Megaw, Basil
Megaw, Basil (1913–2002), archaeologist and folklife scholar, was born in Belfast on 22 June 1913, the third of four sons of Arthur Stanley Megaw, solicitor and writer, and his wife (Helen Isabel) Bertha (née Smith). Arthur Stanley Megaw (1873–1961) was a younger son of Robert Megaw…...
Miller, George
Miller, George (1764–1848), historian and ecclesiologist, was born 22 October 1764 in Dublin, son of Stephen Miller, wine merchant, an Ulsterman of ‘sturdy independence’ (Read, 309); nothing is known of his mother. Receiving his primary education at the classical school of the Rev…...
Milligan, Victor
Milligan, Victor (1929–2009), athlete and civil engineer, was born in Belfast on 11 November 1929, the only child of Albert Milligan, a member of the RUC, and his wife Margaret (née Walker). Growing up in Irwin Drive, Ballyhackamore, in east Belfast, he was encouraged by his parents…...
Molyneux, Daniel
Molyneux, Daniel (1568–1632), herald, was born in Bruges, Flanders, second son of Thomas Molyneux (qv) of Calais and his wife Katherine, daughter of Ludowick Slobert, burgomaster of Bruges. His father had been a member of the…...
Molyneux, Sir Thomas
Molyneux, Sir Thomas (1661–1733), physician, natural historian, and antiquarian, was born 14 April 1661, near Gormond's (Ormond, Wormwood) Gate on Cook St., Dublin, second son among five sons and two daughters of Samuel Molyneux (d. 1693), lawyer, landowner, and army captain, and his…...
Montgomery, (William) Eric (Wolfe)
Montgomery, (William) Eric (Wolfe) (1916—2003), civil servant and pioneer of the study of Scotch-Irish folk history, was born 19 April 1916 in Moy, Co. Tyrone, son of John Montgomery, a methodist minister, who was president of the Methodist Church in Ireland in 1952, and of his…...
Morris, William O'Connor
Morris, William O'Connor (1824–1904), judge and historian, was born 26 November 1824 in Kilkenny city, eldest son of the Rev. Benjamin Morris, clergyman, and his wife Elizabeth, youngest daughter and co-heiress of Morris Nugent O'Connor, a wealthy landowner from Gortnamona, King's…...
Musgrave, Sir Richard
Musgrave, Sir Richard (1746?–1818), 1st baronet, political writer, was born at Lismore, Co. Waterford, the first of the three sons of Christopher Musgrave (d. 1787) of Tourin, near Cappoquin, local agent to the duke of Devonshire, and his wife Susannah, daughter of James Usher of…...
Neville, William Cox
Neville, William Cox (c.1855–1904), rugby international, sports administrator, and pioneer obstetrician, was born c.1855 in Dundalk, Co. Louth, son of John Neville, civil engineer; nothing is known of his mother. Educated at Dundalk College, he studied medicine…...
Nicolson, William
Nicolson, William (1655–1727), bishop of Derry, politician, and scholar, was born 3 June 1655 at Great Orton in Cumberland, the eldest of three sons and three daughters of Joseph Nicolson (1623–86), rector of Plumbland, and his wife, Mary (d. 1689), daughter of John Brisco, a puritan…...
Norcott, William
Norcott, William (1773?–1820), barrister, satirist, and bon vivant, was eldest son of William Norcott of Charleville, Co. Cork, and Mary Norcott (née Knight). He entered TCD in July 1790, graduating BA…...
O Brien, Conor
O Brien, Conor (1880–1952), sailor and author, was born Edward Conor Marshall O'Brien on 3 November 1880 in Cahirmoyle, Co. Limerick, the son of Edward William O'Brien, JP, and Julia O'Brien (née Marshall). A grandson of…...
