Ailill Ólom
Ailill Ólom, mythical Munster king and ancestor figure of the free lineages of Munster, appears in alternative genealogical traditions either as son of Éogan Már (qv), ancestor of the Éoganacht dynasties, or as son of Mug Núadat and father of…...
Ainsworth, Thomas Joseph ('Joe')
Ainsworth, Thomas Joseph (Joe; ‘Two Gun Joe’) (1927–2015), garda, was born 17 May 1927 at his parents’ home at Davitt’s Terrace, Castlebar, Co. Mayo, the elder of two sons of Harry (Henry) Ainsworth, a victualler, and his wife Margaret (née Feeney). Ainsworth was…...
Ball, Edward Francis Allen Preston
Ball, Edward Francis Allen Preston (1916–87?), murderer, was born on 9 May 1916 at 40 Upper Fitzwilliam Street, Dublin, the younger son of Charles Preston Ball (d. 1957), a Dublin medical doctor who seems to have been the son of William James Ball (1830?–1895), clergyman, Indian…...
Barrington, George
Barrington, George (1755–1804), celebrated pickpocket, was born George Waldron in October 1755 at Maynooth, Co. Kildare, son of Henry Waldron, silversmith, and his wife, a mantua-maker and midwife whose maiden name was Naish. Educated locally, he benefited from the patronage of a…...
Baugh (Bagh, Bough, Boghe), William
Baugh (Bagh, Bough, Boghe), William (c.1587–1619?), pirate, was probably born in England. He was a ‘rear-admiral’ of the confederation of North Atlantic pirates c.1611, when many were sheltering in Ireland from the attempts of governments to eradicate piracy in…...
Bernard, James Francis
Bernard, James Francis (1850–1924), 4th earl of Bandon, landowner and kidnapping victim, was born 12 September 1850, the son of Francis Bernard (b. 1810), 3rd earl of Bandon, and Catherine Mary (née Whitmore), daughter of Thomas Whitmore, of Apley Park, Shropshire. The Bernard family…...
Billy in the Bowl
Billy in the Bowl (fl. 1780s), beggar and robber, lived on the northside of Dublin. Nothing is known of his earliest years and most of the details of his life are hazy. He first came to public notice in the 1780s begging around Stoneybatter, Grangegorman and Oxmantown. Born…...
Bonney (Bonny), Anne
Bonney (Bonny), Anne (c.1700–p.1721), pirate, is thought to have been born in Cork about 1700. While her life story has been somewhat mythologised over time, the lead source about her remains the work of a Captain Charles Johnson (presumed to be the pseudonym of Daniel…...
Brady, Joe
Brady, Joe (c. 1857–1883), Fenian and assassin, was born in Dublin, second of twenty sons and five daughters of Thomas Brady, a paviour of forty years standing with Dublin corporation. After serving an apprenticeship with Dublin corporation, Joe was employed by the corporation…...
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…...
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…...
Burke, William
Burke, William (1793?–1829), murderer, was born probably at Urney, near Strabane, Co. Tyrone, son of Neil Burke, labourer. Born into a catholic, Irish-speaking family, he received some education and was servant to a presbyterian minister for a time. When he tired of this he tried the…...
Cadden, Mary Anne (‘Mamie’) (‘Nurse Cadden’)
Cadden, Mary Anne (‘Mamie’) (‘Nurse Cadden’) (1891–1959), midwife and abortionist, was born 27 October 1891 in Scranton, Pennsylvania, USA, eldest of seven children of Patrick Caden, of a small-farming background from Doonbredia, Lahardane, Co. Mayo, and Mary Caden (née McLoughlin), a…...
Cahill, Martin
Cahill, Martin (1949–94), criminal, was born 23 May 1949 in Dublin, second of twelve children of Patrick Cahill, lighthouse keeper, and Agnes Cahill (née Sheehan). The Cahill family first lived in the north inner city, then moved to a corporation estate in Crumlin. At the age of eight…...
Colla
Colla , a pseudo-historical ancestor-figure of the Airgialla, is triplicated as Colla Fo-Chríth, Colla Mend, and Colla Uais, who are represented in genealogical tradition as the respective ancestors of the ruling dynasties of Airthir and Uí Chremthainn, of the Mugdorna, and of Uí…...
Collier, Michael
Collier, Michael (1780–1849), highwayman, was born at Bellewstown Hill, Co. Meath, son of a small farmer; no other details of his parents are known. Aged 13, he was employed as a farm labourer in Co. Louth, and he later worked as a carman on the Dublin–Drogheda mail coach (where he…...
Coll, Vincent (‘Mad Dog’)
Coll, Vincent (‘Mad Dog’) (1908–32), gangster, was born 20 July 1908 in Bunbeg, Gweedore, Co. Donegal, seventh child among six sons and two daughters of Tuathall Óg (‘Toaly’) Coll, of Bunbeg, a small farmer, and Anna Mary Coll (née Duncan), of Dublin. His parents had met and married…...
Colthurst, John Colthurst Bowen-
Colthurst, John Colthurst Bowen- (1880–1965), army officer and murderer, was born John Colthurst Bowen in Cork on 12 August 1880, eldest son of Robert Walter Travers Bowen JP (who changed the family name to Bowen-Colthurst in 1882 to meet the…...
Conall Cernach
Conall Cernach (‘the triumphant’), legendary hero of the Ulaid, belongs to Old Irish literature rather than to history. In origin, he was probably an ancestor figure (perhaps a deity) of the Conaille, whose kingdom lay in north Co. Louth, on the marches of Ulaid. Conall having been…...
Conall Corc (‘the purple’)
Conall Corc (‘the purple’) , a legendary figure, is represented as a principal ancestor of the dynasties of the Éoganachta and is a central character in the origin story of the kingship of Cashel. The traditions surrounding him are widely discussed. According to the pre-Norman…...
Conchobar
Conchobar , son of Ness, is a fictional personality who features in the Ulster cycle as king of the Ulaid (Ulstermen). The subject of an elaborate birth-tale, he is said to have been a son of the druid Cathbad and of Ness, daughter of a fictional king named Eochaid Sálbuide. His…...
Conn Cétchathach
Conn Cétchathach (‘the hundred-battler’), pseudo-historical ancestor of the dynasties which emerged as the Connachta (including Uí Néill) and Airgialla, and forebear of all noble families of Leth Cuinn (the northern half of Ireland), was reputedly a son of Fedelmid Rechtmar son of…...
Connolly, Patrick Joseph
Connolly, Patrick Joseph (1927–2016), barrister and attorney general of Ireland, was born 25 May 1927 at 70 Botanic Road, Glasnevin, Dublin. He was the elder of two sons born to Patrick Joseph Connolly, principal of Ballyboughal national school, and his wife Ellen (‘Nellie’; née O’Hara…...
Cormac
Cormac son of Art, often viewed as the archetypal king of Tara, is conventionally associated with the Connachta/Uí Néill dynasties. Though there are strong arguments in favour of linking Cormac (sometimes dubbed Ulfota, ‘longbeard’) to an earlier tradition of Tara, by the…...
Crotty, William
Crotty, William (1712–42), highwayman, was probably born at Russellstown in north Co. Waterford, son of a small farmer. He claimed that he became a highwayman aged 18 after his father was evicted from his smallholding for non-payment of rent. His early activities are largely unknown…...