O'Donnell, Nuala
O'Donnell, Nuala (c.1575–c.1630), refugee, was born in Tir Conaill, daughter of Hugh O'Donnell (qv) (d. 1600), lord of Tyrconnell and his second wife,…...
O'Donovan, (Peter) Joseph ('Joe')
O'Donovan, (Peter) Joseph ('Joe') (1946–2008), consulting engineer, was born 9 June 1946 in Molloy Terrace, Ballina, Co. Mayo, son of Peter Joseph O'Donovan, a school inspector originally from west Cork, and his wife Hannah (née Bourke), formerly a teacher; he had at least four…...
O'Flaherty, Kathleen Mary Josephine
O'Flaherty, Kathleen Mary Josephine (1916–94), French scholar, was born 26 December 1916 in Mayfield, Enniscorthy, Co. Wexford, the youngest of the four children, two sons and two daughters, of Bernard Joseph O'Flaherty, a prominent and well-to-do solicitor, and his wife, Frances…...
O'Flanagan, Theophilus
O'Flanagan, Theophilus (c.1762–1814), classical and Irish scholar, was born in the parish of Tulla, Co. Clare, son of Mathghamhain Ó Flannagáin, scribe and hedge-schoolmaster. He was baptised Tadhg but later on entering TCD…...
Ó hUallacháin, Colmán
Ó hUallacháin, Colmán (1922–79), educator, linguist, Irish-language activist and priest, was born Liam Holohan on 8 December 1922 in Dublin, eldest among four sons and two daughters of Garry Holohan (Gearóid Ó hUallacháin) (1894–1967), imprisoned republican soldier, and latterly an…...
Ó Maolmhuaidh, Proinsias (Francis O'Molloy)
Ó Maolmhuaidh, Proinsias (Francis O'Molloy) (d. 1677), grammarian and theologian, was probably born in the very early seventeenth century, and most likely in the part of Co. Offaly known as Fircall, or O'Molloy's Country. It is stated that he was of noble birth, being related to…...
O'Meara, John
O'Meara, John (1915–2003), academic, was born 18 February 1915 at Eyrecourt, Co. Galway, the elder of two sons of Patrick O'Meara, a small businessman from Ilaunmore on Lough Derg, and Mary O'Meara (née Donelan). The very early death of his father, at the end of 1915, and the troubled…...
O'Rahilly, Aodogán John Eoin O'Sullivan
O'Rahilly, Aodogán John Eoin O'Sullivan (1904–2000), republican and engineer, was born 22 September 1904, third son among four sons of…...
O'Reilly, Joseph Patrick
O'Reilly, Joseph Patrick (1829–1905), chemist, engineer, and mineralogist, was born 11 July 1829 in Monaghan, fifth son among thirteen children of Thomas O'Reilly, solicitor, and Cecilia O'Reilly (née Devin). The family moved to Dublin on his father's appointment as master of the…...
Ó Riain (O'Ryan), Henry
Ó Riain (O'Ryan), Henry (fl. 1633), Dominican priest and Latin poet, probably received his classical education at Munster and pursued his philosophical and theological studies at Rome or elsewhere in Italy. Resident at Rome in 1633, he was commissioned to compose a…...
O'Shea, William Henry
O'Shea, William Henry (1840–1905), politician and adventurer, was born in Dublin, son of Henry O'Shea (pronounced ‘O'Shee’), a catholic solicitor from an indebted Limerick gentry family, and his wife Catherine, a papal countess and daughter of Edward Craneach Quinlan of Rosana, Co…...
Palmer (Ambrose), Eleanor
Palmer (Ambrose), Eleanor (c.1720–1818), celebrated beauty, was born Eleanor Ambrose , daughter and heiress of Michael Ambrose, a wealthy Roman catholic brewer and merchant, and his wife, the daughter of Richard Archbold, a Dublin brewer; nothing is known of her mother.…...
