Byrne, Sir Joseph Aloysius
Byrne, Sir Joseph Aloysius (1874–1942), soldier and administrator, was born 2 October 1874 in Co. Londonderry, son of Dr Joseph Byrne, DL, a catholic physician of Londonderry, and Emily Byrne (née Egan). He was educated at St George's College…...
Byrne, Vincent (‘Vinnie’)
Byrne, Vincent (‘Vinnie’) (1900–92), revolutionary and soldier, was born 23 November 1900 in the national maternity hospital, Holles Street, Dublin, the elder among one son and one daughter of Vincent Byrne, carpenter, of 33 Denzille Street (latterly Fenian Street), and his wife…...
Cahill, Joe (Joseph)
Cahill, Joe (Joseph) (1920–2004), republican paramilitary, was born 10 May 1920 in Divis Street, west Belfast, the eldest of thirteen children (two died in infancy) of Joseph Cahill, printer, and his wife Josephine. One brother, Tom, became an active…...
Cahill, Mabel Esmonde
Cahill, Mabel (1863–1905), tennis player, was born 2 April 1863 in Ballyragget, Co. Kilkenny, twelfth of thirteen children of Michael Cahill, gentleman landowner and barrister-at-law, of Ballyconra House, Ballyragget, and his first wife, Margaret (née Magan), Ballymore, Co. Westmeath (…...
Cahill, Pearse
Cahill, Pearse (1917–2011), aviator, businessman and race driver, was born Matthew Pearse Cahill (in honour of the executed leader of the 1916 rising) in Dublin on 26 January 1917, son of Hugh Cahill (1883–1966), of Glasnevin, Dublin, and his wife Caroline (née O'Connor). The owner-…...
Caldwell, John ('Johnny')
Caldwell, John ('Johnny') (1938–2009), boxer, was born on 7 May 1938 at 63 Cyprus Street, Belfast, the son of John Caldwell, a joiner, and Bridget Caldwell (née Maguire). During his education at St Comghall's School, Divis Street, his diminutive stature attracted bullying, and at…...
Cantwell, Noel (Eucharia)
Cantwell, Noel (Eucharia) (1932–2005), footballer and cricketer, was born 28 December 1932 at 2 Illen Villas, Mardyke Walk, Cork, one of five sons and a daughter of Michael Cantwell, a master tailor, and his wife Hannah (née Daly) (d. 1941). He was educated at St Joseph's national…...
Caradoc (Cradock), John Hobart
Caradoc (Cradock), John Hobart (1799–1873), 2nd Baron Howden , diplomat, soldier, and MP, was born 11 October 1799 at St Stephen's Green, Dublin, the only son among three children of John Francis Caradoc (qv),…...
Carey, John Joseph ('Johnny', 'Jackie')
Carey, John Joseph ('Johnny', 'Jackie') (1919–95), footballer, was born 23 February 1919 at 4 Adelaide Place, Lower Baggot Street, Dublin, the son of John Carey, a van driver, and Sarah Carey (née Byrne). Educated at Westland Row CBS, he…...
Carr, Joseph (Joe) Benedict
Carr, Joseph (Joe) Benedict (1922–2004), amateur golfer and businessman, was born 18 February 1922 in his grandmother's house in Inchicore, Dublin, the fifth of seven children of George Waters and his wife Mary ('Missie') (née McDonough). His parents were in financial difficulties…...
Christle, Joseph Patrick
Christle, Joseph Patrick (1927–98), republican, college lecturer, and sports administrator, was born 4 November 1927 in Dublin, into the large family (which included at least seven sons, of whom he was the fourth) of James Christle, a small farmer from Co. Offaly who moved to…...
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…...
Close, Leo St John
Close, Leo St John (1934–77), paraplegic athlete, was born 20 October 1934, the son of Leo Joseph Close, inspector of schools, and his wife, Kathleen Mary, née O'Connor, who lived at 16 Berea Terrace, Dublin. He was educated at Belvedere College, Dublin, Mount St Joseph Abbey, Roscrea,…...
