West, Trevor
West, Trevor (1938–2012), mathematician, politician and sportsman, was born on 8 May 1938 in Cork, the eldest of four sons of Timothy Roberts West, headmaster of Midleton College, Co. Cork, and Dorothy Trevor West (née McNeill), of Charleston, Ballinacurra, Co. Cork, who was CEO of…...
Whaley, Thomas (‘Buck’)
Whaley, Thomas (‘Buck’) (1766–1800), politician and rake, was born 15 December 1766, son of Richard Chapel Whaley (1700–69) a wealthy landowner, of Whaley Abbey, Co. Wicklow, and the only son of Richard Whaley (a. 1663–1725) and his wife Susanna, daughter of John Whaley…...
Wharton, Thomas
Wharton, Thomas (1648–1715), 1st marquess of Wharton , lord lieutenant of Ireland, was born in August 1648 at Watford in Hertfordshire. He was the third but first surviving son of Philip, 4th Baron Wharton, and his second wife, Jane. His father was a presbyterian and Thomas, after…...
White, Luke
White, Luke (c.1740–1824), bookseller, millionaire, and politician, was born about 1740 and possibly originated in Cork city, as both his wives were from there and his brother, Thomas White, was listed as a Cork bookseller. A protestant, he may have been of huguenot…...
White, Rowland
White, Rowland (d. 1572), Anglo-Irish reformer, was the son of Baron White of the Dufferin in north-east Ulster, which the family was forced to abandon when it came under attack from the Scots and the local Gaelic chieftains early in the sixteenth century. Nothing is known of…...
Whiteside, James
Whiteside, James (1804–76), lawyer and politician, was born 12 August 1804 at Delgany, Co. Wicklow, the second son of William Whiteside, minister of the Church of Ireland, and his wife, Anne (née Robinson). After William Whiteside's death in 1806 his family lived in reduced…...
White, Sir Nicholas
White, Sir Nicholas (d. 1593), lawyer and master of the rolls of Ireland, was born in Waterford city, son of James White of Waterford, who was steward to James Butler (qv), 9th earl of Ormond, and who died along with the 9th earl of food…...
Whitworth, Charles
Whitworth, Charles (1752–1825), Earl Whitworth lord lieutenant of Ireland and diplomat, was born 19 May 1752 at Leybourne Grange, Kent, eldest son among three sons and four daughters of Sir Charles Whitworth (d. 1778), MP, and his wife, Martha (née Shelley; d. 1786). Whitworth was…...
Wickham, William
Wickham, William (1761–1840), chief secretary for Ireland and British spymaster, was born November 1761 in England, first son of Henry Wickham, lieutenant-colonel in the British army, and Elizabeth Wickham (née Lamplugh). Educated at Winchester and Harrow, he entered Christ Church…...
Wilmot, Sir Charles
Wilmot, Sir Charles (1570/71–1643/4), 1st Viscount Wilmot of Athlone , English soldier and governor of Connacht, was son and heir of Edward Wilmot of Culham, Oxfordshire, England, and his wife Elizabeth, daughter of Thomas Stafford of Bradfield, Berkshire. He matriculated at…...
Windham, William
Windham, William (1750–1810), chief secretary for Ireland, was born 3 May 1750 in London, the only son of William Windham, landowner, and Sarah Windham (née Hicks). Educated at Eton, he entered Glasgow University (1766) and University College, Oxford (1767). A brilliant and…...
Wingfield, Mervyn Edward
Wingfield, Mervyn Edward (1836–1904), 7th Viscount Powerscourt , landowner, politician, and connoisseur, was born 13 October 1836 at Powerscourt Castle, near Enniskerry, Co. Wicklow, the eldest of the three sons of Richard Wingfield (1815–44), sixth viscount, and his wife, Lady…...
Wolfe, Arthur
Wolfe, Arthur (1739–1803), 1st Viscount Kilwarden , politician and judge, was born 19 January 1739, the fifth surviving son of John Wolfe (1700–60), owner of Forenaughts, Co. Kildare, and his wife Mary (d. 1804), only daughter of William Philpot, a Dublin merchant. After attending…...
Wolfe, George
Wolfe, George (1859–1941), soldier, landowner, antiquarian, and politician, was born 16 December 1859 at Bishopland, Ballymore Eustace, Co. Kildare, younger son among two sons and one daughter of Theobald George Samuel Wolfe (1815–72), landowner, of Bishopland and Forenaghts, Naas…...
Wolff, Gustav Wilhelm
Wolff, Gustav Wilhelm (1834–1913), shipbuilder, businessman, and politician, was born in Hamburg, the son of Moritz Wolff and Fanny Maria Schwabe. Gustav left home at the age of fourteen to study engineering at Liverpool College, staying with his uncle Gustav Schwabe. He was…...
Wolseley, William
Wolseley, William (1640–97), soldier and politician, was the youngest of five sons (there were also six daughters) of Sir Robert Wolseley, 1st baronet, of Wolseley, Staffordshire, and his wife, Mary Wolseley (née Wroughton), daughter of Sir George Wroughton, knight, of Walcot,…...
Wood, Charles
Wood, Charles (1866–1926), composer and musical academic, was born 15 June 1866 at Armagh city, fifth child and third son of Charles Wood, tenor lay vicar choral of St Patrick's cathedral, Armagh, and Jemima Wood (née Taylor), both of 11 Vicars’ Hill, Armagh. Of their fourteen…...
Wright, George Newenham
Wright, George Newenham (1794?–1877), clergyman, schoolmaster, topographical writer and biographer, was born in London probably in 1793 or 1794. He was the youngest of the four sons of Thomas Wright (qv), a surgeon of Great Ship St.,…...
Wyche, Sir Cyril
Wyche, Sir Cyril (c.1632–1707), chief secretary, lord justice, and forfeited estates trustee, was born in Constantinople, where his father, Sir Peter Wyche (d. 1643), was English ambassador. His mother, Jane Wyche, was a daughter of Sir William Meredith of Stansley in…...
Wynne, Owen
Wynne, Owen (1665–1737), soldier and politician, was third son of Col. Owen Wynne of Lurganboy, Co. Leitrim, and his wife Catherine, daughter of Sir John Hamilton, 2nd Baron Strabane and earl of Abercorn. Wynne entered TCD on 10 May…...
Yeats, (William) Michael Butler
Yeats, (William) Michael Butler (1921–2007), senator and MEP, was born on 22 August 1921 in Cuttlebrook House, Thame, Oxfordshire, younger child and only son of William Butler Yeats (qv), poet and dramatist, and…...
Yelverton, Barry
Yelverton, Barry (1736–1805), 1st Viscount Avonmore , lawyer and MP, was born 28 May 1736 near Newmarket, Co. Cork, eldest son of Francis Yelverton (1705–46), of Blackwater, and his wife Elizabeth (d. 1804), daughter of Jonas Barry of Kilbrin, all of Co. Cork. Yelverton's family…...
Young, Samuel
Young, Samuel (1822–1918), businessman and MP, was born 14 February 1822 in Dunavaly, Portaferry, Co. Down, third son of Samuel Young, farmer, and his wife Sarah, daughter of Arthur Black of Ballyhaft, near Newtownards. Samuel was educated locally and at the Old College, Belfast,…...
Young, Sir John
Young, Sir John (1807–76), 1st Baron Lisgar , chief secretary for Ireland and governor-general of New South Wales and Canada, was born 31 August 1807 in Bombay, India, eldest son of Sir William Young, 1st baronet (d. 1848) of Bailieborough Castle, Co. Cavan, director and…...