Drew, Ronnie (Joseph Ronald Augustine)
Drew, Ronnie (Joseph Ronald Augustine) (1934–2008), folk singer, was born 16 September 1934 in 'Beaufort', Glasthule (Sandycove), Dún Laoghaire, Co. Dublin, eldest of three sons and two daughters of Patrick ('Paddy') Drew, carpenter, and Margaret ('Peg') Drew (née Maher), a seamstress…...
Drummond, John
Drummond, John (1649–1715), earl and titular duke of Melfort , statesman, diplomat, and art connoisseur, was second son of James, 3rd earl of Perth, and his wife Anne, eldest daughter of the 2nd marquis of Huntly. His elder brother, James, became 4th earl of Perth. Drummond's…...
Dunphy, Sean
Dunphy, Sean (1937–2011), showband and cabaret singer, was born John Michael Dunphy on 30 November 1937 in the family home at 17 London Bridge Road, Irishtown, Dublin, son of Patrick Dunphy, a plasterer, and Mary Dunphy (née Farrell). Following his father into a building trade, he…...
Fahy, Francis Arthur
Fahy, Francis Arthur (1854–1935), songwriter and Irish-language activist, was born 27 September 1854 at Kinvara, Co. Galway, one of eight children of Thomas Fahy, shopkeeper, of Co. Clare, and Celia Fahy (née Marlborough) of Gort, Co. Galway. Educated at Kinvara national school, he…...
Farrell, Micheal
Farrell, Micheal (1940–2000), painter and print-maker, was born 3 July 1940 at Cookstown House, near Ceanannus Mór (Kells), Co. Meath, one of two sons and two daughters of James Farrell, farmer and rugby player with Bective Rangers, and Nora Farrell (née Folwell). He began his…...
Feeney, John (‘Jack’)
Feeney, John (‘Jack’) (1903–67), singer, was born 9 August 1903 in Swinford, Co. Mayo, fourth of seven surviving children (five sons and two daughters) of Patrick Feeney (1865–1914/15), grocer, originally from Co. Leitrim, and Mary Feeney (née Kelly) (1875–1925), a daughter of the…...
Fenton, Tony
Fenton, Tony (Anthony Fagan, ‘the Dude’) (1961–2015), music broadcaster and disc jockey (DJ), was born Anthony James Fagan in Donnycarney, Co. Dublin, on 25 March 1961, the second of four sons and one daughter to Brendan Fagan, a carpenter with his own business, and his…...
Ferguson, Vincent
Ferguson, Vincent, (1931–2007), businessman and art collector, was born in the family home in Teeling Street, Sligo town, on 21 June 1931, the son of John Ferguson, printer, and his wife Mary (née McGarry). His mother died when he was five, leaving five boys and two girls. The family…...
Fitzgerald, John
Fitzgerald, John (1825–1910), poet, painter, antiquary, and wood-carver, was born 18 June 1825 at Hanover Street, Cork, son of John Fitzgerald and Martha Mary Deacy. He was educated at Fr Mathew's (qv) school, Blackamoor Lane, and…...
Flanagan, Edward Joseph
Flanagan, Edward Joseph (1886–1948), catholic priest and founder of Boys Town, was born 13 July 1886 at Ballymoe, Co. Roscommon, son of John Flanagan, herdsman, and Nora Flanagan (née Larkin). One of eleven children, he was first educated at a local school, Drimatample, and…...
Flanagan, Terence Philip ('T. P.'; 'Terry')
Flanagan, Terence Philip ('T. P.'; 'Terry') (1929–2011), painter, was born 15 August 1929 at 18 The Hollow, Enniskillen, Co. Fermanagh, the eldest among four sons and three daughters of William Flanagan and his wife Margaret (née Maguire). His father held a series of clerical jobs in…...
Fleischmann, Aloys Georg
Fleischmann, Aloys Georg (1880–1964), composer, conductor, choir master and organist, was born on 24 April 1880 in Dachau, Bavaria, Germany. His father (also Aloys), a highly respected guild craftsman (a master shoemaker), was born in the nearby hamlet of Eisolzried in 1844 and…...
