Halpin, George
Halpin, George (1774×1779–1854), civil engineer and lighthouse designer, was probably born in Leinster. Little is known of his life before his appointment (1800) by the ballast board (Dublin's port authority, which replaced the ballast office in 1786) as its engineer or inspector of…...
Halpin, Robert Charles
Halpin, Robert Charles (1836–94), sea captain, was born 16 February 1836 at Wicklow town, the youngest of thirteen children of James Halpin, tavern owner, and his wife, Anne Halpin (née Halbert). Educated locally at Leitrim Place, he left school at the age of eleven, with the…...
Hanger, George
Hanger, George (1751–1824), army officer, author, and eccentric, was born 13 October 1751 in Co. Londonderry, third son of Gabriel Hanger, 1st Lord Coleraine, MP and merchant, and Elizabeth Hanger (née Bond) of Cowbury, Hereford, England. Educated at Reading School and Eton, he…...
Hayden, Father Augustine
Hayden, Father Augustine (1870–1954), Capuchin priest, nationalist and Irish language advocate, was born John Hayden in November 1870, to William Hayden and Mary Hayden (née Morrisey) in Gowran, Kilkenny, and grew up in Blarney, Co. Cork, where his father was appointed railway station…...
Hayes, (Francis) Mahon (Joseph)
Hayes, (Francis) Mahon (Joseph) (1930–2011), lawyer and diplomat, was born on 2 March 1930 at Verdun, Wellington Road, Cork, the second of three sons of Francis Mahon Hayes (d. 1968), official with the Munster and Leinster Bank, and his wife Aileen (née Walsh). The family moved with…...
Healy, Cahir
Healy, Cahir (1877–1970), nationalist politician and language revivalist, was born Charles Everard Healy, on 2 December 1877 at Doorin, near Mountcharles, Co. Donegal, the son of Patrick Healy, a small farmer and merchant. A catholic, he was educated at Drimcoo interdenominational…...
Henderson, John
Henderson, John (1757–88), eccentric scholar, was born 27 March 1757 in Co. Limerick (sources say at Ballygarran or Ballegarance, which may be the townland of Ballycarrane), the only son of Richard Henderson, Wesleyan lay preacher, and his first or second wife, whose name may have been…...
Henderson, Oscar
This is a co-subject for the entry on Henderson, James. View the original entry....
Henebry, Richard (de Hindeberg, Risteard
Henebry, Richard (de Hindeberg, Risteard ) (1863–1916), priest, Irish-language scholar, and traditional-music collector, was born 18 September 1863 in Portlaw, Co. Waterford, son of Pierce Henebry, farmer, and Ellen Henebry (née Cashen) of Clogheen, Co. Tipperary. He was educated at…...
Hennessy, William Maunsell (Ó hAonghusa, Liam M.)
Hennessy, William Maunsell (Ó hAonghusa, Liam M.) (1829?–1889), Irish-language scholar, was born in 1829 or possibly a year earlier, in Castlegregory, Co. Kerry; nothing is known of his parents. He was educated at private schools and spent his early youth with his uncle, Dr Finn. His…...
Hobson, William
Hobson, William (1793–1842), naval officer and first governor of New Zealand, was born 26 September 1793 in Newtown Lodge, Waterford city, third among five sons of Samuel Hobson, assistant barrister for Co. Cork, and his wife Martha Jones, who was a member of a family that had…...
Hodnett, George Desmond ('Hoddy')
Hodnett, George Desmond ('Hoddy') (1918–90), musician, journalist and bohemian, was born 25 February 1918 in Bradford, Yorkshire, England, son of George Pope Hodnett (1890–1982), soldier, and Lauré Hodnett (née Faschnacht), a native of Switzerland; he had at least one sibling, a brother…...
Hogan, Edmund Ignatius
Hogan, Edmund Ignatius (1831–1917), priest, Irish-language scholar, and historian, was born 23 January 1831 at Belvelly, near Cobh, Co. Cork, youngest son of William Hogan, craftsman, and Mary Hogan (née Morris). Though the older members of the family were native speakers of Irish…...
Holland, John Philip
Holland, John Philip (1841–1914), inventor of the submarine, was born 24 February 1841 at Castle Street, Liscannor, Co. Clare, son of John Holland, a coast guard officer, and his second wife, Mary (née Scanlon). He was educated at St Macreehy's national school, Liscannor, and by the…...
Homes, Robert
This is a co-subject for the entry on Holmes (Homes), William. View the original entry....
Hudson, William Elliott
Hudson, William Elliott (1796–1853), lawyer and patron of Gaelic scholarship, was born 18 August 1796, probably at his family's country residence, then known as Fields of Odin, Rathfarnham, Co. Dublin. It was later called The Hermitage: Robert…...
Hull, Eleanor Henrietta
Hull, Eleanor Henrietta (Ní Choill, Eibhlín) (1860–1935), Celtic scholar and author, was born 15 January 1860 in Manchester, daughter of Edward Hull (qv), geologist, originally of Co. Antrim, and Mary Catherine Henrietta Hull (née Cooke), from…...
Hull, Sir William
Hull, Sir William (c.1573–1643), pirate collaborator and settler, was one of two surviving sons and five daughters of Henry Hull, a merchant and ship owner of Exeter, and his wife Julianna (née Spurway). Henry maintained a family tradition by serving as mayor of Exeter in 1605…...
Hutton, Mary Ann
Hutton, Mary Ann (1862–1953), Irish-language scholar and writer, was born in 1862 in Manchester, England, the eldest child of James Drummond (qv) and his wife Frances (née Classon), who later had two sons and five more daughters. Secondary…...
Hyde, Douglas (de hÍde, Dubhghlas)
Hyde, Douglas (de hÍde, Dubhghlas) (1860–1949), Gaelic scholar, founder of the Gaelic League, and first president of Ireland, was born 17 January 1860 in Castlerea, Co. Roscommon, fourth child among three sons and two daughters of the Rev. Arthur Hyde (descended from the Hydes of…...
Inglis, Liam (William English)
Inglis, Liam (William English) (1709–78), Augustinian priest and Jacobite poet, was born either in Newcastle, Co. Limerick, or in Co. Tipperary. Although little light can be shed on his parentage or early years, Risteard Ó…...
Ireland, John Evan de Courcy
Ireland, John Evan de Courcy (1911–2006), socialist, activist, teacher, and maritime historian, was born 19 October 1911 in Lucknow, India, only child of De Courcy Ireland (1873–1915), a British army major of Irish ancestry, and his English-born wife Gabrielle (née Byron). …...
Irvine, George
Irvine, George (1877–1954), republican, language activist and campaigner, was born in August 1877 in Enniskillen, Co. Fermanagh, the son of John Irvine, a bookseller, and Jane Irvine (née Boyle). George was one of seven children, four of whom were living in 1911. John Irvine’s shop on…...
Jackson, Kenneth Hurlstone
Jackson, Kenneth Hurlstone (1909–91), Celtic scholar, was born 1 November 1909 at Beddington, Surrey, younger child of Alan Jackson, stockbroker, and his wife, Lucy (née Hurlstone). He was educated at Hillcrest School, Wallington, and Whitgift grammar school, Croydon, where he developed…...
Joyce, Michael
Joyce, Michael (1851–1941), sailor, Shannon pilot and MP, was born 4 September 1851 at Merchant's Quay, Limerick, the son of Richard Joyce, a Shannon pilot, and his wife Bridget (née Tubbs). His grandfather, John Joyce, had also been a Shannon pilot. Educated at the Christian Brothers'…...