Colleran, Enda
Colleran, Enda (1942–2004), Gaelic footballer, was born 2 May 1942 in Moylough, Co. Galway, the fifth of six children of James Colleran, farmer, of Moylough, and his wife Ellen (née Wilson), a national school teacher. Born into a strong Gaelic football family, with three older…...
Collins, Dominic
Collins, Dominic (c.1566–1602), soldier, Jesuit, and martyr, was born in Youghal, Co. Cork, son of John Collins, previously mayor of Youghal, and Felicity Collins (née O'Dril or O'Duala). In the aftermath of the passing of the acts of supremacy and uniformity (1560) he was born…...
Collins, Michael
Collins, Michael (1890–1922), revolutionary leader, chairman of the Irish provisional government, and commander-in-chief of the provisional government army, was born 16 October 1890 at Woodfield, Sam's Cross, west Co. Cork, last born of three sons and five daughters of Michael Collins,…...
Colohan, John Fallon Sydney
Colohan, John Fallon Sydney (1862–1932), physician and pioneering motorist, was born in Dublin, son of James Colohan, bank manager; nothing is known of his mother. He studied at the Edinburgh Medical School, and was admitted…...
Conneff, Thomas Patrick
Conneff, Thomas Patrick (1866–1912), athlete and soldier, was born in Kilmurry, Clane, Co. Kildare, the son of James Conneff and his wife Marcella (née Rourke). The Conneff family were blacksmiths plying their trade in the neighbourhood of Clane, in the shadow of the Jesuit college at…...
Connolly, Joe
Connolly, Joe (1922–2008), community activist and politician, was born 11 March 1922 at 5 Tolka Avenue, North Dock ward, Dublin, son of John Connolly, an engine driver, and his wife Esther (née McNally). Growing up in Lusk, Co. Dublin, and later in the East Wall area of the north-…...
Conway, Thomas
Conway, Thomas (1733–95), French army officer and governor of Mauritius, was born on 27 February 1733 at Templenoe, near Nedeen, Co. Kerry, elder son of James Conway (1711–87), a French army officer, and his wife, Julia, daughter of Denis Mahony of Dromore. The Conways and Mahonys…...
Costello, Dudley
Costello, Dudley (c.1600–1667), confederate colonel and tory, was born in the barony of Costello and Gallen, Co. Mayo. He may be the same Col. Dudley Costello who supported Owen Roe O'Neill (qv) after the…...
Costello, Michael Joseph (‘Mickey Joe’)
Costello, Michael Joseph (‘Mickey Joe’) (1904–86), army officer and public servant, was born 2 July 1904 in Cloughjordan, Co. Tipperary, the eldest of five boys and three girls (three of the children died of influenza in 1917) of Denis Costello of Kilmihill, Co. Clare, and Teresa…...
Cotter, Sir James
Cotter, Sir James (c.1630–1705), soldier and Jacobite, was second of two sons and three daughters of Edmond Cotter, gentleman, of Ballinsperry, Carrigtohill, Co. Cork, and his wife Ellish, daughter of John Connell of Barryscourt, Carrigtohill. James Cotter appears to have…...
Courtney, Thaddeus Cornelius (‘Ted’)
Courtney, Thaddeus Cornelius (‘Ted’) (1895–1961), engineer, army officer, and businessman, was born at Cork on 13 December 1895, the elder son of Timothy Courtney of Co. Kerry, pensioner of the RIC, and Ellen Courtney (née Shea) of…...
Crean, Thomas Joseph
Crean, Thomas Joseph (1873–1923), rugby player, military doctor, and VC holder, was born 19 April 1873 in Morrison's Hotel, Dawson Street, Dublin, the second son and fifth of the eight children of Michael Theobald Crean, barrister of the Irish land commission, and his wife, Emma,…...