Delany, William
Delany, William (1835–1924), Jesuit and president of UCD, was born 4 June 1835 at Leighlinbridge, Co. Carlow, second of ten children (of whom five survived) born to John Delany and Mary Delany (née Brennan). As with many Irish catholic families of farming stock, there was an…...
De Paor, Liam
De Paor, Liam (1926–98), archaeologist, historian, and academic, was born 13 April 1926 in Dublin, son of Paul Power of Tramore, Co. Waterford, and Kathleen Power (née Burke) of Dublin. His father was a railway official and de Paor grew up in Drumcondra, Dublin, where he attended the…...
Derrig, Thomas (Ó Deirig, Tomás)
Derrig, Thomas (Ó Deirig, Tomás) (1897–1956), revolutionary, teacher, and politician, was born 26 November 1897 at High St., Westport, Co. Mayo, son of Patrick Derrig (d. 1927), a carrier or carman, formerly of Knappaghbeg, Westport, and Winifred Derrig (née Sammon), seamstress,…...
Derry, Valentine
Derry, Valentine (b. c.1760–d. p.1806), United Irishman, soldier, and teacher. Nothing is known about his early life. His brother was Father Edmund Derry (c.1747–1819), parish priest of Clonduff and later catholic bishop of Dromore (1801–19). Valentine…...
De Valera, Éamon (‘Dev’)
De Valera, Éamon (‘Dev’) (1882–1975), teacher, revolutionary, taoiseach, and president of Ireland, was born 14 October 1882 in the Nursery and Child's Hospital, Lexington Avenue, Manhattan, New York, the only child of Juan Vivion de Valera and Catherine (‘Kate’) Coll (1856–1932); he was…...
De Valera, Sinéad
De Valera, Sinéad (1875–1975), teacher, folklorist, and writer, was born Jane Flanagan , 1 June 1875, in Ballbriggan, Co. Dublin, one of three daughters and four children of Laurence Flanagan, a carpenter, and Margaret Flanagan (née Byrne). When she was seven the family moved to Munster…...
Devlin, Edith Florence Newman
Devlin, Edith Florence Newman (1926–2012), lecturer in English, was born on 21 September 1926, in Swords, Co. Dublin, the youngest among three sons and two daughters of Hugh Gaw and Eva Gaw (née Newman). Her mother was a teacher in a Church of Ireland primary school, and her father, who…...
Devlin, Liam
Devlin, Liam (1877–1964), revolutionary, publican and industrialist, was born William Devlin on 18 June 1877 at 59 Waterloo Street, Derry city, the son of Denis Devlin, variously a labourer, clothier and potato dealer, and Ellen Devlin (née McLaughlin). Their first-born child, William,…...
Dillon, Brian Francis (Father Matthew)
Dillon, Brian Francis (Father Matthew) (1905–79), Benedictine monk and headmaster, was born in Dublin on 13 March 1905, the fifth and youngest son of John Dillon (qv) and his wife, Elizabeth…...
Dill, Sir Samuel
Dill, Sir Samuel (1844–1924), classical scholar, historian, and educationalist, was born 26 March 1844 at Hillsborough, Co. Down, eldest son of the Rev. Marcus Dill, DD, presbyterian minister of Hillsborough, and Anna Dill (née Moreland). He…...
Dobbs, Francis
Dobbs, Francis (1750–1811), Volunteer, author, and MP, was born 27 April 1750, second son among four sons and a daughter of the Rev. Richard Dobbs (c.1694–1775), rector (1743–75) of Lisburn cathedral, Co. Antrim, and his wife Mary (d. 1796), widow of Cornet McMannus, and…...
Donovan, Robert
Donovan, Robert (1862–1934), journalist and professor, was born 24 May 1862 in Leighlinbridge, Co. Carlow, son of Thomas Donovan. (Some obituaries state he was an only son, but the Irish Independent says a brother was parish priest of Kill, Co. Kildare.) Educated at St…...
Dooge, James Clement Ignatius ('Jim')
Dooge, James Clement Ignatius ('Jim') (1922–2010), academic and politician, was born on 30 July 1922 in Grange Road West, Birkenhead, near Liverpool, the only son of Denis Dooge, marine engineer, and his wife Veronica (née Carroll). The Dooges were a family of engineers, most notably…...
Dougherty, Sir James Brown
Dougherty, Sir James Brown (1844–1934), presbyterian minister, academic, politician, and under-secretary for Ireland (1908–14), was born 13 November 1844 at Garvagh, Co. Londonderry, eldest of two sons of Archibald Dougherty, surgeon, and Matilda Dougherty (née Brown), both of…...
Dowden, Edward
Dowden, Edward (1843–1913), literary critic, academic, and unionist, was born 3 May 1843, second son of John Wheeler Dowden and Alicia Dowden (née Bennett); his elder brother was John Dowden (qv). He was educated privately at first,…...
Drelincourt, Mary
This is a co-subject for the entry on Drelincourt, Peter. View the original entry....
Drumm, James Joseph
Drumm, James Joseph (1896–1974), chemist, industrial technologist, and inventor, was born 25 January 1896 in Dundrum, Co. Down, one of three sons of John Drumm (or Drum), RIC constable, and his wife Bridget (née Connolly). The family…...
Dudley, Thomas (‘Bang Bang’)
Dudley, Thomas (‘Bang Bang’) (1906–81), eccentric, was born on 13 February 1906 in the Rotunda hospital, Dublin. Raised in an orphanage in Cabra, he lived for much of his adult life on Mill Lane near The Coombe in the Liberties. Although he worked briefly as a kitchen porter in Rialto…...
Duffy, Louise Gavan
Duffy, Louise Gavan (1884–1969), educator, nationalist and Irish language enthusiast, was born 17 July 1884 in Cimiez, near Nice, the only daughter among four children of the marriage of Sir Charles Gavan Duffy (qv), journalist and…...
Duncan, George Alexander
Duncan, George Alexander (1902–2006), economist, was born 15 May 1902 in the family home in Bridge Street, Ballymena, Co. Antrim, the second son of Alexander Duncan, a physician and surgeon, and his wife Elizabeth (née Linn). He was educated at Ballymena Academy and Campbell College…...
Dunkin, William
Dunkin, William (1707?–65), poet and schoolmaster, was born in Dublin, son of Patrick Dunkin (d. 1719?), gentleman, who may have been briefly curate of Dromiskin, Co. Louth, before his early death. William's mother apparently also died young, but nothing else is known of her. In 1720…...
Dwyer, William Declan
This is a co-subject for the entry on Dwyer, William James. View the original entry....
Dwyer, William James
Dwyer, William James (1887–1951), industrialist and dáil deputy, was born 9 May 1887 in Cork city, second son among three sons and two daughters of Walter Dwyer of Sundays Well, Cork, merchant and later director and managing director of Dwyer & Co., and Clare Dwyer (née…...
Eagar, Margaret Alexandra ('Margaretta')
Eagar, Margaret Alexandra ('Margaretta') (1863–1935), nursery nurse to the Russian imperial family, was born in Limerick on 12 August 1863. She was the fifth of eleven children born to Francis MacGillycuddy Eagar and his wife Frances Holden. From 1855–80, Francis Eagar was governor of…...
Edgeworth, Maria
Edgeworth, Maria (1768–1849), novelist, essayist, and educationist, was born at Black Bourton Manor, Oxfordshire, England, the estate of the Hungerford family; her maternal grandmother was a Hungerford heiress. Her date of birth is sometimes given as 1 January 1767. Edgeworth considered…...