Clavell, John
Clavell, John (1601–43), adventurer, was born on 11 May 1601, sixth child and second son of John Clavell and his wife Frances Willoughby of Wootton Glanville in Dorset, England. He was admitted to Brasenose College, Oxford, in 1619, pardoned for decamping with the college plate in…...
Cloney, Sheila
Cloney, Sheila (1926–2009), protagonist in the Fethard-on-Sea boycott, was born Sheila Kelly on 6 May 1926 in Fethard-on-Sea, a village on the Hook peninsula of south-western Co. Wexford, daughter of Thomas Kelly, cattle dealer, of John's Hill (just outside Fethard), and his wife Sheila…...
Coffey, Brian
Coffey, Brian (1905–95), poet, academic, teacher, and publisher, was born 8 June 1905 at Glenageary, Co. Dublin, son of Denis J. Coffey (qv), president of UCD, and Maude Coffey (née Quin…...
Collier, Peter Fenelon
Collier, Peter Fenelon (1849–1909), publisher and newspaper proprietor, was born 12 December 1849 in Myshall, Co. Carlow, son of Robert C. Collier and Catherine Collier (née Fenelon). After an education in local schools he emigrated to America at 17 and entered St Mary's seminary…...
Colmán Bec
Colmán Bec (d. 587), son of Diarmait and prominent Uí Néill dynast, is probably to be identified as ancestor of Clann Cholmáin. His father Diarmait (qv) (d. 565) son of Cerball, king of Tara, descended from…...
Colmán Már
Colmán Már (‘the great’) (d. 555/63), putatively a son of Diarmait and king of Uisnech, is accepted in some sources as eponymous ancestor of Clann Cholmáin, a dynasty of the Uí Néill. His father is identified as Diarmait (qv) (d. 565) son…...
Colmán Rímid
Colmán Rímid (‘the counter/computist?’) (d. 604), son of Báetán and overking of the Uí Néill, belonged to the dynasty of Cenél nÉogain. His father Báetán (qv) son of Muirchertach/Mac Ercae (qv…...
Conall Cóel (‘the slender’)
Conall Cremthainne
Conall Cremthainne (d. 480?), an early dynast of Uí Néill and putatively king of Uisnech, was regarded by the pre-Norman genealogists as the common ancestor of Síl nÁedo Sláine and Clann Cholmáin. Conall (also called Conall Err Breg) is included among the fourteen sons credited to…...
Conall Gulban
Conall Gulban (5th cent.?), an early Uí Néill figure, is eponymous ancestor of the dynasty of Cenél Conaill. He is claimed as a son of Niall Noígiallach (qv), along with thirteen alleged brothers including…...
Conchobar
Conchobar (d. 833), son of Donnchad and king of Tara, belonged to the Clann Cholmáin dynasty of the Southern Uí Néill. His father Donnchad Midi (qv) had retained the kingship of Tara till his death (797). His mother was Fuirseach,…...
Conchobar
Conchobar (d. 973), son of Tadc and overking of Connacht, belonged to Síl Muiredaig, a lineage of the Uí Briúin Aí dynasty. His father, known as Tadc in Túir (of the tower), had held the overkingship, but died in 956 leaving a province wracked by internal strife. Supremacy…...
Congalach Cnogba
Congalach Cnogba (d. 956), son of Máel-mithig and king of Tara, belonged to Síl nÁedo Sláine, a Southern Uí Néill dynasty. His achievement is noteworthy not only in that he was the last of his dynasty to reign as overking of Uí Néill but also because he claimed sway over Leinster…...
Congal Cennfhota
Congal Cennfhota (‘longheaded’) (d. 674), son of Dúnchad and overking of Ulaid, belonged to the dynasty of Dál Fiatach. His father and uncle, Dúnchad and Máel-Cobo, held the overkingship of Ulaid in turn, marking a revival of Dál Fiatach fortunes after the slaying in 637 of…...
Congal Cennmagair
Congal Cennmagair (d. 710), son of Fergus Fánat and king of Tara, belonged to the dynasty of Cenél Conaill. Although his father did not, it seems, achieve political prominence, his grandfather Domnall (qv) (d. 642) son of…...
Congal Cloen (Cáech)
Congal Cloen (Cáech) (d. 637/9), son of Scandal Sciathlethan and overking of Ulaid, belonged to the Síl Fiachnai lineage of the Dál nAraide (Cruthin) dynasty. Although misplaced in the pre-Norman genealogies (he is attached to a parallel line as a son of Scandal son of Bécc), Congal…...
Cooper, Austin
Cooper, Austin (b. c.1614, d. a.1690), gardener and strongman, inherited property from his father at Byfleet in Surrey. His father or another relative is said to have held a court appointment under Charles I. Cooper purchased land in England from a Cromwellian…...
Coppin, Louisa (Little Weesy)
This is a co-subject for the entry on Coppin, William. View the original entry....
Corbet, William
Corbet, William (d. 1838?), printer and newspaper proprietor, was in business in Dublin by 1783; he later had premises in Great Britain Street (1788–1810), Sycamore Alley (1813–22), College Green (1823–4), Palace Street (1825–30), and Upper Ormond Quay (from 1831). In 1783 he was…...
Cormac
Cormac (846–908), son of Cuilennán and king of Cashel (seat of the Éoganacht kings of Munser), was according to the genealogies son of Sealbach, grandson of Dub-dá-chrích, and descendant of Óengus (qv) son of Nad-fraích. He was the chief…...
Costello, Mary Ann
Costello, Mary Ann (1747–1827), actress and mother of the British prime minister George Canning, was born in Ireland, daughter of Jordan Costello, a Connacht squire. Apparently orphaned at an early age, she was brought up in the care of her maternal grandfather, Col. Guydickens, in…...
Cotter (alias O'Brien), Patrick
Cotter (alias O'Brien), Patrick (1760/61–1806), giant and showman, was born at Belgooly, near Kinsale, Co. Cork. His parents were farmers; while no details of his father are available, his mother was still alive at the time of his death and is named in his will as Margaret Cotter…...
Cotter, Sarah
Cotter, Sarah (fl. 1751–92), printer and bookseller, was possibly the sister of Joseph Cotter (d. c.1751), a bookseller operating from under Dick's Coffee House, Skinner Row, Dublin (1744–c.1751). She continued the trade at the same address (1751–74) and…...
Courtenay, Ellen
Courtenay, Ellen (1802–c.1837), accuser of Daniel O'Connell (qv), was born in Co. Cork, daughter of a native of the county. In 1817, at the age of 15, she moved to Dublin, and the catholic bishop of Cork,…...
Cox, Walter
Cox, Walter (c.1770–1837), journalist and informer, was the son of a Co. Meath or Westmeath blacksmith and his wife, a Dease of Summerhill. He was apprenticed in turn to – or at least worked as an ‘inlayer’ for – two Dublin gunsmiths, Daniel Muley and Benjamin Powell, and…...