Brennan, William
Brennan, William (d. 1840), highwayman, was born at Raspberry Hill, Co. Waterford. In the late 1830s he was working at Kilmurry House, Co. Cork, the property of a Mr Grant. Caught while attempting to steal a watch, he became an outlaw, raised a gang, and based himself in the…...
Bresnihan, Barry (Finbar Patrick Kevin)
Bresnihan, Barry (Finbar Patrick Kevin) (1944–2010), rheumatologist and rugby player, was born on 13 March 1944 at 15 Lower Hatch Street, Dublin, the only son (as well as three daughters) of Dr Con Bresnihan (d. 1974), GP, chief medical officer to the civil service, and medical…...
Brett, (Sir) Charles Edward Bainbridge
Brett, (Sir) Charles Edward Bainbridge (1928–2005), solicitor, architectural historian and public figure in Northern Ireland, was born 30 October 1928 in Holywood, Co. Down, eldest of three children, two boys and a girl, of Charles Anthony Brett, a Belfast solicitor, and his wife…...
Brewster, Abraham
Brewster, Abraham (1796–1874), lord chancellor of Ireland 1867–8, was born 10 April 1796 in Ballymutra House, west Co. Wicklow, son of William Bagenal Brewster and his wife Mary, daughter of Thomas Bates of Askinvillar, Co. Wexford. After boarding at Kilkenny College, he…...
Bric, John
Bric, John (1793–1826), lawyer and repealer, was born 21 June 1793, third son of Lawrence Bric of Tralee, Co. Kerry (the name Ó Bric/Ó Bruic is long established in Munster) and his wife Mary Breen. He was admitted to the King's Inns, Dublin (1816), and the Middle Temple, London (…...
Bridgeman, Joanna (Sister Mary Francis)
Bridgeman, Joanna (Sister Mary Francis) (1813–88), Sister of Mercy, educator, and Crimean war nurse, was born in Ballagh, Ruan, Co. Clare, one of four children (two sons and two daughters) of St John Bridgeman and his wife Lucy Reddan. Her mother was a relative of…...
Bridgwater, John (Savan) of (John de Ponte)
Bridgwater, John (Savan) of (John de Ponte) (c.1248–1306/7), administrator, lawyer, and justice, was born no later than 1248 and perhaps several years before that (he was acting as an attorney by 1269 and therefore probably 21 or older in that year); his birthplace was…...
Brodrick, Alan
Brodrick, Alan (c.1655–1728), 1st Viscount Midleton , lord chancellor of Ireland, was the second son of St John Brodrick, a beneficiary of the Cromwellian land settlement who originated from Wandsworth in Surrey and established himself at Ballyannan, near Midleton in Co.…...
Brodrick, Albinia Lucy (Gobnaít Ní Bhruadair)
Brodrick, Albinia Lucy (Gobnaít Ní Bhruadair) (1861–1955), republican and nurse, was born 17 December 1861 at 23 Chester Square, Belgrave, London, the fifth daughter of William Brodrick (1830–1907), 8th Viscount Midleton, and his wife, Augusta Mary (née Freemantle), daughter of…...
Browne (Altamont), Jeremy Ulick
Browne (Altamont), Jeremy Ulick (1939–2014), 11th marquis of Sligo and entrepreneur, was born on 4 June 1939 in London, the only child of…...
Browne, Arthur
Browne, Arthur (1756?–1805), lawyer, legal and classical scholar, and MP, was born probably in Newport, Rhode Island, North America, the only son of Marmaduke Browne (1731–71), rector of Trinity church, Newport, and later a founding fellow of Rhode Island College (from 1804 Brown…...
Browne, Daniel J. (‘Dan’)
Browne, Daniel J. (‘Dan’) (1895–1959), lawyer and civil servant, was born 21 May 1895, the youngest of the fourteen children of Daniel Browne, shopkeeper and butcher, and Ellen (née Walsh), of the Corner House, Church Street, Listowel, Co. Kerry. After a distinguished career as a…...
