Bruce, William
Bruce, William (1702–55), publisher and writer, was born in Killyleagh, Co. Down, the youngest of the three sons of the Rev. James Bruce (qv) (1660?–1730), and his wife, Margaret (née Trail), of Tullychin (d. 1706). He was educated at the…...
Bryan, Sir Francis
Bryan, Sir Francis (a.1492–1550), poet, courtier, justiciar (lord justice), and lord marshal of Ireland, was son of Thomas Bryan, knight of the body to Henry VII and Henry VIII, and his wife Margaret, daughter of Humphrey Bourchier, and was possibly educated at Oxford,…...
Buchanan, George Henry Perrott
Buchanan, George Henry Perrott (1904–89), journalist and writer, was born 9 January 1904 in Kilwaughter, Co. Antrim, second child and younger of two sons and one daughter of the Rev. Charles Henry Leslie Buchanan (1863–1939) and Florence Buchanan (née Moore). He was educated at…...
Buckley, Timothy
Buckley, Timothy (1862–1945), tailor and storyteller, was born 23 December 1862 in Lounihan, Kilgarvan, Co. Kerry, seventh among thirteen children of Pádraig Buckley, farmer; his mother was one of the Healys Seamhrach of east Kerry. He attended Kilgarvan primary school, and at the…...
Bullock, Shan Fadh (John William)
Bullock, Shan Fadh (John William) (1865–1935), author, was born 17 May 1865 at Inisherk, Co. Fermanagh, eldest son among eleven children of Thomas Bullock (1840–1917), estate steward and farmer, and his wife Mary Wheery. Thomas Bullock worked on the Crom Castle demesne of John Crichton…...
Bunting, Edward
Bunting, Edward (1773–1843), musician and collector of Irish music, was born in February 1773 in Armagh, the youngest son of a mining engineer from Derby who had settled near Dungannon. His mother, Mary (née O'Quinn), was Irish. There were two other children of the marriage, Anthony and…...
Bunworth, Charles
Bunworth, Charles (c.1704–1772), clergyman, patron, and harper, was born in Newmarket, Co. Cork, second of at least three sons of Richard Bunworth, farmer, and Elizabeth Bunworth (née Philpot). He was educated by a family tutor, Mr Murdock, before entering…...
Burk, John Daly
Burk, John Daly (1772?–1808), author and radical, was possibly the son of James Burk, a protestant schoolmaster from Co. Cork, who may have been related to Edmund Burke (qv) (Augusta Chronicle, 11 Nov. 1809). In 1790 John was…...
Burnell, Henry
Burnell, Henry (fl. 1639–55), playwright, was born in Ireland into an Old English catholic family belonging to the gentry of the Pale, grandson of Henry Burnell (qv) and son and heir of Christopher Burnell of Castleknock, Co.…...
Butcher, Edward (‘Eddie’)
Butcher, Edward (‘Eddie’) (1900–80), traditional singer, was born 8 May 1900 at Tamlaght, Magilligan, Co. Londonderry, third son among six sons and four daughters born to John Butcher, casual labourer, and Elizabeth Butcher (née Clyde). His father was a noted singer and all but…...
Butler, Hubert Marshall
Butler, Hubert Marshall (1900–91), essayist and antiquarian, was born 23 October 1900 in Maidenhall, Bennettsbridge, Co. Kilkenny, eldest son and second of four children of George Butler (1859–1941) of Maidenhall, farmer and high sheriff of Kilkenny, and his wife Harriet (1867–1939),…...
Butler, Isaac
Butler, Isaac (1689/90?–1755), almanac maker, botanist, and antiquary, was by 1725 in business as a bookseller and publisher in Patrick Street, Dublin; he was a quarter-brother of the printers’ guild (1728–31). His first almanac was Advice from the stars (1725), which he…...
Butler, Thomas O'Brien
Butler, Thomas O'Brien (1861–1915), composer, was born Thomas Whitwell in November 1861 in Cahirciveen, in the south-west of Co. Kerry. Details of his early life are scarce but he appears to have been a man of independent means who travelled extensively. His musical education was…...
Butler, William Francis
Butler, William Francis (1838–1910), soldier and author, was born 31 October 1838 in a farmhouse at Ballyslateen, Golden, Co. Tipperary, youngest child among four sons and three daughters of Richard Butler (1792–1870), a modest landowner and large tenant farmer of Suirville, Co.…...
Byrne, Donn
Byrne, Donn (1889–1928), writer, was born Brian Oswald Donn-Byrne 20 November 1889 in New York, the son of Thomas Fearghaill Donn-Byrne, an architect, and Jane D'Arcy (McParlane). Shortly after his birth, his parents returned to their home in Forkhill, Co. Armagh, where Donn and his…...
Byrne, John
Byrne, John (1919–2013), property developer and ballroom impresario, was born on 5 March 1919 in Upper Tullig, Kilflynn, near Tralee, Co. Kerry, the third child of seven sons and seven daughters of Michael Byrne, a farmer, and his wife Bridget (née Flaherty). After attending CBS…...
Byrne, John Francis
Byrne, John Francis (1880–1960), journalist, writer, and university friend of James Joyce (qv), was born 11 February 1880 at 25 East Essex Street, Dublin, youngest child of Mathew Byrne (d. 1883), a shopkeeper, and…...
Byrne, Laurence Patrick (‘Andrew E. Malone’)
Byrne, Laurence Patrick (‘Andrew E. Malone’) (1888–1939), literary critic and journalist, was born in Dublin, one of at least six sons of Michael Byrne, a clerk at Guinness's brewery. Laurence himself began working there in the chemical department, after which he was employed by the…...
Byrne, Patrick
Byrne, Patrick (1740/41–1814), printer, bookseller, and United Irishman, had a flourishing business in Dublin, at 35 College Green (1779–85) and 108 Grafton Street (1785–99). Byrne's business was probably the largest of its kind in Ireland in the eighteenth century. One indication…...
Byrne, Patrick
Byrne, Patrick (c.1784–1863), harper, was born in Farney, Co. Monaghan, and was possibly the nephew or younger brother of harper Christopher Byrne (c.1775–1808). Blind from infancy, he was taught the harp by itinerant harpers from 1794 and by…...
Byrne, Séamus
Byrne, Séamus (1904–68), playwright and lawyer, was born in Dublin on 27 December 1904. Educated at Blackrock College, he graduated LLB from UCD and qualified as a solicitor in 1927. He worked as…...
Byrne, William (Aloysius)
Byrne, William (Aloysius) (1872–1933), poet (‘William Dara ’) and professor of English, was born 30 January 1872 in Rathangan, Co. Kildare. His father, Joseph, who became the principal teacher in the local national school, married Marcella Murray (October 1870) and William was the…...
Caldwell, Sir James
Caldwell, Sir James (c.1630–1717), 1st baronet, merchant, Williamite soldier, and landowner in Co. Fermanagh, was second son of John Caldwell, merchant, of Enniskillen, and his second wife, Mary (née Swettenham), from Chester. The family's wealth increased as James Caldwell…...
Callanan, Jeremiah J.
Callanan, Jeremiah J. (1795–1829), poet and verse translator, was born in Ballinhassig, Co. Cork, of a respectable medical family. Educated locally and in Cobh, he studied for the priesthood in Maynooth at the encouragement of his parents, but left (1818) to begin medical studies in…...
Cameron, John
Cameron, John (1724–99), presbyterian minister and writer, was born in Scotland; some sources say near Edinburgh, though Kinross is also mentioned. Nothing is known of his parents. He was apprenticed to an Edinburgh bookseller, and among the books picked up a love of literature…...