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…...
Black, William Bullick
Black, William Bullick (1879–1967), lawyer and judge, was born 22 September 1879, the only son of the Rev. James Black, a methodist clergyman, of Kinnegar, Holywood, Co. Down, and his wife Sarah Edith (née Bullick). Educated at the Methodist College, Belfast, and…...
Capper, Wilfrid Meredyth
Capper, Wilfrid Meredyth (1905–89), conservationist and creator of the Ulster Way, was born in Belfast on 12 July 1905, the second son of four children (two boys and two girls) of John Malcolmson Capper, a cotton yarn merchant, and Elizabeth Jane Capper (née Stewart); the family was…...
Cole, John Sydney Richard
Cole, John Sydney Richard (1907–89), lawyer, was born 24 January 1907 in Belfast, the only son of R. L. Cole (qv), methodist minister, and Selina McKell Cole (née Kelly), who died at the time of his birth. He was educated at Cork…...
Cusack, Margaret Anna (‘The nun of Kenmare’)
Cusack, Margaret Anna (‘The nun of Kenmare’) (1829–99), nun and author, was born 6 May 1829 at Coolock, Co. Dublin, the elder of two children of Dr Samuel Cusack and his wife, Sarah (née Stoney). Early life and conversion to catholicism She was educated privately, learning informally…...
Ferguson, Richard ('Dick')
Ferguson, Richard ('Dick') (1935–2009), barrister and politician, was born in Derrygonnelly, Co. Fermanagh, on 22 August 1935, only child of Wesley Ferguson, RUC sergeant, and his wife Edith. The Fergusons, who were methodists, had farmed…...
Fox, Charlotte Olivia (née Milligan)
Fox, Charlotte Olivia (née Milligan) (1864–1916), ethnomusicologist, was born 17 March 1864 in Omagh, Co. Tyrone, the eldest child among five daughters and six sons (two of whom did not reach adulthood) of Seaton Forrest Milligan (1836–1916) of Glencar, Omagh, businessman,…...
Fullerton, Andrew
Fullerton, Andrew (1868–1934), surgeon, was born 20 March 1868 in Wesley Street, Cavan, the third son of the seven children of Rev. Alexander Fullerton, a methodist clergyman, and his wife Mary Jane (née Moffitt), a close relative of General Gordon of Khartoum. His paternal…...
Gibson, Jack Stanley
Gibson, Jack Stanley (1909–2005), medical doctor and hypnotherapist, was born in Dublin on 3 November 1909, the youngest of six children (four boys, two girls; a brother predeceased him) of Adam Henry Gibson, merchant, and his wife Mary Jane ('Millie') (née Bailey), of Hollybank…...
Glass, (John) Basil Caldwell
Glass, (John) Basil Caldwell (1926–2005), politician, lawyer, and judge, was born 21 May 1926 in Drumshanbo, Co. Leitrim, eldest of two sons and one daughter of John Glass (1894–1956), methodist minister, and his wife Muriel Florence (née Caldwell), whose father was also a methodist…...
Hadden, George
Hadden, George (1882–1973), medical doctor and historian, was born 9 October 1882 at Richmond Terrace, Wexford town, son of George Hadden, draper and alderman, and Hannah Mary Hadden (née Perrot). The Haddens, a methodist family, were established in Wexford town during the nineteenth…...
Kelly, (John William) Basil
Kelly, (John William) Basil (1920–2008), barrister, politician and judge, was born 10 May 1920 in Co. Monaghan, one of two children and the only son of Thomas William Kelly and Emily Frances Kelly (née Donaldson). After the family had been burnt out of their farm they moved to Belfast,…...
Lindsay, James Alexander
Lindsay, James Alexander (1856–1931), doctor and author, was born 20 June 1856 at Lisnacrieve House, Fintona, Co. Tyrone, one of two sons and three daughters of David Lindsay, businessman, and Ellen Lindsay (née Johnson). He was educated at the Royal Belfast Academical Institution…...
Macauliffe, Max
Macauliffe, Max, also known as Michael McAuliffe (1838–1913), Indian Civil Service judge and Sikh scholar, was born 11 September 1838 in Glenmore, Monagea, Co. Limerick, eldest of five sons and seven daughters of John McAuliffe, schoolteacher and farmer, and Julia McAuliffe (née Browne…...
Marshall, Robert
Marshall, Robert (1889–1975), doctor, was born 9 September 1899 in Belfast, son of W. J. Marshall, tailor and JP, and Bertha Marshall (née Shaw). He was educated (1897–1906) at Methodist College, Belfast, later becoming a life governor (…...
McGregor, John James
McGregor, John James (c.1773–1834), historian and topographer, was born 24 February c.1773 in Limerick city, the seventh son and youngest of seventeen children (many of whom did not survive to adulthood) of John McGregor (d. 1796), native of Scotland, probably by…...
McIvor, (William) Basil
McIvor, (William) Basil (1928–2004), politician, barrister and judge, was born 17 June 1928 in Tullyhommon, Co. Fermanagh (the southern side of Pettigo – 'I am a British citizen with about 120 feet to spare' (McIvor, 8)), second of three sons of Frederick McIvor, methodist minister, and…...
Musa, Jennifer ('Mummy'; Jennifer Jehanzeba Qazi Musa)
Musa, Jennifer ('Mummy'; Jennifer Jehanzeba Qazi Musa) (1917–2008), politician, tribal elder and nurse, was born Bridget Wren on 11 November 1917 in Tarmons, Tarbert, Co. Kerry, one of five daughters and two sons of John Wren, a small-holding farmer, and his wife Johanna (née…...
Norcott, William
Norcott, William (1773?–1820), barrister, satirist, and bon vivant, was eldest son of William Norcott of Charleville, Co. Cork, and Mary Norcott (née Knight). He entered TCD in July 1790, graduating BA…...
Parsons, Alfred Robert
Parsons, Alfred Robert (1864–1952), physician, was born 23 September 1864 in Victoria Place, Athlone, son of John Parsons, bootmaker, and Mary Parsons (née Leney). He was the second of seven children; he had three brothers (William, b. 1862; George Thomas, b. 1868; and Charles Frederick…...
Patterson, Sarah (‘Saidie’)
Patterson, Sarah (‘Saidie’) (1904–85), trade unionist and peace activist, was born 25 November 1904 at 32 Woodvale St., Shankill Road, Belfast, eldest of three children of William Patterson (d. 1912), shipyard blacksmith, and Sarah Patterson (née Moore), both of whom were devout…...
Smiley, James Anderson
Smiley, James Anderson (1907–88), physician, was born 20 April 1907 at Castlewellan, Co. Down, the eldest of the four sons and one daughter of Samuel John Smiley, apothecary, and Mary Emma Smiley (née Anderson) of Lurgan. There was a strong medical tradition in the family, and of…...
Thompson, Sir William John
Thompson, Sir William John (1861–1929), registrar-general of Ireland, was born at Tattyreagh, Co. Fermanagh, the son of William Thompson, a farmer of Tattyreagh. He was educated at TCD and the…...
Whitla, Sir William
Whitla, Sir William (1851–1933), physician, was born 15 September 1851 at The Diamond, Monaghan town, fourth son of Robert Whitla, a presbyterian pawnbroker and draper, and his wife Anne (née Williams). Whitla's parents had five sons and seven daughters. In 1928 Whitla presented a…...