Nagle, Nano (Honora)
Nagle, Nano (Honora) (1718–84), nun, educator, and founder of the Presentation Order, was born 9 April 1718 at Ballygriffin near Mallow, Co. Cork, eldest among five daughters and two sons of Garret Nagle (d. 1746), landowner, and Ann Nagle (née Mathew), who was from Annfield, Thurles,…...
Nolan, Julian (Julia)
Nolan, Julian (Julia) (c.1612–1701), Dominican prioress, the daughter of Galway citizens Peter Nolan and Elizabeth Lynch, was probably born in Galway. Nothing is known about her upbringing or education. In 1644 she married a distant relative, Peter Nolan, but a year later…...
O'Brien, Mary Lucy
O'Brien, Mary Lucy (1923–2006), missionary sister and doctor in Africa, was born Nora Veronica O'Brien on 17 August 1923 in Ballinderry, in the parish of Cummer, near Tuam, Co. Galway, the second eldest in a family of four girls and four boys of Michael O'Brien and his wife Nora (née…...
O'Brien, Miriam Thérèse
O'Brien, Miriam Thérèse (1945–2006), religious sister, educator, and aid worker in west Africa, was born Colette O'Brien on 18 April 1945 in Antrim town, the eldest of three daughters of Matthew O'Brien and his wife Mary (née Nash); she also had a younger brother. She attended St…...
O'Brien, Veronica (Louise Mary)
O'Brien, Veronica (Louise Mary) (1905–98), nun, catholic lay worker and spiritual adviser to King Baudouin and Cardinal Suenens of Belgium, was born Louise Mary O'Brien on 16 August 1905 in Midleton, Co. Cork, eleventh among thirteen children of Patrick O'Brien, physician, and Kathleen…...
O'Connell, Mary
O'Connell, Mary (Sister Anthony ) (1814–97), Sister of Charity, was born 15 August 1814 in Limerick, daughter of William O’Connell and Catherine O’Connell (née Murphy). After the death of her mother (1825), the family emigrated to America; Mary was raised by an aunt in Maine, while her…...
O'Connor, Mary
O'Connor, Mary (Sister Mary Agnes ) (1815–59), Sister of Mercy, foundress, and social worker, was born 6 January 1815 in Kilkenny city, youngest among ten children of Patrick O'Connor and Mary O'Connor. Like other charitable women of her time she visited the sick poor and made…...
O'Hagan, Mary
O'Hagan, Mary (1826–76), abbess, was born in 1826 in Belfast, the only daughter of Edward O'Hagan, a trader in the city, and his wife, Mary, daughter of Captain Thomas Bell. She received little education, and was profoundly affected in her childhood by the early death of both her…...
O'Malley, Una O'Higgins
O'Malley, Una O'Higgins (1927–2005), peace and reconciliation activist, was born in a Dublin nursing home on 25 January 1927, younger daughter of Kevin O'Higgins (qv), politician, and his wife Brigid (née Cole). Her brother…...
Organ, Nellie
Organ, Nellie (1903–8), pious and saintly child, was born at Waterford 24 August 1903, the youngest in the family of two sons and two daughters of William Organ and his wife Mary (née Aherne). William Organ, a native apparently of Dungarvan, had been a labourer at Portlaw, his…...
O'Rourke, Madeleine C.
O'Rourke, Madeleine C. (1951–2006), aviator and organiser of aviation events, was born in south Dublin in the spring of 1951, the daughter of Peter J. Byrne and his wife Olive (née Poole); there was an older brother. Her father was an electrical engineer with the…...
Pennefather, Catherine
This is a co-subject for the entry on Pennefather, William. View the original entry....
Phelan, Anastasia (Mary Gerard)
Phelan, Anastasia (Mary Gerard) (1872–1960), religious superior and educator, was born 18 January 1872 in Glenmore, Co. Kilkenny, to John Phelan, farmer, and Mary Phelan (née Dallon). Baptised Anastasia, she was educated by the Religious of the Sacred Heart of Mary in Waterford…...
