Aikenhead, Mary
Aikenhead, Mary (1787–1858), foundress of the congregation of the Religious Sisters of Charity and of St Vincent's Hospital, Dublin, was born 19 January 1787 in Cork city, eldest of four children – three daughters and one son – of David Aikenhead, apothecary, son of a Scottish…...
Alexander, Cecil Frances
Alexander, Cecil Frances (1818–95), hymn-writer, known in her family as Fanny, was born in Eccles Street, Dublin, second daughter (and third among seven children) of John Humphreys and Elizabeth Frances Humphreys (née Reed). Her mother's brother was Thomas Reed (1796–1883), a general…...
Alexander, Eleanor Jane (Nell)
This is a co-subject for the entry on Alexander, Cecil Frances. View the original entry....
Baird, Mary (Frances Josephine)
Baird, Mary (Frances Josephine) (1907–2009), nurse and health service administrator, was born 22 May 1907 in Belfast, the sixth of nine children (four boys and five girls) of Robert Baird, originally from Donegal, an RIC constable, and his wife Frances Harriet (née Hogan), from…...
Barry, Billie (Lillian)
Barry, Billie (Lillian) (1921–2014), performer and stage school founder, was born on 27 January 1921 in Drumcondra, Dublin, the youngest of fifteen children to John Clarke-Barry, orchestra leader and musician, and his wife Anne (née Hughes), an amateur operatic singer. The family were…...
Bernelle, Agnes
Bernelle, Agnes (1923–99), singer and actress, was born Agnes Elizabeth Bernauer on 7 March 1923 in Berlin, Germany, daughter of Rudolph Bernauer (1880–1953), a Jewish-Hungarian actor, playwright, librettist, and theatrical director and impresario, and his second wife, Emmy (née Erb) (b…...
Booth, Eva Selina Gore-
Booth, Eva Selina Gore- (1870–1926), poet, mystic, trade unionist and suffragist, was born on 22 May 1870 at Lissadell, Co. Sligo, the second of three daughters (and two sons) of Sir Henry Gore-Booth, 5th baronet and Arctic explorer, and his wife, Georgina (née Hill) of Tickhill castle…...
Bowe, Catherine Mary (Sister Celeste)
Bowe, Catherine Mary (Sister Celeste) (1931–76), Daughter of Charity and nurse, was born 23 February 1931 in Newberry, Mallow, Co. Cork, daughter of James Bowe, labourer, and Julia Bowe (née Ducey). She was educated at the local national and secondary schools. In 1949 she trained as an…...
Boyle, Ina (Selina Adelaide Philippa)
Boyle, Ina (Selina Adelaide Philippa) (1889–1967), composer, was born 8 March 1889 in Enniskerry, Co. Wicklow, daughter of Rev. William Foster Boyle, curate in Powerscourt parish, and his wife Philippa Augusta Jephson. Her father made violins and cellos as a hobby. She grew up at…...
Brazil, Dame Johanna
Brazil, Dame Johanna (Sister Mary Phillipa ) (1896–1988), Sister of Mercy, teacher, and nurse, was born 25 December 1896 in Kilfinane, Co. Limerick, daughter of Thomas Brazil, farmer, and Julia Brazil (née Devane). Educated at the local convent national school, she was one of a group…...
Bridgeman, Joanna (Sister Mary Francis)
Bridgeman, Joanna (Sister Mary Francis) (1813–88), Sister of Mercy, educator, and Crimean war nurse, was born in Ballagh, Ruan, Co. Clare, one of four children (two sons and two daughters) of St John Bridgeman and his wife Lucy Reddan. Her mother was a relative of…...
Brodrick, Albinia Lucy (Gobnaít Ní Bhruadair)
Brodrick, Albinia Lucy (Gobnaít Ní Bhruadair) (1861–1955), republican and nurse, was born 17 December 1861 at 23 Chester Square, Belgrave, London, the fifth daughter of William Brodrick (1830–1907), 8th Viscount Midleton, and his wife, Augusta Mary (née Freemantle), daughter of…...
