Brambell, Wilfrid
Brambell, Wilfrid (1912–85), actor, was born Henry Wilfrid Brambell 22 March 1912 at 6 Edenvale Road, Rathgar, Dublin, youngest of three sons of Henry Brambell, clerk in Guinness's brewery, and Edith Brambell (née Marks), an opera singer. He made his first stage appearance at the age of…...
Breen, Dermot H.
Breen, Dermot H. (1924–78), founder of Cork International Film Festival and film censor, was born 18 August 1924 in Waterford, sixth child of James Breen and Brigid Breen. He was educated in Cork at the Presentation Brothers College and at the Provincial College. Initially a…...
Brennan, Denis Gerard
Brennan, Denis Gerard (1927–83), actor and broadcaster, was born 20 June 1927 in Sandyford, Co. Dublin, into a theatrical family, youngest of three children of Patrick Joseph Brennan, farmer, and Eva Jane Brennan (née Hayden), songwriter, broadcaster, and producer of variety…...
Brennan, Martin
Brennan, Martin (1900–56), revolutionary, doctor, politician, and film censor, was born 9 August 1900 in the family home at Rhue, Tubbercurry, Co. Sligo, sixth of thirteen children of Matthew Brennan (d. 1921), farmer and Fenian, and his wife Bridget (d. 1934), teacher, daughter of…...
Brenon, Herbert
Brenon, Herbert (1880–1958), American film director, actor, and producer, was born 13 January 1880 in Dublin, son of Edward St John Brenon, editor and drama critic, of London, and Frances Brenon (née Harris), writer, of Dublin. Young Brenon attended the elite St Paul's School and…...
Brent, George
Brent, George (1904–79), actor, was born George Nolan 15 March 1904 at Main St., Ballinasloe, Co. Galway, son of John Nolan, shopkeeper, and Mary Nolan (née McGuinness). Orphaned in 1915, he moved briefly to New York where he was cared for by an aunt, returning later to Dublin to…...
Brogan, Harry
Brogan, Harry (1905–77), actor, was born 5 May 1905 in Holywood, Co. Down, son of John Brogan, bricklayer and stonemason, and Margaret Brogan (née Hickey). The family moved to 17 Emmet St., Harold's Cross, Dublin, in his infancy. In 1918 he made his first stage appearance with…...
Brooke, Gustavus Vaughan
Brooke, Gustavus Vaughan (1818–66), actor, was born 25 April 1818 at 40 Hardwicke Place, Dublin, eldest among two sons and two daughters of Gustavus Brooke (d. 1827), an unsuccessful property dealer, later county inspector of police for Longford, and a freeman of Dublin, and Frances…...
Brougham, John
Brougham, John (1810–80), actor and playwright, was born 9 May 1810 in Dublin, in what appears to have been a respectable protestant family. His parents’ names are unknown, though his mother was said to be of huguenot extraction. It is possible that he was related to John Brougham (…...
Bruce, William
Bruce, William (1702–55), publisher and writer, was born in Killyleagh, Co. Down, the youngest of the three sons of the Rev. James Bruce (qv) (1660?–1730), and his wife, Margaret (née Trail), of Tullychin (d. 1706). He was educated at the…...
Brugha, Máire MacSwiney
Brugha, Máire MacSwiney (1918–2012), teacher, author and charity worker, was born on 23 June 1918 in Cork to Terence MacSwiney (qv) and Muriel MacSwiney (qv) (née Murphy). From…...
Bulkeley, Sir Richard
Bulkeley, Sir Richard (1660–1710), politician and eccentric philanthropist, was born 17 August 1660 in Dublin. His great-grandfather was Archbishop Lancelot Bulkeley (qv), while his father, Richard Bulkeley (1634–85), MP for…...
Burrowes, Wesley
Burrowes, Wesley (1930–2015), writer, was born in Bangor, Co. Down, on 26 April 1930, one of four children (two boys and two girls) of Harry Burrowes, a first world war veteran and civil servant attached to the Northern Ireland education department, and his wife Carrie Burrowes (née…...
