Anderson, Sir James Caleb
Anderson, Sir James Caleb (1792–1861), baronet and steam-coach promoter, was born 21 July 1792 in Cork, eldest of two sons and one daughter of John Anderson (1747–1820), banker of Cork, and his second wife, Elizabeth (d. 1830), daughter of James Semple, merchant of Waterford.…...
Annesley, Arthur
Annesley, Arthur (1614–86), 1st earl of Anglesey , politician, was born 10 July 1614 in Dublin, son of Francis Annesley (qv), Lord Mountnorris and Viscount Valentia, and his wife Dorothy, daughter of Sir John Philips of Picton,…...
Aylmer, Sir Gerald
Aylmer, Sir Gerald (d. 1634), 1st baronet, landowner, was third son of Richard Aylmer of Lyons, Co. Kildare, and his wife Elinor, daughter of George Fleming. By 1582 he had travelled to London in pursuit of property claims, carrying commendations of his conduct during the recent…...
Bagenal (O'Neill), Mabel
Bagenal (O'Neill), Mabel (c.1571–95), countess of Tyrone , was born in Newry, sixth daughter and youngest among eleven children of Sir Nicholas Bagenal (qv), marshal of the army in Ireland, and Eleanor Griffith…...
Bagwell, John
Bagwell, John (1752–1816), landowner and MP, was the only son among four children of William Bagwell (c.1728–1756) of Clonmel, Co. Tipperary, presbyterian, banker, merchant, and MP for Clonmel (January–July 1756), and Jane Bagwell, daughter of John Harper of Belgrove, Co. Cork…...
Barnewall, Sir Nicholas
Barnewall, Sir Nicholas (1592–1663), 1st Viscount Barnewall of Kingsland , politician, was son of Sir Patrick Barnewall, of Turvey, Gracedieu, and Fieldstown, Co. Dublin, and his wife Mary, daughter of Sir Nicholas Bagenal…...
Barr, Andrew (Andy)
Barr, Andrew (Andy) (1913–2003), trade unionist and communist, was born 23 September 1913 at 29 Cluan Place, off Mountpottinger Road, Ballymacarrett, Belfast, second child among two sons and five daughters (two other children died in infancy) of Andrew Barr (d. 1986, aged 98), a…...
Barrett, (Denis) Cyril
Barrett, (Denis) Cyril (1925–2003), Jesuit priest, art critic and historian, and philosopher, was born Denis Barrett in Dublin on 9 May 1925 (Cyril was his name in religion). He was the son of Denis Barrett, the last assistant commissioner of the Dublin Metropolitan Police. His…...
Barry, David Fitz-James de
Barry, David Fitz-James de (1550–1617), 3rd Viscount Buttevant , was second son of James Fitz-Richard Barry Roe, lord of Ibawne, 2nd Viscount, and his wife Ellen (Eileen), daughter of Cormac MacCarthy Reagh. On the outbreak of the second Desmond rebellion (1579), he initially…...
Bellew, Christopher Dillon
Bellew, Christopher Dillon (1763–1826), catholic gentleman and activist, was the eldest son of Michael Bellew of Mount Bellew, Co. Galway, and his wife Jane, daughter of Henry Dillon. Born into a wealthy catholic family, one of the few that had prospered during the penal era, he…...
Bellew, Sir John
Bellew, Sir John (d. 1693), 1st Baron Bellew of Duleek , Jacobite colonel, was son of Sir Christopher Bellew of Bellewstown and his wife Frances, daughter of Matthew Plunkett, Lord Louth. His father was made governor of Louth (30 October 1641) with the object of suppressing…...
Bellew, Sir Patrick
Bellew, Sir Patrick (1726?–95), 5th baronet and catholic activist, was second son among five children (four sons and a daughter) of Sir Edward Bellew (d. 1741), 3rd baronet (1734–41), of Barmeath Castle, Dunleer, Co. Louth, and Eleanor Bellew (née Moore) of Drogheda. After the…...
