Gallagher, Bridget Ena ('Bridie')
Gallagher, Bridget Ena ('Bridie') (1924–2012), singer, was born on 7 September 1924 near Creeslough, Co. Donegal, to Jim Gallagher and his wife Biddy (née Sweeney). Bridie (as she was always known) had three older brothers, five older sisters and one younger sister; the family…...
Gallagher, Rory
Gallagher, Rory (1948–95), rock guitarist, eldest son of Daniel and Monica Gallagher, was born 2 March 1948 in Ballyshannon, Co. Donegal, although his family soon moved south to Cork, where he spent his childhood. He was educated locally but his passion for music overwhelmed any…...
Garvey, Máire (Mary) McDonnell
Garvey, Máire (Mary) McDonnell - (1927–2009), traditional musician and writer, was born 10 July 1927 on a farm in Tobracken, near Ballaghaderreen, Co. Roscommon, one of three children (a girl and two boys) of James McDonnell and his wife Annie Theresa (née Talbot). As well as farming…...
Gately, Stephen Patrick
Gately, Stephen Patrick (1976–2009), pop singer and entertainer, was born 17 March 1976 at the Rotunda hospital, Dublin, third son and fourth child among four sons and one daughter of Martin Francis Gately, house painter and decorator, and Margaret Gately (née Martin), homemaker and…...
Geary (Garry), Thomas Augustine (Timothy)
Geary (Garry), Thomas Augustine (Timothy) (1775–1801), composer, was born in Dublin in 1775 (his date of birth is sometimes given as 1772), the son of Timothy Garry (senior). Geary (who signed himself ‘Timothy Garry’ at the age of fifteen) later adopted the first names Thomas Augustine…...
Gilbert, Eliza Rosana (‘Lola Montez’)
Gilbert, Eliza Rosana (‘Lola Montez’) (1820–61), dancer and adventuress, was born in spring 1820 in Co. Limerick, daughter of Edward Gilbert, a British soldier serving in Co. Cork, and Eliza Oliver, illegitimate daughter of Charles Silver Oliver, MP; her parents married around the…...
Gill, Earl William
Gill, Earl William (1932–2014), musician and showband leader, was born on 14 October 1932 in East Wall, Dublin, one of two children of William (‘Billy’) Gill, a pianist and accordionist at the Queen’s Theatre, Dublin, and Mary Gill (née Hunter), a cellist. According to Earl, his unusual…...
Gill, Henry Joseph
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Gill, Michael Henry
Gill, Michael Henry (1794?–1879), printer, was born c.1794, son of Henry Gill (d. 1797?) and his wife Catherine (née O'Neill). Henry, whose family probably originated in King's Co., was a woollen draper in Skinners’ Row, Dublin, and in the early 1790s was a member of the…...
Gill, Michael Joseph
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Gill, Mollie (Ní Giolla, Máire)
Gill, Mollie (Ní Giolla, Máire) (1891–1977), camogie player and administrator, was born Mary Anne Gill on 24 March 1891 at Murphystown, near Leopardstown, in south Co. Dublin, the daughter of James Gill, a shoe-maker, and his wife Jane (neé Daly). Census records suggest that she was the…...
Gilmore, Patrick Sarsfield
Gilmore, Patrick Sarsfield (1829–92), musician and bandmaster, was born 25 December 1829 at Ballygar, Co. Galway, son of Patrick J. Gilmore, stonemason, and Mary Gilmore (née Sharkey). Initially destined for the priesthood, he was sent to work in a shop in Athlone, Co. Westmeath,…...
Giordani, Tommaso
Giordani, Tommaso (c.1733–1806), composer, was born at Naples, Italy, elder son among two sons and two daughters of Giuseppe Giordani, singer and librettist, and Antonia Giordani. When his father formed a small opera company he toured around Europe in the 1740s, where he…...
Glover, James Mackey (‘Jimmy’)
Glover, James Mackey (‘Jimmy’) (1861–1931), music director and composer, was born 18 June 1861 at Kingstown (Dún Laoghaire), Co. Dublin, son of James Mackey, town commissioner, and Mary Jane Mackey (née Glover). His father was a Fenian who lost his official position after 1868.…...
Glover, John William
Glover, John William (1815–99), conductor, organist, composer, and educator, was born 19 June 1815 in Dublin. He was the last of the circle of Irish musicians that included his friends Michael Balfe (qv),…...
Goodman, James (Séamus Gudman)
Goodman, James (Séamus Gudman) (1828–96), clergyman, Irish-language scholar, and music collector, was born 22 September 1828 at Ballyameen near Dingle, Co. Kerry, second son among five sons and four daughters of Thomas Chute Goodman, clergyman, and Mary Goodman (née Gorham). Brought up…...
Gowan, Thomas
Gowan, Thomas (1631–83), presbyterian minister and philosophy teacher, was born in Caldermuir, Scotland, an undeveloped region on the western border of Edinburghshire. His parentage is not known. He studied at the College of Edinburgh, where he graduated…...
Graham, William
Graham, William (1839–1911), academic, writer, philosopher, and economist, was born at Saintfield, Co. Down, son of Alexander Graham, farmer and horse-dealer, and Maria Graham (née Crawford). Educated at the Educational Institute, Dundalk, on a scholarship, he later worked as a…...
Graisberry, Daniel
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Graisberry, Daniel
Graisberry, Daniel (c.1740–1785), printer, was the son of William Graisberry, printer, of Drumcondra, Dublin, and Elizabeth Graisberry. Admitted to the Guild of St Luke (24 August 1775) after completing his apprenticeship under the king's printer, Hugh…...
Graisberry, Ruth
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Greene, Harry Plunket
Greene, Harry Plunket (1865–1936), singer, teacher, and author, was born 24 June 1865 at his parents’ home, 49 St Stephen's Green, Dublin, son of Richard Jonas Greene, barrister, and Louisa Lillias (neé Plunket), writer of children's stories and fourth daughter of John, 3rd Baron…...
Greevy, Bernadette Josephine
Greevy, Bernadette Josephine (1937–2008), classical singer, was born 3 July 1937 at 28 Vernon Avenue, Clontarf, Dublin, sixth among seven children of Patrick Joseph Greevy, an insurance official, and his wife Josephine Frances (née Miller); the family resided at 33 Vernon Gardens,…...
Gregg, John Robert
Gregg, John Robert (1867–1948), shorthand inventor and promoter, was born in Shantonagh, Co. Monaghan, youngest child among four sons and a daughter of George Gregg, stationmaster at Rockcorry, and Margaret Gregg (née Johnston). The family moved to Rockcorry when John was five. A…...
Grierson, George
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