Cusack, Adam
Cusack, Adam (d. 1681), judge, was the second son of Robert Cusack of Rathgar, sometime MP for Kells, and his wife Alice, the second daughter of Sir George Sexton. His father is sometimes recorded as having married Alice, daughter of John Eustace of Harristown, Co. Kildare, though…...
Cutts, John
Cutts, John (1661–1707), Baron Cutts of Gowran , soldier and lord justice of Ireland, was born in Arkesden, Essex, second son of Richard Cutts of Arkesden and Matching, Essex, and Joan Cutts, daughter of Sir Richard Everard. Educated for a time at Catherine Hall, Cambridge (…...
Danvers, Henry
Danvers, Henry (1573–1644), earl of Danby , army officer and lord president of Munster, was born 28 June 1573 at Dauntsey, Wiltshire, the second son of Sir John Danvers of Dauntsey and Elizabeth, youngest daughter and coheir of John Neville, last Baron Latimer. Appointed to his…...
Davies, Rowland
Davies, Rowland (1649–1721), clergyman and journalist, was son of Rowland Davies, gentleman farmer, and Mary Davies (née Scudamore; widow of Thomas Smith) of Gill Abbey near Cork. He was taught by Mr Scragg of Cork city before entering TCD…...
Davies, Sir John
Davies, Sir John (1569–1626), lawyer and poet, was baptised at Tisbury, Wiltshire, 16 April 1569. His father, whose name is usually given as John, but sometimes as Edward, Davies (d. 1580), was of Welsh descent, and his mother, Mary (née Bennett; d. 1590), came from a Wiltshire…...
Davis, Thomas Osborne
Davis, Thomas Osborne (1814–45), Young Irelander, poet, and journalist, was born 14 October 1814 at Mallow, Co. Cork, youngest of three sons and one daughter of James Thomas Davis, military surgeon, and his wife Mary (née Atkins). Family and education James…...
Dawson, Arthur
Dawson, Arthur (1698–1775), lawyer, poet, and politician, was born 9 October 1698, the eldest son of Joshua Dawson (c.1660–1725), landowner and later MP for Wicklow borough (1705–14), and his wife, Anne Dawson (née Carr). He was educated by Dr Jones in Dublin, and then…...
Day, Robert
Day, Robert (1746–1841), politician, judge, and diarist, was born 1 July 1746 at Lohercannon, near Tralee, Co. Kerry, the third son in a family of five sons and two daughters of the Rev. John Day (1711–81), chancellor of Ardfert, and his wife Lucy, a daughter of Maurice FitzGerald…...
De Blacam, Aodh (Hugh Saunders Blackham, Aodh Sandrach de Blacam)
De Blacam, Aodh (Hugh Saunders Blackham, Aodh Sandrach de Blacam) (1891–1951), journalist and politician, was born Hugh Saunders Blackham in London on 11 December 1891, son of William George Blackham, a Newry-born apothecary, and his English wife Elizabeth (née Saunders). He was…...
Denham, Sir John
Denham, Sir John (1559–1639), judge, was born probably in London, second son of William Denham – a goldsmith of St Matthew's, Friday St., London, who later settled in Thorpe, Surrey – and his wife Joan. Having been a member of Furnival's Inn, Denham entered Lincoln's Inn on 19…...
Devereux, Robert
Devereux, Robert (1565–1601), 2nd earl of Essex , royal favourite, and lord lieutenant of Ireland, was born 10 November 1565, eldest son of Walter Devereux (qv), 1st earl of Essex, and his wife Lettice (Laetitia) (d. 1634), daughter of…...
Dillon, Robert
Dillon, Robert (d. 1642), 2nd earl of Roscommon , lord justice, was the eldest son of Sir James Dillon and his wife Eleanor Barnwall of Turvey. He graduated from Gray's Inn in 1613; his legal expertise would partly explain his prominent roles in the 1634 and 1640 parliaments. He…...
