Finnerty, Peter
Finnerty, Peter (1766?–1822), printer, journalist and parliamentary and war reporter, was born probably at Loughrea, Co. Galway, where his father was a small tradesman. In the 1790s he served as an apprentice to William Corbet (qv),…...
FitzGerald, Desmond John Villiers
FitzGerald, Desmond John Villiers (1937–2011), Knight of Glin , scholar, conservationist, and fine arts dealer and collector, was born 13 July 1937 in Cambridge Square, London, the only son and youngest of three children of Desmond Wyndham Otho FitzGerald, Knight of Glin, of Glin Castle…...
Fitzgerald, George Robert
Fitzgerald, George Robert (c.1746–1786), duellist, was born in Turlough, Co. Mayo, elder son of George Fitzgerald, landowner, and his wife, Lady Mary Fitzgerald, daughter of John, Lord Hervey. His mother's brother was …...
Fitzgibbon, Theodora
Fitzgibbon, Theodora (1916–91), cookery expert and writer, was born Joan Eileen Rosling on 21 October 1916 in London, the only child of Adam Rosling, motor engineer with the Royal Naval Air Service, and Alice Winifred Rosling (née Hodgkins). Her parents were divorced soon after…...
Fitzpatrick, Hugh
Fitzpatrick, Hugh (d. 1818), printer and bookseller, was said by an obituarist to be ‘descended from a noble Irish family’ and seems to have been a nephew of Sir Jeremiah Fitzpatrick (qv), of whose will he and his son…...
Flannery, Austin
Flannery, Austin (1925–2008), priest, scholar, editor, journalist and social justice campaigner, was born William ('Liam') Flannery on 10 January 1925 at Rear Cross, Co. Tipperary, the eldest of seven children of William K. Flannery and his wife Margaret Flannery (née Butler),…...
Fossett, Edward
Fossett, Edward (c.1895–1951), horseman and circus owner, was born near London, son of Sir Robert Fossett, originally of Islington, and Mary Fossett (née Francis), a bareback rider from Co. Wexford who performed as ‘Miss Mini’ in the family business, Sir Robert Fossett's…...
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,…...
Fox, Richard Kyle
Fox, Richard Kyle (1846–1922), publisher and patron of sports, was born on Albertbridge Road, Belfast, on 12 August 1846. Fox's father James was a carpenter and mason, and his mother Mary (née Kyle) was the daughter of Henry Kyle, a Belfast presbyterian minister. As a teenager Fox…...
Franckton (Francke), John
Franckton (Francke), John (d. 1620), printer and bookseller, was probably born into a Dublin family and became apprentice to the queen's printer in Ireland, William Kearney. Upon Kearney's death in 1598 or 1599, Franckton succeeded him informally as royal printer, and he appears…...
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…...
Gailey, Robert Alan
Gailey, Robert Alan (1935–2013), folklife scholar and museum director, was born on 4 October 1935 in Galway. Known by his middle name, Alan was the second child of Andrew J. Gailey (d. 1963), a presbyterian minister in Galway, and Mary Gailey (née Porter). He had two sisters. From…...
Gaine, Hugh
Gaine, Hugh (1726–1807), printer and newspaper editor in New York, was born in Portglenone, Co. Antrim, the son of Hugh Gaine, possibly a merchant. There was at least one other son, who also emigrated. The family was Church of Ireland, although in a 1766 religious census family…...
Gardiner, Marguerite (Margaret)
Gardiner, Marguerite (Margaret) (1789–1849), countess of Blessington , writer, journalist, and society hostess, was born 1 September 1789 at Knockbrit, Co. Tipperary, the second daughter and fourth child of Edmund Power and his wife Ellen (née Sheehy), both from well-established…...
Garzia (Garcia), John
Garzia (Garcia), John (d. p.1723), priest-catcher, was almost certainly born in Spain. He was the most notorious of a profession – which included Edward Tyrell (qv) – active in the early eighteenth century, who, in return…...
Gay, Thomas Earnan
Gay, Thomas Earnan (1884–1953), librarian and republican, was born in Dublin on 22 January 1884, the eldest of six children (two girls and four boys) of Thomas Patrick Gay, a porter and later a warehouseman, and his wife Catherine (née Coleman). He was educated at the…...
Geldof, Zenon
Geldof, Zenon (1882–1939), chef, restaurateur, and entrepreneur, was born 28 February 1882 at Boesinghe (Boesinge), near Ypres, Belgium, son of Zenon Geldof, schoolteacher, and his wife Mini. He served his apprenticeship in confectionery in Bruges. His experience working in London's…...
Gibb (Gibson), Rosemary Elizabeth Jane (‘Rosy’)
Gibb (Gibson), Rosemary Elizabeth Jane (‘Rosy’) (1942–97), social worker, clown, and magician, was born 8 November 1942 in Dublin, the only child of Jack Gibson, a well-known surgeon and hypnotist, and Elizabeth Maude Gibson (née James). She passed her early childhood in Guernsey, where…...
Gilbert, Eliza Rosana (‘Lola Montez’)
Gilbert, Eliza Rosana (‘Lola Montez’) (1820–61), dancer and adventuress, was born in spring 1820 in Co. Limerick, daughter of Edward Gilbert, a British soldier serving in Co. Cork, and Eliza Oliver, illegitimate daughter of Charles Silver Oliver, MP; her parents married around the…...
Gilbert, Sir John Thomas
Gilbert, Sir John Thomas (1829–98), merchant, historian, archivist, and librarian, was born 23 January 1829 at 23 Jervis St., Dublin, second son and fifth child of John Gilbert (1791–1833), wine and cider importer and Portuguese consul, and Mary Anne Gilbert (née Costello), both…...
Gill, Henry Joseph
This is a co-subject for the entry on Gill, Michael Henry. View the original entry....
Gill, Michael Henry
Gill, Michael Henry (1794?–1879), printer, was born c.1794, son of Henry Gill (d. 1797?) and his wife Catherine (née O'Neill). Henry, whose family probably originated in King's Co., was a woollen draper in Skinners’ Row, Dublin, and in the early 1790s was a member of the…...
Gill, Michael Joseph
This is a co-subject for the entry on Gill, Michael Henry. View the original entry....
Gill, Mollie (Ní Giolla, Máire)
Gill, Mollie (Ní Giolla, Máire) (1891–1977), camogie player and administrator, was born Mary Anne Gill on 24 March 1891 at Murphystown, near Leopardstown, in south Co. Dublin, the daughter of James Gill, a shoe-maker, and his wife Jane (neé Daly). Census records suggest that she was the…...
Goldin, Paul
Goldin, Paul (1927–2008), entertainer and clinical psychologist, was born Ronald Paul Gold in London on 15 April 1927, the son of Charles Gold and his wife Minnie (née Elbury). The Golds were a Jewish family living in London's East End, and Paul's father may have been a psychiatrist…...