Abbán
Abbán (d. 520?), saint in the Irish tradition, although primarily associated with the churches of Mag Arnaide (‘Moyarney’/Adamstown, near New Ross, Co. Wexford) and Cell Abbáin (Killabban, Co. Laois), is also linked to other parts of the country, most notably Ballyvourney, Muskerry, Co…...
Adams, Michael
Adams, Michael (1937–2009), publisher and catholic activist, was born in Dublin on 22 June 1937, eldest of three children (two boys and a girl) of Francis Adams, cattle dealer, victualler and JP for Co. Fermanagh, and his wife Mary or Maud (née Atteridge), a protestant and daughter…...
Adomnán
Adomnán (c.624–704), son of Rónán, was 9th abbot of Iona (679–704), biographer of Colum Cille, and saint in the Irish tradition. According to the genealogies, he was son of Rónán son of Tinne, one of the Cenél Conaill branch of the Uí Néill, and a kinsman of…...
Adrain, Robert
Adrain, Robert (1775–1843), mathematician, was born 30 September 1775 in Carrickfergus, Co. Antrim, eldest among five children of a schoolteacher; his parents' names are not known. He received a good education, though he was self-taught in the higher mathematics. He lost both…...
Áedán (Aidan)
Áedán (Aidan) (d. 651), founder and first bishop of Lindisfarne, was effectively ruler of the church of Northumbria from c.635 till his death. The mission of Paulinus from Canterbury (begun in 625) was superficially successful, culminating in the establishment of an…...
Affraic
Affraic (d. 743) was abbess of Kildare 733–43. Her rare personal name, a borrowing of the Latin Africa, was also borne by a later abbess of Kildare who died in 834 and by an obscure minor saint, daughter of one Cumlachtach, associated with Imlech Tuascirt (LL…...
Ailbe
Ailbe (d. 527?), patron of the church of Imlech Ibair (Emly, on the Limerick/Tipperary border), Munster's most important church till it was superseded by Cashel in the early twelfth century, was Munster's premier saint, whence the saying Mumu uili . . . iar cúl Ailbe, ‘…...
Ailerán (Aileranus Sapiens)
Ailerán (Aileranus Sapiens) (d. 665), fer léigind (lector or chief scholar) of the monastery of Clonard, Co. Meath, died in the great cholera or plague, termed the Buide Conaill (AU 665). His obit is given as 29 December in the Martyrology of Tallaght and in the…...
Algar, Joseph
Algar, Joseph (1890–1958), chemist, was born 15 April 1890 at 22 Arnott St, Dublin, eldest of eight children of Herbert Okell Algar, originally from Warwickshire, and Celia Algar (née Kelly) from Dublin. His father, who converted to catholicism on his marriage, was a master tailor…...
Allen, David
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Allen, David
Allen, David (1830–1903), printer, was born 6 June 1830 in Randalstown, Co. Antrim, eldest son of James Allen, carrier, and Margaret Allen (née Drennan). His father's business had been very extensive for several generations but suffered from the advent of railways, and when David…...
Allen, William Edward
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Allman, George James
Allman, George James (1812–98), botanist and zoologist, was born at Cork, son of James Clugston Allman, a cotton manufacturer and, later, a distiller at nearby Bandon, and his wife, Sarah, née Lane; he was educated at the RBAI…...
Allman, George Johnston
Allman, George Johnston (1824–1904), mathematician, was born 28 September 1824 in Dublin, a younger son of William Allman (qv), botanist. After a brilliant undergraduate career at TCD, he…...
Allman, William
Allman, William (1776–1846), physician and botanist, was born 7 February 1776 at Kingston, Jamaica, son of Thomas Allman, described as a ‘gentleman’; from the age of four he was brought up in his mother's native Waterford. He entered TCD…...
Anderson, Albert Wesley
Anderson, Albert Wesley (1907–86), industrialist and politician, was born 23 July 1907 in Derry city, elder son and second among four children of Sir Robert Newton Anderson of Derry, industrialist and politician, and his wife Lydia Elizabeth, daughter of Henry Elliott Smith, banker…...
Anderson, Alexander
Anderson, Alexander (1858–1936), physicist and university administrator, was born 12 May 1858 near Coleraine, Co. Londonderry, son of Daniel Anderson of Camus, Coleraine. He attended QCG, graduating BA…...
Anderson, John
Anderson, John (1815–1905), woollen merchant, geologist, bibliographer, and local politician, was born 8 July 1815 near Coleraine, Co. Londonderry. After moving to Belfast he entered (1840) the woollen business in Donegall St. founded by James Young in 1795. Anderson's eminence…...
Anderson, Richard John
Anderson, Richard John (1848–1914), scientist, was born 29 July 1848, second son of Richard Anderson and Elizabeth Anderson (née Harcourt) of Ballybot, Newry, Co. Down. He attended Newry School, and graduated MA and…...
Andrew (Andreas)
Andrew (Andreas) (fl. 9th cent.), Irish pilgrim saint and archdeacon of the cathedral of Fiesole, accompanied the more famous and better documented Donatus (qv) (d. 876), scholar and bishop of Fiesole, on pilgrimage to the holy…...
Andrews, Mary Katherine
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Andrews, Michael
Andrews, Michael (1788–1870), industrialist, was third son of Michael Andrews (d. 1805), linen bleacher, of Annsborough, near Castlewellan, Co. Down, and Elizabeth Andrews (née Meek), who was Scottish. He had three sisters. The Andrews family was of great importance in the industrial…...
Andrews, Thomas
Andrews, Thomas (1813–85), doctor, physical chemist, and university administrator, was born 19 December 1813 at 3 Donegall Square, Belfast, eldest son of Thomas John Andrews, linen merchant, of the well known Andrews family of Comber, and Elizabeth Andrews (née Stevenson) of…...
Andrews, Thomas
Andrews, Thomas (1873–1912), shipbuilder, was born 7 February 1873 at Ardara, Comber, Co. Down, where his family, members of the non-subscribing presbyterian church, had been prominent in business for several generations. He was the second son of Thomas Andrews (1843–1916), for…...
Andrews, Thomas
Andrews, Thomas (1843–1916), politician and linen magnate, was born 26 February 1843 in Comber, Co. Down, fourth and youngest son of John Andrews, JP, and his wife, Sarah, daughter of William…...