Arthur, William
Arthur, William (1819–1901), methodist minister and author, was born 3 February 1819, probably in Kells, Co. Antrim, son of James Arthur and Margaret Arthur (née Kennedy), and spent his childhood in Westport, Co. Mayo. Though brought up an episcopalian, he attended (1837–9)…...
Bladen, William
Bladen, William (c.1585–1663), printer and bookseller, was born in England, son of Thomas Bladen, yeoman of Derbyshire; nothing is known of his mother. In 1602 he became an apprentice in the London Stationers’ company, being freed on 7 May 1610. Thereafter he worked in…...
Blanshard, Paul
Blanshard, Paul (1892–1980), journalist and author, was born 27 August 1892 at Fredericksburg, Ohio, USA, one of twin sons of Francis George Blanshard, a congregational clergyman, and his wife Emily (née Coulter), both of whom had been born in Canada. His maternal grandfather came…...
Carmichael, Richard
Carmichael, Richard (1779–1849), surgeon, medical reformer, and benefactor, was born 6 February 1779 in Dublin, fourth son of Hugh Carmichael, solicitor, and Sarah Carmichael (née Rogers), and was educated privately by the Rev. John Fea. Apprenticed to Robert Moore Peile (1763?–…...
Clare, Anthony Ward
Clare, Anthony Ward (1942–2007), psychiatrist and media personality, was born 24 December 1942 in Dublin, the youngest of three children (two girls and a boy) of Bernard Clare, state solicitor with the land registry, and his wife Agnes (née Dunne). Clare recalled his father as a gentle…...
Crofton, Sir John Wenman
Crofton, Sir John Wenman (1912–2009), physician, scientist and public health campaigner, was born on 27 March 1912 at the family home, 55 Merrion Square South, Dublin, the only son (between two sisters) of William Mervyn Crofton, physician and bacteriologist, and his wife Mary…...
Fleury, Eleonora Lilian
Fleury, Eleonora Lilian (1867–1960), medical doctor, was born in Manchester, England, the eldest daughter of Charles Fleury, a Waterford surgeon of Huguenot stock. Losing her mother at an early age, she appears to have been home-educated before registering as a medical student at…...
Fox, Richard Michael ('R. M. ')
Fox, Richard Michael ('R. M. ') (1891–1969), writer and trade unionist, was born on 13 November 1891 in Leeds, Yorkshire, the second of four sons of Richard Fox and his wife Elizabeth (née Rathmell). Richard senior worked as a gymnasium instructor in Leeds, and later as a skilled…...
Grierson, Philip
Grierson, Philip (1910–2006), historian and numismatist, was born in Dublin on 15 November 1910, only son and second of three surviving children (another child had died in infancy) of Philip Henry Grierson (1859–1952) and his wife Roberta Ellen Jane (née Pope), a doctor's…...
Halliday, Fred (Simon Frederick Peter)
Halliday, Fred (Simon Frederick Peter) (1946–2009), academic, writer and public intellectual, was born on 22 February 1946 in Dublin, the youngest of three sons of Arthur Halliday, a quaker shoe manufacturer, and Margaret Mary 'Rita' Halliday (née Finigan), of Dundalk. He was educated…...
Heitler, Walter
Heitler, Walter (1904–81), theoretical physicist and philosopher, was born 2 January 1904 in Karlsruhe, Baden, Germany, son of Adolf Heitler, a Jewish engineering professor, and Ottilie Heitler (née Rudolf ). His largely classical early education left him with a lifelong interest…...
Hennig, Paul Gottfried Johannes (John)
Hennig, Paul Gottfried Johannes (John) (1911–86), scholar and businessman, was born 3 March 1911 in Leipzig, Germany, fourth of five children of Fürchtegott Max Hennig, protestant theologian and teacher, and his wife Berta Johanna (neé Clemen) who was from a family of distinguished…...
Hinde, John Wilfrid
Hinde, John Wilfrid (1916–97), photographer and postcard manufacturer, was born 17 May 1916 in Street, Somerset, England, into a close-knit Quaker family, who later became Christian Scientist. His great-grandfather was James Clark, co-founder of the Clark's footwear company. During…...
Huxley, Margaret Rachel
Huxley, Margaret Rachel (1855–1940), nursing pioneer, was born in Croydon, Surrey, England, sixth among eight children of William Thomas Huxley (eldest brother of T. H. Huxley, FRS), and his wife, Esther (née Hopkins). She was…...
Hyde, Harford Montgomery
Hyde, Harford Montgomery (1907–89), barrister, politician, and author, was born 14 August 1907 in Belfast, son of James Johnstone Hyde JP, linen merchant, and his wife, Isobel (née Montgomery). Hyde claimed distant kinship with Henry James. His…...
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). …...
Jacob, Rosamond
Jacob, Rosamond (1888–1960), suffragist, republican, and writer, was born 13 October 1888 in Waterford city, third child of Louis Jacob (1841–1907) and Henrietta Jacob (née Harvey; 1849–1919). Louis Jacob worked in his father-in-law's house-agent and stockbroking firm in Waterford. Both…...
Kemmy, James Joseph Oliver Mary (‘Jim’)
Kemmy, James Joseph Oliver Mary (‘Jim’) (1936–97), trade unionist, Labour politician, and local historian, was born 14 September 1936 in O'Curry St., Limerick, eldest of three sons and two daughters of Michael Kemmy and Elizabeth Kemmy (née Pilkington). His mother came from farming…...
Leahy, Patrick Joseph
Leahy, Patrick Joseph (1917–98), general practitioner and medical campaigner, was born 13 March 1917 at the Mall, Thurles, Co. Tipperary, the son of William Leahy, a self-made man and architect cum engineer, and Margaret Leahy (née Doyle). One of eight children, he was born into a…...
Lennon, Peter Gerard
Lennon, Peter Gerard (1930–2011), journalist, documentary film-maker and social critic, was born on 28 February 1930 at 30 North Frederick Street, Dublin, the eldest of three sons of Peter Joseph Lennon and his wife Delia (née Fenton). His mother was a former post office worker…...
Macartney, James
Macartney, James (1770–1843), surgeon and anatomist, was born 8 March 1770 in Armagh city, youngest surviving child among four sons and two daughters of James Macartney (d. 1790), gentleman farmer, and Mary Macartney (née Maxwell). He was educated at the Endowed Classical School,…...
Malcolm, Andrew George
Malcolm, Andrew George (1818–56), physician and social reformer, was born 17 December 1818 in Newry, Co. Down, sixth child and fourth son among five sons and two daughters of the Rev. Andrew George Malcom (1782–1823), presbyterian minister, and Eleanor Malcom (née Hunter). Andrew…...
Marsh, Sir Henry
Marsh, Sir Henry (1790–1860), physician, was born in Loughrea, Co. Galway, into a distinguished clerical family, descendant of the protestant archbishop Francis Marsh (qv), and son of the Rev. Robert Marsh, rector of Killinane, Co.…...
Moody, Theodore William Dippie (‘Theo’)
Moody, Theodore William Dippie (‘Theo’) (1907–84), historian, was born 26 November 1907 in Belfast, only son (there was one older daughter) of William John Moody of Co. Londonderry, iron turner at Harland & Wolff's shipyard and trade unionist, and Ann Isabella Moody (née…...
Moriarty, John Stephen
Moriarty, John Stephen (1938–2007), philosopher and shaman, was born 2 February 1938 at Moyvane, near Listowel, Co. Kerry, fourth of six children (two sons and four daughters) of James Moriarty, smallholder and native speaker of Irish (with eleven cows and 'thirty-two acres of bad,…...