Laichtín
Laichtín (d. 622) son of Toirbín, abbot of Achad Úr (Freshford, Co. Kilkenny), is a shadowy figure reputed to have been born in the sixth century. Pádraig Ó Riain has argued that he was a Christianised version of the Celtic divinity Lug, whose festival, Lugnasa, was celebrated on…...
Laisrén (Mo-Laisse)
Laisrén (Mo-Laisse) (d. 639/41), bishop of Lethglenn (Leighlin, Co. Carlow), and saint in the Irish tradition, was according to his genealogy son of Cairell, who belonged to the Dál nImde, a population group located among the Ulaid (Ulstermen). A tract on the mothers of the…...
Lassar
Lassar (6th cent.?), foundress and first abbess of Cluain Laigen (Clonlyon, parish of Kilmore, Co. Meath), and saint in the Irish tradition, can be traced to Cenél Lóegaire, a dynasty affiliated to the Uí Néill. She is said to have been a daughter of Fergus son of Fedelmid, a…...
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…...
Liadain
Liadain (early 6th cent.), foundress and first abbess of Cell Liadain (Killyon, near Birr, Co. Offaly) and a saint in the Irish tradition, was, according to hagiographical convention, the widowed mother of St Ciarán (qv), founder of Saigir (…...
Liber (Mo-Libbo)
Liber (Mo-Libbo) (d. 620), abbot of Aghaboe, church founder and saint in the Irish tradition, probably belonged to Dál nAraide. Although his connection with that dynasty is not certain it features strongly in the genealogies, and his cult is firmly rooted in the territory of Uí…...
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…...
Mac-Caille
Mac-Caille (d. c.489), bishop and abbot of Cruachán Breg Éile (Croghan Hill, barony of Lower Philipstown, Co. Offaly), and saint in the Irish tradition, was reputedly the son of Darerca, sister of St Patrick…...
Mac-Caírthinn
Mac-Caírthinn (d. 506), bishop and disciple of St Patrick (qv) and founder of the church of Clochar (Clogher, Co. Tyrone). Nothing is known of his ancestry other than that the Uí Maicc Caírthinn were one of the septs of…...
Mac Cuilinn
Mac Cuilinn (d. 496/7), founder and first bishop of Lusk and a saint in the Irish tradition, is assigned by the pre-Norman genealogists to the ruling lineage of Cianachta, which provided local kings of the coastal region between north Co. Dublin and Louth. His father is named as…...
Mac Cuill
Mac Cuill (5th–6th cent.), founder and bishop of St Maughold's in the Isle of Man, and saint in the Irish tradition, is linked by the genealogists to the Uí Bairrche dynasty of Leinster. This places him among a group of church founders that includes…...
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 Murchadha Caomhánach, Seán Óg
This is a co-subject for the entry on Kavanagh, Muiris (‘Kruger’). View the original entry....
MacNamara, Desmond Joseph
MacNamara, Desmond Joseph (1918–2008), artist, writer and bohemian, was born 10 May 1918 in a private hospital at 29 Upper Mount Street, Dublin, son of Patrick William MacNamara, secretary of Greenslade and Co., ladies' tailors and costumers of 32 Wicklow Street, Dublin (at which…...
Mac Nisse
Mac Nisse (d. c.514), bishop of Condere (Connor, Co. Antrim), saint in the Irish tradition, and according to the hagiographers a disciple of St Patrick (qv), was son of Fáebrach son of Erc, who probably…...
Mac Táil
Mac Táil (d. 550), founder and first bishop of Cell Chuilinn (Kilcullen, Co. Kildare), and saint in the Irish tradition, belonged in all probability to a lineage of the Éoganachta. Although his personal name is given in his obit as Éogan, and attempts have been made to link him to…...
Máedóc (Áed, Áedán, Mogue)
Máedóc (Áed, Áedán, Mogue) (d. 625/6), founder and bishop of Ferns, Co. Wexford, is patron saint of the diocese of Ferns and of Drumlane (Co. Cavan) and Rossinver (Co. Leitrim). Later tradition says that his name Áed was changed to the hypocoristic form Máedóc (Mo-Áed-óc meaning…...
Máedóc (Áed, Áedán, Mogue)
Máedóc (Áed, Áedán, Mogue) (d. c.656/60), founder and first abbot of Cluain Mór Máedóc (Clonmore, Co. Carlow) and saint in the Irish tradition, was a son of Éogan son of Bruidge, and so belonged to Síl mBruidge, a discard lineage of the Uí Dúnlainge dynasty. He is therefore…...
Máel-díthruib
Máel-díthruib (d. 840), abbot and anchorite of Tír-dá-Glass (Terryglass, near Lough Derg, Co. Tipperary), was a notable member of the Céli Dé reform movement. His first spiritual director or anamchara was Echtguide; but after he had spent some time in Tallaght…...
Máel-Ruain
Máel-Ruain (d. 792), bishop and founder of the Céli Dé or Culdee reform movement, was (according to his genealogy) son of Colmán son of Senach; his mother's name was Sech. His tutor was his uncle Fer-dá-Chrích (qv) from Daire…...
Máel-rubai
Máel-rubai (c.642–722), founder and first abbot (673–722) of the monastery of Applecross in Skye, Scotland, was born into the Cenél nÉogain (in the present Co. Derry–Co. Tyrone area). His mother was a niece of Comgall (qv), founder of…...
Magennis, James Joseph
Magennis, James Joseph (1919–86), Royal Navy submariner and frogman, was born 27 October 1919 at 4 Majorca St., west Belfast, third child of William Magennis (a packer in a local mill, who also worked as a musician) and Mary Magennis (née Murphy). His early years were ones of…...
Mainchín (Munchin)
Mainchín (Munchin) of Limerick, saint, whose pedigree assigns him to a leading branch of the Dál Cais, bears a name under which a large number of supposedly distinct saints named Mainchín/Manchán are recorded. One of these, Manchán (qv), otherwise Manchianus (…...