Fleischmann, Maria Theresa Mathilda ('Tilly')
Fleischmann, Maria Theresa Mathilda ('Tilly') (1882–1967), pianist and teacher, was born 2 April 1882 at 14 Dyke Parade, Cork, the second of nine children of German immigrants, Hans Conrad Swertz and his wife Walburga (née Rössler). Her early musical education was largely overseen…...
Flood, William Henry Grattan
Flood, William Henry Grattan (1859–1928), musician and historian, was born 1 November 1859 at Lismore, Co. Waterford, eldest son of William Flood and his wife Catherine (née Fitzsimon). His mother gave him his first musical training, and he continued his musical studies during his…...
Frankau, Julia (‘Frank Danby’)
Frankau, Julia (‘Frank Danby’) (1859–1916), art historian and novelist, was born 30 July 1859 in Dublin, into an English Jewish family, seventh among nine children of Hyman Davis (d. 1871), dentist and later artist/photographer, and his wife Isabella. Her parents arrived in Dublin in…...
Fuller, Bill (William)
Fuller, Bill (William) (1917–2008), ballroom impresario and businessman, was born on 6 May 1917 in Glanoe, Kilfeighny, Co. Kerry, son of Stephen Fuller, a farmer of Glanoe, and his wife Mary (née Trant). He attended Tralee CBS and…...
Furlong, George Joseph
Furlong, George Joseph (1898–1987), art historian and gallery director, was born 1 February 1898 in Dundrum, seven miles north-west of Cashel, Co. Tipperary, son of Michael Furlong, hotel proprietor, and Kate Mary Furlong (née Bourke). Although he was orphaned at 9, the family…...
Gallagher, Bridget Ena ('Bridie')
Gallagher, Bridget Ena ('Bridie') (1924–2012), singer, was born on 7 September 1924 near Creeslough, Co. Donegal, to Jim Gallagher and his wife Biddy (née Sweeney). Bridie (as she was always known) had three older brothers, five older sisters and one younger sister; the family…...
Garvey, Máire (Mary) McDonnell
Garvey, Máire (Mary) McDonnell - (1927–2009), traditional musician and writer, was born 10 July 1927 on a farm in Tobracken, near Ballaghaderreen, Co. Roscommon, one of three children (a girl and two boys) of James McDonnell and his wife Annie Theresa (née Talbot). As well as farming…...
Gately, Stephen Patrick
Gately, Stephen Patrick (1976–2009), pop singer and entertainer, was born 17 March 1976 at the Rotunda hospital, Dublin, third son and fourth child among four sons and one daughter of Martin Francis Gately, house painter and decorator, and Margaret Gately (née Martin), homemaker and…...
Gifford, Grace (Evelyn)
Gifford, Grace (Evelyn) (1888–1955), cartoonist and republican, was born 4 March 1888 at 8 Temple Villas, Palmerston Park, Rathmines, Dublin, one of twelve children of Frederick Gifford, a wealthy solicitor, and Isabella Gifford (née Burton), a niece of the artist Sir…...
Gilmore, Patrick Sarsfield
Gilmore, Patrick Sarsfield (1829–92), musician and bandmaster, was born 25 December 1829 at Ballygar, Co. Galway, son of Patrick J. Gilmore, stonemason, and Mary Gilmore (née Sharkey). Initially destined for the priesthood, he was sent to work in a shop in Athlone, Co. Westmeath,…...
Goulet, Yann Renard-
Goulet, Yann Renard- (1914–99), artist and sculptor, was born Jean Gustave Réné Goulet on 20 August 1914 at Saint-Nazaire, Brittany, France, son of Gustave Goulet, hotelier and chef. After being educated locally he began studying architecture before winning a scholarship to the…...
Greevy, Bernadette Josephine
Greevy, Bernadette Josephine (1937–2008), classical singer, was born 3 July 1937 at 28 Vernon Avenue, Clontarf, Dublin, sixth among seven children of Patrick Joseph Greevy, an insurance official, and his wife Josephine Frances (née Miller); the family resided at 33 Vernon Gardens,…...
Harnett, Philip
Harnett, Philip (1943–96), Jesuit priest, was born 6 January 1943 in Dublin, the third child of Patrick Harnett and Ursula Treacy. He had two brothers, John and Patrick, and three sisters, Anne, Catherine, and Mary. Following an education at Pembroke School, Ballsbridge, and…...