McCarthy, Niall St John
McCarthy, Niall St John (1925–92), lawyer and judge, was born in Cork on 25 May 1925, the sixth of seven children of Joseph A. McCarthy, an engineer who was later called to the bar and became a circuit court judge, and his wife, Rose A. O'Neill. The family shortly afterwards moved…...
McClean, (John) Raymond
McClean, (John) Raymond (1933–2011), medical doctor, civil-rights activist and humanitarian, was born on 18 January 1933 in Coleraine, Co. Londonderry, third in a family of three sons and one daughter of Charles McClean and his wife Kathleen (née King). Charles McClean, a trophy-winning…...
McDonnell, Joseph Patrick
McDonnell, Joseph Patrick (1846–1906), revolutionary and labour activist, was born 27 March 1846 in Smithfield, Dublin, son of Peter McDonnell, baker's foreman. Educated at Marlborough Street national school (1853–8) and St Paul's Academy, Arran Quay (1858–60), he grew into a man of…...
McDowell, Kathleen Mary (‘Kay’)
McDowell, Kathleen Mary (‘Kay’) (1897–1975), trade union leader, was born 16 August 1897 at 20 Connaught St., Phibsborough, Dublin, daughter of William McDowell, wine merchant, of that address, and Mary McDowell (née Kirwan). Her father's family, which had roots in the north of…...
McGilligan, Patrick
McGilligan, Patrick (1889–1979), politician, academic, and lawyer, was born 12 April 1889. His family home was at Hanover Place, Coleraine, Co. Londonderry, and he was the second child and second son among the eight sons and four daughters of Patrick McGilligan, businessman and MP (…...
McGonigal, Richard
McGonigal, Richard (1902–64), barrister and senior counsel, was born at 8 Mount Street Crescent, Dublin, on 14 February 1902, the eldest son of John McGonigal KC, county court judge for Co. Tyrone (1939–43), and his wife Margaret Davoren,…...
McGonigal, Sir Ambrose Joseph
McGonigal, Sir Ambrose Joseph (1917–79), judge, was born 22 November 1917 at 18 Herbert Street, Dublin, the second son of the three sons and four daughters of John McGonigal KC, county court judge for Co. Tyrone (1939–43), and Margaret Davoren,…...
McGough, Joseph Christopher (Joe)
McGough, Joseph Christopher (Joe) (1919–2003), army officer, barrister and businessman, was born 23 December 1919 at Castlecomer, Co. Kilkenny, the fourth child and first son of John McGough, originally of Co. Clare, and his wife Ann (née Brennan). His father, having served as a…...
McGrory, Patrick John Mary (‘Paddy’)
McGrory, Patrick John Mary (‘Paddy’) (1923–94), solicitor, was born 11 October 1923 in the St James area of the Falls Road, Belfast, one of four children of Patrick Joseph McGrory, insurance manager, of 1 St James's Parade, Belfast, and his wife Mary (née Skeffington). His father…...
McHugh, Edward
McHugh, Edward (1853–1915), political activist and trade unionist, was born on 21 August 1853 in Co. Tyrone (probably in the parish of Termonamongan in the far west of the county), the son of Matthew McHugh, smallholder and labourer, and his wife Margaret (née McCrory); he had one…...
McKenna, Theobald
McKenna, Theobald (1765–1808), catholic activist and lawyer, was born 6 December 1765 in Dublin, the fourth son of Edmond McKenna, a catholic merchant originally from Carrick-on-Suir, Co. Tipperary. He trained as a physician and in the 1780s was active in the campaign for the…...
McSparran, James
McSparran, James (1892–1970), lawyer and politician, was born 1 May 1892 in Glasgow, Scotland, third among five sons of James McSparran, farmer and merchant of Cushendun, Co. Antrim, and Albert Road, Glasgow, and Ann (Annie) McSparran (née McDonnell), farmer's daughter from north…...
Meenan, James Francis
Meenan, James Francis (1910–87), barrister-at-law, political economist, and writer, was born 18 October 1910 in Dublin, eldest of three sons and one daughter of Dr James Nahor Meenan (qv), professor of medicine at…...
