McIvor, Berna
McIvor, Berna (1932–2010), political and community activist, was born Bernadette Spellman on 9 February 1932 in Coalisland, Co. Tyrone. She trained as a teacher at St Mary's College, Belfast, and taught in the Long Tower primary school (in the Bogside area of Derry city) and later in…...
McLaughlin, (Florence) Patricia (Alice)
McLaughlin, (Florence) Patricia (Alice) (1916–97), politician and community activist, was born 23 June 1916 at Downpatrick, Co. Down, the only daughter of Canon Frederick Basil Aldwell , rector of St George's Church, Belfast, and his wife (named on the birth certificate as E. N.…...
McMordie, Julia
McMordie, Julia (1860–1942), philanthropist and politician, was born 30 March 1860 in Hartlepool, Co. Durham, England, fifth daughter of Sir William Gray , shipbuilder and shipowner, and his wife Dorothy (d. 1906), daughter of Capt. John Hall. A presbyterian, she was educated at…...
McShain, Mary
McShain, Mary (1907–98), landowner and benefactor, was born Mary Horstmann on 27 March 1907 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, fifth among six children of Ignatius J. Horstmann and his wife Pauline. She was educated at St Leonard's Academy, Philadelphia, and Rosemont College, Rosemont…...
Mills, Rosaleen Patricia Broughton
Mills, Rosaleen Patricia Broughton (1905–1993), activist and educator, was born on 16 July 1905 in Ballinasloe, Co. Galway, the fourth of five children of John Mills, medical director at the Connaught District Lunatic Asylum (later St Brigid's Hospital), Ballinasloe, and Rosetta Mills (…...
Mulally, Teresa
Mulally, Teresa (1728–1803), educationist, businesswoman, and philanthropist, was born in October 1728, in Pill Lane, near Chancery Street, Dublin, the only child of Daniel and Elizabeth Mulally. While she was young, her father, a provisions dealer, retired from his business and…...
Mullen, Madeleine ffrench-
Mullen, Madeleine ffrench- (1880–1944), nationalist and social advocate, was born 30 December 1880 in Malta, eldest child among two daughters and one son of St Laurence ffrench-Mullen, a Royal Navy surgeon. While she was a child, her father moved the family back to Ireland and they…...
Nicholson, Asenath
Nicholson, Asenath (1792–1855), traveller and social reformer, was born 24 February 1792, youngest child and only daughter among three children of Michael Hatch (c.1747–1830), farmer, and his wife, Martha (maiden name unknown; 1745–1837), in Chelsea, Vermont, USA. Educated at…...
O'Brien (Arnold-Forster), Florence Mary
O'Brien (Arnold-Forster), Florence Mary (1854–1936), diarist, philanthropist, and craftswoman, was born 3 July 1854 in Bayswater, London, the second of four children of William Delafield Arnold and Frances Anne Arnold (née Hodgson). Her father, a son of Dr Thomas Arnold of Rugby and…...
O'Brien, Anna Maria (née Ball)
O'Brien, Anna Maria (née Ball) (1785–1871), philanthropist, was born at 5 Werburgh Street in Dublin, the second eldest of five children (four girls and a boy) of John Ball (qv), a wealthy Dublin silk manufacturer, merchant, and catholic convert,…...
O'Donnell, Erica Marie-Josèphe
O'Donnell, Erica Marie-Josèphe (1920–99), art historian and SOE officer, was born 11 March 1920 in Dublin, the only child of Eric Hugh O'Donnell, a British army officer of Dublin and Ballingaddy, Co. Limerick, and his wife Mary Mabel Elizabeth, second daughter of Joseph Charles Dunbar…...
O'Donohue, Maura
O'Donohue, Maura (1933–2015), missionary doctor and public health campaigner, was born on 2 March 1933 at Likeen, her family home in Kilfenora, Co. Clare, the second of four children (two girls and two boys) of Andrew O’Donohue, a farmer, and his wife Kate (née O’Brien). Mary Brigid, as…...
O'Kelly, Countess Mary de Galway
O'Kelly, Countess Mary de Galway (1905–99), Belgian resistance operative, was born 24 April 1905 in Dublin, one of ten children of Thomas Patrick Cummins , a plumber, of Waterfall Cottage, Richmond Rd, Dublin, and his wife Ellen Black. Mary attended Fairview National School before…...
