O'Daly, John
O'Daly, John (1800–78), writer and publisher, was born 5 February 1800 in Fernane, Cappoquin, Co. Waterford, eldest among three sons and three daughters of Eamonn O'Daly and Brigid O'Daly (née Kyley). He was educated at a local hedge school before going to work, in 1826, for the…...
O'Dea, Denis
O'Dea, Denis (1903–78), actor, was born 26 April 1903 in Dublin, the only child of Michael O'Dea, RIC officer, and Katherine O'Dea (née Neilson), both originally from north Co. Kerry. At the time of Denis's birth they were living at…...
O'Dea, James Augustine (‘Jimmy’)
O'Dea, James Augustine (‘Jimmy’) (1899–1965), actor and comedian, was born 26 April 1899 at 11 Lower Bridge St., Dublin, over his parents’ toyshop in the historic but dilapidated Liberties. Both parents, twice-widowed James O'Dea and his third wife, Martha (née O'Gorman), former…...
O'Donovan, Frederick Michael ('Fred')
O'Donovan, Frederick Michael ('Fred') (1929–2010), theatrical impresario, theatre and radio producer, and public figure, was born 27 May 1929 at the National Maternity Hospital, Holles Street, Dublin, the fourth of six sons of John O'Donovan, of 53 Casino Road, Croydon Park, Fairview,…...
O'Donovan, James Laurence (‘Jim’, ‘Seamus’)
O'Donovan, James Laurence (‘Jim’, ‘Seamus’) (1896–1979), scientist and republican, was born 3 February 1896 in Castleview, Co. Roscommon, fifth among seven children (three daughters and four sons) of Daniel J. O'Donovan, excise officer, and Margaret O'Donovan (née Brennan), of Co. Cork…...
Ó Faracháin, Roibeárd (Farren, Robert)
Ó Faracháin, Roibeárd (Farren, Robert) (1909–84), poet, broadcaster, and director of the Abbey Theatre, was born Robert Farren on 24 April 1909 in Lower Grand Canal St., Dublin, son of Henry Farren, stone-cutter, and Catherine Farren (née Gray). His father, who played a prominent role…...
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…...
O'Hara, Maureen
O’Hara, Maureen (1920–2015), actor, was born Maureen FitzSimons on 17 August 1920 at the family home at 32 Upper Beechwood Avenue in Ranelagh, Dublin. Her father, Charles Stewart Parnell FitzSimons, managed a high-end clothing company and was part-owner of Dublin’s Shamrock Rovers FC.…...
O'Herlihy, Dan (Daniel Peter)
O'Herlihy, Dan (Daniel Peter) (1919–2005), actor, was born 1 May 1919 at Odessa Cottage, Wexford town, son of John Robert O'Herlihy, a civil servant from Cork who later worked in the Department of Industry and Commerce, and his wife Ellen (née Hanton), from Wexford; they had at least…...
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…...
O'Keeffe (O'Keefe), John
O'Keeffe (O'Keefe), John (1747–1833), actor and dramatist, was born 24 June 1747 at Abbey St., Dublin, into a catholic family. Educated locally by Fr Austin, he showed some talent as a painter and was enrolled at the Dublin Society schools. However, his mind soon turned to the…...
O'Kelly, Matthias Joseph
O'Kelly, Matthias Joseph (1786–1868), naturalist and catholic activist, was the son of Joseph O’Kelly of Co. Kildare, and lived at 147 James St., Dublin, before moving to Rochestown House, Rochestown Avenue, Killiney, Co. Dublin, with his wife, children, and two sisters. He had a…...
Ó Laoghaire, Colm
Ó Laoghaire, Colm (1919–2007), filmmaker, was born on 8 September 1919 in Dublin, the only son of Jeremiah O'Leary (see below), an Irish Transport and General Workers' Union (ITGWU) official, and his wife Philomena ('Mimi') O'Leary (née Plunkett). Mimi was a daughter of Count…...
O'Leary, Liam
O'Leary, Liam (1910–92), writer, film director, and archivist, was born William O'Laoghaire on 25 September 1910, the son of Donnachadh O'Laoghaire, a teacher, and his wife, Alice (née Burke), of South Main Street, Youghal. He spent most of his childhood in Wexford, and was…...
O'Leary, William J.
O'Leary, William J. (1869–1939), Jesuit priest and scientist, was born 19 March 1869 in Dublin, son of Dr William H. O'Leary (qv), MP for Drogheda 1874–80, surgeon, and professor of anatomy at the Royal College of Surgeons in…...
Ó Lochlainn, Colm
Ó Lochlainn, Colm (1892–1972), printer, publisher and Gaelic scholar, was born William Gerard O'Loughlin at Drumcondra, Dublin, on 11 October 1892, the second of four surviving children (from six) of John O'Loughlin, publisher, and his wife Delia Bridget (née Carr), whose family were…...
O'Malley, Mary (Margaret)
O'Malley, Mary (Margaret) (1918–2006), theatrical director and activist, co-founder of the Lyric Players Theatre in Belfast, was born Mary Margaret Hickey in Mallow, Co. Cork, on 28 July 1918, the posthumous daughter of Daniel Hickey and his wife Annie (née Lysaght). Her father died of…...
O'Malley, Patrick Pearse
This is a co-subject for the entry on O'Malley, Mary (Margaret). View the original entry....
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'Meara, Robert Allen Quain
O'Meara, Robert Allen Quain (1903–74), professor of medicine and medical scientist, was born 1 December 1903 in Skibbereen, Co. Cork, younger son of Timothy Joseph O'Meara (fl. 1895–c.1938), doctor, and his wife (née Allen). He was educated at Clongowes Wood…...
O'Neill, James
O'Neill, James (1845–1920), actor, was born 14 October 1845 in Rosbercon, Co. Kilkenny, sixth of the nine children of Edmond O'Neil (also Neil, Neill, or O'Neill), labourer, and his wife (and cousin) Mary Neill. After struggling in the famine years, Edmond O'Neill emigrated (May…...
Ó Raifeartaigh, Lochlainn Séamus
Ó Raifeartaigh, Lochlainn Séamus (1933–2000), theoretical physicist, scholar, and senior professor at the Dublin Institute for Advanced Studies, was born 11 March 1933 in Clontarf, Dublin, second eldest among three sons and three daughters 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…...