Warren, Sir Peter
Warren, Sir Peter (1703–52), admiral in the British navy, was born 10 March 1703 at Warrenstown, Co. Meath, third son among three sons and two daughters of Michael Warren, Roman catholic landowner, and Catherine Warren (née Aylmer). Educated locally, he entered the Royal Navy in…...
Watson, Sir Charles Moore
Watson, Sir Charles Moore (1844–1916), imperial soldier and administrator, was born 10 July 1844 in Dublin, second son of William Watson, civil engineer and JP, of Dublin, and Sarah, daughter of the Rev. Moore Morgan (rector of Dunlavin, Co…...
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…...
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…...
Weir, Isaac O'Neill (‘Ike’)
Weir, Isaac O'Neill (‘Ike’) (1867–1908), bareknuckle boxer, was born 17 January 1867 in Lurgan, Co. Armagh, son of Jacob Weir, weaver, and Catherine Weir (née Neil). As a young man he showed an aptitude for many different sports and activities, being described as an excellent jockey…...
Wellesley (Wesley), Arthur
Wellesley (Wesley), Arthur (1769–1852), 1st duke of Wellington , soldier and politician, was born 1 May 1769 at Mornington House, 6 Merrion Street, Dublin, the third surviving son of Garret Wesley (qv) (1735–81), 1st earl of Mornington, and…...
West, Trevor
West, Trevor (1938–2012), mathematician, politician and sportsman, was born on 8 May 1938 in Cork, the eldest of four sons of Timothy Roberts West, headmaster of Midleton College, Co. Cork, and Dorothy Trevor West (née McNeill), of Charleston, Ballinacurra, Co. Cork, who was CEO of…...
Whelan, William Augustine (‘Billy’; ‘Liam’)
Whelan, William Augustine (‘Billy’; ‘Liam’) (1935–58), soccer player, was born 1 April 1935 in 28 St Attracta's Road, Cabra, Dublin, fourth among seven children of John Whelan, labourer, and Elizabeth Whelan (née McGuirk). He was educated at St Peter's national school in nearby…...
White, Harry
White, Harry (1916–89), IRA activist, was born in Blackwater Street off the Grosvenor Road in west Belfast, one of ten children (five sons and five daughters) of Billy White, water technician with Belfast Corporation, and his wife Kathleen (née McKane). White's paternal grandfather and…...
White, James Robert (‘Jack’)
White, James Robert (‘Jack’) (1879–1946), soldier and anarchist, was born in May 1879 in Broughshane, near Ballymena, Co. Antrim, only son among five children of Field-marshal Sir George Stuart White, an Anglo-Irish landowner and distinguished soldier, and his wife Amy, daughter of…...
White, Rosetta Phoebe Blair-
White, Rosetta Phoebe Blair- (1895–1991), tennis player, was born in Omagh, Co. Tyrone, daughter of R. J. Newell , DL and JP, of Hillside, Omagh. She developed her tennis skills by playing every day…...
Wickham, Joseph Ignatius ('Joe')
Wickham, Joseph Ignatius ('Joe') (1890–1968), football administrator, was born Ignatius Joseph Wickham on 5 February 1890 in Phibsborough, Dublin, one of eleven children (seven girls and four boys) of John Wickham, a railway engine driver, and his wife Mary Anne (née Kelly). He was…...
Wickham, Sir Charles George
Wickham, Sir Charles George (1879–1971), soldier and policeman, was born 1 September 1879 at Chestnut Grove, Tadcaster, Yorkshire, fourth son of William Wickham Wickham and Katherine Henta Wickham. He was educated at Harrow School and at the Royal Military College, Sandhurst.…...
Williams, Charles Frederick
Williams, Charles Frederick (1838–1904), journalist and war correspondent, was born 4 May 1838 in Coleraine, Co. Londonderry. His parents' names are unknown, but he claimed to be descended paternally from Worcestershire yeomen (of Tenbury and Mamble), and maternally from Ulster Scots…...
Wilmot, Sir Charles
Wilmot, Sir Charles (1570/71–1643/4), 1st Viscount Wilmot of Athlone , English soldier and governor of Connacht, was son and heir of Edward Wilmot of Culham, Oxfordshire, England, and his wife Elizabeth, daughter of Thomas Stafford of Bradfield, Berkshire. He matriculated at…...
Wilson, John Patrick
Wilson, John Patrick (1923–2007), government minister and Gaelic footballer, was born on 8 July 1923 at Callanagh, Kilcogy, Co. Cavan, the son of John Wilson, farmer, and his wife Brigid (née Comaskey). His grandfather James Wilson was a Fenian, his father a Fianna Fáil and GAA activist…...
Wilson, Sir Henry Hughes
Wilson, Sir Henry Hughes (1864–1922), 1st baronet, soldier, and politician, was born 5 May 1864 at his family home at Currygrane, near Ballinalee, Co. Longford, the second son of four sons and three daughters of James Wilson, a landowner, and his wife, Constance Grace Martha Wilson…...
Wilson, Walter Gordon
Wilson, Walter Gordon (1874–1957), engineer and inventor of the tank, was born 21 April 1874 at his family's home, Dunardagh, Temple Road, Blackrock, Co. Dublin, fifth son of George Orr Wilson, barrister, and Annie Wilson (née Shaw). Educated as a naval cadet at…...
Winder, Frank (Francis Gerard Augustine)
Winder, Frank (Francis Gerard Augustine) (1928–2007), biochemist, naturalist and mountaineer, was born 14 April 1928 in Dublin, one of four sons of Percy Winder (d. 1950), secretary of the Scottish Amicable Life Assurance Society and a freeman of the city of Dublin, and his second…...
Wingfield, Sir Richard
Wingfield, Sir Richard (1551?–1634), 1st Viscount Powerscourt and soldier, was eldest son of Sir Richard Wingfield, governor of Portsmouth, and his wife Christian Fitzwilliam of Milton. He was born into a family with a strong martial tradition: his brothers and uncles bore arms for…...
Wing, Mornington Albert (‘Morny’)
Wing, Mornington Albert (‘Morny’) (c.1897–1965), champion jockey and trainer, was born in Doncaster, Yorkshire, son of Walter Wing, professional jockey, horse dealer, and mail coach driver, of 6 Mail Coach Yard, Doncaster, and Ada Wing (maiden name unknown) of Castleford,…...
Winter, Sir Ormonde de l'Épée
Winter, Sir Ormonde de l'Épée (1875–1962), soldier, director of intelligence, and deputy chief of police in Ireland, was born 15 January 1875 at Sutton Court Lodge, Chiswick, west London, youngest of five children of W. H. Winter, GPO…...
Wogan, Edward
Wogan, Edward (c.1625–1654), soldier, was third son of Nicholas Wogan of Blackhall, Co. Kildare, and his wife Margaret, daughter of William Holywood of Herbertstown, Co. Meath. The family originated from Pembrokeshire, and the Irish branch retained close contacts with their…...
Wogan, Sir Charles
Wogan, Sir Charles (1698?–1757?), ‘the Chevalier Wogan’, soldier, Jacobite, and man of letters, was born in Rathcoffey, Co. Kildare, second son of William Wogan and Anne Wogan (née Gaydon). He passed most of his boyhood in Kildare but also spent some time in Windsor, England, where…...
Wolfe, George
Wolfe, George (1859–1941), soldier, landowner, antiquarian, and politician, was born 16 December 1859 at Bishopland, Ballymore Eustace, Co. Kildare, younger son among two sons and one daughter of Theobald George Samuel Wolfe (1815–72), landowner, of Bishopland and Forenaghts, Naas…...