O'Brien, Sir Edward
O'Brien, Sir Edward (1705–65), 2nd baronet, MP, and racehorse owner, was born 7 April 1705, elder son among three children of Lucius O'Brien and his wife Catherine Keightley, daughter of Lady Frances Hyde, a sister-in-law of King James…...
O'Daly, John
O'Daly, John (1800–78), writer and publisher, was born 5 February 1800 in Fernane, Cappoquin, Co. Waterford, eldest among three sons and three daughters of Eamonn O'Daly and Brigid O'Daly (née Kyley). He was educated at a local hedge school before going to work, in 1826, for the…...
O'Donoghue, Nannie Power
Power O’Donoghue (née Lambert), Nannie (1843–1940), journalist, equestrian and writer was born 2 June 1843 and baptised as Ann Stewart Lyster Lambert in St Thomas Church of Ireland, Marlborough Street, Dublin. She was the youngest child of four daughters and one son of Charles Lambert,…...
O'Sullivan, Samuel
O'Sullivan, Samuel (1790–1851), Church of Ireland clergyman and writer, was born 13 September 1790 in Clonmel, Co. Tipperary, eldest son of John O'Sullivan, schoolmaster. His brother was the clergyman and writer Mortimer O'Sullivan…...
Otway, Caesar
Otway, Caesar (1780–1842), protestant clergyman, travel writer, and antiquary, was the elder son in the family of two sons and two daughters of Loftus Otway (1755–89), a merchant at Nenagh, Co. Tipperary, and his wife Sarah, daughter of William Woodward of Cloughprior. Born in Co.…...
Oulton, Walley Chamberlain
Oulton, Walley Chamberlain (c.1765–c.1820), dramatist and theatre historian, was born in Dublin, son of Walley Oulton, a merchant, and his wife Catherine (née Walker). Very little is known of his life outside his work. Educated locally by Dr Thomas Ball (1718?–…...
Pakenham, Francis Aungier (‘Frank’)
Pakenham, Francis Aungier (‘Frank’) (1905–2001), 1st Baron Pakenham and 7th earl of Longford , writer and politician, was born 5 December 1905 at 7 Great Cumberland Place, London, the third of six children (and the second son) of Thomas Pakenham (1864–1915), 5th earl of Longford…...
Parnell (- Hayes), William
Parnell (- Hayes), William (1777–1821), writer, landlord, and MP, was born probably in August 1777 (some sources suggest 1780), third son of Sir John Parnell (qv) and his wife Letitia Charlotte, daughter of Sir Arthur Brooke of…...
Parr, Richard
Parr, Richard (1617–91), Church of England clergyman and biographer, was born in Fermoy, Co. Cork, in 1617, the son of Richard Parr, a local rector. After being taught in a local school, he entered Exeter College, Oxford, on 6 November 1635, going on to graduate…...
Peacock, Bertie (John Robert)
Peacock, Bertie (John Robert) (1928–2004), football player and manager, was born in Coleraine, Co. Londonderry, on 29 September 1928. His family lived in Killowen in the town; his father was a water bailiff, and he had a brother and five sisters. He was apprenticed to a local plumber…...
Peter, Richard Milliken
Peter, Richard Milliken (1849–1909), rugby and swimming pioneer and administrator, was born in Dublin, a member of the Peter family after whom Peter Place, off Adelaide Road in Dublin, was named; no other family details are known. He was educated at Blackheath school near London,…...
Petrie, George
Petrie, George (1790–1866), artist, antiquary and collector of Irish traditional music, was born on 1 January 1790 (his gravestone has 1789) in Dame Street, Dublin, the only child of James Petrie, portrait painter, of Dublin, and Elizabeth Petrie (née Simpson) of Edinburgh, Scotland.…...
Phillips, Walter Alison
Phillips, Walter Alison (1864–1950), historian and first Lecky professor at TCD, was born 21 October 1864 at Lewisham, England, youngest son of John Phillips, merchant, and Jane Phillips (née Atkins); throughout his career he was known as W. Alison Phillips. His father died in…...