Abercromby, Sir Ralph
Abercromby, Sir Ralph (1734–1801), soldier, was born at Menstrie, Clackmannan, Scotland, and baptised 26 October 1734, son of George Abercromby, lawyer and landowner, and Mary Abercromby (née Dundas). He studied law in Edinburgh and Leipzig before entering the British army at the…...
Abraham, James Johnston
Abraham, James Johnston (1876–1963), surgeon and writer, was born 16 August 1876 in Kingsgate St., Coleraine, Co. Londonderry, son of William Abraham (1849–1933) of Co. Fermanagh, tea merchant, general supplier, JP, and methodist circuit…...
Adair, Sir William Thompson
Adair, Sir William Thompson (1850–1931), Royal Marine and UVF officer, was born 21 June 1850 (son of Gen. Sir Charles William Adair, KCB) and educated at Cheltenham College. He entered (1867) the…...
Adam (Adams), William Augustus
Adam (Adams), William Augustus (1865–1940), soldier, was born 27 May 1865 in Dublin, elder son among three children of the Rev. B. W. Adams, MRIA, author and rector of Santry, Co. Dublin, and his second wife Louisa Jane,…...
Addison, Joseph
Addison, Joseph (1672–1719), writer and politician, was born 1 May 1672 at Milston, near Amesbury, Wiltshire, England, eldest son of Lancelot Addison (1632–1703), vicar of Milston and chaplain to Charles II and James II (qv), and his…...
Águila, Don Juan del
Águila, Don Juan del (c.1541?–1603?), Spanish general, was born in Barracco in the province of Avila, Spain. He joined the army, serving in Flanders, in the Mediterranean fighting the Turks, and then in Flanders once more, rising to become a commander of a regiment.…...
Aher, David
Aher, David (c.1778–1842), cartographer and civil engineer, was probably the son of Patrick Aher, a Cork surveyor; he trained under his father, in the ‘French school of [John] Rocque’ (qv). A leading Irish surveyor-…...
Aherne, Eugene (John)
Aherne, Eugene (John) (d. 1806), radical and officer in the French army, was born at Lixnaw, Co. Kerry, probably in the 1760s. According to an informant of the Irish government identified only as ‘Jones’, Aherne studied in France at the Collège de Navarre before going to Scotland…...
Airbertach
Airbertach (d. 1016), son of Cos Dobráin, was at the time of his death airchinnech or superior of the monastery of Ros Ailithir (Ross Carbery, Co. Cork). The only other reference to him in historical sources, an entry in the Annals of Inisfallen, states that in the year 990 Ros…...
Aird, John
Aird, John (c.1760–1832), civil engineer, was born in Scotland; nothing is known of his parents or early life. In 1794 he began working for John Rennie (qv), one of the best-known engineers in Europe at the time, and remained with…...
Aldworth, Sir Richard
Aldworth, Sir Richard (d. 1629), army officer, was second son of Richard Aldworth, verderer of Showwood forest, Oxfordshire. He served as a lieutenant in Ireland prior to 1603, was appointed provost-marshal of Munster for life (3 May 1610), with command of a troop of horse, and…...
Alexander, (Conel) Hugh (O'Donel)
Alexander, (Conel) Hugh (O'Donel) (1909–74), chess master and code-breaker, was born 19 April 1909 in Cork, eldest child of Conel William Long Alexander (qv), professor of engineering at…...
Alexander, Conel William (O'Donel) Long
Alexander, Conel William (O'Donel) Long (1879–1920), civil engineer and rugby footballer, was born 6 June 1879 in Imlick, Co. Donegal, youngest son of Joseph Alexander, farmer and JP, and his wife Frances Mary Long. Registered at birth as ‘…...
Alexander, Thomas A.
Alexander, Thomas A. (1847–1933), professor of civil engineering, was born 2 May 1847 in Maryhill, Glasgow; his parents' names are not known. Educated at the Normal School in Cowcaddens, Alexander entered Glasgow University in 1867, where he won prizes in mathematics, mechanics,…...
Allen, John
Allen, John (c.1780–1855), United Irishman and French army officer, was born in Dublin, son of Christopher Allen, dyer, of 44 Pimlico in the Liberties district, and in the early 1790s a member of the Dublin Society of United Irishmen. He went into the woollen-drapery trade…...
Allingham, William
Allingham, William (1824–89), poet and customs official, was born 19 March 1824 in Ballyshannon, Co. Donegal, eldest of five children of William Allingham, merchant and bank manager, and Elizabeth Allingham (née Crawford). A brother died in infancy; his mother died when Allingham…...
Altman, Albert Liebes Lascar
Altman, Albert Liebes Lascar (c.1853–1903), businessman and nationalist politician, was born c.1853 in Prussian Poland, the son of Moritz Altman (born Shagra Moshe ben Aharon) and his wife Deborah (born Devorah bat Chaim Liebes). He was the eldest of four surviving…...
Amory, Thomas
Amory, Thomas (1691?–1788), writer, was said to be a son of Counsellor (Thomas?) Amory, secretary for the forfeited estates after the Williamite wars, who had acquired large estates in Co. Clare. Counsellor Amory was possibly the son of a Thomas Amory, victualler to the navy, who…...
Ancketill (Anketell), Henry
Ancketill (Anketell), Henry (1855–1930), writer, journalist and politician, was born 4 May 1855 in Ancketill's Grove, Co. Monaghan, the fourth son of Major Matthew John Anketell, deputy lieutenant and JP, and his wife, Catherine Frances…...
Anderson, Sir John D'Arcy
Anderson, Sir John D'Arcy (1908–1988), army officer, was born 23 September 1908 in Ballyhosset, Downpatrick, Co. Down, the only child of Major Reginald D'Arcy Anderson of Ballyhosset, Downpatrick, and his wife, Norah, daughter of Colonel Thomas Gracey of Blackheath, London. He won…...
Angulo, Gilbert de
Angulo, Gilbert de (d. 1213), lord of Morgallion and Anglo-Norman adventurer, belonged to a family of possible Flemish origin which had adopted its toponymic from Angle, Pembrokeshire, Wales. Gilbert and his brothers Philip and William were sons of Jocelin, baron of Navan, whose…...
Anster, John Martin
Anster, John Martin (1793–1867), poet, translator of Goethe's Faust, and regius professor of civil law in Dublin University, was born 21 October 1793 in Charleville, Cork, son of John Anster, distiller, and Mary Ann Anster (née Hiffernan). The family was catholic, and…...
Arbuckle, James
Arbuckle, James (d. 1742), poet and essayist, came from Belfast. His parentage is unknown, but he may have been a nephew of the merchant James Arbuckle (d. March 1736), who was a lay elder in the Second Presbyterian congregation. His date of birth cannot be reliably determined,…...
Archdale (Archdall), Mervyn
Archdale (Archdall), Mervyn (1763–1839), army officer and MP, was born 27 April 1763, eldest son among four sons and eight daughters of Col. Mervyn Archdall (1725–1813) of Castle Archdall, Co. Fermanagh, and Trillick, Co. Tyrone, and his wife the Hon. Mary (eldest daughter of…...
Archdale, Edward
This is a co-subject for the entry on Archdale, Mervyn Edward. View the original entry....