Donnellan, Anne
Donnellan, Anne (c.1700–62), literary critic, and promoter of literature, learning, and the arts, was the daughter of Nehemiah Donnellan (qv), MP and chief baron of the Irish exchequer (c.1702–05), by his…...
Dopping, Anthony
Dopping, Anthony (1643–97), Church of Ireland bishop of Meath, was born 26 March 1643, son of Anthony Dopping (d. 1649), clerk of the pleas and the exchequer and MP for Bandon in the 1640 parliament, and his second wife Margaret, sister of…...
Dougan, (Alexander) Derek
Dougan, (Alexander) Derek (1938–2007), footballer and author, was born 20 January 1938 at 41 Susan Street in the Newtownards Road district of east Belfast, the eldest of six children (three boys and three girls) of John 'Jackie' Dougan, a boilermaker at the Harland and Wolff…...
Dowdall, George
Dowdall, George (1487–1558), archbishop of Armagh, was appointed primate of all Ireland by Henry VIII on 29 April 1543, but was removed from office following his flight to continental Europe in July 1551. He was provided to Armagh by the papacy on 1 March 1553, and was re-instituted…...
Dowden, Edward
Dowden, Edward (1843–1913), literary critic, academic, and unionist, was born 3 May 1843, second son of John Wheeler Dowden and Alicia Dowden (née Bennett); his elder brother was John Dowden (qv). He was educated privately at first,…...
Dowden, John
Dowden, John (1840–1910), Scottish Episcopal bishop of Edinburgh, was born 29 June 1840 in Cork city, elder of two sons of John Wheeler Dowden, a presbyterian linen merchant and brother of Richard Dowden (qv), and his wife Alicia, who…...
Dowling, Thady (Thaddeus)
Dowling, Thady (Thaddeus) (c.1544–1628), ecclesiastic and annalist, was a member of the Dowling family of Laois (Co. Laois). According to his own testimony, he was fostered in Leighlin, and received some basic education locally. He then went to Dublin, where he stayed for four…...
Downham (Downame), George
Downham (Downame), George (d. 1634), Church of Ireland bishop of Derry, was born in England, elder son of William Downham, bishop of Chester (1561–77); his mother's name is unknown. His brother, John Downham, was a distinguished puritan author. George Downham matriculated as a…...
Drelincourt, Mary
This is a co-subject for the entry on Drelincourt, Peter. View the original entry....
Drelincourt, Peter
Drelincourt, Peter (1644–1722), clergyman, was born in Paris, youngest son of Charles Drelincourt, one of the ministers of the French Reformed church at Charenton which served Paris (1620–69) and a major ecclesiastical figure. His mother, Marguerite Bolduc, was the daughter of a…...
Drew, Catherine
Drew, Catherine (1832–1910), journalist and writer, was born 27 May 1832 in Broughshane, Co. Antrim, the third of eight daughters of the Rev. Thomas Drew (qv), DD, curate of the joint parish of St Patricks, Skerry and Racavan in Broughshane (…...
Drew, Thomas
Drew, Thomas (1800–70), evangelical clergyman, was born 26 October 1800 near St Mary's abbey, Limerick city, son of George Drew, baker and grocer, and his wife Sara (or Sarah), daughter of the Rev. Thomas Ryan, chancellor of the Church of Ireland diocese of Emly. He had at least one…...
Du Bois, Lady Dorothea
Du Bois, Lady Dorothea (Annesley ) (1728–74), poet, novelist, and playwright, was born in Dublin, the eldest of seven daughters of Richard Annesley (qv), Lord Altham, later 6th earl of Anglesey, and his wife, Ann (née Simpson),…...
Duff, Charles St Lawrence
Duff, Charles St Lawrence (1894–1966) author, barrister and linguist, was born on 7 April 1894 in Enniskillen, Co. Fermanagh, the youngest of ten children to grow to adulthood of John Duff, secretary of the Sligo, Leitrim and Northern Counties Railway, and his wife Anne Marie Duff (…...
Dunkin, William
Dunkin, William (1707?–65), poet and schoolmaster, was born in Dublin, son of Patrick Dunkin (d. 1719?), gentleman, who may have been briefly curate of Dromiskin, Co. Louth, before his early death. William's mother apparently also died young, but nothing else is known of her. In 1720…...
Echlin, Robert
Echlin, Robert (d. 1635), bishop of Down and Conor, was second son of Henry Echlin, laird of Pittadro in Fifeshire, and his wife Grizel, daughter of Robert Colville of Cleish, Kinross. After graduating MA from St Andrews in 1596, he was…...
Ellison, Mervyn Archdall
This is a co-subject for the entry on Ellison, William Frederick Archdall. View the original entry....
Ellison, William Frederick Archdall
Ellison, William Frederick Archdall (1864–1936), clergyman and astronomer, was born 28 April 1864 in Thomastown, Co. Kilkenny, eldest among eight sons and three daughters of the Very Rev. Humphrey Eakin Ellison of Shillelagh, Co. Wicklow, dean of Ferns, and Letitia Ellison (née…...
Ellis, Welbore
This is a co-subject for the entry on Ellis, Sir William. View the original entry....
Elrington, Charles Richard
Elrington, Charles Richard (1787–1850), Church of Ireland clergyman and professor of divinity, was born 25 March 1787 in Dublin, the elder son (there were also several daughters) of Thomas Elrington (qv), provost of…...
Elrington, Thomas
Elrington, Thomas (1760–1835), provost of TCD and Church of Ireland bishop, was born 18 December 1760 near Dublin, only child of Richard Elrington and Catherine Elrington. Educated at TCD, he entered in 1775, becoming scholar in 1778.…...
Ervine, St John Greer
Ervine, St John Greer (1883–1971), Ulster dramatist, critic, and biographer, was born John Greer Ervine on 28 December 1883 in Belfast, son of William Ervine, printer, and Sarah Jane Ervine (née Greer), who may have been a deaf-mute. Ervine's father died soon after his birth. He…...
Farquhar, George
Farquhar, George (1677?–1707), playwright, was born in Derry, son of an anglican clergyman (his parents’ names are unknown), and educated in Derry at the Free Grammar School under Ellis Walker. The details of Farquhar's life remain scanty, in spite of his fame, and modern scholars have…...
Farrell, James Gordon
Farrell, James Gordon (1935–79), novelist, was born 23 January 1935 in Liverpool, England, second of three sons of William Farrell, broker's clerk and accountant, and Josephine Farrell (née Russell), born in Ireland of an English timber dealer. He moved with his family to…...
Farrell, Monica
Farrell, Monica (1892–1982), protestant evangelist, was born in Dublin in 1892, one of the younger children in a family of seven. Her mother died when she was seven and she was brought up by an older sister who worked as a seamstress. She reacted to her bereavement and physical ill-…...