Lysaght, Edward
Lysaght, Edward (1763–1810), lawyer, wit, and versifier, was the only son of John Lysaght, landed gentleman of Brickhill, Co. Clare, and Jane Eyre Dalton, daughter of Edward Dalton of Deerpark, Co. Clare, and first cousin of Lord Eyre of Eyrecourt, Co. Galway. Edward obtained his early…...
Mac Brádaigh, Philip
Mac Brádaigh, Philip (c.1650–c.1719), poet and clergyman, commonly known as ‘Philip Ministir’ or ‘Parson Brady’, was born in Co. Cavan about the middle of the seventeenth century, probably in the district to the west of Cootehill that had previously formed the Cúil…...
Mac Conmara, Donnchadh ‘Rua’
Mac Conmara, Donnchadh ‘Rua’ (c.1715–1810), poet, is believed to have been born in Cratloe, Co. Clare, but his early life is obscure and nothing is known of his family. According to tradition, he studied for the priesthood at the Irish college in Rome for five years, was…...
MacDermott, Martin
MacDermott, Martin (1823–1905), poet and architect, was born 8 April 1823 in Dublin, son of John MacDermott (1785–1842), prosperous merchant and perfumer, and Amélie Thérèse MacDermott (née Boshell), of French descent. Although educated as a catholic on Usher's Quay and later at a…...
Mac Gearailt, Piaras (Fitzgerald, Pierce)
Mac Gearailt, Piaras (Fitzgerald, Pierce) (c.1709–c.1792), poet, was born in Ballykinealy, near Ballymacoda, Co. Cork, into a branch of the Fitzgeralds who were related to the knights of Kerry but had lost most of their property as a result of their involvement in the…...
MacLysaght, Edward Anthony Edgeworth
MacLysaght, Edward Anthony Edgeworth (1887–1986), farmer, horticulturist, poet, novelist, senator, historian, and genealogist, was born 6 November 1887 at Flax Bourton, Somerset, the elder of the two sons of Sidney Royse Lysaght, novelist, poet, and businessman, and his wife, Kathrine,…...
MacMahon, Ella
MacMahon, Ella (1864–1956), novelist, was born Eleanor Harriet on 23 July 1864 in Dublin, elder of two children of the Rev. John Henry MacMahon (1829–1900), curate of St Werburgh's, Dublin (1860–71), and later chaplain of Mountjoy prison (1887–1900), and Frances MacMahon (née…...
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…...
MacNally, Leonard
MacNally, Leonard (1752?–1820), barrister, writer, United Irishman, and informer, was born in Dublin, the only son of William MacNally (d. 1756), a grocer. It seems that his mother brought him up with the support of his uncle, a merchant named Featherstone of St Mary's Lane. A…...
Madden, Samuel Molyneux (‘Premium Madden
Madden, Samuel Molyneux (‘Premium Madden ’) (1686–1765), writer and philanthropist, was born in Dublin on 23 December 1686, the second son of John Madden MD (d. 1703), one of the original members of the Irish College of Physicians, and his first…...
Magee, Patrick
Magee, Patrick (1924–82), actor, was born on 31 March 1924 in Edward Street, Armagh town, eldest of five children of Patrick McGee, schoolteacher and eventually principal of St Patrick's primary school. When he joined Actors' Equity he changed his surname to 'Magee' to avoid confusion…...
Malleson (Annesley), Lady Constance Mary (‘Colette O'Niel’)
Malleson (Annesley), Lady Constance Mary (‘Colette O'Niel’) (1895–1975), actress and writer, was born 24 October 1895 at Castlewellan, Co. Down, the second daughter of the marriage of Hugh, fifth earl of Annesley (qv) and Priscilla…...
Malone, Edmond
Malone, Edmond (1741–1812), lawyer and literary scholar, was born 4 October 1741 in Dublin, the second son of Edmond Malone of Shinglas, Co. Westmeath, MP for Granard (1761–6) and a judge in the court of common pleas, and his wife, Catherine (née Collier) of Ruckholt, Essex. He…...
Martin, Violet Florence
This is a co-subject for the entry on Somerville, Edith Anna Œnone.…...
Mason, John Monck
Mason, John Monck (1725–1809), politician and literary commentator, was born in Dublin, eldest son of Robert Mason, soldier, of Mason Brook, Co. Galway, and Sarah Mason (née Monck), author of the popular Poems by Miranda. Educated privately by Mr Young, he entered…...
Maturin, Basil William
Maturin, Basil William (1847–1915), catholic priest and writer, was born on 15 February 1847 at All Saints’ vicarage, Grangegorman, Dublin, third of the ten children of the Rev. William Maturin (qv) and his wife, Jane Cooke (née…...
Maturin, Charles Robert
Maturin, Charles Robert (1780–1824), Church of Ireland clergyman and novelist, was born 25 September 1780 in Dublin, sixth and youngest child of William Maturin, post office official and clerk of the roads for Munster, and his wife, Fidelia (née Watson). The Maturins were of…...
Maxwell, William Hamilton
Maxwell, William Hamilton (1792–1850), novelist, historian, and clergyman, was born 30 June 1792 in Market St., Newry, Co. Down, son of James Maxwell, merchant, and his wife, a daughter of William Hamilton. He witnessed the hanging of two United Irishmen in the town in 1798.…...
Mayne, Ethel (Ethelind) Frances Colburn
Mayne, Ethel (Ethelind) Frances Colburn (1865–1941), novelist, short story writer, biographer and translator, was born on 7 January 1865 in Johnstown, Co. Kilkenny, the second of eight children of Charles Edward Bolton Mayne and Charlotte Emily Henrietta Sweetman. Her father’s family…...
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…...
McFadden, Roy
McFadden, Roy (1921–99), poet, was born 14 November 1921 in Beechfield St., Belfast, younger son of Roland Victor McFadden, bank official from Downpatrick, Co. Down, and Maud McFadden (née Steel). His paternal grandmother's family, the Quails, had been prominent tradesmen in…...
Meade, L. T. (Elizabeth (‘Lillie’) Thomasina
Meade, L. T. (Elizabeth (‘Lillie’) Thomasina Toulmin Smith) (1844?–1914), novelist, was born in Bandon, Co. Cork, daughter of Richard Thomas Meade, clergyman, and Sarah Meade (née Lane). Reared in Nohaval, near Kinsale, Co. Cork, where her father was Church of Ireland rector, she was…...
Megaw, Arthur Stanley
This is a co-subject for the entry on Megaw, Basil. View the original entry....
Mercier, Vivian Herbert Samuel
Mercier, Vivian Herbert Samuel (1919–89), literary critic, was born 5 April 1919 in Clara, King's Co. (Offaly), son of William Mercier and Charlotte Olivia Mercier (née Abbot). His father, who was employed in the sales office of Goodbody's Mills in Clara, was of huguenot descent (…...
Michelburne (Michelborne, Mitchelburne), John
Michelburne (Michelborne, Mitchelburne), John (c.1648–1721), soldier, governor of Derry, playwright, was born on 2 January 1648 in Sussex, the only child of Abraham Michelburne and his wife, Penelope (née Wheeler), who died during the birth. Michelburne was baptised 8 January…...