Luce, John Victor
Luce, John Victor (1920–2011), classicist, was born on 21 May 1920 in Dublin, the elder of two sons of Arthur Aston Luce (qv), then professor of moral philosophy in TCD, and his wife Lilian Mary (née Thompson), a philosophy graduate…...
Luttrell, Henry Lawes
Luttrell, Henry Lawes (1737–1821), 2nd earl of Carhampton , soldier, and politician, was born 7 August 1737, first son of Simon Luttrell (1713–87), 1st earl of Carhampton, and his wife Judith Maria, daughter of Sir Nicholas Lawes, governor of Jamaica. Educated at Westminster and…...
Macan, Arthur Jacob
Macan, Arthur Jacob (1774–1819), politician, soldier and banker, was the youngest child of seven (six sons and one daughter) of Thomas Macan (1717–95). Thomas had been born McCann , a descendant of one of the most important Gaelic clans in Co. Armagh, but on 27 October 1751…...
Macan, Turner
Macan, Turner (1792–1836), soldier, linguist and translator, was born on 30 September 1792 at Kilbrogan, Bandon, Co. Cork, the second son of seven children (three sons and four daughters) of Robert Macan (1750–1808), originally of Carrive, Co. Armagh, and his wife Hannah (née…...
MacCarthy, Donogh
MacCarthy, Donogh (1668–1734), 4th earl of Clancarty , soldier and Jacobite, was born in Blarney, Co. Cork, only son of Callaghan MacCarthy (qv) (second son of Donough MacCarthy (…...
MacMunn, Charles Alexander
MacMunn, Charles Alexander (1852–1911), doctor, army officer and physiologist, was born 11 April 1852 at Seafield House, Easky, Co. Sligo, the home of his father Dr James MacMunn, medical officer to the Easky dispensary and the Dromore West Union workhouse. After attending Dromore…...
MacNaghten, John
MacNaghten, John (1722–61), murderer, was born in 1722, probably in Benvarden, Co. Antrim, elder of two sons of Bartholomew MacNaghten, landowner in Co. Antrim and merchant in Derry city, and his wife Mary (née MacManus); he also had a sister. When John was about six, his father…...
Magee, William
Magee, William (1750?–1827), printer, was probably born in Belfast, where his father, James Magee, printer and bookseller, had been involved with Francis Joy (qv) in papermaking near Ballymena in 1740, and had published the early Belfast news…...
Maguire, Hugh
Maguire, Hugh (c.1710–66), soldier, was third (or third surviving) son of Brian Maguire (d. 1712) of Tempo, Co. Fermanagh, and his wife Bridget, daughter and co-heiress of James Nugent of Coolamber, Co. Longford. As a younger son, Maguire had to make his way in the…...
Mahaffy, Sir John Pentland
Mahaffy, Sir John Pentland (1839–1919), classical scholar and provost of TCD, was born at Chapponnaire, near Vevey, Switzerland, on 26 February 1839, youngest of six children of Nathaniel Brindley Mahaffy, Church of Ireland clergyman, and his wife, Elizabeth (née Pentland).…...
Mahon, Sir Bryan Thomas
Mahon, Sir Bryan Thomas (1862–1930), general, was born 2 April 1862 in Belleville, Co. Galway, son of Henry Blake Mahon, landowner, and his wife Matilda, daughter of Col. Thomas Seymour, of Ballymore Castle, Co. Galway. Educated locally, he joined the 4th (Militia) Battalion of…...
Malby, Sir Nicholas
Malby, Sir Nicholas (c.1530–1584), soldier and president of Connacht, was born probably in the West Riding of Yorkshire, England. All that is known of his parents is that his father died when he was four, and he may have been brought up in London by a merchant, John Malby…...
Massey, Eyre
Massey, Eyre (1719–1804), 1st Baron Clarina , general, was born 24 May 1719, the sixth son of Colonel Hugh Massey of Duntrileague, Co. Limerick, and his wife Elizabeth, sister of Lord Carbery and daughter of Colonel George Evans (1655–1720), MP for Co. Limerick (1692–3), Askeaton (1695–…...
Massue de Ruvigny, Henri
Massue de Ruvigny, Henri (1648–1720), marquis de Ruvigny , earl of Galway , soldier and lord justice, was born 9 April 1648 in Paris, France, son of Henri Massue, 1st marquis de Ruvigny, and his wife Marie Tallemand. The elder Ruvigny in 1656 became the deputy-general for the…...
Massy, William Godfrey Dunham
Massy, William Godfrey Dunham (1838–1906), British army general, was born 24 November 1838 at Grantstown Hall, Grantstown, Co. Tipperary, eldest son of Maj. Henry William Massy, JP, and Maria Massy (née Cahill). He was educated privately…...
McAuley, Jeremiah (‘Jerry’)
McAuley, Jeremiah (‘Jerry’) (c.1839–84), reformed criminal and missionary, was born in Ireland, the abandoned son of a counterfeiter. Raised by his grandmother as a Roman Catholic, he did not attend school and at the age of 13 was sent to America to live with his sister…...
McClintock, Sir Francis Leopold
McClintock, Sir Francis Leopold (1819–1907), Royal Naval officer and Arctic explorer, was born 8 July 1819 at 1 Seatown Place, Dundalk, Co. Louth, eldest surviving son of Henry McClintock, collector of customs in Dundalk and formerly an officer in the 3rd Dragoon Guards, and his…...
McCormack, Percy (Percival Davis)
McCormack, Percy (Percival Davis) (1929–2015), nuclear scientist, rocket engineer, pilot and physician, was born 23 October 1929 at the family home at 5 Garville Road, Rathgar, Dublin, the eldest of three children (he had a sister, Marion, and a brother, John) born to Thomas Henry…...
McElroy, George Edward Henry
McElroy, George Edward Henry (1893–1918), leading Irish-born fighter pilot of the first world war, was born 14 May 1893 at 2 Beaver Row, Donnybrook, Dublin, eldest among four sons and four daughters of Samuel McElroy, BA, national teacher, of…...
McGrath, William
McGrath, William (1916–91), loyalist and paedophile, was born 11 December 1916 in Belfast, son of Abraham McGrath and Jane McGrath (née Warrington). McGrath came from a methodist background; in later years he worked with presbyterian and Free Presbyterian churches while operating as a…...
Mervyn, Sir Audley
Mervyn, Sir Audley (1603–75), soldier and MP, was the younger son of Sir Henry Mervyn of Wiltshire, England, admiral of the Narrow Seas, and his wife Christian Tuchet, daughter of George, Lord Audley, 1st earl of Castlehaven, and Lucy Mervyn. He entered Christ Church, Oxford, in…...
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…...
Molesworth, Richard
Molesworth, Richard (1680–1758), 3rd Viscount Molesworth , field-marshal, MP, and commander-in-chief in Ireland, was second son of Robert, 1st Viscount Molesworth (qv), of Swords, Co. Dublin, and Philipstown, King's Co., and his…...
Molyneaux, James Henry
Molyneaux, James Henry (1920–2015), Ulster Unionist Party (UUP) leader, was born in Killead, near Crumlin, Co. Antrim, on 27 August 1920, eldest son of William Molyneaux, farmer, and his wife Sarah (née Gilmore). He had at least one brother and one sister. For…...
Montgomery, Alexander John
Montgomery, Alexander John (1720–1800), soldier and politician, was the heir, and eldest son among three sons and one daughter, of Thomas Montgomery (c.1700–1761), landowner and later MP for Lifford, Co. Donegal (1729–60), and Mary Montgomery (née Franklin). His youngest…...