Abernethy, William
Abernethy, William (1864–1930), professional photographer, was the son of Robert Abernethy, farmer, from Comber, Co. Down. Details of his early life are lacking, even in obituaries published in the Belfast press. He learned his trade in Belfast, in the studio of a successful…...
Adams, Michael
Adams, Michael (1937–2009), publisher and catholic activist, was born in Dublin on 22 June 1937, eldest of three children (two boys and a girl) of Francis Adams, cattle dealer, victualler and JP for Co. Fermanagh, and his wife Mary or Maud (née Atteridge), a protestant and daughter…...
Ailill Ólom
Ailill Ólom, mythical Munster king and ancestor figure of the free lineages of Munster, appears in alternative genealogical traditions either as son of Éogan Már (qv), ancestor of the Éoganacht dynasties, or as son of Mug Núadat and father of…...
Allen, David
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Allen, David
Allen, David (1830–1903), printer, was born 6 June 1830 in Randalstown, Co. Antrim, eldest son of James Allen, carrier, and Margaret Allen (née Drennan). His father's business had been very extensive for several generations but suffered from the advent of railways, and when David…...
Allen, William Edward
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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…...
Ayton, Alexander
Ayton, Alexander (1829–1900), professional photographer, was born in Scotland but in the early 1860s came to Ireland, where he set up in business in Derry city, first at an address in the Crescent, then (1864) moving to a purpose-built studio in Kennedy Place. Thirty years later he…...
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 …...
Baird, George Courtenay
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Baird, Robert Hugh Hanley
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Baird, William
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Baird, William Savage
Baird, William Savage (1824–86) and George Courtenay Baird (1833–75), printers and newspaper proprietors, were brothers, natives of Randalstown, Co. Antrim; they had at least one other brother, Thomas Drew Baird (d. 1890), who joined the business after George Baird died. Both William…...
Battersby, William Joseph
Battersby, William Joseph (1794/5–1873), catholic bookseller and writer, is first mentioned in 1825, in Wilson's Dublin Directory, as a printer at 33 Winetavern Street, Dublin. He was to flourish in the 1830s, 1840s, and 1850s, a period of rapidly growing catholic…...
Beatty, Francis Stewart
Beatty, Francis Stewart (1807-91), pioneer Irish photographer, of unknown parentage and place of birth but presumably born somewhere in the north of Ireland, is first documented in the 1830s in Belfast, where he was an engraver and linen ornament manufacturer. An elaborate double-…...
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.…...
Bladen, William
Bladen, William (c.1585–1663), printer and bookseller, was born in England, son of Thomas Bladen, yeoman of Derbyshire; nothing is known of his mother. In 1602 he became an apprentice in the London Stationers’ company, being freed on 7 May 1610. Thereafter he worked in…...
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…...
Blow, James
Blow, James (1676–1759), printer and papermaker in Belfast, was born 29 July 1676 in Scotland, possibly in Culross, Perthshire, a younger son among nine children of John Blow and Elizabeth Blow (née Wilson). He was apprenticed to the printer Patrick Neil (who had married his sister…...
Bourke, Fergus (Ignatius)
Bourke, Fergus (Ignatius) (1934–2004), photographer, was born 31 July 1934 in Bray, Co. Wicklow. His mother was Eileen (Eibhlín) Bourke (née Somers). His father Thomas Bourke (Tómas de Búrca), who worked for Dublin Corporation, was related to people prominent in twentieth‑century…...
Bourke, Thomas
Bourke, Thomas (fl. 1643–4), printer, has been considered the first known printer in Waterford. Though his background is not known, it has been argued that the ‘good standard of the typesetting and printing of his extant works demonstrate that he was already a well-trained…...
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…...