Ainsworth, Thomas Joseph ('Joe')
Ainsworth, Thomas Joseph (Joe; ‘Two Gun Joe’) (1927–2015), garda, was born 17 May 1927 at his parents’ home at Davitt’s Terrace, Castlebar, Co. Mayo, the elder of two sons of Harry (Henry) Ainsworth, a victualler, and his wife Margaret (née Feeney). Ainsworth was…...
Anderson, Lily
Anderson, Lily (1922–82), social campaigner and communist, joined the Communist Party in 1942 and served for many years on its subcommittees for social services, education, and women. She was best known as a campaigner for better nursery facilities in Belfast during the 1960s. Her…...
Anderson, Sir James Caleb
Anderson, Sir James Caleb (1792–1861), baronet and steam-coach promoter, was born 21 July 1792 in Cork, eldest of two sons and one daughter of John Anderson (1747–1820), banker of Cork, and his second wife, Elizabeth (d. 1830), daughter of James Semple, merchant of Waterford.…...
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…...
Bagwell, John Philip (‘Jack’)
Bagwell, John Philip (‘Jack’) (1874–1946), railway executive and politician, was born 11 August 1874, only son of the historian Richard Bagwell (qv), of Marlfield, Clonmel, Co. Tipperary, and …...
Barrett, Rosa (Mary)
Barrett, Rosa (Mary) (1854–1936) philanthropist, child-care worker, and suffragist, was born 15 January 1854 in Royston, Hertfordshire, England, daughter of the Rev. W. G. Barrett and Martha Barrett (née Fletcher). From the 1860s she was resident with her family in Dublin. Her…...
Bates, Daisy May
Bates, Daisy May (1859–1951), welfare worker for Aborigines, anthropologist, and eccentric, was born 21 October 1859 in Roscrea, Co. Tipperay, third among six children of James Dwyer , catholic tradesman and blacksmith, and Bridget Dwyer (née Hunt). Her twin brother, Francis, died…...
Bell, Alan
Bell, Alan (1857–1920), policeman and resident magistrate, was born in Banagher, King's Co. (Offaly), one of at least two sons of the Rev. James Adamson Bell, Church of Ireland clergyman; his mother's name is unknown. Educated locally, he joined the…...
Bermingham, William (‘Willie’) Patrick
Bermingham, William (‘Willie’) Patrick (1942–90), founder of ALONE, was born 29 March 1942 in Inchicore, Dublin, third among seven children of William Bermingham, bellman on a fuel cart, and Mary Bermingham (née Dalgarno). He was educated at St Michael's School, Inchicore, and…...
Bianconi, Charles
Bianconi, Charles (1786–1875), transport entrepreneur, was born Joachim Carlo Guiseppe Bianconi on 24 September 1786 at Tregolo, near Como in Lombardy, Italy, the second of five children of Pietro and Maria Bianconi. His father owned a farm and a silk mill, and was agent for the…...
Binns, John
Binns, John (1730?–1804), silk merchant, canal developer, and radical politician, was the son of Joshua Binns, who in 1719 was admitted to the Dublin weavers' guild by special grace. John Binns was admitted to the guild by birth in 1756, so he was probably born in the mid 1730s.…...
Blake, Sir Henry Arthur
Blake, Sir Henry Arthur (1840–1918), police officer, resident magistrate, and colonial governor, was born 18 January 1840 in Corbally, Co. Limerick, son of Peter Blake (1809–50) of Corbally Castle, Co. Galway, county inspector of Irish Constabulary, and Jane Blake (née Lane) of…...
Bland, Lilian Emily
Bland, Lilian Emily (1878–1971), pioneer aviator, was born 28 September 1878 in Kent, youngest child among one son and two daughters of John Humphrey Bland (1828–1919) of Fernagh, Whiteabbey, Co. Antrim, and Emily Charlotte Bland (née Madden) of Norfolk, granddaughter of Robert…...
Bloomfield, John Caldwell
Bloomfield, John Caldwell (1823–97), landlord and entrepreneur, was born 5 February 1823, eldest son of John Colpoys Bloomfield and Frances Arabella Bloomfield (née Caldwell); there were three other sons and a daughter. His mother, a descendant of Sir John Caldwell, was coheiress…...
Bolton, Mary
Bolton, Mary (1920–96), counsellor, was born 16 September 1920 in Co. Donegal. An orphan, she was adopted by a farming couple in Co. Tyrone. As a young woman she settled in London, where she became an alcoholic. Recovering from her addiction as a result of treatment under Dr Max…...
Bourne, Richard
Bourne, Richard (1770–1851), steamship owner and a founder of the P & O company, was born at Fethard Castle, Co. Tipperary, youngest of several sons. Entering the Royal Navy (1787), he was promoted lieutenant (1797) and commanded the Felix (1804); twice rewarded for…...
Branigan, James Christopher (‘Jim’, ‘Lugs’)
Branigan, James Christopher (‘Jim’, ‘Lugs’) (1910–86), garda, was born 6 January 1910 in the South Dublin Union, James St., eldest among three sons and a daughter of John Alick Branigan (d. 1957), South Dublin Union official, originally of Borrisokane, Co. Tipperary, and Ellen Branigan…...
Brennan, Garrett (Gerald Brennan/O'Brennan; Gearóid Ó Braonáin/ Ó Breanáin)
Brennan, Garrett (Gerald Brennan/O'Brennan; Gearóid Ó Braonáin/ Ó Breanáin) (1894–1974), revolutionary and garda, was born 7 October 1894 in Castlecomer, Co. Kilkenny, second of ten children of Cornelius Barrett, shopkeeper, and Margaret Brennan (née Boran). One of his brothers was…...
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…...
Brereton, Sir William
Brereton, Sir William (1789–1864), British army general and inspector-general of the Irish Constabulary, was son of Maj. William Brereton, of Dublin and Bath, officer in the 6th Inniskilling Dragoon Guards and later master of ceremonies at the Assembly Rooms in Bath, and his second…...
Browne, George Baxter
Browne, George Baxter (1787–1879), soldier and police officer, was born 19 December 1787, second son among three sons and two daughters of George Browne, merchant at Liverpool, and Felicity Browne (née Wagner) of North Hall, near Wigan, Lancashire, daughter of the Austrian and…...
Brownrigg, Thomas Marcus
Brownrigg, Thomas Marcus (1823–1901), police officer, and pioneer and experimental photographer, was born 8 June 1823 in Limerick, eldest son of Sir Henry John Brownrigg (1798–1873), inspector-general of constabulary (1858–65), and his wife Elizabeth, daughter of the Rev. Thomas…...
Broy, Eamon (‘Ned’)
Broy, Eamon (‘Ned’) (1887–1972), double agent and Garda commissioner, was born 22 December 1887 in Ballinure, Co. Kildare, the son of Patrick Broy, farmer, and his wife, Mary (née Barry). Educated locally, he joined the RIC on 2 August…...
Bulleid, Oliver Vaughan Snell
Bulleid, Oliver Vaughan Snell (1882–1970), railway engineer, was born 19 September 1882 at Invercargill, New Zealand, eldest child of William Bulleid (originally of North Taunton, Devon, England) and his wife, Marian, daughter of Oliver Vaughan Pugh of Llanfyllin, Montgomeryshire,…...
Burgess, Henry Givens
Burgess, Henry Givens (1859–1937), transport administrator, was born 6 April 1859 at Finnoe House, near Borrisokane, Co. Tipperary, son of George Burgess, land steward of the Waller family; his mother's maiden name was Givens. His father farmed in an area so ‘troubled’ by…...