Methuen, John
Methuen, John (c.1649–1706), lord chancellor of Ireland, was the eldest son of Paul Methuen, clothier, of Bradford-on-Avon, Wiltshire, and his wife Grace, daughter of John Ashe of Freshford, Somerset. He matriculated at St Edmund Hall, Oxford (1665), aged 15, and entered…...
Molony, Helena
Molony, Helena (1883–1967), actress, republican, trade unionist, and feminist, was born 15 January 1883 at 8 Coles Lane, off Henry St., Dublin, the younger of one daughter and one son of Michael Moloney, grocer, of that address, and Catherine Moloney (née McGrath). Orphaned at an early…...
Molony, Sir Thomas Francis
Molony, Sir Thomas Francis (1865–1949), 1st baronet, last lord chief justice of Ireland, was born 31 January 1865 in Dublin, youngest son of James Molony, Dublin hotel proprietor, and his wife Jane, daughter of Nicholas Sweetman of Newbawn, Co. Wexford. Thomas was educated by the…...
Monahan, James Henry
Monahan, James Henry (1802/4–1878), judge, lawyer, and MP, was born at Eyrecourt, Co. Galway, eldest son of Michael Monahan, merchant, of Heathlawn, Portumna, Co. Galway, and his wife Mary, daughter of Stephen Bloomfield of Eyrecourt. Though the family was catholic, he was boarded…...
Moran, Frances Elizabeth
Moran, Frances Elizabeth (1893–1977), university teacher and lawyer, was born on 6 December 1893, younger daughter and fifth among seven children of James Moran and Elizabeth Moran (née Faulkner). Her father was a prominent catholic businessman, proprietor of Moran's Hotel, 71–3 Lr…...
Morrissey, Daniel
Morrissey, Daniel (1895–1981), trade unionist, politician, and businessman, was born 28 November 1895 in Silver St., Nenagh, Co. Tipperary, one of three sons and one daughter of William Morrissey, carter-contractor, and Bridget Morrissey (née Gleeson). Educated at Nenagh…...
Morris, Sir Michael
Morris, Sir Michael (1826–1901), 1st Baron Morris and Killanin , lawyer and chief justice, was born 14 November 1826 at Spiddal, Co. Galway, eldest son of Martin Morris (1784–1862), a Roman catholic merchant who was a JP and later high…...
Muldoon, John
Muldoon, John (1865–1938), lawyer and politician, was born in Dromore, Co. Tyrone, third son of James Muldoon, a prosperous catholic landowner; nothing is known of his mother. Educated locally, during the mid 1880s he worked as a journalist with the Galway Vindicator before…...
Murnaghan, James Augustine
Murnaghan, James Augustine (1881–1973), judge and jurist, was born 6 July 1881 in St Louis, Missouri, USA, to which his parents, George Murnaghan and his wife, Angela (née Mooney), had emigrated in the 1860s. They returned to Omagh, Co. Tyrone, about 1883 where his father began to…...
Murnaghan, Sheelagh Mary
Murnaghan, Sheelagh Mary (1924–93), barrister and politician, was born in Dublin on 26 May 1924, eldest of the six children of Vincent Murnaghan of Omagh, Co. Tyrone, and his wife, Josephine (née Morrogh). Her grandfather was George Murnaghan…...
Murphy, Arthur
Murphy, Arthur (1727–1805), dramatist, actor, and lawyer, was born 27 December 1727 at his mother's family home at Cloonyquin, Co. Roscommon, the fifth (and second surviving) child of Richard Murphy, a prosperous Dublin merchant, and his wife, Jane (née French) (d. 1761). Following…...
Murphy, Francis Stack
Murphy, Francis Stack (1807–60), lawyer, writer, and politician, was born in Cork, third son of Jeremiah Murphy (1779–1833) and Mary Murphy (née Stack). Jeremiah Murphy was a member of a wealthy merchant dynasty, and founded with his brothers (1825) the Midleton distillery, James…...