Dillon, Sir Lucas (Luke)
Dillon, Sir Lucas (Luke) (d. 1593), chief baron of the Irish exchequer, was eldest son of Sir Robert Dillon (qv) of Newtown, Trim, Co. Meath, chief justice of the common pleas, and his wife Elizabeth, daughter of Edward…...
Dillon, Sir Robert
Dillon, Sir Robert (d. 1597), judge, was the eldest son of Thomas Dillon of Riverston, Co. Meath, and his wife Anne, daughter of Sir Thomas Luttrell (qv), chief justice of the common pleas. He studied law at Lincoln's Inn, appearing…...
Dillon, Thomas
Dillon, Thomas (1615–1673/4), 4th Viscount Dillon of Costello-Gallen, army officer, was born in March 1615, second son of Sir Christopher Dillon of Ballylagham, Co. Mayo, lord president of Connacht, and Lady Jane, eldest daughter of James Dillon, 1st earl of Roscommon. He was a…...
Dix, Ernest Reginald McClintock
Dix, Ernest Reginald McClintock (1857–1936), solicitor, book collector, and Irish language enthusiast, was born 8 April 1857 in Dublin, elder son of Henry Thomas Dix (1825–1902), a prominent solicitor, and his wife Emma Patience, daughter of an army officer, Henry McClintock of…...
Docwra (Dowkra, Dockwra, Dockwraye, Dockquerye, Docura), Sir Henry
Docwra (Dowkra, Dockwra, Dockwraye, Dockquerye, Docura), Sir Henry (1564–1631), 1st baron of Culmore , soldier and administrator, was baptised on 30 April 1564, younger son of Edmund Docwra of Chamberhouse manor, Thatcham, Berkshire, England, and his wife Dorothy. He joined the…...
Doherty, John
Doherty, John (1783–1850), politician and chief justice of the common pleas, was second son of John Doherty, attorney, of Aungier St., Dublin, and his wife Margaret, daughter of David Verner. Educated at Chester School, he entered TCD…...
Domvile (Domville), Sir William
Domvile (Domville), Sir William (1609–89), attorney general and constitutional writer, was son and heir of Gilbert Domvile (1583–1637) of Cheshire and his wife, Margaret Jones (d. 1615), a daughter of Thomas Jones (qv) (d. 1619), archbishop of…...
Donnellan, James
Donnellan, James (1588?–1665), lawyer, was third son of Nehemias Donellan (qv), archbishop of Tuam (1595–1609), and his wife Elizabeth O'Donnell of Tyrconnell. He was a scholar of…...
Downes, William
Downes, William (1751–1826), 1st Baron Downes of Aghanville , lord chief justice, was born in Donnybrook, Co. Dublin, the third and only surviving son of six children of Robert Downes, MP for Kildare borough (1735–54), and his wife, Elizabeth Downes, the daughter of Thomas Twigge…...
Dowse, Richard
Dowse, Richard (1824–90), lawyer, MP, and judge, was born 8 June 1824 in Dungannon, Co. Tyrone, only son of William Henry Dowse, merchant, and his wife Maria, daughter of Hugh Donaldson, all from Dungannon. He came from modest circumstances, but his early aptitude for learning…...
Doyle, Sir John
Doyle, Sir John (1756–1834), British army general, was born in Dublin, fourth son of Charles Doyle of Bramblestown, Co. Kilkenny, and his wife Elizabeth, daughter of the Rev. Nicholas Milley of Johnville, Co. Kilkenny. He attended the school of the Rev. Benjamin Hobart in Carlow.…...
Driscol, Denis
Driscol, Denis (1762–1811), newspaper proprietor and radical, was born in Co. Cork. Little is known about his parentage and details of his early career are sparse, but he was born into a catholic family wealthy enough to provide him with an education on the continent. Having…...
Drury, Sir William
Drury, Sir William (1527–79), soldier and administrator, was born on 2 October 1527 at Hawstead, Suffolk, the third son of Sir Robert Drury of Hedgerley, Buckinghamshire, and Elizabeth, daughter of Edmund Brudenell. He was educated at Gonville Hall, Cambridge, then became a…...