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…...
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…...
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…...
Cianán
Cianán (d. 489) of Damliac (Duleek, Co. Meath) was one of the bishops who succeeded St Patrick (qv). The saint's genealogies give his descent through Sétnae, son of Tadc, son of Cian, son of…...
Ciar
Ciar (d. 681), foundress and first abbess of Cell Chéire, and saint in the Irish tradition, was closely associated with north Munster, especially the territories of Múscraige Tíre (on the shores of Lough Derg) and Arada Tíre (barony of Owney and Arra, Co. Tipperary). Ciar's father…...
Ciarán
Ciarán of Clonmacnoise (c.512–545) was the founder of the greatest monastic establishment of early Christian Ireland after Armagh. The Latin and Irish Lives of Ciarán have been taken to derive from a ninth-century recension kept at Clonmacnoise, their historical value…...
Ciarán
Ciarán of Saigir (5th cent.) was a monastic founder who became patron saint of the diocese of Ossory. According to the various recensions of his Life, he was born on Clear Island off the south-west coast of Cork, a member of the Osraige on the side of his father Lugna, and of the…...
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…...
Clotworthy, Upton
This is a co-subject for the entry on Upton, Arthur. View the original entry....
Cockburn, Sir George
Cockburn, Sir George (1764–1847), soldier, traveller, writer, and antiquary, was born 18 February 1764 in Dublin, only child of George Cockburn (d. 1775), a Scottish businessman who settled in Ireland in 1739 and married Ann (d. 1769), second of two children of Charles Caldwell,…...
Cóelfhind (mod. Ir. Caelainn, Caoilinn)
Cóelfhind (mod. Ir. Caelainn, Caoilinn) (6th cent.), foundress of Termonmore and saint in the Irish tradition, was (according to the genealogies) daughter of Cóel son of Finchad of the Ciarraige Aí of Connacht, and Medb daughter of Garbán, who belonged to the Uí Saithgil line of…...