Bailey, Mary (‘Lady Bailey’) (née Westenra)
Bailey, Mary (‘Lady Bailey’) (née Westenra) (1890–1960), aviator, was born on 1 December 1890 at 30 Grosvenor Square, London, to Derrick (Derry) Warner William Westenra (1853–1921), the fifth Baron Rossmore, and his wife Mittie (née Naylor) (d. 1953), the daughter of a wealthy English…...
Beaufort, Daniel Augustus
Beaufort, Daniel Augustus (1739–1821), clergyman, architect, and cartographer, was born 1 October 1739 in London, son of Daniel Cornelius Beaufort and Esther Beaufort (née Gougeon), members of the huguenot community. The family moved to Ireland when Daniel's father became chaplain…...
Bedell, William
Bedell, William (1571–1642), scholar and churchman, was born in late December 1571 at Black Notley, Essex, England, second son of John Bedell and his wife, Elizabeth Elliston, and entered Emmanuel College, Cambridge, in 1584, the year of its foundation. He graduated in 1588, took his…...
Bell, Alan
Bell, Alan (1857–1920), policeman and resident magistrate, was born in Banagher, King's Co. (Offaly), one of at least two sons of the Rev. James Adamson Bell, Church of Ireland clergyman; his mother's name is unknown. Educated locally, he joined the…...
Bloomfield, John Caldwell
Bloomfield, John Caldwell (1823–97), landlord and entrepreneur, was born 5 February 1823, eldest son of John Colpoys Bloomfield and Frances Arabella Bloomfield (née Caldwell); there were three other sons and a daughter. His mother, a descendant of Sir John Caldwell, was coheiress…...
Blythe, Ernest (de Blaghd, Earnán)
Blythe, Ernest (de Blaghd, Earnán) (1889–1975), revolutionary, politician, government minister, managing director of the Abbey Theatre, and Irish-language revivalist, was born 13 April 1889 at Magheragall, Lisburn, Co. Antrim, eldest child among two sons and two daughters of James…...
Boyd, John St Clair
Boyd, John St Clair (1858–1918), surgeon, Gaelic Leaguer and philanthropist, was born at Cultra House, Holywood, Co. Down, only son of John Kane Boyd, co-proprietor of the Blackstaff Mill. He was educated in Paris and Edinburgh before graduating from Queen's College, Belfast (QCB), and…...
Cleaver, Euseby Digby
Cleaver, Euseby Digby (1826–94), clergyman and Gaelic revivalist, was born 8 March 1826 in Delgany, Co. Wicklow, eldest son of William Cleaver, rector of Delgany, and Mary (née Mackworth) Cleaver, and grandson of Euseby Cleaver (qv) (…...
Comyn, Michael (Micheál Coimín)
Comyn, Michael (Micheál Coimín) (c.1680–1760), prose writer and poet in Irish, was son of Patrick Óg Comyn, farmer of Kilcorcoran, Co. Clare, and Joanna Comyn (née Fitzgerald). Michael's grandfather lost a substantial freehold in five townlands of Kimacrehy parish during…...
Coneys, Thomas de Vere
Coneys, Thomas de Vere (1804?–51), Church of Ireland clergyman and first professor of Irish at TCD, was born in Galway, the first son of John Coneys, barrister, of Streamstown, Co. Galway. He was educated at the school of a Mr Whiteley and in October 1819 (aged fifteen) entered…...
Crosbie, Richard
Crosbie, Richard (1756?–1800?), balloonist, was born in Co. Wicklow, second son among five children of Sir Paul Crosbie, 4th baronet and barrack master at Bray, Co. Wicklow, and Mary Crosbie (née Daniel), an Englishwoman. His elder brother was (Sir)…...
Daniel (Ó Domhnuill, O'Donnell), William
Daniel (Ó Domhnuill, O'Donnell), William (1570–1628), Church of Ireland archbishop of Tuam and translator of the New Testament into Irish, was a son of Nicholas Daniel of Kilkenny; nothing is known of his mother. During his youth he became a protestant, probably under the…...