O'Sullivan, Maureen Patricia (‘Paddy’)
O'Sullivan, Maureen Patricia (‘Paddy’) (1918–p. 1950), undercover agent, was born 3 January 1918 in Dublin, daughter of John O'Sullivan, journalist, and his English wife, Adelaide (née Redmond), who died when Maureen was a year old. She briefly attended St Louis' convent…...
Overend, Letitia Lily Anne Letham
Overend, Letitia Lily Anne Letham (1880–1977), philanthropist and motor enthusiast, was born 15 July 1880 at 11 Herbert Road, Dublin, the elder daughter of Trevor T. L. Overend, a successful solicitor, and Bessie Anna Overend (née Butler), better known as Lily. She had one sister,…...
Owens, Evelyn
Owens, Evelyn (1931–2010), trade unionist and women's rights advocate, was born on 22 January 1931 at 23 Vernon Gardens, Clontarf, Dublin, the fourth of six children of William Owens, a civil servant of Clontarf, originally from Co. Roscommon, and his wife Ellen (née Monaghan), from…...
Patterson, Sarah (‘Saidie’)
Patterson, Sarah (‘Saidie’) (1904–85), trade unionist and peace activist, was born 25 November 1904 at 32 Woodvale St., Shankill Road, Belfast, eldest of three children of William Patterson (d. 1912), shipyard blacksmith, and Sarah Patterson (née Moore), both of whom were devout…...
Pim (later Grubb), Sarah
Pim (later Grubb), Sarah (1746–1832), and her brothers Joshua Pim and Joseph Pike Pim, entrepreneurs, were among the sixteen children of John Pim, quaker businessman of Mountrath, Queen's Co. (Laois), and his wife Sarah (née Clibborn), who was also of a quaker family from Moate, Co.…...
Pirrie, Margaret Montgomery
Pirrie, Margaret Montgomery (1857–1935), Viscountess Pirrie , public figure and philanthropist, was born 31 May 1857, probably in Belfast, and probably the youngest child among three sons and two daughters of John Carlisle , English master in the Belfast Academical Institution, and…...
Plunkett, Elizabeth Mary Margaret (‘Daisy’) (née Burke)
Plunkett, Elizabeth Mary Margaret (‘Daisy’) (née Burke) (1862–1944), countess of Fingall , socialite and cooperationist, was born at Danesfield, near Moycullen, Co. Galway, eldest among three daughters and one son of George Burke, farmer and magistrate; her two youngest siblings…...
Porter, Margaret Lavinia
Porter, Margaret Lavinia (d. 1881), philanthropist, was eldest daughter among three sons and five daughters of Thomas Lindsey , gentleman, of Hollymount, Co. Mayo, and his wife (m. 1784) Lady Margaret, daughter of Charles Bingham…...
Price, Dolours
Price, Dolours (1950–2013), republican paramilitary, was born on 16 December 1950 in Belfast, the daughter of Albert Price (1915–96), upholsterer, and his wife Christina (née Dolan). Dolours had three sisters (the eldest died soon after birth) and a brother; she was particularly…...
Redmond, Mary
Redmond, Mary (1950–2015), solicitor and founder of the Irish Hospice Foundation, was born on 25 August 1950, third in a family of six girls and a boy, to Dr John Redmond, civil servant, and his wife Mary (Máire) (née Lannin). She described her childhood in the family home on Mount Eden…...
Rooney, Maude
Rooney, Maude (1902–1974), consumers' and women's rights activist, was born Mary Maude Mahony in Co. Armagh, one of six children (three boys and three girls) of a retired RIC district inspector (who was a catholic), and his wife Frances Charlotte. She was raised in Holywood, Co. Down…...
Russell, Mary Baptist (Katherine, Kate)
Russell, Mary Baptist (Katherine, Kate) (1829–98), nun, philanthropist, and educator, was born 18 April 1829 at Seafield, Ballybot, Newry, Co. Down, the third daughter and third child among the six children of Arthur Russell, ship's captain turned brewer, and his wife, Margaret (…...