Johnston (Johnston-Liik ), Edith Mary
Johnston (Johnston-Liik ), Edith Mary (1930–2008), historian and editor, was born 11 July 1930 in Belfast, eldest of three daughters of John Worthington Johnston (1904–52), athlete, presbyterian minister and army chaplain, and his wife Mary Isobel Giraud (née McFadden); a son died at…...
Joyce, Patrick Weston
Joyce, Patrick Weston (1827–1914), educationalist, historian, linguist, translator and collector of folk music, was born in Ballyorgan, Co. Limerick, one of the eight sons of Garrett Joyce, a shoemaker known locally as ‘Garrett the Scholar’ for his knowledge of poetry and religion, and…...
Kavanagh, Julia
Kavanagh, Julia (1824–77), novelist, short-story writer, and biographer, was born 7 January 1824 in Thurles, Co. Tipperary, the only child of Bridget Fitzpatrick (d. 1887) and Morgan Peter Kavanagh (d. 1874), writer and philologist. She spent much of her childhood in Normandy and…...
Kavanagh, Patrick Fidelis
Kavanagh, Patrick Fidelis (1838–1918), Franciscan priest and historian, was born at Wexford on 14 March 1838, son of Lawrence Kavanagh, shipowner and merchant; his mother's family, the Prendergasts of Knottown, took part in the 1798 rebellion with their relatives the Prendergasts of…...
Keating, Geoffrey (Céitinn, Seathrún)
Keating, Geoffrey (Céitinn, Seathrún) (c.1580–1644), historian and catholic priest, was born in south Co. Tipperary, his approximate date of birth being surmised on the basis of his active working life. He may have been the third of seven sons of James fitz Edmund Keating of…...
Kelly, Deirdre
Kelly, Deirdre (1938–2000), environmental and community campaigner, was born 15 May 1938 at Holles St. maternity hospital, Dublin, eldest daughter among three daughters and a son of Thomas McMahon , bus driver, and Mary (‘Molly’) McMahon (née Kenna), of 5 Sussex Road, adjoining…...
Kelly, Matthew
Kelly, Matthew (1814–58), catholic priest and church historian, was born 24 September 1814 in Maudlin Street, Kilkenny, the eldest son of James Kelly and his wife, Margaret (née Sanphy). The Kellys were a clerical family: an uncle of Matthew, Patrick Kelly (1779–1829), was bishop of…...
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…...
Kenney, James Francis
Kenney, James Francis (1884–1946), archivist and historian, was born 6 December 1884 in a small farmhouse near the village of Marysville in the township of Tyendinaga, Hastings County, Ontario, Canada, the only child of Martin Kenney, farmer, and his wife Mary (née McCullough).…...
Killen, William Dool
Killen, William Dool (1806–1902), presbyterian church historian, was born 5 April 1806 in Ballymena, Co. Antrim, elder son of John Killen, merchant, and Martha Killen (née Dool). Through his paternal grandmother, Blanche Brice, he could claim descent from…...
King, Jeremiah
King, Jeremiah (1868–1927), historian, printer, and publisher, was born 11 February 1868 in Groin, in the parish of Aghadoe, Co. Kerry, elder of two sons of Laurence King, carpenter, of Currow, and Ellen King (née Counihan), farmer, of Madam's Height, Groin. Early in King's life…...
Lanigan, John
Lanigan, John (1758–1828), priest and ecclesiastical historian, was born at Cashel, Co. Tipperary, the eldest of sixteen children of Thomas Lanigan, a teacher who had studied for the priesthood, and his wife, Mary Anne Lanigan (née Dorkan). Educated at his father's school, and at the…...
Latimer, William Thomas
Latimer, William Thomas (1842–1919), presbyterian minister and historian, was the only child of John Latimer (d. 1843), presbyterian minister of First Ballynahatty, near Omagh, Co. Tyrone, and Eliza Latimer (née Dudgeon). His father died while William was still a baby. Latimer's…...