Deakin, James Aubrey
Deakin, James Aubrey (1874–1952), Irish-language and republican activist, was born 19 June 1874 at Mount Auburn, Richmond Road, Drumcondra, Dublin, one of at least three sons and five daughters of James Deakin, commercial traveller, native of Birmingham, England, and Mary Anne Deakin (…...
Dix, Ernest Reginald McClintock
Dix, Ernest Reginald McClintock (1857–1936), solicitor, book collector, and Irish language enthusiast, was born 8 April 1857 in Dublin, elder son of Henry Thomas Dix (1825–1902), a prominent solicitor, and his wife Emma Patience, daughter of an army officer, Henry McClintock of…...
Donellan, Nehemias (Daniel, Nehemiah; Ó Domhnalláin, Fearganainm)
Donellan, Nehemias (Daniel, Nehemiah; Ó Domhnalláin, Fearganainm) (d. 1609), protestant archbishop of Tuam and Irish-language scholar, was born in Co. Galway, son of Maoileachlainn Ó Domhnalláin and his wife Sisile Ní Cheallaigh. The O'Donnellans were a well known and learned…...
Foley, Daniel (Ó Foghludha, Domhnall)
Foley, Daniel (Ó Foghludha, Domhnall) (1815–74), anglican minister and Irish-language scholar, grew up in a poor Irish-speaking family in Tralee, Co. Kerry. He worked for a time in the shop of Patrick Grey in Tralee. Influenced by a local clergyman, he left the Roman Catholic Church and…...
Foley, Gerald Robert Edward
Foley, Gerald Robert Edward (1886–1982), soldier and policeman, was born 10 May 1886 at the rectory, Askeaton, Co. Limerick, son of William Foley, the incumbent, and Josephine Foley (née Clarke). After completing his Bachelor of Arts (BA) at Trinity College Dublin (TCD), he joined the…...
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…...
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, Vincent
Gookin, Vincent (1616?–1659), surveyor general, MP for Bandon and Kinsale 1654–9, and friend and colleague of William Petty (qv), was the eldest son of Cork settler Sir Vincent Gookin…...
Gwynn, Edward John
Gwynn, Edward John (1868–1941), Celticist and provost of TCD, was born 1 April 1868 at Aughnagaddy, Ramelton, Co. Donegal, the second son of Rev. John Gwynn (qv), DD, fellow of…...
Heath, (Sophie) Mary (‘Lady Heath’) (née Peirce-Evans; other married name Eliott-Lynn)
Heath, (Sophie) Mary (‘Lady Heath’) (née Peirce-Evans; other married name Eliott-Lynn) (1896–1939), athlete and aviator, was born Sophie Catherine Theresa Mary Peirce-Evans on 17 November 1896 in Knockaderry, Co. Limerick, the only child of Jackie Peirce-Evans and his wife and former…...
Hermon, Sir John Charles ('Jack')
Hermon, Sir John Charles ('Jack') (1928–2008), chief constable of the RUC (1980–89), was born 23 November 1928 in Castletown, Islandmagee (near Whitehead), Co. Antrim, youngest of four children (three sons and a daughter) of William Rowan Hermon, building contractor, and his wife Agnes…...
Hudson, William Elliott
Hudson, William Elliott (1796–1853), lawyer and patron of Gaelic scholarship, was born 18 August 1796, probably at his family's country residence, then known as Fields of Odin, Rathfarnham, Co. Dublin. It was later called The Hermitage: Robert…...
Hyde, Douglas (de hÍde, Dubhghlas)
Hyde, Douglas (de hÍde, Dubhghlas) (1860–1949), Gaelic scholar, founder of the Gaelic League, and first president of Ireland, was born 17 January 1860 in Castlerea, Co. Roscommon, fourth child among three sons and two daughters of the Rev. Arthur Hyde (descended from the Hydes of…...