Fleming, Marie
Fleming, Marie (1953–2013), campaigner for assisted suicide, was born Eileen Mary Brolly on 26 December 1953 in Lifford, Co. Donegal, the first of five children (two girls and three boys) to Annette (née Maxwell) and Daniel Brolly, a painter and decorator. In 1969, when she was fourteen…...
Foster, Lydia Mary
Foster, Lydia Mary (1867–1943), writer and schoolteacher, was born in Newmills, Co. Tyrone in 1867, fourth of six children (three sons and three daughters) of James Foster, presbyterian minister of Newmills congregation 1850–90, and his wife Lydia (née Harkness), from a presbyterian…...
Frayne, Mary Clara (Sister Mary Ursula)
Frayne, Mary Clara (Sister Mary Ursula) (1816–85), Sister of Mercy, Australian foundress, and educator, was born 15 October 1816 in 29 Bride's Alley, Dublin, younger daughter among four children of Robert Frayne, cabinet-maker and auctioneer, and Bridget Frayne. She entered the…...
Frost, Georgina (‘Georgie’)
Frost, Georgina (‘Georgie’) (1879–1939), court official, was born on 29 December 1879 in Sixmilebridge, Co. Clare, one of the five children of Thomas Frost (1842–1938) and his wife, Margaret Kett (d. 1888). Thomas Frost was the petty sessions clerk for Sixmilebridge and Newmarket-on…...
Halappanavar, Savita
Halappanavar, Savita (1981–2012), catalyst for change in Irish abortion laws, was born Savita Andanappa Yalagi on 29 September 1981 in Bagalkot, Karnataka province, south-west India, the youngest of three children (two boys, one girl) of Andanappa Yalagi, an electrical engineer with the…...
Hardiman, Áine
Hardiman, Áine (1926–2013) Dominican nun, community activist and anti-apartheid campaigner, was born Anne Hardiman on 23 April 1926 at 71 Connaught Street, Phibsborough, Dublin, the home of her parents Patrick Hardiman, a railway engine driver, and his wife Christina (née Monahan). The…...
Hennessey, Mary
Hennessey, Mary (1797–1875), Sister of Charity and pioneer in primary education, was born 8 February 1797 in Cork city, second daughter of George Hennessey, Cork wine merchant, and his wife Teresa Stacpoole, member of another Cork merchant family. Her father also served as captain…...
Heron, (Mary) Dorothea
Heron, (Mary) Dorothea (1896–1960), first woman to be admitted as a solicitor in Ireland, was born on 19 August 1896 at 68 Harcourt Street, Dublin, the home and solicitor’s office of her maternal grandparents, William and Dorothea Jameson. Usually known as Dorothea or ‘Deasie’ to her…...
Hickey, Emily Henrietta
Hickey, Emily Henrietta (1845–1924), poet, writer, and teacher, was born 12 April 1845 at Macmine Castle, near Enniscorthy, Co. Wexford, second daughter of the Rev. John Steuart Hickey, rector of Gorebridge, Co. Carlow, and his wife, formerly a Miss Newton King. She was a…...
Hobbs, Margaret Elizabeth (‘Madge’) Davison-
Hobbs, Margaret Elizabeth (‘Madge’) Davison- (1949–91), barrister and civil rights activist, was born 13 June 1949 in Pittsburgh St. in the Shore Road area of north Belfast, eldest daughter of John Davison , plater, and Emily Davison (née Wilson). She was educated at Seaview primary…...
Houston, Mary Galway
Houston, Mary Galway (1871–p.1954), craftswoman, teacher, and author, was born 27 July 1871 at Coleraine Academical Institution, Coleraine, Co. Londonderry, daughter of Thomas Galway Houston, headmaster of the institution, and Maud Steen Houston (née Millar). She trained (…...
Irwin, Florence
Irwin, Florence (1883–1965), educator, was born 27 April 1883 in Lurgan, Co. Armagh, to Thomas Irwin, yarn merchant, and Catherine Irwin (née Ross). She was educated at Methodist College, Belfast, and then trained in cookery, laundry and housewifery at the Edinburgh School of Cookery (…...
