Levine, June
Levine, June (1931–2008), feminist, journalist and author, was born Stephanie June Levine in the Rotunda hospital, Dublin, on 31 December 1931, eldest child of Charles Solomon ('Solly') Levine, a cabinet maker, the son of Jewish parents who fled from Latvia, and his wife Muriel Ruth (…...
McDowell, John William ('Jack')
McDowell, John William ('Jack') (1923?–2006), community activist and politician, was born in the Shankill Road area of Belfast. His father was a first world war veteran and member of the Northern Ireland Labour Party (NILP); although some of his relatives were active in the Orange…...
Mowlam, Marjorie ('Mo')
Mowlam, Marjorie ('Mo') (1949–2005), secretary of state for Northern Ireland, was born in Watford, Hertfordshire, England on 18 September 1949, second of three children (two daughters and a son) of Frank William Mowlam, postal official, and his wife Bettina (Tina) Mary (née Rogers),…...
Nathan, Sir Matthew
Nathan, Sir Matthew (1862–1939), soldier and administrator, was born 3 January 1862, second son among nine children of Jonah Nathan and Miriam Nathan (née Jacobs) of London. Both his parents were Jewish; his father – of German origin and a partner in the paper-making firm of Thomas de…...
Noyek (Noyk), Michael
Noyek (Noyk), Michael (1884–1966), lawyer and republican activist, was born in Dublin, son of Jewish immigrants. Little is known of his parents; his father was from Kovno in Russia and his mother from Berlin. He was educated at the High School and entered…...
O'Brien, Sophie Raffalovich
O'Brien, Sophie Raffalovich (1860–1960), writer and activist, was born in Odessa on 15 January 1860, daughter of Herman Raffalovich , banker, and his wife, Marie. She had two brothers: André, who became well known as a homosexual aesthete, and Ernest, a banker and tsarist agent…...
O'Brien, Thomas
O'Brien, Thomas (1914–74), poet, publisher, and Spanish civil war veteran, was born 24 April 1914 in Dublin, eldest child among two sons and two daughters of Hugh O'Brien and Mary (‘Polly’) O'Brien (née Berkeley). Having attended local Christian Brothers' schools, he left formal…...
O'Faolain, Nuala
O'Faolain, Nuala (1940–2008), journalist, writer and feminist, was born 1 March 1940 in Clontarf, Dublin, the second of nine children (six daughters and three sons) of Terry O'Sullivan (qv) (Terry Phelan), journalist and broadcaster, and…...
O'Malley, Pamela (Kathleen Mary)
O'Malley, Pamela (Kathleen Mary) (1929–2006), bohemian, radical and educationalist, was born in Dublin on 12 July 1929, daughter of Patrick O'Malley, Limerick tea, wine and spirit importer, and his wife Kathleen (née Bonass). Donough O'Malley…...
O'Riordan, Michael (Micheál; Mick)
O'Riordan, Michael (Micheál; Mick) (1917–2006), communist, was born 12 November 1917 at 37 Pope's Quay, Cork city, youngest among three sons and two daughters of Michael O'Riordan, a carter, and his wife Julia (née Creed), a small farmer's daughter and former domestic servant. Despite…...
Phelan, Jim (James Leo)
Phelan, Jim (James Leo) (1895–1966), writer, activist and tramp, was born in Inchicore, Dublin, the third child and eldest son of five surviving children (three daughters and two sons; two others died in childhood) of James Phelan, ironworker at the Inchicore railway works, and his wife…...
Redpath, James
Redpath, James (1833–91), journalist, abolitionist and Land Leaguer, was born 24 August 1833 in Berwick-on-Tweed on the Anglo–Scottish border , eldest of nine children (two sons and two daughters survived to adulthood) of Ninian Davidson Redpath, schoolmaster, and his wife Maria (née…...
Skeffington, Francis Sheehy-
Skeffington, Francis Sheehy- (1878–1916), radical, was born Francis Skeffington on 23 December 1878, in Bailieborough, Co. Cavan, only child of Joseph Bartholomew Skeffington, inspector of schools, and his wife Rose Magorian. He was brought up in Downpatrick, Co. Down. Educated…...
Skeffington, (Johanna) Hanna Sheehy-
Skeffington, (Johanna) Hanna Sheehy- (1877–1946), political activist, was born 24 May 1877 in Kanturk, Co. Cork, eldest among two sons and four daughters of David Sheehy (qv), millowner and later nationalist MP, and Elizabeth (‘Bessie’) Sheehy…...
Synge, John Lighton
Synge, John Lighton (1897–1995), mathematician and theoretical physicist, was born 23 March 1897 in Dublin, youngest among one daughter and three sons of Edward Synge (1859–1939), then land agent in Kingscourt, Co. Cavan, and his wife Ellen Frances (1861–1935), daughter of the…...
Toland, John
Toland, John (1670–1722), freethinker and polemical writer, was probably born in Inishowen, Co. Donegal, on 30 November 1670. Reputed to be the illegitimate son of a catholic priest, Toland may have been baptised ‘Joannes Eugenius’, which he later altered to a pen name, ‘Janus Junius’.…...
Tullio, Paolo Luigi Mario
Tullio, Paolo Luigi Mario (1949–2015), restaurant owner, writer and food critic, was born on 20 August 1949 in Falkirk, Scotland, the only child of Dionisio Tullio, a restaurant owner and his wife Irene (née Fusco). Although Tullio’s parents were Italian, his mother was raised between…...
Tyndall, John
Tyndall, John (1820–93), scientist and mountaineer, was born 2 August 1820 in Leighlinbridge, Co. Carlow, only son among two children of John Tyndall (1792–1847) and Sarah Tyndall (née McAssey; d. 1867). His father came from a family of small landowners in Co. Kilkenny, acted as…...