Bedell, William
Bedell, William (1571–1642), scholar and churchman, was born in late December 1571 at Black Notley, Essex, England, second son of John Bedell and his wife, Elizabeth Elliston, and entered Emmanuel College, Cambridge, in 1584, the year of its foundation. He graduated in 1588, took his…...
Blythe, Ernest (de Blaghd, Earnán)
Blythe, Ernest (de Blaghd, Earnán) (1889–1975), revolutionary, politician, government minister, managing director of the Abbey Theatre, and Irish-language revivalist, was born 13 April 1889 at Magheragall, Lisburn, Co. Antrim, eldest child among two sons and two daughters of James…...
Boyd, John St Clair
Boyd, John St Clair (1858–1918), surgeon, Gaelic Leaguer and philanthropist, was born at Cultra House, Holywood, Co. Down, only son of John Kane Boyd, co-proprietor of the Blackstaff Mill. He was educated in Paris and Edinburgh before graduating from Queen's College, Belfast (QCB), and…...
Cleaver, Euseby Digby
Cleaver, Euseby Digby (1826–94), clergyman and Gaelic revivalist, was born 8 March 1826 in Delgany, Co. Wicklow, eldest son of William Cleaver, rector of Delgany, and Mary (née Mackworth) Cleaver, and grandson of Euseby Cleaver (qv) (…...
Comyn, Michael (Micheál Coimín)
Comyn, Michael (Micheál Coimín) (c.1680–1760), prose writer and poet in Irish, was son of Patrick Óg Comyn, farmer of Kilcorcoran, Co. Clare, and Joanna Comyn (née Fitzgerald). Michael's grandfather lost a substantial freehold in five townlands of Kimacrehy parish during…...
Coneys, Thomas de Vere
Coneys, Thomas de Vere (1804?–51), Church of Ireland clergyman and first professor of Irish at TCD, was born in Galway, the first son of John Coneys, barrister, of Streamstown, Co. Galway. He was educated at the school of a Mr Whiteley and in October 1819 (aged fifteen) entered…...
Daniel (Ó Domhnuill, O'Donnell), William
Daniel (Ó Domhnuill, O'Donnell), William (1570–1628), Church of Ireland archbishop of Tuam and translator of the New Testament into Irish, was a son of Nicholas Daniel of Kilkenny; nothing is known of his mother. During his youth he became a protestant, probably under the…...
Deakin, James Aubrey
Deakin, James Aubrey (1874–1952), Irish-language and republican activist, was born 19 June 1874 at Mount Auburn, Richmond Road, Drumcondra, Dublin, one of at least three sons and five daughters of James Deakin, commercial traveller, native of Birmingham, England, and Mary Anne Deakin (…...
Dix, Ernest Reginald McClintock
Dix, Ernest Reginald McClintock (1857–1936), solicitor, book collector, and Irish language enthusiast, was born 8 April 1857 in Dublin, elder son of Henry Thomas Dix (1825–1902), a prominent solicitor, and his wife Emma Patience, daughter of an army officer, Henry McClintock of…...
Donellan, Nehemias (Daniel, Nehemiah; Ó Domhnalláin, Fearganainm)
Donellan, Nehemias (Daniel, Nehemiah; Ó Domhnalláin, Fearganainm) (d. 1609), protestant archbishop of Tuam and Irish-language scholar, was born in Co. Galway, son of Maoileachlainn Ó Domhnalláin and his wife Sisile Ní Cheallaigh. The O'Donnellans were a well known and learned…...
Foley, Daniel (Ó Foghludha, Domhnall)
Foley, Daniel (Ó Foghludha, Domhnall) (1815–74), anglican minister and Irish-language scholar, grew up in a poor Irish-speaking family in Tralee, Co. Kerry. He worked for a time in the shop of Patrick Grey in Tralee. Influenced by a local clergyman, he left the Roman Catholic Church and…...
Gibson, William (Mac Giolla Bhríde, Liam)
Gibson, William (Mac Giolla Bhríde, Liam) (1868–1942), 2nd Baron Ashbourne , Irish-language activist, was born 16 December 1868 in Dublin, eldest child of Edward Gibson (qv), 1st Baron Ashbourne, and Frances Maria Adelaide Gibson (née Colles…...