Burrows (Dobbin), Rachel
Burrows (Dobbin), Rachel (1912–87), actress, broadcaster, and teacher, was born 29 April 1912 in Limerick, the daughter of Peter Dobbin, county surveyor for Co. Clare, and Kathleen (née Vance), his second wife. Reared in Kilkishen House, Co. Clare, she was educated at St Brandon's…...
Bushell, Ellen Sarah ('Nellie')
Bushell, Ellen Sarah (‘Nellie’) (1884–1948), silk weaver, usher and activist, was born on 23 January 1884 at 57 Francis Street, Dublin, to Edward Bushell (d. 1904), a silk weaver, and his wife Ellen (née Walshe). Bushell’s mother was dead by 1901 and Edward had…...
Butler, Isaac
Butler, Isaac (1689/90?–1755), almanac maker, botanist, and antiquary, was by 1725 in business as a bookseller and publisher in Patrick Street, Dublin; he was a quarter-brother of the printers’ guild (1728–31). His first almanac was Advice from the stars (1725), which he…...
Byers, Margaret
Byers, Margaret (1832–1912), educationist, suffragist, and philanthropist, was born 15 April 1832 in Windsor Hill, Rathfriland, Co. Down, fourth child and only daughter of Andrew Morrow , farmer and mill operator, and Margaret Morrow (née Herron). After the death (c.1840…...
Byrne, Charles
Byrne, Charles (1761–83), giant, was born in Littlebridge, Co. Londonderry, of an Irish father and a Scottish mother. All his relatives were of normal height and his growth was caused by a tumour on his pituitary gland. By August 1780 he was said to be 8 ft (2.4 m) tall, with his…...
Byrne, Patrick
Byrne, Patrick (1740/41–1814), printer, bookseller, and United Irishman, had a flourishing business in Dublin, at 35 College Green (1779–85) and 108 Grafton Street (1785–99). Byrne's business was probably the largest of its kind in Ireland in the eighteenth century. One indication…...
Campbell, Henry James
Campbell, Henry James (1813–89), benefactor of Campbell College, was probably born in Newtownards, Co. Down, second son among two sons and two daughters of Henry Campbell (d. 1814) and his wife Elizabeth, daughter of Michael Campbell of Ballyalton, Co. Down. He was apprenticed to…...
Campbell, Patrick Gordon
Campbell, Patrick Gordon (1913–80), 3rd Baron Glenavy , journalist, wit, and television personality, was born 6 June 1913 in Dublin, the eldest of the three children (two sons and a daughter) of Gordon Campbell (qv) and his…...
Campbell, Robert
Campbell, Robert (1804–79), trader, businessman, and philanthropist, was born 12 February 1804 on a 180-acre farm at Aghalane, near Plumbridge in the Glenelly valley, Co. Tyrone, the youngest of four sons and two daughters of Hugh Campbell (c.1748–1810) and his second wife,…...
Carey, Mathew
Carey, Mathew (1760–1839), author, bookseller and publisher, was born 28 January 1760 in Dublin, one of five sons to Christopher Carey, a baker who prospered provisioning the British navy, and Mary Carey (née Sheridan). Small and lame from infancy (having been dropped by his nurse),…...
Carey, Patrick
Carey, Patrick (1916–94), film-maker, was born Gerard Patrick Carey 5 September 1916 in Streatham, London, the youngest of four children of Cork-born William Denis Carey (d. 1959), a revenue commissioner (1923–44; chairman 1939–44), and May Frances (Wilkinson) Carey (d. 1966) from…...
Carlile, Anne Jane
Carlile, Anne Jane (1775–1864), temperance pioneer and philanthropist, was born 8 April 1775 in Rooskey, Co. Monaghan, the youngest child of David Hamill , a farmer and linen merchant, and Martha Hamill (née Armstrong). Both her father and her brother John were connected with the…...