Barlow, James William
Barlow, James William (1826–1913), historian and writer, was born 21 October 1826 in Co. Dublin, eldest son of the Rev. William Barlow and Catherine Barlow (née Disney). He was marked by his mother’s unhappiness: as a young woman she had been in love with…...
Bell, Alan
Bell, Alan (1857–1920), policeman and resident magistrate, was born in Banagher, King's Co. (Offaly), one of at least two sons of the Rev. James Adamson Bell, Church of Ireland clergyman; his mother's name is unknown. Educated locally, he joined the…...
Berkeley, George
Berkeley, George (1685–1753), philosopher and Church of Ireland bishop of Cloyne, was born 12 March 1685 in or near Kilkenny city, and spent his childhood at Dysart Castle, Thomastown, Co. Kilkenny. Little is known of his parents other than that his father, William Berkeley, came to…...
Burke, Edmund
Burke, Edmund (1730–97), politician and philosopher, was born 12 January 1730 (per the Gregorian calendar) in Dublin, second son among four surviving children of Richard Burke (d. 1761), an attorney of the court of exchequer, and his wife Mary (c. 1702–1770), fourth child and…...
Butler, William Archer
Butler, William Archer (1812?–1848), clergyman and professor of moral philosophy, was second son of Pierce Archer Butler and Anna Maria Butler (née Gallwey); their seven children were brought up as Roman Catholics by their mother, though the father, who had several times been…...
Carpenter, Nathanael
Carpenter, Nathanael (1589–1628), scholar and clergyman, was born 7 February 1589 in Northleigh, Devon, England, where his father, John Carpenter (d. 1621), had a living as a clergyman. No details of his mother are known. He matriculated (June 1605) at St Edmund Hall, Oxford, and…...
Foley, Gerald Robert Edward
Foley, Gerald Robert Edward (1886–1982), soldier and policeman, was born 10 May 1886 at the rectory, Askeaton, Co. Limerick, son of William Foley, the incumbent, and Josephine Foley (née Clarke). After completing his BA at…...
Hermon, Sir John Charles ('Jack')
Hermon, Sir John Charles ('Jack') (1928–2008), chief constable of the RUC (1980–89), was born 23 November 1928 in Castletown, Islandmagee (near Whitehead), Co. Antrim, youngest of four children (three sons and a daughter) of William Rowan Hermon, building contractor, and his wife Agnes…...
Johnstone, Walter Edgeworth-
Johnstone, Walter Edgeworth- (1863–1937), soldier, DMP commissioner, and sportsman, was born at Kingstown, Co. Dublin, the eldest son of Robert Johnstone (1806–85), QC and county court judge, of Laputa, Co. Donegal, and his wife Doris Tivy. In 1838 a…...
Lewis, Clive Staples (‘Jack’)
Lewis, Clive Staples (‘Jack’) (1898–1963), writer, scholar, and Christian apologist, was born 29 November 1898 in Dundela Villas, Belfast, the younger son of Albert James Lewis, police solicitor and unionist activist, and his wife, Florence (Flora) Augusta, daughter of the Rev.…...
Luce, Arthur Aston
Luce, Arthur Aston (1882–1977), clergyman and philosophy professor, was born 21 August 1882 in Gloucester, England, seventh son of the Rev. John James Luce, vicar of St Nicholas church, Gloucester. He was educated initially at Eastbourne College and graduated from…...
Megaw, Basil
Megaw, Basil (1913–2002), archaeologist and folklife scholar, was born in Belfast on 22 June 1913, the third of four sons of Arthur Stanley Megaw, solicitor and writer, and his wife (Helen Isabel) Bertha (née Smith). Arthur Stanley Megaw (1873–1961) was a younger son of Robert Megaw…...
Meredith, James Creed
Meredith, James Creed (1875–1942), judge of the supreme court and writer, was born in Dublin, son of Sir James Creed Meredith, secretary of the Royal University of Ireland from 1880 to 1909, and his third wife, Nellie (née Graves). He had three brothers and two sisters. He began…...
Monck, William Henry Stanley
Monck, William Henry Stanley (1839–1915), philosopher and astronomer, was born 21 April 1839 at Skeirke, Queen's Co. (Laois), third son of Thomas Stanley Monck, curate of Skeirke 1829–50, and Lydia Elinor Monck (née Kennedy). The family moved (1850) to Inistioge, Co. Kilkenny,…...
Nicholson, Ernest Wilson
Nicholson, Ernest Wilson (1938–2013), biblical scholar, was born on 26 September 1938 in Portadown, Co. Armagh, the youngest of three children of Ernest Tedford Nicholson, a soldier and baker, and Veronica Muriel Nicholson. After attending Hart Memorial Primary School in Portadown, he…...
Price, Ivon Henry
Price, Ivon Henry (1866–1931), policeman and army intelligence officer, was born 18 March 1866 in Lucan, Co. Dublin, the son of James Price, a chartered engineer, and his wife Fanny (née Peebles); the family were Church of Ireland. He was educated at St Columba's College,…...
Reed, Sir Andrew
Reed, Sir Andrew (1837–1914), inspector-general of the RIC, was born 26 September 1837 in Galway, the only son of John Reed, local land agent, and his wife Mary, daughter of John Adamson of Moate, Co. Westmeath. His mother died when Andrew was three and his father later remarried…...
Sirr, Henry Charles
Sirr, Henry Charles (1764–1841), town-major of Dublin, was born 25 November 1764, possibly in Dublin castle, as his father, Joseph Sirr (1715–99), was then town major and housed there. His mother was Elizabeth Hall (1730?–1790) from Skelton Castle in Cleveland, Yorkshire. Joseph…...
Sirr, Joseph
This is a co-subject for the entry on Sirr, Henry Charles. View the original entry....
Temple, Sir William
Temple, Sir William (1555–1627), philosopher and provost of TCD, was born in Warwickshire, England, son of Anthony Temple. Educated at Eton, William entered King's College, Cambridge, where he was a fellow, graduating BA (1578) and…...
Toland, John
Toland, John (1670–1722), freethinker and polemical writer, was probably born in Inishowen, Co. Donegal, on 30 November 1670. Reputed to be the illegitimate son of a catholic priest, Toland may have been baptised ‘Joannes Eugenius’, which he later altered to a pen name, ‘Janus…...
Usher, James
Usher, James (c.1720–1772), philosopher and schoolmaster, was born in Co. Dublin, son of a gentleman farmer; nothing else is known of his parents. He was probably a descendant of James (qv) and…...
Warren, Nathaniel
Warren, Nathaniel (c.1737–1796), merchant, MP, and first commissioner of police, was born in Dublin. His parentage is unclear, but a number of Warrens were engaged as merchants and glaziers in the city prior to his birth. Alternatively, he may be the son of Oliver Warren…...
Willcocks, Sir Richard
Willcocks, Sir Richard (1768–1834), yeomanry officer and policeman, was born in 1768 at Palmerston (Palmerstown) near Chapelizod, Co. Dublin. His parents' names are unknown and his own surname is variously given as Willcocks, Wilcox, or Wilcock. He became a Dublin police…...