Purcell, Mary
Purcell, Mary (1906–91), teacher, religious biographer, and archivist, was born 28 May 1906 in Moonveen, Carrigeen, Co. Kilkenny, one of three children of Richard Purcell, of Moonveen, and Anastasia Purcell (née Doyle), both of whom were schoolteachers. After attending the St Louis…...
Quinn, Edel
Quinn, Edel (1907–44), missionary and Legion of Mary envoy to Africa, was born 14 September 1907 in the parish of Castlemagner near Kanturk, Co. Cork. Her father, Charles Quinn (b. 12 November 1871 in Tuam, Co. Galway), joined the National Bank and was posted to Kanturk, where he met…...
Randles, Eileen
Randles, Eileen (1937–2015), teacher, education leader and nun, was born 26 April 1937 in Kenmare, Co. Kerry, the youngest of three daughters born to Tom Randles and his wife Nora (‘Dolly’) May (née Healy). The family lived on the premises of the garage Tom ran on Shelbourne Street in…...
Robertson, Olivia Melian
Robertson, Olivia Melian (1917–2013), writer, artist and co-founder of the Fellowship of Isis, was born on 13 April 1917 at St Mary's Hospital, Paddington, London, to Manning Durdin Robertson (qv), urban planner and architect, and…...
Russell, Mary Baptist (Katherine, Kate)
Russell, Mary Baptist (Katherine, Kate) (1829–98), nun, philanthropist, and educator, was born 18 April 1829 at Seafield, Ballybot, Newry, Co. Down, the third daughter and third child among the six children of Arthur Russell, ship's captain turned brewer, and his wife, Margaret (…...
Ryan, Elizabeth (Mary Eucharia)
Ryan, Elizabeth (Mary Eucharia) (1860–1929), Loreto sister and pioneer of women's higher education, was baptised Elizabeth Ryan on 7 October 1860 at Templemain church, Co. Leitrim, daughter of Laurence Ryan and his wife Mary. Her parents, noted educationists, were originally from…...
Sugrue, Elizabeth (‘Lady Betty’)
Sugrue, Elizabeth (‘Lady Betty’) (1740/50–1807), executioner, is thought to have been born in Co. Kerry into a tenant farming family between 1740 and 1750. The location of her birth and names of her parents are not known, and available details of her life are largely anecdotal or…...
Taaffe, Olivia Mary
Taaffe, Olivia Mary (1832–1918), founder of St Joseph's Young Priests Society, was born 24 June 1832 in Annagh House, Ballyglunin, seven miles from Tuam, Co. Galway, daughter of John Joseph Blake of Ballyglunin Park and Elizabeth Blake (née Bodkin). A few months later her mother…...
Tonna, Charlotte Elizabeth
Tonna, Charlotte Elizabeth (1790-1846), evangelical journalist and novelist, was born Charlotte Elizabeth Browne on 1 October 1790 in Norwich, England, daughter of Michael Browne, a minor canon of the cathedral, and his wife (probably a Murray). Her maternal grandmother, of Scots…...
Walker, Margaret
Walker, Margaret (1881–1966), missionary in Calabar, Nigeria, was born 16 March 1881 in Brighton, Sussex, England, fifth of six children – three sons and three daughters – of Col. Edward Walker and Mary Josephine Walker (née Woodhead). She was educated at the convent of the Holy…...
Walsh, Sr Patricia
Walsh, Sr Patricia (1942–2015), missionary nurse, was born Anna Maria Catherine Walsh on 23 September 1942 in Portlick, Glasson, Co. Westmeath, the eldest of three girls and a boy, to Michael Walsh, a fisherman, and his wife Bridget (née Nolan). Having attended Glasson primary school (…...
Warde, Frances Teresa (Sister Mary Frances Teresa)
Warde, Frances Teresa (Sister Mary Frances Teresa) (1810–84), Sister of Mercy and educator, was born in Belbrook House, Abbeyleix, Queen’s Co. (Laois) in 1810, the youngest of six children (three sons and three daughters) of John Warde, a merchant, and Mary Warde (née Maher). Educated…...