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). …...
Johnson, Philip Francis
Johnson, Philip Francis (1835–1926), political activist and labour organiser, was born at Mallow, Co. Cork. He was well educated and travelled widely as a youth, spending eight years in India and visiting the South Sea Islands. He had returned to Ireland by the late 1850s, and…...
Johnson, Thomas Ryder
Johnson, Thomas Ryder (1872–1963), labour leader, was born 17 May 1872 in South Hunter St., Liverpool, only child of Thomas Johnson, foreman in a nearby sailmaker's yard, and Margaret Johnson (née Boardman). In 1876 he enrolled in an elementary school conducted by the nonconformist…...
Joly, Jaspar Robert
Joly, Jaspar Robert (1819–92), book collector, was born at Hollywood House, Brackagh, Clonbulloge, King's Co. (Offaly), on 26 May 1819, the eldest of three sons of Henry Edward Joly (1784–1852), a clergyman, and his wife Martha, daughter of Robert Revelle of Hartwill, Co. Wicklow…...
Jones, (Patrick) Lloyd
Jones, (Patrick) Lloyd (1811–86), socialist, trade unionist, and journalist, was born 17 March 1811 at Bandon, Co. Cork. His father, a fustian cutter of Welsh immigrant ancestry, took part in the 1798 rebellion in Dublin, and, as an expression of his nationalism, later converted to…...
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'…...
Kearney, Denis
Kearney, Denis (1847–1907), labour activist in America, was born 1 February 1847 at Oakmount, Co. Cork, second son among seven children. Orphaned, he left home (1858) to go to sea, eventually reaching the rank of first officer on an American steamer. Ten years later he visited San…...
Kellett, Sir Henry
Kellett, Sir Henry (1806–75), vice-admiral (RN) and polar explorer, was born 2 November 1806 at Clonacody, Co. Tipperary, son of John Dalton Kellett; nothing is known of his mother. His cousin was Commander Arthur Kellett, RN. He entered the Royal…...
Kemmy, James Joseph Oliver Mary (‘Jim’)
Kemmy, James Joseph Oliver Mary (‘Jim’) (1936–97), trade unionist, Labour politician, and local historian, was born 14 September 1936 in O'Curry St., Limerick, eldest of three sons and two daughters of Michael Kemmy and Elizabeth Kemmy (née Pilkington). His mother came from farming…...
Kennedy, Patrick
Kennedy, Patrick (1801–73), writer, folklorist, and bookseller, was born in Kilmyshal, near Bunclody, Co. Wexford, in early 1801. Little is known of his family life other than that his father was Patrick Kennedy and that he appears to have been the fourth child born to his parents.…...
Keyes, Michael John
Keyes, Michael John (1886–1959), Labour politician and trade unionist, was born 21 March 1886 at 41 Blackboy Pike, Limerick city, the second son of Michael Keyes, caretaker, and his wife Hannah (née White). After being educated by the Christian Brothers at Sexton Street, Limerick…...
King, William Donald Aelian ('Bill')
King, William Donald Aelian ('Bill') (1910–2012), submarine captain and yachtsman, was born on 23 June 1910 in Church Avenue, Farnborough, Hampshire, the only son of four children of William King, army officer, originally from Co. Galway, and his wife Georgina Marie (née Mackenzie…...
Kyle, Samuel (‘Sam’)
Kyle, Samuel (‘Sam’) (1884–1962), trade unionist, was born into a protestant family in Belfast; no other details of his family are known. Educated locally, he began working in a Belfast linen mill in 1899. His interest in trade unionism was sparked instantly, and within a few years…...
Larkin, Denis
Larkin, Denis (1908–87), trade unionist and politician, was born 8 June 1908 in Rostrevor, Co. Down, the second of four sons of the legendary Irish trade unionist James Larkin (qv) and Elizabeth Larkin (née Brown), the daughter of a lay…...
Larkin, James
Larkin, James (1904–69), trade unionist and politician, was born in Liverpool, Lancashire, England, eldest of four sons of James Larkin (qv), trade union leader, and Elizabeth Larkin (née Brown), daughter of a baptist lay preacher from Co.…...
Larkin, James
Larkin, James (1874–1947), labour leader, was born 28 January 1874 at 41 Combermere St., Toxteth, Liverpool, England, second eldest of three sons and three daughters of James Larkin, foundry labourer, and Mary Ann Larkin (née McNulty, McAnulty, or McNalty). His birth certificate gave no…...
Lawlor, John
Lawlor, John (1860–1929), handball player and labour politician, was born in Glendon, Pennsylvania, USA. His family moved to Baltinglass, Co. Wicklow, when he was 2 years old, before moving in 1870 to Patrick St., Dublin. As a young man, Lawlor played many games at the nearby Kenny'…...
Lecky, Squire Thornton Stratford
Lecky, Squire Thornton Stratford (1838–1902), master mariner, cartographer, and writer on navigation, was born in Downpatrick, Co. Down, fifth son of Holland Lecky of Castle Lecky, Magilligan, Co. Londonderry, and Ballyholland House, Co. Down, and his wife Elizabeth, daughter of the…...
Loftus, Sean Daniel ('Dublin Bay')
Loftus, Sean Daniel ('Dublin Bay') (1927–2010), environmentalist and political activist, was born in Dublin on 26 November 1927, eldest of seven children (four sons and three daughters) of J. J. Loftus, medical doctor, and his wife Margaret, former captain of the Irish hockey team. The…...
Lucas, Charles Davis
Lucas, Charles Davis (1834–1914), Royal Navy officer, awarded the first Victoria Cross, was born 19 February 1834 at Drumargole, Co. Armagh, son of Davis Lucas, bank official, of Clontibert and Drumargole, a member of the Lucas-Scudamore family of Castleshane, Co. Monaghan. He…...
Lyster, Thomas William
Lyster, Thomas William (1855–1922), librarian and author, was born 17 December 1855 in Co. Kilkenny, son of Thomas Lyster of Rathdowney, Co. Laois, and Jane Lyster (née Smith) of Roscrea, Co. Tipperary. Of a quaker family, he was educated at Wesley College, Dublin, before…...
MacDonnell, Randell
MacDonnell, Randell (c.1633–1711), naval commander and Jacobite, was second son of Sir James MacDonnell, 2nd baronet of Moye, a cousin of Randal MacDonnell (qv), 2nd earl and later marquis of Antrim. His mother was Mary…...
Mac Gabhann, Micheál (‘Micí’) (MacGowan, Michael)
Mac Gabhann, Micheál (‘Micí’) (MacGowan, Michael) (1865–1948), Klondike miner, was born 22 November 1865 at Derryconor, Cloghaneely, Co. Donegal, one of the twelve children of Tomás Mac Gabhann, small farmer, and his wife, Bríd Ní Chanainn. Mac Gabhann attended the primary school at…...
Macken, Peter Paul (Peadar)
Macken, Peter Paul (Peadar) (1878–1916), trade unionist and revolutionary, was born 29 June 1878 at 13 Nassau Place (latterly part of the Setanta building, Nassau Street), Dublin, youngest of three children of George Macken, house painter, and Anne Macken (née Shanahan) (d. 1901), both…...
Mac Murchadha Caomhánach, Seán Óg
This is a co-subject for the entry on Kavanagh, Muiris (‘Kruger’). View the original entry....