Gwynn, Stephen Lucius
Gwynn, Stephen Lucius (1864–1950), man of letters, politician, and soldier, was born 13 February 1864 at St Columba's College, Rathfarnham, Dublin, eldest child of John Gwynn (qv), warden of St Columba's and later professor of divinity Trinity…...
Hanmer, Meredith
Hanmer, Meredith (1543–1604), cleric and historian, was born at Porkington, Shropshire, England, son of Thomas Hanmer. He was educated at Corpus Christi College, Oxford, where he was appointed to a chaplaincy in 1567. He graduated BA (November…...
Hanson, Richard Patrick Crosland
Hanson, Richard Patrick Crosland (1916–88), Church of Ireland bishop and scholar of historical and contemporary theology, and his brother (Anthony) Tyrrell Hanson (1916–91), clergyman and theologian, were born 24 November 1916 in London, twin sons of Sir Philip…...
Hardy, Francis
Hardy, Francis (1751–1812), biographer and MP, was son and heir of Henry Hardy, esq., of Dublin. He was educated by Thomas Ball of Dublin before entering TCD in 1766 (BA, 1771) and the Middle Temple…...
Harris, Walter
Harris, Walter (1686–1761), antiquarian, was born in May 1686 in Mountmellick, King's Co. (Offaly), second son of Hopton Harris, who was described as a gentleman and served as lieutenant of the local Williamite militia in 1690–91. He entered the famous Kilkenny School in 1702 and…...
Hayman, Samuel
Hayman, Samuel (1818–86), Church of Ireland clergyman and antiquarian, was born at Youghal, Co. Cork, on 27 July 1818, son of Matthew Hayman (1789–1867) of South Abbey, Youghal, and his wife, Helen (née Hill; d. 1850). The Haymans, who came to Ireland in 1629, claimed an…...
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…...
Higgins, Alexander Gordon ('Alex'; 'Hurricane')
Higgins, Alexander Gordon ('Alex'; 'Hurricane') (1949–2010), snooker player, was born on 18 March 1949 in Belfast, the only son of Alexander Gordon Higgins, a labourer, of Abbingdon Drive, Sandy Row, Belfast, and his wife Elizabeth (née Stockman); he had three sisters. Educated locally…...
Hilliard, Robert (‘Bob’) Martin
Hilliard, Robert (‘Bob’) Martin (1904–37), clergyman, boxer, and revolutionary, was born 7 April 1904 in New St., Killarney, Co. Kerry, one of six children of Robert M. Hilliard, a wealthy protestant draper, and Alice Hilliard (née Martin). The family subsequently resided at…...
Hincks, Edward
Hincks, Edward (1792–1866), Church of Ireland clergyman, Egyptologist and Assyriologist, was born 19 August 1792 at Princes Street, Cork, the eldest of the eight children (five sons and three daughters) of Thomas Dix Hincks (qv), a…...
Holmes, Thomas Rice Edward
Holmes, Thomas Rice Edward (1855–1933), historian and classicist, was born 24 May 1855 at Waterstown House, near Athlone, Co. Westmeath, fifth son of Robert Holmes, farmer and breeder of cows and horses, and Jane Holmes (née Henn). Originally taught by a private tutor, he entered…...
Hone, Joseph Maunsell
Hone, Joseph Maunsell (1882–1959), critic, biographer, and publisher, was born 8 February 1882 at Queen's Park, Monkstown, Co. Dublin, the eldest son of William Hone (1842–1919), a well-known cricketer who played for Ireland and the MCC, and his wife, Sarah, the daughter of James…...
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…...
Hume, Abraham, (‘Billy M'Cart’)
Hume, Abraham, (‘Billy M'Cart’) (1814–84), clergyman and antiquarian, was born 9 February 1814 at ‘Beechfield’, Corcreeny, Hillsborough, Co. Down, the younger of the two sons of Thomas F. Hume, farmer, and Margaret Hume (née Simpson). His birthplace had once been the manse of his…...
Hutchinson, Francis
Hutchinson, Francis (1660–1739), bishop and author, was born 2 January 1660 in the hamlet of Carsington, Derbyshire, into the middling orders. Third among four children of Edward Hutchinson and his wife Mary Tallents, he entered Catherine Hall, Cambridge (1677), graduating…...
Hutton, Mary Ann
Hutton, Mary Ann (1862–1953), Irish-language scholar and writer, was born in 1862 in Manchester, England, the eldest child of James Drummond (qv) and his wife Frances (née Classon), who later had two sons and five more daughters. Secondary…...
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…...
Ireland, John Evan de Courcy
Ireland, John Evan de Courcy (1911–2006), socialist, activist, teacher, and maritime historian, was born 19 October 1911 in Lucknow, India, only child of De Courcy Ireland (1873–1915), a British army major of Irish ancestry, and his English-born wife Gabrielle (née Byron). …...
Irvine, George
Irvine, George (1877–1954), republican, language activist and campaigner, was born in August 1877 in Enniskillen, Co. Fermanagh, the son of John Irvine, a bookseller, and Jane Irvine (née Boyle). George was one of seven children, four of whom were living in 1911. John Irvine’s shop on…...
Jackson, Robert Wyse
Jackson, Robert Wyse (1908–76), clergyman, writer, and artist, was born 12 July 1908 in Tullamore, Co. Offaly, only son of Richard Jackson, a bank manager from Killinane, Co. Kildare, and Belinda Hester Jackson (née Sherlock), of Bandon, Co. Cork. Educated at the Abbey School, Co…...
Johnstone, Walter Edgeworth-
Johnstone, Walter Edgeworth- (1863–1937), soldier, DMP commissioner, and sportsman, was born at Kingstown, Co. Dublin, the eldest son of Robert Johnstone (1806–85), QC and county court judge, of Laputa, Co. Donegal, and his wife Doris Tivy. In 1838 a…...
Jones, Jimmy
Jones, Jimmy (1928–2014), footballer, was born on 25 July 1928 in Keady, Co. Armagh, the son of Thomas Jones, an RUC sergeant, and Ellen Jones (née Wilson). He was raised in Lurgan, Co. Armagh, and educated at the local Carrick primary…...
Jupp, Peter
Jupp, Peter (1940–2006), historian, was born in Hackney, London, on 20 August 1940, son of James Jupp and his wife Lillian (née Gray). His father, a bus driver, was a staunch Conservative while his mother, a school secretary, supported the Labour party; Jupp later recalled that his…...
Kavanagh, Lady Harriet Margaret
Kavanagh, Lady Harriet Margaret (1800–85), artist, traveller, and antiquarian, was second daughter among three sons and four daughters of Richard Le Poer Trench (qv), later 2nd earl of Clancarty, and Henrietta Margaret Le Poer Trench…...
Keane, Marcus
Keane, Marcus (1815–83), land agent and antiquarian, was born on 7 February 1815, probably at the family seat of Beech Park, near Ennis, Co. Clare, the sixth son of thirteen children (eight boys and five girls) of Robert Keane (1774–1839), a landlord, land agent and JP, and his…...