Diarmait (Diarmait mac Maíl (Máel) na Mbó)
Diarmait (Diarmait mac Maíl (Máel) na mBó) (d.1072), Gaelic lord, was the son of Donnchad son of Diarmait, otherwise known as Donnchad Máel na mBó (qv) who died in 1006 when Diarmait was a young boy. His mother is named as Aífe…...
Diarmait Ruanaid
Diarmait Ruanaid (d. 665), son of Áed Sláine and king of Tara, belonged to the first generation of the Uí Néill dynasty of Síl nÁedo Sláine. His father, Áed Sláine (qv), whose death is placed at 604, reigned as king of Tara. His mother is…...
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…...
Dixon, Frederick E.
Dixon, Frederick E. (1913–88) meteorologist, historian, and philatelist, was born 27 March 1913 in Oundle, near Peterborough, England, a son of Nathan Dixon and his wife, Edith, née Howitt, who also had another son and a daughter. He attended Deacon's School, Peterborough, and…...
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…...
Dolley, (Reginald Hugh) Michael
Dolley, (Reginald Hugh) Michael (1925–83), numismatist and historian, was born 6 July 1925 in Oxford, England, the son of A. H. F. Dolley, a civil servant, and Margaret Dolley (née Horgan). His father had Co. Galway antecedents while his mother's were from west Co. Limerick. Michael…...
Dombrain, Sir James
Dombrain, Sir James (1793–1871), comptroller general of the Irish coastguard, was born in Canterbury, Kent, son of Abraham Dombrain. He was of French huguenot stock and it is believed that his family were descended from the D'Embron family of Rouen, Normandy. He joined the Royal…...
Domnall
Domnall Brecc
Domnall Brecc (‘the speckled’) (d. 643), son of Eochaid Buide and king of Dál Riata, belonged to the lineage of Cenél nGabráin. It is clear that Domnall had several brothers, but ‘Senchus Fer nAlban’ and other genealogical tracts disagree on the family composition; Conall…...
Domnall Midi
Domnall Midi (‘of Meath’) (d. 763), son of Murchad and king of Tara, belonged to the Clann Cholmáin dynasty of Uí Néill. Domnall's reign saw further consolidation of his dynasty's position in the midlands, and the forging of close links between the Southern Uí Néill (which by…...
Domnall Remur
Domnall Remur (d. 1041), son of Donnchad, a prominent Leinster dynast, belonged to the ruling lineage of Uí Chennselaig. Domnall, dubbed Remur (‘the fat’), was a brother of Diarmait (qv) son of Máel na mBó…...
Donnchad
Donnchad (d. 1039), son of Gilla-Pátraic, king of Osraige and overking of Leinster, belonged to the dynasty of Dál mBirn, which was traced to a proto-historic ancestor, Lóegaire Bern Buadach. Donnchad's father, Gilla-Pátraic son of Donnchad, died in 996 as king of Osraige. While the…...
Donnchad
Donnchad (d. 1064), son of Brian, was a son of Brian Bórama (qv) and his wife Gormlaith (qv) (d. 1030), daughter of Murchad son of Finn of the Uí Fháeláin; she had previously been married to…...
Donnchad Donn
Donnchad Donn (‘the brown-haired’) (d. 944), son of Flann Sinna and king of Tara, belonged to the Clann Cholmáin dynasty of the Southern Uí Néill. His father Flann Sinna (qv) held the kingship of Tara till his death in 916; his mother was…...
Donnchad Máel Na Mbó
Donnchad Máel Na Mbó (d. 1006), son of Diarmait and king of Uí Chennselaig, belonged to the lineage of Síl nOnchon. He played an important part in retaining the Uí Chennselaig kingship for that segment of Síl nOnchon that later emerged as the family line of Mac Murchada. He was…...
Donnchad Midi
Donnchad Midi (‘of Meath’) (d. 797), son of Domnall Midi and king of Tara, belonged to the Clann Cholmáin dynasty of the Southern Uí Néill. Arguably the most powerful Irish king of his day, Donnchad suppressed resistance within his own province of Meath, acted as kingmaker in…...
Doran, Charles Guilfoyle
Doran, Charles Guilfoyle (1835–1909), civil engineer, Fenian, and bibliophile, was born on 1 February 1835 at Knockanna, Co. Carlow (not as previously stated at Dunlavin, Co. Wicklow), the first of seven surviving children of John Doran and his wife Mary (née Guilfoyle). He was…...
Doyle, Henry Edward
Doyle, Henry Edward (1827–92), artist and gallery director, was born in Dublin, third of seven children and third of five sons of John Doyle (qv), political cartoonist, of Dublin, and Marianna Doyle (née Conan; d. 1832). He was the only…...
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…...
Dúnchad
Dúnchad (d. 728), son of Murchad and overking of Leinster, was a member of the Uí Dúnlainge dynasty. Although his father Murchad (qv) son of Bran Mút had died as overking of Leinster in 727, the name of Dúnchad's mother is unrecorded. The…...
Dúnlaing
Dúnlaing (5th cent.?), son of Énnae Nia and Leinster dynast and ancestor figure, features prominently in the historical and genealogical tradition of the Laigin. He is represented as a grandson of Bressal Bélach, ancestor of the Leinster kings, and as a brother of Brión Lethderg…...
Dúnlaing
Dúnlaing (d. 1014), son of Tuathal and overking of Leinster, belonged to the dynasty of Uí Muiredaig. Tuathal (qv) having died as overking (958), Dúnlaing and his brother Augaire strove to maintain the status of their dynasty in the face of…...
Dúnlaing
Dúnlaing (d. 869), son of Muiredach and overking of Leinster, belonged to the Uí Muiredaig lineage of Uí Dúnlainge. His father, Muiredach son of Bran Ardchenn (qv), who had been appointed joint puppet king of Leinster (804) by the king…...
Early, Biddy
Early, Biddy (c.1798–1874), clairvoyant and healer, was born in the townland of Faha, near Kilanena, Co. Clare, as Bridget Connors (or O'Connor) ; the name Early, by which she was known throughout her life, was her mother's maiden name. Little is known about her, despite…...
Echmarcach
Echmarcach (d. 1064/5), son of Ragnall and king of Dublin and the Isles, belonged to the Hiberno-Norse ruling dynasty of Waterford. As his father Ragnall had been slain (1035) by King Sitriuc…...