Ward, Marcus
Ward, Marcus (1807–47), printer, stationer, and founder of Marcus Ward & Co., was born in Belfast, second son among five sons and two daughters of John Ward (1770–1836) of Jackson Hall, Co. Down, Ulster paper manufacturer and printer, and his wife Margaret (née Davis) (1782–1832…...
Watson, John
Watson, John (d. 1769), bookseller and bookbinder. Nothing is known of his early life. He married (21 April 1722) in St Audoen's church, Dublin, Elizabeth (d. 1753), daughter of Peter Lawrence (d. 1709), bookseller and freeman since 1697. Three months later he petitioned for freedom…...
Watson, Samuel
This is a co-subject for the entry on Watson, John. View the original entry....
Watts, George
Watts, George (1772–1858), veterinary surgeon and horse breeder, was born in England, possibly in Devon or in Yorkshire; nothing certain is known of his family background, though there is a possibility that he was related to Richard Watt (1751–98) of Bishop Burton, near Beverley…...
Watts (Lynch), Elizabeth
Watts (Lynch), Elizabeth (d. 1794), printer, stationer, and ‘bookseller to the courts of law’, whose origins are unknown, succeeded her first husband Richard Watts (d. November 1762) printer and bookseller, with whom she had four sons and a daughter. She married secondly (14…...
Weaver, John
Weaver, John Andrew (1923–2013), soldier and physician, was born on 20 December 1923 at Ballytrim, Killyleagh, Co. Down, the elder of two sons of William Weaver, a farmer, and his wife Emily, a former bank official. The family had farmed flax for generations at Ballytrim, but moved to…...
Webb, Isabella (‘Ella’) Gertrude Amy
Webb, Isabella (‘Ella’) Gertrude Amy (1877–1946), paediatrician, was born 16 October 1877 in Dublin, elder daughter of the Rev. Charles Thomas Ovenden (1846–1924), dean of St Patrick's cathedral, Dublin, and his wife Isabella Mary Robinson. She was educated at Alexandra College,…...
Webb, Richard Davis
Webb, Richard Davis (1805–72), printer and philanthropist, was born in the Cornmarket, Dublin, where his parents had a linen business; he was eldest among seven sons of James Webb and Deborah Webb (née Forrest). The Webbs and Forrests were members of the Society of Friends;…...
Wentworth, D'Arcy
Wentworth, D'Arcy (1762–1827), surgeon and colonial administrator, was born 14 February 1762 near Portadown, Co. Armagh, the sixth of eight children of D'Arcy Wentworth, innkeeper, and his wife Martha (née Dickson/Dixon) of Seagoe, Co. Armagh. His family, who were descended from…...
Whalley, John
Whalley, John (1653–1724), quack, astrologer, and compiler of almanacs, was born 20 April 1653, son of a Cromwellian adventurer; no further details of his parents are known. Working as a cobbler in England before arriving in Dublin (March 1682), he compiled his first almanac the…...
Wheatley, John
Wheatley, John (1869–1930), socialist and publisher, was born 19 May 1869 at Bunmahon, Co. Waterford, eldest among three sons and seven daughters of Thomas Wheately, copper miner of Welsh extraction, and Johanna Wheately (née Ryan); it is not known when he came to use the spelling…...
Wheeler, George Bomford
Wheeler, George Bomford (1805/8–1877), anglican clergyman, classical scholar, and editor of the Irish Times, was son of James Wheeler; his mother's name is unknown. Very little is known of his early life and the records of TCD…...
Wheeler, William Ireland de Courcy
Wheeler, William Ireland de Courcy (1844–99), surgeon, was born 29 February 1844 at Annesborough House, Co. Kildare, the elder and only surviving son of George Nelson Wheeler, landowner, of Annesborough and Pembroke Road, Dublin, and his wife, Williamza Florence, daughter of William…...
Wheeler, William Ireland de Courcy
Wheeler, William Ireland de Courcy (1879–1943), surgeon, was born 8 May 1879 in Dublin, fourth son among six sons and four daughters of William Ireland de Courcy Wheeler (qv), a distinguished doctor, and Frances…...
Whelan, Robert Ford
Whelan, Robert Ford (1922–84), physiologist, was born 22 December 1922 in Belfast, the eldest of the two sons of Robert Henry Whelan, civil servant, and Dorothy Ivy Whelan (née Whittington). His father was born in Dublin and came from a protestant family where practically all of the…...
White, Francis
White, Francis (1787–1859), medical doctor and first inspector general of asylums for the mentally ill in Ireland, was born in Carrick-on-Suir, Co. Tipperary, son of Francis White of Carrickbeg, Co. Waterford, and Anne White (née Lee). Moving to Dublin, he was indentured (17 March 1807…...
White, Harold R. (‘Dermot Macmurrough’)
White, Harold R. (‘Dermot Macmurrough’) (1872–1943), music journalist and composer, was born 12 January 1872 in Dublin, son of Edgar White, an engineer and surveyor. Possessed of a fine treble voice, he served as a chorister in Christ Church cathedral from 1881 to 1887 and…...
White, John Davis
White, John Davis (1820–93), publisher and antiquary, was born 22 May 1820 in Conaghy, Co. Kilkenny, youngest son among three sons and two daughters of Benjamin Newport White (1776–1846), landowner, late of the Slieveardagh yeomanry cavalry stationed in Killenaule, Co. Tipperary,…...
White, William John (‘Jack’)
White, William John (‘Jack’) (1920–80), broadcaster, editor, journalist, and novelist, was born 30 March 1920 in Cork, second child of William Luke White, accountant, and Mary White (née Tyler). In his book Minority report (1975) he described himself as ‘a member of a…...
Whitla, Sir William
Whitla, Sir William (1851–1933), physician, was born 15 September 1851 at The Diamond, Monaghan town, fourth son of Robert Whitla, a presbyterian pawnbroker and draper, and his wife Anne (née Williams). Whitla's parents had five sons and seven daughters. In 1928 Whitla presented a…...
Whitmore, William James Brennan-
Whitmore, William James Brennan- (1886–1977), revolutionary and journalist, was born 21 October 1886 at the family home in Mary St., Wexford, son of Thomas Whitmore, People journalist and printer, and Mary Whitmore (née Brennan) from Ferns, Co. Wexford. Both parents died…...
Whitty, Michael James
Whitty, Michael James (1795–1873), newspaper editor and proprietor, was born in Enniscorthy, Co. Wexford, in 1795, the son of a corn merchant and owner of boats operating out of Wexford port. After failing to complete his studies for the priesthood, Whitty moved to London in 1821 to…...
Widdess, John (‘Jack’) David Henry
Widdess, John (‘Jack’) David Henry (1906–82), medical historian, librarian, and biologist, was born 1 August 1906 in Limerick, son of Matthew Widdess, pharmaceutical chemist, and Emily Widdess (née Irwin). He was educated at Wesley College, Dublin. He won prizes, was admitted…...
Wilde, Sir William Robert Wills
Wilde, Sir William Robert Wills (1815–76), surgeon and polymath, was born in March 1815 at Kilkeevin, Castlerea, Co. Roscommon, youngest of three sons of Thomas Wilde, a local physician, and Emily Wilde (née Fynne). He attended the Royal School, Banagher, and the Diocesan School, Elphin…...
Wilde, William Charles Kingsbury
Wilde, William Charles Kingsbury (1852–99), journalist, was born 26 September 1852 in Dublin, eldest son of Sir William Wilde (qv), surgeon and antiquary, and his wife, the poet and journalist ‘Speranza’ – Jane…...