Lenihan, Maurice
Lenihan, Maurice (1811–95), journalist and author, was born 5 February 1811 in St Patrick's parish, Waterford city, eldest of fifteen children (ten sons and five daughters) of James Lenihan, woollen draper (in Broad St., then the leading business area in the city), and Margaret…...
Lydon, James Francis Michael
Lydon, James Francis Michael (1928–2013), historian, was born on 12 May 1928 in Galway city, the second youngest of eleven children, to Daniel Lydon, a baker and owner of Lydon's bakery on Mary Street, Galway, and Catherine (née Hogan), who came from an Irish-speaking family just…...
Lynch, John
Lynch, John (c.1599–1677), historian and priest, was born in Galway city, and went to study on the Continent at an early age, firstly at Douai in the Spanish Netherlands, where he followed the Ratio Studiorum of the Jesuits. Subsequent stays in the Oratorian college in Dieppe (…...
Lyons, John Benignus (J. B.)
Lyons, John Benignus (J. B.) (1922–2007), medical doctor, historian and author, was born 22 July 1922 in Highland Lodge, just outside the village of Kilkelly, Co. Mayo, third son of John Lyons and his wife May (née Higgins); there was also a sister. His father was dispensary…...
Macalister, Robert Alexander Stewart
Macalister, Robert Alexander Stewart (1870–1950), archaeologist, was born 8 July 1870 at Leinster Road, Rathmines, Dublin, eldest among two sons and two daughters of Alexander Macalister, anatomist and Egyptologist, of Dublin, and Elizabeth Macalister (née Stewart) of Perth, Scotland.…...
Mac an Bhaird, Aodh Buidhe (Ward, Hugh; Vardaeus, Hugo)
Mac an Bhaird, Aodh Buidhe (Ward, Hugh; Vardaeus, Hugo) (c.1593–1635), hagiographer, was born in the barony of Tirhugh, Co. Donegal, probably at Ballymacaward, a townland that was named after his family. The Mac an Bhaird family belonged to the hereditary learned caste of…...
Macardle, Dorothy Margaret
Macardle, Dorothy Margaret (1889–1958), writer and republican activist, was born 7 March 1889 in Dundalk, Co. Louth, the eldest child of Thomas Callan Macardle (later knighted), businessman, and his wife, Minnie Lucy (née Ross), who had three sons and another daughter. Her father'…...
MacArthur, Sir William Porter
MacArthur, Sir William Porter (1884–1964), army medical officer, Irish-language scholar, and historian, was born 11 March 1884 at Belmont, east Belfast, Co. Down, the only son of John Porter MacArthur (d. 1930), tea merchant, and his wife Margaret Rainey (d. 1936), daughter of William…...
MacCabe, William Bernard
MacCabe, William Bernard (1801–91), journalist, poet, historian, and author, was born 23 November 1801 in Dublin. Details of his early life are scarce but it is known that he began a career as a journalist in the 1820s, working for both Dublin and provincial newspapers. In 1823 he…...
MacCaffrey, James
MacCaffrey, James (1875–1935), priest, historian, and president of St Patrick's College, Maynooth, was born 25 October 1875 in Alderwood, Clogher, Co. Tyrone, son of Francis MacCaffrey, farmer, and Ann MacCaffrey (née McElroy). After early education at St Macartan's seminary,…...
MacCarthy Reagh, Florence (Finian, Finghín)
MacCarthy Reagh, Florence (Finian, Finghín) (c.1562–c.1640), Gaelic chieftain and scholar, was born probably at Kilbrittan castle, eldest son of Sir Donough MacCarthy Reagh (d. 1576). His mother was a Geraldine, being the sister of Maurice of Desmond and the aunt…...
MacDermot, Francis Charles (‘Frank’)
MacDermot, Francis Charles (‘Frank’) (1886–1975), politician and author was born 25 November 1886, tenth among thirteen children (and eighth and youngest son) of Hugh Hyacinth O'Rorke MacDermot (qv),…...