Dougan, (Alexander) Derek
Dougan, (Alexander) Derek (1938–2007), footballer and author, was born 20 January 1938 at 41 Susan Street in the Newtownards Road district of east Belfast, the eldest of six children (three boys and three girls) of John 'Jackie' Dougan, a boilermaker at the Harland and Wolff…...
Dowling, Thady (Thaddeus)
Dowling, Thady (Thaddeus) (c.1544–1628), ecclesiastic and annalist, was a member of the Dowling family of Laois (Co. Laois). According to his own testimony, he was fostered in Leighlin, and received some basic education locally. He then went to Dublin, where he stayed for four…...
Doyle, Sir John
Doyle, Sir John (1756–1834), British army general, was born in Dublin, fourth son of Charles Doyle of Bramblestown, Co. Kilkenny, and his wife Elizabeth, daughter of the Rev. Nicholas Milley of Johnville, Co. Kilkenny. He attended the school of the Rev. Benjamin Hobart in Carlow.…...
Drew, Sir Thomas
Drew, Sir Thomas (1838–1910), architect and antiquary, was born 18 September 1838 at Victoria Place, Belfast, into the large family of the Rev. Dr Thomas Drew (qv), son of a Limerick grocer, and Isabella Drew (née Dalton; 1802–69), daughter…...
Drury, Sir William
Drury, Sir William (1527–79), soldier and administrator, was born on 2 October 1527 at Hawstead, Suffolk, the third son of Sir Robert Drury of Hedgerley, Buckinghamshire, and Elizabeth, daughter of Edmund Brudenell. He was educated at Gonville Hall, Cambridge, then became a…...
Duhigg, Bartholomew
Duhigg, Bartholomew (c.1751–1813), political activist, antiquarian, and barrister, was the fourth son of Bartholomew Duhigg, ‘gent.’, of Ballyhigh, Co. Limerick, who seems to have been a Roman catholic who conformed in 1725. Bartholomew the younger entered the Middle…...
Dunlop, Henry Wallace Doveton
Dunlop, Henry Wallace Doveton (1844–1930), sports promoter, civil servant and engineer, was born in February 1844 in Bombay (Mumbai), India, the only son of (William) Henry Glasgow Dunlop (d. 1869), deputy superintendent of the Bombay Water Police, and his wife Mary Anne (née Pilkington…...
Erle, Thomas
Erle, Thomas (c.1650–1720), soldier and lord justice of Ireland, was second-born but first surviving son of Thomas Erle (d. 1650) of Axmouth, Devon, and his wife Susanna, daughter of William Fiennes, 1st Viscount Saye and Sele. He was educated at Trinity College, Oxford (…...
Ervine, St John Greer
Ervine, St John Greer (1883–1971), Ulster dramatist, critic, and biographer, was born John Greer Ervine on 28 December 1883 in Belfast, son of William Ervine, printer, and Sarah Jane Ervine (née Greer), who may have been a deaf-mute. Ervine's father died soon after his birth. He…...
Esmond, Sir Laurence
Esmond, Sir Laurence (1565–1645), 1st Baron Esmond and soldier, was born in Johnstown castle, second son of Walter Esmond of Johnstown, Co. Wexford, and his wife Margaret, daughter of Michael Furlong of Horetown. His family was strongly loyalist and his father died fighting for the…...
Esmond, Sir Thomas
Esmond, Sir Thomas (d. 1674), soldier and confederate, was the only son of Lawrence, Lord Esmond (qv) (d. 1646), of Limerick, Co. Wexford, and Margaret, daughter of Murrough O'Flaherty of Connacht. His parents separated over…...
Ferguson, Lady Mary Catherine
Ferguson, Lady Mary Catherine (1823–1905), antiquarian and biographer, was born 13 September 1823 in Stillorgan, Co. Dublin, eldest child and only daughter of Robert Rundell Guinness (1789–1857), founder of the banking firm of Guinness Mahon, and Mary Anne Guinness (née Seymour; d…...
Fitzgerald, Lord Henry
Fitzgerald, Lord Henry (1761–1829), soldier and politician, was born 30 July 1761, fourth son among nine sons and ten daughters of James Fitzgerald (qv), later 1st duke of Leinster, and his wife Lady…...
Fitzgibbon, John Charles Henry
Fitzgibbon, John Charles Henry (1829–54?), Viscount Fitzgibbon and soldier, was born 2 May 1829 at Mountshannon House, Castleconnell, Co. Limerick, the only legitimate son of Richard Hobart Fitzgibbon, 3rd earl of Clare, and his wife Diana, daughter of Charles Brydges Woodcock,…...
Fitzpatrick, John (‘Jack’)
Fitzpatrick, John (‘Jack’) (d. p.1693?), army officer and politician, was the son of Florence Fitzpatrick, of Castletown, in the barony of Upper Ossory, Queen's County, who was a member of the commons in the confederate general assembly, 1642–9. The Fitzpatricks had…...
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…...
Forbes, Sir Arthur
Forbes, Sir Arthur (1656–1734), 2nd earl of Granard , soldier and Jacobite, was eldest son of Arthur Forbes (qv), later 1st earl of Granard, and his wife Catherine Stewart. He saw service in the French army prior to 1675. After…...
Fortescue, Sir Faithful
Fortescue, Sir Faithful (c. 1580–1666), royalist army officer and settler, was the second son of William Fortescue (d. 1604) of Buckland, Filleigh, Devon, and his second wife, Susannah Chichester, daughter of Sir John Chichester of Raleigh in Kent. About 1604–5, at a very…...
Froude, James Anthony
Froude, James Anthony (1818–1894), historian, was born 23 April 1818 at Dartington, Devonshire, England, youngest among eight children of Archdeacon Robert Hurrell Froude, anglican clergyman, and Margaret Froude (née Spedding). He was educated at Westminster and at Oriel College,…...
Gallaher, David (Dave)
Gallaher, David (Dave) (1873–1917), rugby player, was born on 30 October 1873 in Castle Street, Ramelton, Co. Donegal, son of James Henry Gallagher, a shopkeeper trading at Market Cross there, and (Anna) Maria Hardy Gallagher (née McCloskey), a schoolteacher originally from Belfast.…...
Gillespie, William (Billy)
Gillespie, William (Billy) (1891–1981), footballer, was born 6 August 1891 in Kerrykeel, Co. Donegal, the eldest son of seven children (four girls and three boys) of Robert Gillespie, an RIC sergeant, and his wife Eliza, a native of Co.…...
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…...
Gordon, James Bentley
Gordon, James Bentley (1750–1819), clergyman and historian, was son of the Rev. James Gordon of Neeve Hall, Co. Londonderry, and his wife, a daughter of Thomas Neeve. He entered TCD in 1768, graduating BA…...
Graham, John
Graham, John (1775/6–1844), clergyman and writer, was born in Co. Fermanagh or Co. Longford, son of James Graham, gentleman. John, most likely a younger son, was educated by a Mr Robinson, and entered TCD in 1794, graduating…...
Grainger, John
Grainger, John (1830–1891), clergyman and antiquarian, was born 19 March 1830 in Queen St., Belfast the eldest of six children (four boys and two girls) of David Grainger, a wealthy shipowner, and Maria (or Mary) Belinda Grainger (née Parke) of Whiteabbey, near Belfast. He…...