Barry, Billie (Lillian)
Barry, Billie (Lillian) (1921–2014), performer and stage school founder, was born on 27 January 1921 in Drumcondra, Dublin, the youngest of fifteen children to John Clarke-Barry, orchestra leader and musician, and his wife Anne (née Hughes), an amateur operatic singer. The family were…...
Barry, Moyra Aloysius
Barry, Moyra Aloysius (1886–1960), artist, was born in Dublin, eldest of eleven children of Bernard Barry, merchant, and Jane Barry (maiden name unknown), and was called ‘Mary’ by her parents. She was educated at Loreto Convent, North Great George's St., Dublin, before studying at…...
Bellamy, George Anne
Bellamy, George Anne (1731?–1788), actress, was born in Fingal, Co. Dublin, illegitimate daughter of James O'Hara (qv), 2nd baron of Tyrawley, then British ambassador to Lisbon, and a Miss Seal, an actress of quaker extraction from Kent. Her mother married a…...
Bernelle, Agnes
Bernelle, Agnes (1923–99), singer and actress, was born Agnes Elizabeth Bernauer on 7 March 1923 in Berlin, Germany, daughter of Rudolph Bernauer (1880–1953), a Jewish-Hungarian actor, playwright, librettist, and theatrical director and impresario, and his second wife, Emmy (née Erb) (b…...
Borthwick, Mariella Norma
Borthwick, Mariella Norma (1862–1934), artist, writer and Irish-language activist, was born 25 July 1862 in Highfield, Higher Bebington, Chester, one of five daughters and three sons of George Borthwick, merchant, and Mary Elizabeth Borthwick (née MacDonald), of Edinburgh. Despite her…...
Boylan, Patricia
This is a co-subject for the entry on Boylan, Henry Joseph. View the original entry....
Brandt, Ruth
Brandt, Ruth (1936–89), artist and teacher, was born 22 June 1936 in Dublin, eldest child of Frank Brandt, graphic designer, and the artist Muriel Brandt (qv) (née McKinley). She was educated at the Dominican convent, Santa…...
Bushell, Ellen Sarah ('Nellie')
Bushell, Ellen Sarah (‘Nellie’) (1884–1948), silk weaver, usher and activist, was born on 23 January 1884 at 57 Francis Street, Dublin, to Edward Bushell (d. 1904), a silk weaver, and his wife Ellen (née Walshe). Bushell’s mother was dead by 1901 and Edward had…...
Bushnell, Anne
Bushnell, Anne (1939–2011), singer, was born on 28 March 1939 in the Rotunda hospital, Dublin, one of four children of John Kavanagh, a motor mechanic, of Arnott Street, Portobello, Dublin, and his wife Evelyn (née Ledwidge). She grew up in Milltown, Dublin, and danced as a child on the…...
Butler (Thompson), Elizabeth
Butler (Thompson), Elizabeth (1846–1933), Lady Butler , military painter, was born 3 November 1846 at the Villa Claremont, near Lausanne, Switzerland, the elder daughter of Thomas James Thompson and Christiana Thompson (née Weller). The Thompsons were cosmopolitan in outlook,…...
Colgan, Eileen
Colgan, Eileen (1934–2014), actor, was born on 2 January 1934 in Dublin to Charles Colgan, a cabinet maker, and his wife Eileen (née McNamara). She was one of five children (three boys and two girls) and grew up on Russell Street on the north side of the city. Her father and an elder…...
Crotty, Elizabeth (‘Lizzie’)
Crotty, Elizabeth (‘Lizzie’) (née Markham ) (1885–1960), concertina player, was born 8 January 1886 at Gower, Cooraclare, Co. Clare, the youngest in the large family of Michael Markham, farmer, and Margaret Markham (née Keane). She attended national school in Cooraclare (1893–9).…...
Crowe, Eileen (Alice Izabella)
Crowe, Eileen (Alice Izabella) (1899–1978), actress, was born 2 March 1899 at 1 Carlingford Terrace, Drumcondra, Dublin, daughter of Moses Crowe, grocer, and Theresa Crowe (née Eglinton). From an early age she showed an interest in the theatre, and regularly attended productions…...
Curran, Amelia
Curran, Amelia (1775–1847), artist, was born in Redmond's Hill, Dublin, eldest child of John Philpot Curran (qv), orator, lawyer, and parliamentarian, and Sarah Curran (née Creagh), both of Newmarket, Co. Cork. Her artistic…...
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…...
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…...
Donaghy, Eileen
Donaghy, Eileen (1930–2008), singer, was born on 16 July 1930 in Brackaville, near Coalisland, Co. Tyrone, the second of three children (two girls and a boy) of Hugh Pat McNally, a stonemason, and his wife Brigid (née Corey). She was christened Mary Josephine, but was always known…...
Dwyer, Bernie
Dwyer, Bernie (1943–2013), journalist, filmmaker and political activist, was born in Dublin on 14 December 1943 to Mary (née Fagan) and Arthur Hannon , a clerk at Dublin Corporation. She spent her early childhood in Drimnagh, before the family moved to Sutton, Co. Dublin. She left…...
Flanagan, Pauline
Flanagan, Pauline (1925–2003), actress, was born 29 June 1925 in Sligo town, youngest child of Patrick J. Flanagan and his wife Elizabeth (née McLynn). Her paternal family, originally from Co. Fermanagh, were driven out by anti‐catholic pogroms and resettled in Sligo, where her parents…...
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…...
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…...
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…...
Gibson, Chloe
Gibson, Chloe (1899–1995), theatre and television director, was born 18 May 1899 in Torquay, Devon, England, daughter of Walter Ernest Cawdle and Lotte Cawdle (née Saunders). She was educated at Lauriston Hall, Torquay. After studying painting briefly, she trained in speech and drama…...
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…...