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…...
Gardiner, Luke
Gardiner, Luke (1745–98), 1st Viscount Mountjoy (second creation), MP and property developer, was born 7 February 1745, eldest son of Charles Gardiner (qv) of Dublin and his wife Florinda, daughter of Robert Norman of Lagore, Co. Meath. His grandfather and…...
Geary (Garry), Thomas Augustine (Timothy)
Geary (Garry), Thomas Augustine (Timothy) (1775–1801), composer, was born in Dublin in 1775 (his date of birth is sometimes given as 1772), the son of Timothy Garry (senior). Geary (who signed himself ‘Timothy Garry’ at the age of fifteen) later adopted the first names Thomas Augustine…...
Gibson, William (Mac Giolla Bhríde, Liam)
Gibson, William (Mac Giolla Bhríde, Liam) (1868–1942), 2nd Baron Ashbourne , Irish-language activist, was born 16 December 1868 in Dublin, eldest child of Edward Gibson (qv), 1st Baron Ashbourne, and Frances Maria Adelaide Gibson (née Colles…...
Godley, John Raymond
Godley, John Raymond (1920–2005), 3rd Baron Kilbracken of Killegar , pilot, journalist, traveller, landowner and environmentalist, was born 17 October 1920 in Chester Street, Belgravia, London, England, the eldest of two sons (Wynne being the younger) and a daughter (Kathleen) of…...
Goodman, James (Séamus Gudman)
Goodman, James (Séamus Gudman) (1828–96), clergyman, Irish-language scholar, and music collector, was born 22 September 1828 at Ballyameen near Dingle, Co. Kerry, second son among five sons and four daughters of Thomas Chute Goodman, clergyman, and Mary Goodman (née Gorham). Brought up…...
Gookin, Sir Vincent
Gookin, Sir Vincent (1590?–1638), planter, was the youngest son of John Gookin of Ripple Court, Kent, England, and his wife Catherine (née Dene) of Bursted, Kent. Vincent came to Ireland and took up office as surveyor general early in the century, was admitted freeman of Youghal (1618…...
Grogan, Cornelius
Grogan, Cornelius (c.1733–98), landowner and politician, was born at Johnstown Castle, Co. Wexford, eldest son among six sons and three daughters of John Grogan (1717–c.January 1784), landlord and MP for Enniscorthy, Co. Wexford (1761–8), and his wife and cousin…...
Guinness, Arthur Edward
Guinness, Arthur Edward (1840–1915), Baron Ardilaun, businessman, MP, and philanthropist, was born 1 November 1840 at St Anne's, Clontarf, Co. Dublin, eldest son of Sir Benjamin Lee Guinness (qv), 1st baronet and MP, and Elizabeth…...
Hamilton, James
Hamilton, James (c.1560–1644), 1st Viscount Claneboye , academic, and Scottish settler, was eldest son of Hans Hamilton, vicar of Dunlop, Ayrshire, and his wife Janet, daughter of James Denham of West Shield. He probably studied at St Andrews, where a man bearing his name…...
Hamilton, James
Hamilton, James (1838–1913), 2nd duke of Abercorn and MP, was born 24 August 1838 in Brighton, Sussex, eldest son of James Hamilton (qv), 1st duke of Abercorn, and his wife Louisa Jane, second daughter of the 6th duke of Bedford. He was…...
Hamilton, James
Hamilton, James (1811–85), 1st duke of Abercorn and lord lieutenant of Ireland, was born 21 January 1811 at Seamore Place, Mayfair, London, elder son of James, Viscount Hamilton (1786–1814), and his wife Harriet (d. 1833), daughter of John Douglas, earl of Morton. His guardian, George…...
Hamilton, John
Hamilton, John (1800–84), landlord and writer, was born 8 August 1800, eldest among three children of James Hamilton, a wealthy landowner with 20,000 acres in Co. Donegal, and his wife Helen, daughter of Edward Michael Pakenham, 2nd Baron Longford. By the age of seven John was…...
Hamilton, Sir Frederick
Hamilton, Sir Frederick (c.1590–1647), soldier and founder of Manorhamilton, Co. Leitrim, was born in Scotland, son of Lord Claud Hamilton, one of the leaders of Scotland's catholics in the late sixteenth century, and his wife, Margaret, daughter of George Seton, 6th Lord…...
Hammond, David Andrew ('Davy')
Hammond, David Andrew ('Davy') (1928–2008), singer, folklorist, television producer and documentary maker, was born on 5 December 1928 in Miss Kells's nursing home on the Castlereagh Road in Belfast, the son of Leslie Hammond, a tram driver, and his wife Annie (née Lamont). His parents…...
Harrison, Frank Llewelyn
Harrison, Frank Llewelyn (1905–87), musicologist, organist, and composer, was born 29 September 1905 in Dublin, the second son of Alfred Francis and Florence May Harrison. He became a chorister at St Patrick's cathedral in 1912, occasionally playing the organ for cathedral…...
Harty, Sir (Herbert) Hamilton
Harty, Sir (Herbert) Hamilton (1879–1941), pianist, accompanist, composer, arranger, and conductor, was born 4 December 1879 in Hillsborough, Co. Down. His father, William Michael Harty (b. Limerick, 1852; d. Hillsborough, Co. Down, 1 November 1918), became a chorister and organ…...
Hastings, Francis Rawdon
Hastings, Francis Rawdon (1754–1826), 2nd earl of Moira , 1st marquess of Hastings , soldier, whig politician, and viceroy of India, was born 7 December 1754 in Dublin, eldest son of John Rawdon (qv), 1st earl of Moira (1723/4–1793), and…...
Hayes, Samuel
Hayes, Samuel (1743–95), politician, improving landlord, and amateur architect, was the eldest son of John Hayes of Hayesville, Co. Wicklow. He studied under a Mr Ford, before entering TCD on 8 January 1759. He registered at London's…...
Herbert, Victor
Herbert, Victor (1859–1924), composer, was born 1 February 1859 in Dublin, son of Edward Herbert, artist, and Fanny Herbert (née Lover). Victor's father died when he was 3, and he was initially raised by his grandfather, the novelist and composer …...
Hewson, George Henry Philips
Hewson, George Henry Philips (1881–1972), organist, composer, and teacher, was born 19 November 1881, youngest among ten children of Edmund Hewson and his wife Caroline (née Page). In 1888 he joined the school and choir of St Patrick's cathedral, Dublin. He showed an early aptitude…...
Hill, Arthur Blundell Sandys Trumbull
Hill, Lord George
Hill, Lord George (1801–79), landlord, was born 9 December 1801, fifth son of Arthur Hill (qv) 2nd marquess of Downshire, and his wife, Mary, daughter of Col. Martin Sandys (1729–68), brother of the baron of Ombersley. He was born three months…...
Hill, Sir George Fitzgerald
Hill, Sir George Fitzgerald (1763–1839), 2nd baronet, politician, was born 1 June 1763 in Co. Londonderry, the son of Sir Hugh Hill (c.1727–95), 1st baronet, of Brook Hall, and his second wife, Hannah Hill (née McClintock). The Hill family had substantial landholdings in…...
Holmes, Augusta Mary Anne
Holmes, Augusta Mary Anne (1847–1903), composer, was born 16 December 1847 in Paris of Irish parents, Captain Dalkieth Holmes, who had settled in Paris in 1820, and his wife, Augusta, née Shearer (d. 1857). Her mother published two pieces of prose: The law of Rouen, a…...