Perry (Shaw), Alice Jacqueline
Perry (Shaw), Alice Jacqueline (1885–1969), engineer and Christian Scientist, was born in Wellpark, Co. Galway, one of five daughters and one son of James Perry, engineer and county surveyor for Galway, originally from Garvagh, Co. Londonderry, and Martha Perry (née Park), from…...
Phillips, Michael
Phillips, Michael (d. 1796), Franciscan friar and government spy, was probably brought up in north-east Connacht, and in 1795 was described as ‘from French Park’ or from ‘Killfree, near Boyle’, Co. Roscommon. His parents cannot be identified, although it is possible that he was a…...
Plunkett, Richard (Risteard Pluincéid)
Plunkett, Richard (Risteard Pluincéid) (fl. 1662), Franciscan friar and dictionary compiler, is of obscure origins. The Plunketts were one of the most prominent Old English families of the Pale, with titles such as ‘lord of Louth’, ‘Lord Dunsany’, and ‘baron of Killeen’.…...
Purcell, Pierce Francis
Purcell, Pierce Francis (1881–1968), civil engineer, peat fuel pioneer, and university professor, was born 6 October 1881 at the Quay, Kilkenny city, only son of Thomas Purcell of Albert House, Dalkey, Co. Dublin, and Margaret Purcell (née Phelan). Educated in Dublin at St Vincent…...
Rice, James Louis
Rice, James Louis (1730–p. 1793), soldier and duellist, was son of Thomas Rice, count of the Holy Roman Empire and merchant, of Baile Mhic an Daill, Dingle, Co. Kerry, and Alicia Rice (née Meade). Educated at the Irish College at Louvain, he was initially destined for the…...
Rice, Peter Ronan
Rice, Peter Ronan (1935–92), structural engineer, was born 16 June 1935 at the Leinster nursing home, 26 Upper Pembroke St., Dublin, son of James Patrick Rice, head of the Louth vocational education committee, and Maureen Rice (née Quinn), living at 11 Faughart Terrace, St Mary's…...
Ronayne, Joseph Philip
Ronayne, Joseph Philip (1822–76), civil engineer and politician, was born at Mount Verdun, Cork, youngest son of Edward Ronayne, glassmaker, and his wife Margaret, daughter of John Meany of Dorrickmore, Co. Cork. He was educated in Cork at the school of Hamblin and Porter; then…...
Sadleir, John
Sadleir, John (1813–56), banker, politician, speculator, and swindler, was born 17 November 1813 at Shronell House in the parish of Shronell near Tipperary town, fifth of seven children born to Clement William Sadleir, a protestant farmer and middleman, whose earliest known…...
Sall, Andrew Fitzjohn
Sall, Andrew Fitzjohn (1624–82), scholar and sometime Jesuit, was born into an Old English family in the city of Cashel, Co. Tipperary; nothing is known of his parents. More than five Jesuits bore the name Sall (Sál, Sale). With such a background it is not surprising to find the young…...
Sheehy, Edmund
Sheehy, Edmund (1733–66), farmer executed for murder, of Lodge (parish of Ardfinnan, Co. Tipperary), was the son of Ellin Fitzpatrick. He was otherwise known as ‘Buck’ Sheehy, a term indicative of semi-gentleman status, as he had an income of £300 or £400 a year, and was a person…...
Sisk, John Gerard
Sisk, John Gerard (1911–2001), civil engineer and businessman, was born 18 January 1911 in Cork, second son among two sons and one daughter of John Valentine Sisk (1868–1955), head of the family building firm, and his wife Mary Josephine, daughter of Patrick Harty,…...
Smyth, Brendan
Smyth, Brendan (1927–97), catholic priest and paedophile, was born John Gerard Smyth in Nansen Street, off the Falls Road, west Belfast, on 6 June 1927. He was educated at Barracks Street CBS, Belfast. In 1945 he joined the Norbertine…...
Stanihurst, Richard
Stanihurst, Richard (1547–1618), scholar and diplomat, was born in Dublin, eldest among three sons and two daughters of James Stanihurst (qv) (or Stanyhurst), lawyer and politician, and Anne Stanihurst (née Fitzsimon), both of the…...