Carney, Francis (‘Frank’)
Carney, Francis (‘Frank’) (1896–1932), soldier and politician, was born 25 April 1896 in Abbey Street, Enniskillen, Co. Fermanagh, son of Edward Carney, fisherman, and Eliza Carney (née McCaffrey). Details of his education are not available. At the outbreak of the first world war (…...
Carter, Cornelius
Carter, Cornelius (d. 1734), printer, was admitted to the Dublin printers’ guild in 1696 but was never sworn and, though listed until 1716, paid no quarterage. His press was housed at different addresses in Fishamble Street (1696–1727). He began his career as a pamphleteer and…...
Casement, Thomas Hugh (‘Tom’)
Casement, Thomas Hugh (‘Tom’) (1862/3–1939), soldier and adventurer, is believed to have been born aboard a ship bound for Boulogne (where his birth was registered on 3 January 1863), third child and second son among one daughter and three sons of Roger Casement (1819–77), a retired…...
Caulfeild, Sir Toby (Tobias)
Caulfeild, Sir Toby (Tobias) (1565–1627), 1st Baron Charlemont , soldier and administrator, was baptised 2 December 1565 in Great Milton, Oxfordshire, England. His father's name is registered as Alexander Calfehill. He became a soldier, serving under Frobisher, Lord Howard, and then…...
Chaigneau, William
Chaigneau, William (1709–81), army agent and novelist, was born 23 December 1709 at Back Key, Dublin, and baptised at St John's, Dublin, on Christmas eve, second son among thirteen children of John Chaigneau, vintner, and Margaret Chaigneau (née Martyr), both of Dublin and of huguenot…...
Chamberlain, Sir Neville Francis Fitzgerald
Chamberlain, Sir Neville Francis Fitzgerald (1856–1944), soldier, inspector general of the RIC, and originator of snooker, was born 13 January 1856 at Upton Park, Upton, Buckinghamshire, England, only son of Lt-col. Charles Francis Falcon Chamberlain of the Indian army and Marion Ormsby…...
Chambers, John
Chambers, John (1754–1837), printer and United Irishman, was born in Dublin in January 1754, the son of a wine merchant and his wife, Elinor, daughter of Charles Carter of Chapelizod, Co. Dublin. Apprenticed to a printer by his widowed mother (1 July 1767), he was printing on his…...
Charlton, John
Charlton, John (d. 1353), lord of Powys, soldier, and administrator, was the son of Robert Charlton of Shropshire (d. 1300). He came into possession of his inheritance in 1306 and in 1307 acted as proxy for the men of Salop in the Carlisle parliament. He was a member of Edward II's…...
Chesney, Charles Cornwallis
Chesney, Charles Cornwallis (1826–76), military theorist and historian, was born 29 September 1826 at Packolet, near Kilkeel, Co. Down, son of Capt. Charles Cornwallis Chesney, formerly an officer in the East India Company's Bengal artillery. After his father died (1830), his…...
Chesney, Francis Rawdon
Chesney, Francis Rawdon (1789–1872), soldier and explorer, was born 16 March 1789 at Ballyveagh, near Annalong, Co. Down, eldest son of Capt. Alexander Chesney, coastguard officer, of Ballymena, Co. Antrim, and his second wife, Jane (née Wilson), of Ballymena. Capt. Chesney had been…...
Chetwood, William Rufus
Chetwood, William Rufus (d. 1766), prompter, publisher, and author, was most probably born in England. Little is known of his early life, but his own accounts, and the fact that he wrote several seafaring adventures, indicate that he had travelled around the world as a young man,…...
Chichester, Arthur
Chichester, Arthur (1563–1625), soldier, politician, and lord deputy of Ireland, was born at Raleigh, Devon, in May 1563, the second son (of the seven sons and nine daughters) of Sir John Chichester of Raleigh and his wife, Gertrude, the daughter of Sir William Courtenay of Powderham…...