Buckley, Christine
Buckley, Christine (1946–2014), nurse, midwife and advocate for survivors of childhood abuse in religious and state-supported institutions, was born Christine West on 10 October 1946 at Mile End Hospital, London, the daughter of Anna West (née Kershaw) from Longford, and Ariwodo Kalunta…...
Burke, Honora
Burke, Honora (1674–1698), was the youngest daughter of William Burke (qv), 7th earl of Clanricarde, and his second wife, Helen, daughter of Donough MacCarthy (qv), 1st earl of Clancarty…...
Burke, Joan
Burke, Joan (1929–2016), nurse, politician and farmer, was named Hanna Teresa at her birth on 8 February 1928, at Roughgrove House, Bandon, Co. Cork, the last of four children, and the only daughter, of Denis Crowley and Bridgid (‘Cissie’) (née Russell). The family farmed at Roughgrove…...
Bury, Lady Mairi (Elizabeth)
Bury, Lady Mairi (Elizabeth) (1921–2009), gardener and philatelist, was born 25 March 1921 at Mount Stewart, Co. Down, youngest of four daughters and one son of Charles Stewart Henry Vane-Tempest Stewart (qv…...
Bushnell, Anne
Bushnell, Anne (1939–2011), singer, was born on 28 March 1939 in the Rotunda hospital, Dublin, one of four children of John Kavanagh, a motor mechanic, of Arnott Street, Portobello, Dublin, and his wife Evelyn (née Ledwidge). She grew up in Milltown, Dublin, and danced as a child on the…...
Cloney, Sheila
Cloney, Sheila (1926–2009), protagonist in the Fethard-on-Sea boycott, was born Sheila Kelly on 6 May 1926 in Fethard-on-Sea, a village on the Hook peninsula of south-western Co. Wexford, daughter of Thomas Kelly, cattle dealer, of John's Hill (just outside Fethard), and his wife Sheila…...
Coffey, Victoria
Coffey, Victoria (1911–99), one of the first female paediatricians in Ireland, was born 16 September 1911 at 108 Brunswick Street, Dublin, the daughter of John Coffey, a weigh-master, and Ellie Coffey (née McCall). Her paternal grandfather, William Coffey, had been lord mayor of Dublin…...
Cosgrave, Mary Anne (Patrick)
Cosgrave, Mary Anne (Patrick) (1863–1900), pioneer nurse in Rhodesia, educationist, and Dominican prioress, was born 22 May 1863 in Summerhill, Co. Meath, one of four children of a member of the Irish Constabulary, who came from Ballysilla, near Oulart Hill, Co. Wexford. Her…...
Courtenay, Ellen
Courtenay, Ellen (1802–c.1837), accuser of Daniel O'Connell (qv), was born in Co. Cork, daughter of a native of the county. In 1817, at the age of 15, she moved to Dublin, and the catholic bishop of Cork,…...
Cowley, Jane (Sister Mary Teresa)
Cowley, Jane (Sister Mary Teresa) (1857–1914), Sister of Mercy, Boer war nurse, and educator, was born in Dunshaughlin, Co. Meath, daughter of John Cowley and Margaret Cowley (née Loughran). She entered the Convent of Mercy, Strabane, Co. Tyrone, on 2 February 1877, taking the…...
Crotty, Elizabeth (‘Lizzie’)
Crotty, Elizabeth (‘Lizzie’) (née Markham ) (1885–1960), concertina player, was born 8 January 1886 at Gower, Cooraclare, Co. Clare, the youngest in the large family of Michael Markham, farmer, and Margaret Markham (née Keane). She attended national school in Cooraclare (1893–9).…...
Crowley, Mary Frances
Crowley, Mary Frances (1906–90), nurse and educator, was born 1 August 1906 at 12 William Street, Wexford town, the home of her maternal grandparents, James Williams, a retired lighthouse keeper, and his wife Margaret. Mary was the eldest of six children born to John Crowley, a…...
Cummins, Catherine
Cummins, Catherine (1879–1967), Sister of Charity and founder member of Cappagh Orthopaedic Hospital, was born 6 February 1879 in Dublin, one of thirteen children of Patrick Cummins and Mary Cummins (née Kelly). Patrick was the proprietor of four pawnbroking establishments in Dublin, so…...