Mac Gearailt, Piaras (Fitzgerald, Pierce)
Mac Gearailt, Piaras (Fitzgerald, Pierce) (c.1709–c.1792), poet, was born in Ballykinealy, near Ballymacoda, Co. Cork, into a branch of the Fitzgeralds who were related to the knights of Kerry but had lost most of their property as a result of their involvement in the…...
Mason, Henry Joseph Monck
Mason, Henry Joseph Monck (1778–1858), miscellaneous bilingual writer, librarian, and evangelical reformer, was born 15 July 1778 at Powerscourt demesne, Enniskerry, Co. Wicklow, son of Lt-col. Henry Monck Mason and his second wife, Jane, only daughter of…...
Megaw, Basil
Megaw, Basil (1913–2002), archaeologist and folklife scholar, was born in Belfast on 22 June 1913, the third of four sons of Arthur Stanley Megaw, solicitor and writer, and his wife (Helen Isabel) Bertha (née Smith). Arthur Stanley Megaw (1873–1961) was a younger son of Robert Megaw…...
Nic Dhonnchadha, Lil
Nic Dhonnchadha, Lil (1891–1984), Irish language scholar and language activist, was born 9 October 1891 in Belfast, one of the four surviving children of customs and excise officer Séamus Mac Donnchadha and his wife, Georgina Ffolliott L'Amie, who had trained as a teacher. Her father…...
O'Brien, Ellen Lucy (‘Nelly’)
O'Brien, Ellen Lucy (‘Nelly’) (Ní Bhriain, Neilí) (1864–1925), miniature and landscape artist, and Gaelic League activist, was born 4 June 1864, the eldest of two daughters and one son of Edward William O'Brien, landowner, of Cahirmoyle, Co. Limerick, and Mary O'Brien (née Spring Rice…...
O'Connell, Frederick William
O'Connell, Frederick William (1876–1929), clergyman and Irish-language scholar, was born 22 October 1876 in Clifden, Co. Galway, son of Reverend W. Morgan O'Connell, rector of Clifden. Educated at the High School, Dublin, he entered Trinity College Dublin (TCD) with entrance prizes in…...
O'Daly, John
O'Daly, John (1800–78), writer and publisher, was born 5 February 1800 in Fernane, Cappoquin, Co. Waterford, eldest among three sons and three daughters of Eamonn O'Daly and Brigid O'Daly (née Kyley). He was educated at a local hedge school before going to work, in 1826, for the…...
Ó hUigínn, Pól (Paul Higgins)
Ó hUigínn, Pól (Paul Higgins) (1628?–1724), Irish scholar, preacher and convert to protestantism, was probably born in Co. Sligo, the son of Pól Ó hUigínn and Cecilia Jordan. His grandfather, Tadhg Óg Ó hUigínn, was a bardic poet and a son of the famous bardic poet…...
Price, Liam
Price, Liam (1891–1967), district justice and antiquary, was born 23 February 1891 and christened William George (‘Willie’), the only surviving son of George Price (d. 1915), QC (queen's counsel), of 84 Lower Leeson Street, Dublin, prominent in the legal profession as registrar of the…...
Quin, Coslett William Charles
Quin, Coslett William Charles (1907–95), clergyman and Irish scholar, was born 27 February 1907 at Derriaghy rectory, Co. Antrim, the only son of the Rev. Charles Edward Quin (d. 1936), rector of Derriaghy, and his wife Edith, daughter of Coslett Waddell of Magheralin, Co. Down.…...
Raymond, Anthony
Raymond, Anthony (1675–1726), clergyman and Irish-language scholar, was born in Ballyloughran, near Listowel, Co. Kerry, second son of Anthony Raymond, sheriff of Kerry, and his wife Ann (née Taylor). His family moved to Mitchelstown, Co. Cork, at some stage during his youth. Little is…...
Ross, Jane
Ross, Jane (1810–79), folksong collector, was born 5 August 1810 in or near Limavady, Co. Londonderry, eldest child among four daughters and two sons of John Ross (1781–1830), captain in the Limavady yeomanry and owner of land, flour mills, and a bleach green, and his second wife…...
Stokes, Whitley
Stokes, Whitley (1830–1909), lawyer and Celtic scholar, was born 28 February 1830 in Dublin, the eldest son of Dr William Stokes (qv), heart specialist, and his wife, Mary, daughter of John Black of Glasgow. The Stokes children were raised…...
Todd, James Henthorn
Todd, James Henthorn (1805–69), librarian and scholar, was born 23 April 1805 at Kildare St., Dublin, eldest son among fifteen children of Charles Hawkes Todd (qv), professor of surgery,…...
Uí Choisdeailbh, Eibhlín (Edith Costello)
Uí Choisdeailbh, Eibhlín (Edith Costello) (1870–1962), folksong collector, Irish language enthusiast, and political activist, was born 27 June 1870, probably in the Strand union workhouse, St Pancras, London. She was christened Edith Drury and raised a member of the Church of…...
Wilson, Charles Henry
Wilson, Charles Henry (c.1755–1808), writer and linguist, was born in Bailieborough, Co. Cavan, son of an anglican clergyman; no other details are known of his family. He received a classical school education and attended TCD before…...
Young, Matthew
Young, Matthew (1750–1800), clergyman, Irish scholar, and natural philosopher, was born 3 October 1750 at Castlerea, Co. Roscommon, fourth son of Owen Young, a minor landowner who impoverished his family through dissolute habits, and Olivia Maria Young (née Bell). He was educated at the…...