Chichester, Arthur
Chichester, Arthur (1606–75), 1st earl of Donegall , soldier, and administrator, was born 16 June 1606, eldest son of Edward Chichester (brother of Arthur Chichester (qv) (1563–1625)) and his wife Anne (née Coplestone) of Devon. He…...
Churchill, John
Churchill, John (1650–1722), 1st duke of Marlborough and general, was born in Devon, son of Sir Winston Churchill (qv), a commissioner of the 1662–3 court of claims, and educated at St Paul's School. Commissioned (1667) as an…...
Church, Sir Richard
Church, Sir Richard (1784–1873), soldier and philhellene, was born 23 February 1784 in Cork city, fourth among seven children of Matthew Church, a quaker merchant from Cork, and Anne Church (née Dearman), originally of Darlington, Co. Durham, England. After he ran away from school…...
Clancy, Basil
Clancy, Basil (1907–96), publisher, magazine editor, and journalist, was born Anthony Sebastian Clancy in Coalisland, Co. Tyrone, on 7 July 1907, the seventh of the twelve children of Patrick J. Clancy, JP (d. 1947), linen merchant and…...
Clare, Richard de
Clare, Richard de (d. 1318), magnate, was the son of Thomas de Clare (qv), who was a younger brother of Gilbert de Clare, earl of Gloucester and of Hertford. Thomas had in 1276 received a speculative grant of Thomond (the rump of the O'…...
Clare, Richard de (‘Richard fitz Gilbert’, ‘Strongbow’)
Clare, Richard de (‘Richard fitz Gilbert’, ‘Strongbow’) (a. 1127–1176), earl of Pembroke and Strigoil and lord of Leinster, and one of the pivotal figures of Irish history, was eldest son of Gilbert de Clare, earl of Pembroke, and his wife Elizabeth, daughter of Robert de…...
Clare, Thomas de
Clare, Thomas de (c.1245–1287), magnate, was the second son of Richard de Clare, earl of Gloucester and of Hereford, and Maud, daughter of John de Lacy, earl of Lincoln. He attended Oxford university with his younger brother Bogo from 1257 to 1259. Initially destined for a…...
Clarke, George
Clarke, George (1661–1736), Williamite secretary at war, was born 7 May 1661 in Pell Mell, London, son of Sir William Clarke, secretary for war, and his wife Dorothy Hilliard (Hyliard) of Hampshire. His father died from wounds received during a naval engagement at Harwich during the…...
Cleburne, Patrick Ronayne
Cleburne, Patrick Ronayne (1828–64), confederate general, was born 17 March 1828 at Annbrook, near Queenstown, Co. Cork, son of Joseph Cleburne, physician, and Mary Ann Cleburne (née Ronayne). He was educated locally, and at 18 was apprenticed to a local chemist, a trade for which…...
Clery, Sir (Cornelius) Francis
Clery, Sir (Cornelius) Francis (1838–1926), soldier, was born 13 February 1838 at 2 Sidney Place, Cork, fourth son of James Clery, wine merchant of Cork, and Catherine Clery (née Walsh). Educated at Clongowes and Sandhurst, he became an infantry officer (1858), and after two years…...
Clifford, Robert
Clifford, Robert (fl. 1690s), soldier and apparent traitor, has left no record of his origin, parentage, or early military career. Clifford was with James II's (qv) forces assembled on Salisbury Plain in response to…...
Clifford, Sir Conyers
Clifford, Sir Conyers (d. 1599), soldier and administrator, was the eldest son of George Clifford and Ursula Clifford (née Finch) of Bobbing Court, Kent. He distinguished himself under the command of the earl of Essex (qv) in the…...
Clissmann, Helmut E.
Clissmann, Helmut E. (1911–97), German intelligence officer, was born at Aachen in northern Germany. His association with Ireland dates from 1930, when he made his first visit to Dublin as a member of the left-wing nationalist Young Prussian League. Through its link with romantic…...