Browne, Geoffrey
Browne, Geoffrey (d. 1668), lawyer and politician, was the eldest son, of the four sons and five daughters, of Sir Dominick Browne, merchant, and mayor of Galway in 1634, and his wife, Anastasia, daughter of James Darcy, mayor of Galway in 1603, and sister of…...
Browne, Henry Martyn
Browne, Henry Martyn (1853–1941), classicist and Jesuit priest, was born 7 August 1853 in Claughton, Woodchurch, Cheshire, England, the second of four sons and one daughter of John Wilson Browne, hardware merchant, born in Portugal (1824), and Jane Susan Browne (née McKnight), one…...
Browne, John
Browne, John (1638–1712?), lawyer and entrepeneur, of Kinturk and Westport, Co. Mayo, was the second son of Major John Browne (d. 1670) of the Neale, near Ballinrobe, Co. Mayo, and his wife Mary. His mother was a daughter of Sir …...
Browne, Noel Christopher
Browne, Noel Christopher (1915–97), politician and physician, was born 20 December 1915 at 38 Bath Street, Waterford city, second son and fourth among eight children of Joseph Browne, of Loughrea, Co. Galway, and Mary Theresa Browne (née Cooney), of Hollymount, Co. Mayo. His father was…...
Browne, O'Donel Thornley Dodwell
Browne, O'Donel Thornley Dodwell (1903–52), gynaecologist, was born 10 April 1903 in Naas, Co. Kildare, son of O'Donel Henry Dodwell Browne, medical doctor, and Grace Lizzie Browne (née Glover). He was educated at Mourne Grange, Campbell College, and…...
Browne, Patrick
Browne, Patrick (c.1720–1790), botanist and physician, was born at Woodstock, Crossboyne, Co. Mayo, fourth son of Edward Browne, landowner; his mother's name is not known. In 1737 he went to live in Antigua with a relative, but ill health prompted his return to Europe,…...
Browne, Thomas George
Browne, Thomas George (1888–1963), veterinarian, was born 9 September 1888 at Moneymore, Co. Londonderry, third son among four sons and three daughters of John Browne and Jane Browne (née Eakin), both of whose families were farmers for generations in the locality. He was educated at…...
Brown, James (‘Jimmy’)
Brown, James (‘Jimmy’) (1956–92), republican socialist and drug-dealer, was born in Broadway Road off the Falls Road, west Belfast, son of Jimmy Brown, brewery worker, and his wife Eileen, part-time domestic help. He joined the Official IRA…...
Brown, Samuel Lombard (‘Sam’)
Brown, Samuel Lombard (‘Sam’) (1856–1939), barrister and politician, was born 10 January 1856, the eldest son of Samuel Brown LLD, of Trim, Co. Meath, and his wife Isabella (née Coote). The family later moved to 2 Sydenham Terrace, Dundrum, Co.…...
Bruce, William
Bruce, William (1790–1868), presbyterian minister and classicist, was born in Belfast on 16 November 1790, the second son of William Bruce (qv) (1757–1841), presbyterian minister, and his wife, Susannah (née Hutton). After a schooling…...
Bryan, Patrick
Bryan, Patrick (d. 1663), lawyer and politician, was third son of James FitzJohn Bryan of Whiteswall and Eleanor, daughter of Piers Butler of Callan, Co. Kilkenny. Patrick qualified as a barrister, having studied in Gray's Inns in the late 1630s, and married a daughter of James…...
Bryans, Robert Harbinson ('Robin Harbinson'; 'Robert Harbinson')
Bryans, Robert Harbinson ('Robin Harbinson'; 'Robert Harbinson') (1928–2005), memoirist and travel writer, was born on the Newtownards Road, Belfast, on 24 April 1928, third child and only son of Robert Bryans, musician and window cleaner, and his wife Georgina (née Campbell), known as…...
Bryce, James
Bryce, James (1838–1922), 1st Viscount Bryce , politician, historian, jurist, and chief secretary for Ireland (1905–7), was born 10 May 1838 in a small terraced house in Arthur St., Belfast, eldest of two sons and two daughters of James Bryce…...