Goodman, James (Séamus Gudman)
Goodman, James (Séamus Gudman) (1828–96), clergyman, Irish-language scholar, and music collector, was born 22 September 1828 at Ballyameen near Dingle, Co. Kerry, second son among five sons and four daughters of Thomas Chute Goodman, clergyman, and Mary Goodman (née Gorham). Brought up…...
Gwynn, Edward John
Gwynn, Edward John (1868–1941), Celticist and provost of TCD, was born 1 April 1868 at Aughnagaddy, Ramelton, Co. Donegal, the second son of Rev. John Gwynn (qv), DD, fellow of…...
Hudson, William Elliott
Hudson, William Elliott (1796–1853), lawyer and patron of Gaelic scholarship, was born 18 August 1796, probably at his family's country residence, then known as Fields of Odin, Rathfarnham, Co. Dublin. It was later called The Hermitage: Robert…...
Hyde, Douglas (de hÍde, Dubhghlas)
Hyde, Douglas (de hÍde, Dubhghlas) (1860–1949), Gaelic scholar, founder of the Gaelic League, and first president of Ireland, was born 17 January 1860 in Castlerea, Co. Roscommon, fourth child among three sons and two daughters of the Rev. Arthur Hyde (descended from the Hydes of…...
Irvine, George
Irvine, George (1877–1954), republican, language activist and campaigner, was born in August 1877 in Enniskillen, Co. Fermanagh, the son of John Irvine, a bookseller, and Jane Irvine (née Boyle). George was one of seven children, four of whom were living in 1911. John Irvine’s shop on…...
Kearney, John (Ó Cearnaigh, Seán)
Kearney, John (Ó Cearnaigh, Seán) (c.1545–c.1587), translator, author of the first book in the Irish language to be printed in Ireland, was a native of Leyney, Co. Sligo. Details of his family background and early education are unknown, but he probably received…...
King, Murtagh (Ó Cionga, Muircheartach)
King, Murtagh (Ó Cionga, Muircheartach) (c.1562–c.1639), translator of the Old Testament into Irish, was a member of a learned family of scribes and poets in the Irish midlands. The Ó Cionga family were traditionally associated with Fox's Country, in the barony of…...
Lhuyd (Lhwyd, Lloyd), Edward
Lhuyd (Lhwyd, Lloyd), Edward (1660?–1709), Celtic philologist and naturalist, was born c.1660 in Cardiganshire, Wales, or near Oswestry, Shropshire, the illegitimate son of Edward Lloyd of Llanvorda and Bridget Pryse, both from landowning families. Lhuyd entered Jesus College,…...
Mac Brádaigh, Philip
Mac Brádaigh, Philip (c.1650–c.1719), poet and clergyman, commonly known as ‘Philip Ministir’ or ‘Parson Brady’, was born in Co. Cavan about the middle of the seventeenth century, probably in the district to the west of Cootehill that had previously formed the Cúil…...
Mac Conmara, Donnchadh ‘Rua’
Mac Conmara, Donnchadh ‘Rua’ (c.1715–1810), poet, is believed to have been born in Cratloe, Co. Clare, but his early life is obscure and nothing is known of his family. According to tradition, he studied for the priesthood at the Irish college in Rome for five years, was…...
Mac Gearailt, Piaras (Fitzgerald, Pierce)
Mac Gearailt, Piaras (Fitzgerald, Pierce) (c.1709–c.1792), poet, was born in Ballykinealy, near Ballymacoda, Co. Cork, into a branch of the Fitzgeralds who were related to the knights of Kerry but had lost most of their property as a result of their involvement in the…...
Mason, Henry Joseph Monck
Mason, Henry Joseph Monck (1778–1858), miscellaneous bilingual writer, librarian, and evangelical reformer, was born 15 July 1778 at Powerscourt demesne, Enniskerry, Co. Wicklow, son of Lt-col. Henry Monck Mason and his second wife, Jane, only daughter of…...
Nic Dhonnchadha, Lil
Nic Dhonnchadha, Lil (1891–1984), Irish language scholar and language activist, was born 9 October 1891 in Belfast, one of the four surviving children of customs and excise officer Séamus Mac Donnchadha and his wife, Georgina Ffolliott L'Amie, who had trained as a teacher. Her father…...