Fitzgibbon, John
Fitzgibbon, John (1708?–1780), barrister and politician, was born probably in 1708, the first of the four sons of Thomas Fitzgibbon of Ballyseeda, Co. Limerick, and his wife, Honor, a daughter of William Hayes of Cahirguillamore, Co. Limerick. Thomas Fitzgibbon, whose father,…...
FitzGibbon, John
FitzGibbon, John (1748–1802), 1st earl of Clare , lawyer and politician, was born in Donnybrook, Co. Dublin, one of seven children of John Fitzgibbon (qv), a barrister and MP who had converted from catholicism, and his wife Elinor,…...
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…...
Flood, Warden
Flood, Warden (1694–1764), lawyer and politician, was born at Burnchurch, Co. Kilkenny, eldest son among eight sons and one daughter of Francis Flood, MP for Callan, Co. Kilkenny (1703–5, 1713–14, 1715–27), and his wife Anne, daughter and heiress of John Warden. Educated at…...
Foreman, Sir Philip Frank
Foreman, Sir Philip Frank (1923–2013), engineer and chief executive, was born on 16 March 1923 in Exning, Suffolk, England, the only child of Frank Foreman, a farm labourer of Exning, and his wife Mary (née Chapple), the daughter of a Manchester police officer. His family soon moved to…...
Forster, John
Forster, John (1667–1720), judge and MP, was the eldest son among at least two sons and two daughters of Richard Forster, of Clonshagh, Co. Dublin, militia colonel and later MP for Swords (1692–3), and his wife Anne (née Webber). He entered …...
Fox, Luke
Fox, Luke (1757–1819), politician and chief justice of the common pleas, was the fifth son of Michael Fox of Tully, Co. Leitrim, and Margaret Fox (née Coane). Educated privately by Dr Armstrong, and at a grammar school in Cavan, he entered TCD…...
French, (William) Percy
French, (William) Percy (1854–1920), songwriter, humourist, entertainer, and painter, was born 1 May 1854 in Cloonyquin House, parish of Tulsk, Co. Roscommon, second son and third child among four sons and five daughters of Christopher French (1821–97), landowner, and Susan Emma French…...
Gerrard, Sir William
Gerrard, Sir William (d. 1581), lord chancellor of Ireland, was son of Gilbert Gerrard of Ince, Lancashire, and his wife Eleanor, daughter of William Davison, alderman of Chester. He was a cousin of Sir Gilbert Gerrard, master of the rolls in England. William Gerrard entered…...
Goold (Gould), Thomas
Goold (Gould), Thomas (1765–1846), lawyer and master of the court of chancery, was born in Cork city, son of John Goold, soldier, of Limerick, and Mary Anne Goold (née Quin). Educated locally, he entered TCD (1781), graduating…...
Gore, John
Gore, John (1718–84), Baron Annaly of Tenelick , politician and judge, was born 2 March 1718, the second of three sons of George Gore (1675–1753) and his wife, Bridget, daughter and heir of John Sankey of Tenelick, Co. Longford; he also had one sister. His father was an MP until…...
Graves, Arnold Felix
Graves, Arnold Felix (1847–1930), early promoter of technical education in Ireland, was born 17 November 1847 in Dublin, third son of Dr Charles Graves (qv), FTCD, later bishop of…...
Graves, John Thomas
Graves, John Thomas (1806–70), jurist and mathematician, was born 4 December 1806 at 12 Fitzwilliam Square, Dublin, eldest son of four boys and one girl of John Crosbie Graves, chief police magistrate of Dublin, and his wife Helena, daughter of the Rev. Charles Perceval, rector of…...
Gray, Samuel (‘Sam’)
Gray, Samuel (‘Sam’) (1782–1848), Orangeman and magistrate, was born 18 June 1782 in Ballybay, Co. Monaghan, son of William Gray, innkeeper and property-owner, and his wife (name unknown). Soon after 1798 he joined the yeomanry and the Orange order; by the 1820s he was master of…...
Greatrakes, William
Greatrakes, William (1723/5–81), barrister and soldier, was born in Waterford, third son of Allen Greatrakes, gentleman, of Mount Lahan, Co. Cork, and Frances Greatrakes (née Supple) of Aghadoe, Co. Kerry. He entered TCD (July 1740) and…...
Gregory, (William) Robert
Gregory, (William) Robert (1881–1918), painter, theatre designer, sportsman, and airman, was born 20 May 1881 in London, only child of Sir William Gregory (qv) of Coole Park, Co. Galway, and his second wife, Isabella Augusta…...
Hadsor, Richard
Hadsor, Richard (d. c.1635), lawyer, was eldest son of Nicholas Hadsor of Keppock, Co. Louth; nothing is known of his mother. He went to Oxford (1587), then transferred to the New Inn, London, before being admitted to the Middle Temple (July 1590). Although he inherited…...
Hammond, David Andrew ('Davy')
Hammond, David Andrew ('Davy') (1928–2008), singer, folklorist, television producer and documentary maker, was born on 5 December 1928 in Miss Kells's nursing home on the Castlereagh Road in Belfast, the son of Leslie Hammond, a tram driver, and his wife Annie (née Lamont). His parents…...
Harvey, Beauchamp Bagenal
Harvey, Beauchamp Bagenal (1754?–1798), barrister, United Irishman, and insurgent leader, was born at Bargy Castle, Co. Wexford, elder son among two sons and three daughters of Francis Harvey (d. 1792), barrister, and his wife Martha (d. 1794), daughter of the Rev. James Harvey of…...
Hearn, William Edward
Hearn, William Edward (1826–88), lawyer and politician in Australia, was born 21 April 1826 at Belturbet, Co. Cavan, the second of seven sons of the Rev. William Edward Hearn, curate at Killargue, Co. Leitrim, and his wife, Henrietta Alicia Hearn (née Reynolds). Educated at…...
Heuston, Robert Francis Vere
Heuston, Robert Francis Vere (1923–95), jurist, was born in Dublin on 17 November 1923. He was the eldest son of Vere Douglas Heuston, managing clerk in Guinness's brewery, and his wife, Dorothy Helen, née Coulter. He was proud of his direct descent from a first cousin of…...
Hewitt, James
Hewitt, James (1715–89), 1st Viscount Lifford , lord chancellor of Ireland, was born in Coventry, Warwickshire, eldest of three sons of William Hewitt (1683–1747), mercer and draper (mayor of Coventry, 1744), and his wife Hannah Lewis (d. 1760). After serving articles with a local…...
Higinbotham, George
Higinbotham, George (1826–92), journalist, politician, and chief justice in Victoria, Australia, was born 19 April 1826 in Dublin, the sixth son of Henry T. Higinbotham, a merchant, and his wife, Sarah Higinbotham (née Wilson). He was educated at the Royal School, Dungannon, then…...
Hill, Dick
Hill, Dick (1938–2010), television administrator and producer, was born Warnford Matthew De Courcy Hill in Cork city on 23 August 1938, the son of Richard Warnford Hill, bank manager, of Kinsale, Co. Cork, and his wife Olive (née McIlwaine). He was the only child of his father's…...
Hime, Sir Albert Henry
Hime, Sir Albert Henry (1842–1919), road and bridge engineer and Natal statesman, was born 29 August 1842 in Kilcoole, Co. Wicklow, seventh son of the Rev. M. C. Hime and his wife Harriette, a daughter of the Rev. Bartholomew Lloyd…...