, Aberdeenshire, Scotland, eldest son of George Leslie and his wife Marjory. Educated in Aberdeen, he travelled on the Continent (c.1589–c.1609), becoming fluent in French,…...
Leslie, Sir John
Leslie, Sir John (1822–1916), 1st baronet, painter and politician, was born 16 December 1822 at Glaslough, Co. Monaghan, the second son in a family of three boys and four girls born to Colonel Charles Powell Leslie MP (d. 1831), and his second wife, Christina, daughter of George…...
Luttrell, Henry Lawes
Luttrell, Henry Lawes (1737–1821), 2nd earl of Carhampton , soldier, and politician, was born 7 August 1737, first son of Simon Luttrell (1713–87), 1st earl of Carhampton, and his wife Judith Maria, daughter of Sir Nicholas Lawes, governor of Jamaica. Educated at Westminster and…...
Macan, Arthur Jacob
Macan, Arthur Jacob (1774–1819), politician, soldier and banker, was the youngest child of seven (six sons and one daughter) of Thomas Macan (1717–95). Thomas had been born McCann , a descendant of one of the most important Gaelic clans in Co. Armagh, but on 27 October 1751…...
Macan, Turner
Macan, Turner (1792–1836), soldier, linguist and translator, was born on 30 September 1792 at Kilbrogan, Bandon, Co. Cork, the second son of seven children (three sons and four daughters) of Robert Macan (1750–1808), originally of Carrive, Co. Armagh, and his wife Hannah (née…...
MacCarthy, Donogh
MacCarthy, Donogh (1668–1734), 4th earl of Clancarty , soldier and Jacobite, was born in Blarney, Co. Cork, only son of Callaghan MacCarthy (qv) (second son of Donough MacCarthy (…...
MacManus, Henry
MacManus, Henry (c.1810–78), artist, was born probably in Monaghan. According to his close friend Charles Gavan Duffy (qv), he was left orphaned after his father, a catholic soldier, died with his regiment, and he was…...
MacMunn, Charles Alexander
MacMunn, Charles Alexander (1852–1911), doctor, army officer and physiologist, was born 11 April 1852 at Seafield House, Easky, Co. Sligo, the home of his father Dr James MacMunn, medical officer to the Easky dispensary and the Dromore West Union workhouse. After attending Dromore…...
Maguire, Hugh
Maguire, Hugh (c.1710–66), soldier, was third (or third surviving) son of Brian Maguire (d. 1712) of Tempo, Co. Fermanagh, and his wife Bridget, daughter and co-heiress of James Nugent of Coolamber, Co. Longford. As a younger son, Maguire had to make his way in the…...
Mahon, Sir Bryan Thomas
Mahon, Sir Bryan Thomas (1862–1930), general, was born 2 April 1862 in Belleville, Co. Galway, son of Henry Blake Mahon, landowner, and his wife Matilda, daughter of Col. Thomas Seymour, of Ballymore Castle, Co. Galway. Educated locally, he joined the 4th (Militia) Battalion of…...
Malby, Sir Nicholas
Malby, Sir Nicholas (c.1530–1584), soldier and president of Connacht, was born probably in the West Riding of Yorkshire, England. All that is known of his parents is that his father died when he was four, and he may have been brought up in London by a merchant, John Malby…...
Martin, Richard
Martin, Richard (1754–1834), politician, animal rights campaigner, and duellist, was born 6 February 1754 at Ballinahinch castle, Dangan, Co. Galway, the eldest son of Robert Martin, a landowner, and his first wife, Bridget Martin (née Barnewall), daughter of the 11th Baron…...
Massey, Eyre
Massey, Eyre (1719–1804), 1st Baron Clarina , general, was born 24 May 1719, the sixth son of Colonel Hugh Massey of Duntrileague, Co. Limerick, and his wife Elizabeth, sister of Lord Carbery and daughter of Colonel George Evans (1655–1720), MP for Co. Limerick (1692–3), Askeaton (1695–…...
Massue de Ruvigny, Henri
Massue de Ruvigny, Henri (1648–1720), marquis de Ruvigny , earl of Galway , soldier and lord justice, was born 9 April 1648 in Paris, France, son of Henri Massue, 1st marquis de Ruvigny, and his wife Marie Tallemand. The elder Ruvigny in 1656 became the deputy-general for the…...
Massy, William Godfrey Dunham
Massy, William Godfrey Dunham (1838–1906), British army general, was born 24 November 1838 at Grantstown Hall, Grantstown, Co. Tipperary, eldest son of Maj. Henry William Massy, JP, and Maria Massy (née Cahill). He was educated privately…...
McAughtry, Sam
McAughtry, Sam (1921–2014), writer and broadcaster, was born on 24 March 1921 in the Tiger’s Bay area of north Belfast, the son of Marriott ‘Mark’ McAughtry (1882–1951), a merchant seaman, and his wife Elizabeth ‘Lizzie’ (née Condit). Sam was the sixth of ten children, four of whom died…...
McCarthy, Charles
McCarthy, Charles (1924–86), trade unionist and academic, was born 25 January 1924 at 12 Annmount, Friars Walk, Cork city, second child of John George McCarthy of Cork, plumber, and Agnes Abina McCarthy (née O'Donoghue). He was educated at Presentation College, Cork,…...
McClintock, Sir Francis Leopold
McClintock, Sir Francis Leopold (1819–1907), Royal Naval officer and Arctic explorer, was born 8 July 1819 at 1 Seatown Place, Dundalk, Co. Louth, eldest surviving son of Henry McClintock, collector of customs in Dundalk and formerly an officer in the 3rd Dragoon Guards, and his…...
McCormack, Inez Jane Mary (née Murphy)
McCormack, Inez Jane Mary (née Murphy) (1943–2013), human rights activist and trade unionist, was born on 28 September 1943 in Belfast to Francis Cecil Murphy, a printer, and his wife, Margaret Murphy (née Sterritt), a nurse. She had one older brother, Terence (b. 1942). When Inez was…...
McCormack, Percy (Percival Davis)
McCormack, Percy (Percival Davis) (1929–2015), nuclear scientist, rocket engineer, pilot and physician, was born 23 October 1929 at the family home at 5 Garville Road, Rathgar, Dublin, the eldest of three children (he had a sister, Marion, and a brother, John) born to Thomas Henry…...
McElroy, George Edward Henry
McElroy, George Edward Henry (1893–1918), leading Irish-born fighter pilot of the first world war, was born 14 May 1893 at 2 Beaver Row, Donnybrook, Dublin, eldest among four sons and four daughters of Samuel McElroy, BA, national teacher, of…...
McGuckin (McGucken), James
McGuckin (McGucken), James (d. 1817), attorney, politician, and informer, of South Parade, Belfast, was a native probably of Antrim or Down. According to Bernard McAuley (1771–1863), a catholic priest who knew him well, his father was a catholic but he and his sisters belonged…...
Mervyn, Sir Audley
Mervyn, Sir Audley (1603–75), soldier and MP, was the younger son of Sir Henry Mervyn of Wiltshire, England, admiral of the Narrow Seas, and his wife Christian Tuchet, daughter of George, Lord Audley, 1st earl of Castlehaven, and Lucy Mervyn. He entered Christ Church, Oxford, in…...