Fossett, Edward
Fossett, Edward (c.1895–1951), horseman and circus owner, was born near London, son of Sir Robert Fossett, originally of Islington, and Mary Fossett (née Francis), a bareback rider from Co. Wexford who performed as ‘Miss Mini’ in the family business, Sir Robert Fossett's…...
Fossett, Edward (Teddy)
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Fossett, Robert (Bobby)
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Fox, Richard Kyle
Fox, Richard Kyle (1846–1922), publisher and patron of sports, was born on Albertbridge Road, Belfast, on 12 August 1846. Fox's father James was a carpenter and mason, and his mother Mary (née Kyle) was the daughter of Henry Kyle, a Belfast presbyterian minister. As a teenager Fox…...
Franckton (Francke), John
Franckton (Francke), John (d. 1620), printer and bookseller, was probably born into a Dublin family and became apprentice to the queen's printer in Ireland, William Kearney. Upon Kearney's death in 1598 or 1599, Franckton succeeded him informally as royal printer, and he appears…...
French, (William) Percy
French, (William) Percy (1854–1920), songwriter, humourist, entertainer, and painter, was born 1 May 1854 in Cloonyquin House, parish of Tulsk, Co. Roscommon, second son and third child among four sons and five daughters of Christopher French (1821–97), landowner, and Susan Emma French…...
Freney, James
Freney, James (c.1719–1788), robber, was born in Inistioge, Co. Kilkenny, son of John Freney, bailiff, and Alice Freney (née Phelan). John Freney was taken into the employment of Joseph Robbins at Ballyduff near Thomastown at the age of 10, was apprenticed as a gardener,…...
Friel, Brian
Friel, Brian (1929–2015), playwright and writer, was born near Omagh, Co. Tyrone, on either 9 or 10 January 1929 (he possessed separate birth certificates for both dates), the third child of Patrick ‘Paddy’ Friel and Mary Christina McLoone. He had two older sisters, Nanette and Mary,…...
Gahagan, Usher
Gahagan, Usher (d. 1749), classical scholar and criminal, was perhaps from Co. Westmeath and may have been educated at TCD, though he did not take a degree. He converted to catholicism, much to the consternation of his family, who…...
Gaine, Hugh
Gaine, Hugh (1726–1807), printer and newspaper editor in New York, was born in Portglenone, Co. Antrim, the son of Hugh Gaine, possibly a merchant. There was at least one other son, who also emigrated. The family was Church of Ireland, although in a 1766 religious census family…...
Gallagher, Patrick
Gallagher, Patrick (1951–2006), businessman, was born on 8 May 1951 in Holles Street hospital, Dublin, the second son of Matt Gallagher, businessman, and his wife Helena Patricia (née Sheeran). He was raised from 1957 in palatial surrounds at Hollywood Rath, Mulhuddart, Co. Dublin. The…...
Gately, Stephen Patrick
Gately, Stephen Patrick (1976–2009), pop singer and entertainer, was born 17 March 1976 at the Rotunda hospital, Dublin, third son and fourth child among four sons and one daughter of Martin Francis Gately, house painter and decorator, and Margaret Gately (née Martin), homemaker and…...
Gentleman, Francis
Gentleman, Francis (1728–84), actor and dramatist, was born 23 October 1728 at York St., Dublin, son of a captain in the British army. A sickly child, he was nursed gradually to health, and at the age of ten was educated at the school of the Rev. Mr Butler at Digges St., Dublin,…...
Gibb (Gibson), Rosemary Elizabeth Jane (‘Rosy’)
Gibb (Gibson), Rosemary Elizabeth Jane (‘Rosy’) (1942–97), social worker, clown, and magician, was born 8 November 1942 in Dublin, the only child of Jack Gibson, a well-known surgeon and hypnotist, and Elizabeth Maude Gibson (née James). She passed her early childhood in Guernsey, where…...
Gibson, Chloe
Gibson, Chloe (1899–1995), theatre and television director, was born 18 May 1899 in Torquay, Devon, England, daughter of Walter Ernest Cawdle and Lotte Cawdle (née Saunders). She was educated at Lauriston Hall, Torquay. After studying painting briefly, she trained in speech and drama…...
Gibson, Violet Albina
Gibson, Violet Albina (1876–1956), failed assassin, was born 31 August 1876 in Dalkey, Co. Dublin, to Edward Gibson (qv), a wealthy lawyer and politician, and Frances Maria Adelaide Gibson (née Colles), the daughter of a barrister. Violet was…...
Gill, Henry Joseph
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Gill, Michael Henry
Gill, Michael Henry (1794?–1879), printer, was born c.1794, son of Henry Gill (d. 1797?) and his wife Catherine (née O'Neill). Henry, whose family probably originated in King's Co., was a woollen draper in Skinners’ Row, Dublin, and in the early 1790s was a member of the…...
Gill, Michael Joseph
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Gill, Mollie (Ní Giolla, Máire)
Gill, Mollie (Ní Giolla, Máire) (1891–1977), camogie player and administrator, was born Mary Anne Gill on 24 March 1891 at Murphystown, near Leopardstown, in south Co. Dublin, the daughter of James Gill, a shoe-maker, and his wife Jane (neé Daly). Census records suggest that she was the…...
Glover (Betterton), Julia (Juliana)
Glover (Betterton), Julia (Juliana) (1779/81–1850), actress, was born 8 February in Newry, Co. Down, in either 1779 or 1781. Both her parents, Thomas Betterton, a native of Dublin, who changed his name from Butterton for professional reasons, and his wife, formerly a Mrs Palmer,…...
Goldblatt, Harold
Goldblatt, Harold (1901–82), theatre producer and actor, was born in Belfast. Little is known of his early life before he came to prominence in the 1920s with the Jewish Institute Dramatic Society. He was its founder, producer, and main actor; his first success was to win the…...
Goold, Vere Thomas St Leger
Goold, Vere Thomas St Leger (1853–1909), first notable Irish lawn tennis player, was born 2 October 1853 in Waterford, sixth son among seven children of George Ignatius Goold, justice of the peace and resident magistrate, and his wife Clara, daughter of Major General James Webber-Smith…...
Graisberry, Daniel
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Graisberry, Daniel
Graisberry, Daniel (c.1740–1785), printer, was the son of William Graisberry, printer, of Drumcondra, Dublin, and Elizabeth Graisberry. Admitted to the Guild of St Luke (24 August 1775) after completing his apprenticeship under the king's printer, Hugh…...