Birmingham, John
Birmingham, John (1816–84), astronomer, polymath, and landowner, was born at Millbrook, near Tuam, Co. Galway in May 1816, the only son of Edward Birmingham (d. 1833, the youngest son of John (Sean Rua) Birmingham of Dalgin, a landowner with interests in the West Indies) and his wife,…...
Blake, Sir Thomas
Blake, Sir Thomas (d. 1642), 2nd baronet, landowner, and mayor of Galway, was the elder son, of the two sons and three daughters, of Sir Valentine Blake (qv) of Galway and his first wife, Margaret, daughter of Robuck French of…...
Blease, William John ('Billy')
Blease, William John ('Billy') (1914–2008), Baron Blease of Cromac, trade unionist and politician, was born 28 May 1914 in Gosford Street, off the Ormeau Road, Belfast, eldest of three sons and one daughter of William John Blease (1886–1954), restaurant chef and trade-union activist,…...
Boran, Nicholas (Nixie)
Boran, Nicholas (Nixie) (1903–72), trade unionist, was born in 1903 at Massford in the colliery district north of Castlecomer in Co. Kilkenny, the second in a family of four born to George Boran, a small farmer and coal carter, and his wife, Mary (née Maher). Nicholas attended…...
Bourke (Burke), Miles (Meiler)
Bourke (Burke), Miles (Meiler) (c.1585–1649), 2nd Viscount Bourke of Mayo , nobleman, was the eldest son, of the four sons and three daughters, of Theobald, 1st Viscount Bourke of Mayo (…...
Bourke, Theobald
Bourke, Theobald (c.1615?–1653), 3rd Viscount Mayo , soldier and politician, was son and heir of Miles Bourke (qv), 2nd Viscount Mayo, and Honora, daughter of Sir John Bourke of Derrymaclaghtny, Co. Galway.…...
Bourke, William
Bourke, William (1623–67), 5th Baron Castleconnell , soldier, was son and heir of Edmund Bourke and his first wife, Thomasine, daughter of Sir Thomas Browne of Hospital, Co. Limerick. Edmund held over 3,000 acres in Co. Limerick, primarily in the barony of Clanwilliam, alongside the…...
Bowman, Alexander
Bowman, Alexander (1855–1924), trade unionist, was born 16 March 1855 at Dromara, Co. Down, eldest child among three sons and two daughters of William McKeown, farmer and weaver, and his wife Elizabeth (née Rodgers). McKeown was a catholic; Rodgers, a presbyterian, had been previously…...
Boyd, Thomas William (‘Tom’)
Boyd, Thomas William (‘Tom’) (1903–91), socialist and trade unionist, was born 13 April 1903 in Woodstock Road, east Belfast, one of nine children of James Boyd, shipyard clerk, and Mary Boyd (née McCully), both originally from Co. Down. He left Ravenscroft national school,…...
Brosnahan, Seán
Brosnahan, Seán (1911–87), teacher and trade unionist, was born 26 August 1911 in Killaloe, Co. Clare, one of nine children of John Brosnahan, RIC sergeant, and Norah Brosnahan (née Ryan) (d. 1946). One of his brothers was Thomas J.…...
Browne, Nicholas
Browne, Nicholas (1660?–1720), 2nd Viscount Kenmare , soldier and MP, was son and heir of Valentine Browne, 1st viscount, and his wife Jane, daughter and heiress of Sir Nicholas Plunkett (qv) of Dublin and Balrath, Co. Meath,…...
Browne, Thomas
Browne, Thomas (1726–95), 4th Viscount Kenmare , improving landlord, and catholic activist, was born in April 1726, second (and only surviving) son among two sons and a daughter of Valentine Browne (qv), 3rd viscount, and his first…...
Browne, Valentine
Browne, Valentine (1695–1736), 5th baronet and 3rd Viscount Kenmare , was first son of Nicholas Browne (qv), 2nd viscount, and his wife Helen, daughter of Thomas Browne of Hospital, Co. Limerick. The inheritance to which he succeeded…...