Ailill Ólom
Ailill Ólom, mythical Munster king and ancestor figure of the free lineages of Munster, appears in alternative genealogical traditions either as son of Éogan Már (qv), ancestor of the Éoganacht dynasties, or as son of Mug Núadat and father of…...
Brennan, Stan (Stanislaus)
Brennan, Stan (Stanislaus) (1929–2012), Franciscan missionary, was born James (Seamus) Brennan on 1 December 1929 at Carrowkeel, Co. Roscommon, the seventh of ten children born to James Brennan and his wife Kate (née O'Dowd) who were farmers. He was initially educated at the local…...
Byrne, John
Byrne, John (1919–2013), property developer and ballroom impresario, was born on 5 March 1919 in Upper Tullig, Kilflynn, near Tralee, Co. Kerry, the third child of seven sons and seven daughters of Michael Byrne, a farmer, and his wife Bridget (née Flaherty). After attending CBS…...
Cleary, Eamon
Cleary, Eamon (1960–2012), businessman, was born Edward Joseph Cleary on 28 August 1960 in Ballybay, Co. Monaghan, the eldest of six children of Bernard Cleary, a small farmer of Drumlane, Tullynahinera, near Castleblayney, Co. Monaghan, and his wife Mary Ellen (née McBennett). Due to…...
Colla
Colla , a pseudo-historical ancestor-figure of the Airgialla, is triplicated as Colla Fo-Chríth, Colla Mend, and Colla Uais, who are represented in genealogical tradition as the respective ancestors of the ruling dynasties of Airthir and Uí Chremthainn, of the Mugdorna, and of Uí…...
Comerford, James ('Jim') Joseph
Comerford, James ('Jim') Joseph (1901–88), nationalist, judge and parade organiser, was born on 7 January 1901 in the family home at Coolraheen, Muckalee, Co. Kilkenny, the only child of John Comerford, farmer, of Coolraheen, and his wife Julia (née Kavanagh), schoolteacher, from…...
Conall Cernach
Conall Cernach (‘the triumphant’), legendary hero of the Ulaid, belongs to Old Irish literature rather than to history. In origin, he was probably an ancestor figure (perhaps a deity) of the Conaille, whose kingdom lay in north Co. Louth, on the marches of Ulaid. Conall having been…...
Conall Corc (‘the purple’)
Conall Corc (‘the purple’) , a legendary figure, is represented as a principal ancestor of the dynasties of the Éoganachta and is a central character in the origin story of the kingship of Cashel. The traditions surrounding him are widely discussed. According to the pre-Norman…...
Conchobar
Conchobar , son of Ness, is a fictional personality who features in the Ulster cycle as king of the Ulaid (Ulstermen). The subject of an elaborate birth-tale, he is said to have been a son of the druid Cathbad and of Ness, daughter of a fictional king named Eochaid Sálbuide. His…...
Conn Cétchathach
Conn Cétchathach (‘the hundred-battler’), pseudo-historical ancestor of the dynasties which emerged as the Connachta (including Uí Néill) and Airgialla, and forebear of all noble families of Leth Cuinn (the northern half of Ireland), was reputedly a son of Fedelmid Rechtmar son of…...
Cormac
Cormac son of Art, often viewed as the archetypal king of Tara, is conventionally associated with the Connachta/Uí Néill dynasties. Though there are strong arguments in favour of linking Cormac (sometimes dubbed Ulfota, ‘longbeard’) to an earlier tradition of Tara, by the…...
Crundmáel (Cruindmelus)
Crundmáel (Cruindmelus) (fl. 9th cent.), Irish scholar in the Carolingian empire, was a contemporary of Clemens Scottus (qv) and author of a metrical grammar, ‘Ars [or ‘De arte’] metrica’, which in its treatment and use of…...
Cú-Chulainn
Cú-Chulainn is among the best-known figures of early and medieval Irish heroic literature and is the central character of ‘Táin Bó Cuailnge’ and other tales of the Ulster cycle. His exploits as leader of the Cráeb Rua (Red Branch) warrior band would make him contemporary with…...
Deirdre (Derdriu)
Deirdre (Derdriu) , mythological figure, beautiful and cursed, is a tragic protagonist of the early medieval Ulster cycle. She first emerged into literature in the eighth or ninth century and, over the course of nearly a thousand years, was defined and refined till she found a…...
Dímma
Dímma , son of Nath Í was a legendary scribe credited with writing a gospel-book, under miraculous circumstances, for St Crónán (qv) (fl. 7th century) of Roscrea. The little gospel-book now called the Book of Dimma (…...
Étaín (Éadaoin, Aideen)
Étaín (Éadaoin, Aideen) , mythological figure, a beautiful woman, both human and otherworldly, is the protagonist of one of the most famous of all Old Irish sagas, ‘Tochmarc Étaíne’ (‘The wooing of Étaín’). She was simultaneously feared and revered – revered as a dispenser of…...
Fergus
Fergus son of Roach, a key figure in the Ulster cycle, was foster-father of Cú Chulainn (qv), lover of Queen Medb (qv), and (as mac roich ‘son of the great horse’) the most virile man in…...
Find (Mod. Ir. Fionn; Arch. Ir. Vind; Celt. Vindos)
Find (Mod. Ir. Fionn; Arch. Ir. Vind; Celt. Vindos) son of Cumall, hero figure and central character of the Fianaigecht cycle, was almost certainly a euhemerised deity. A continental background for a deity of this name is well attested; he is commemorated in placenames such as…...
Flinn, Hugo (Hugh)
Flinn, Hugo (Hugh) (1922–2010), businessman, was born in Rushbrooke, Cobh, Co. Cork, on 11 June 1922, the eldest of two sons of Hugo Victor Flinn (qv), of Rushbrooke, and his wife Monica (née Wilson). His father was an engineer,…...
Gallagher, Michael Paul
Gallagher, Michael Paul (1939–2015), Jesuit theologian, writer and lecturer, was born 26 August 1939 at 15 Hatch Street, Dublin, the only child of Andrew Gallagher and his wife Christine (née O’Brien), both doctors. He grew up in Collooney, Co. Sligo, and attended Camphill National…...
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.…...
Gallaher, Francesca (Fannie) Mary
Gallaher, Francesca (Fannie) Mary (1854–1936), writer, was born 30 May 1854 in Cork to John Blake Gallaher and Sarah Gallaher (née Russell). She was the middle child and only daughter of three. Shortly after her birth, the family moved to Dublin, first to 7 Upper Oriel Street and…...
Gráinne
Gráinne was a legendary daughter of the equally legendary pre-Christian king of Tara, Cormac (qv) son of Art. The story of her love for the tragic hero Diarmait grandson of Duibne is one of the most famous tales of the Fenian Cycle, a tale…...
Heath, (Sophie) Mary (‘Lady Heath’) (née Peirce-Evans; other married name Eliott-Lynn)
Heath, (Sophie) Mary (‘Lady Heath’) (née Peirce-Evans; other married name Eliott-Lynn) (1896–1939), athlete and aviator, was born Sophie Catherine Theresa Mary Peirce-Evans on 17 November 1896 in Knockaderry, Co. Limerick, the only child of Jackie Peirce-Evans and his wife and former…...
Jemison, Mary ('Deh-he-wä-mis')
Jemison, Mary ('Deh-he-wä-mis') (1743?–1833), American frontierswoman, was born aboard the ship William and Mary, when her parents, Thomas Jemison and his wife Jane (née Erwin), (both of protestant Scotch-Irish heritage) were emigrating to colonial Pennsylvania, departing from…...