Jellicoe, Anne
Jellicoe, Anne (1823–1880), pioneer of women's education and founder of Alexandra College, Dublin, was born 26 March 1823 at Mountmellick, Queen's Co., the daughter of William Mullin (1796–1826), a quaker schoolmaster, and his wife, Margaret Mullin (née Thompson; 1801–1840). She…...
Kearney, Mother Kevin
Kearney, Mother Kevin (1875–1957), pioneer Ugandan missionary sister and foundress of Franciscan Missionary Sisters for Africa, was born 28 April 1875 in Knockenrahan, Arklow, Co. Wicklow, the third and youngest daughter of Michael Kearney, a farmer, and Teresa Kearney (née…...
Keating, May
Keating, May (1895–1965), socialist, feminist and human rights campaigner, was born Mary Josephine Walsh on 6 October 1895, in Eadestown, Rathmore, Co. Kildare, to John Walsh, who farmed 70 acres there (28.3 hectares), and his wife Martha (née Cullen), a national school teacher. Her…...
Keenan, Alice (Sister Mary Liguori)
Keenan, Alice (Sister Mary Liguori) (1836–1914), Sister of Mercy and educator, was born in the parish of St Paul's, Dublin, daughter of John and Mary Keenan and sister of Sir Patrick J. Keenan (qv), education commissioner of…...
Kelly, Myra (Teresa)
Kelly, Myra (Teresa) (1875–1910), writer and teacher, daughter of the surgeon Dr James Edward Kelly and Annie Kelly (née Morrogh), was born 26 August 1875 at her father's residence, 2 Gardiner's Row, Dublin. The family moved to New York city, where her father built up a successful…...
Kennedy, Eileen
Kennedy, Eileen (1914–83), district justice, was born 30 May 1914 in Dublin, daughter of Patrick Kennedy, solicitor, and Delia Kennedy (née Blood). Educated at St Louis convent, Carrickmacross, Co. Monaghan, where her father had established a legal practice, she qualified as a…...
Keogh, Doris (neé Cleary)
Keogh, Doris (neé Cleary) (1922–2012), flautist and teacher, was born on 16 April 1922 on Leeson Street, Dublin, the daughter of Victor-Louis Cleary, an insurance agent and sometime professional flute player of Rathgar, Dublin, and his wife Mary Elizabeth (née Hughes), who also had a…...
Knight (Hope-Connolly), Olivia Mary
Knight (Hope-Connolly), Olivia Mary (1828?–1908), poet, translator and teacher, was born at Rathbawn, Castlebar, Co. Mayo, probably on 29 September 1828, the only daughter of Simon Knight, a civil engineer, and his wife, possibly Sarah D'Alton of Ballaghadereen, Co. Roscommon. Olivia…...
Kyle, Frances (Fay) Christian
Kyle, Frances (Fay) Christian (1894–1958), barrister, was born 30 October 1894 in Belfast, the younger daughter of Robert Alexander Kyle, a Belfast businessman, and his wife Kathleen Frances (née Bates). She was educated in Belfast, France and Switzerland, before entering…...
Laird, Helen (‘Honor Lavelle’)
Laird, Helen (‘Honor Lavelle’) (1874–1957), actress, costumier, teacher, and feminist, was the daughter of John Laird, a protestant pharmacist, and of Marion Laird, née Seymour. She was born in Limerick on 12 April 1874. About 1899 she joined the Gaelic League and Inginidhe na hÉireann…...
MacCarthy, Mary (Mother Mary Stanislaus)
MacCarthy, Mary (Mother Mary Stanislaus) (1849–97), Dominican nun, educator, and poet, was born in Dublin 26 December 1849, eldest of nine children of Denis Florence MacCarthy (qv), poet, and Elizabeth MacCarthy (née Donnelly…...
Mahon, Catherine
Mahon, Catherine (1869–1948), president of the Irish National Teachers Organisation, was born 15 May 1869 in Laccah, north Co. Tipperary, eldest among seven children of James Mahon, labourer, and Winifred Mahon (née O'Meara). She was educated locally and at the Convent of Mercy in…...
McAuley (McGauley), Catherine Elizabeth
McAuley (McGauley), Catherine Elizabeth (1778–1841), educator, social worker, and religious foundress, was born 29 September 1778 at Stormanstown House, Drumcondra, Dublin, one of three children (two girls and a boy) of James McGauley and his wife Elinor (née Conway). McGauley, by…...