Bathe (Bath), John
Bathe (Bath), John (1612–49), Jesuit priest, was born in Drogheda on 23 June 1612, the son of Alderman Christopher Bathe, merchant, and perhaps at some time mayor, of Drogheda, and his wife, Catherine Warine; his uncle, Robert Bathe, was a Jesuit priest in the town. He had at…...
Bathe, William
Bathe, William (1564–1614), diplomat, author, and Jesuit, was born in Drumcondra castle on Easter Sunday 1564, son of John Bathe (d. 1586), Irish solicitor general, chancellor of the exchequer, and grandson of James Bathe (qv), chief…...
Battersby, William Joseph
Battersby, William Joseph (1794/5–1873), catholic bookseller and writer, is first mentioned in 1825, in Wilson's Dublin Directory, as a printer at 33 Winetavern Street, Dublin. He was to flourish in the 1830s, 1840s, and 1850s, a period of rapidly growing catholic…...
Beaufort, Daniel Augustus
Beaufort, Daniel Augustus (1739–1821), clergyman, architect, and cartographer, was born 1 October 1739 in London, son of Daniel Cornelius Beaufort and Esther Beaufort (née Gougeon), members of the huguenot community. The family moved to Ireland when Daniel's father became chaplain…...
Becga
Becga (7th cent.), anchoress and reputed foundress of Hartlepool, Northumbria, is of obscure origins, but she is thought to have been attached to a Leinster dynasty. Settling as an anchoress in Cumberland, where she is known as ‘St Bee’, she established an ascetic community on…...
Bedell, William
Bedell, William (1571–1642), scholar and churchman, was born in late December 1571 at Black Notley, Essex, England, second son of John Bedell and his wife, Elizabeth Elliston, and entered Emmanuel College, Cambridge, in 1584, the year of its foundation. He graduated in 1588, took his…...
Bellamy, George Anne
Bellamy, George Anne (1731?–1788), actress, was born in Fingal, Co. Dublin, illegitimate daughter of James O'Hara (qv), 2nd baron of Tyrawley, then British ambassador to Lisbon, and a Miss Seal, an actress of quaker extraction from Kent. Her mother married a…...
Bell, David
Bell, David (d. 1890), presbyterian minister and Fenian activist, was born near Mosside, Co. Antrim, son of Thomas Bell, seceding presbyterian minister at Mosside for forty-seven years, and Jane Bell (d. 1852; maiden name unknown); they had also at least one daughter. He was…...
Bellett, John Gifford
Bellett, John Gifford (1794?×1797?–1864), a founder of the Plymouth Brethren, was born 19 July (the year is uncertain), probably in Frederick St., Dublin, eldest son among three sons and a daughter of John Bellett, a wealthy merchant, and his second wife Anne (née Dyer). The boy…...
Bellew, Dominic
Bellew, Dominic (1745–1813), catholic bishop of Killala, was born in May 1745, probably in Co. Louth. Since the forebears of his mother Judith (née Byrne) were the McDermotts of Thomastown, and his father probably a Castletown Bellew, he was accorded descent from two of the chief…...
Belrieu, Jacques de
Belrieu, Jacques de (c.1630–1719), Seigneur de St Laurans, Baron de Virazel , huguenot colonist, was born at Bordeaux, France, and married (1651) Marie de Gaumont, with whom he had at least three children: Daniel, Charles, and Marie Ann. Virazel became a lawyer and…...
Bender, Philipp Philip Phineas
Bender, Philipp Philip Phineas (c.1831–1901), Jewish minister and teacher, was born in Germany, and moved (c.1851) to Hull, England, where he was appointed minister to the Jewish community. He settled (1862) in Dublin and was appointed (1863–81) a preacher at…...
Benignus (Benén, and other by-forms)
Benignus (Benén, and other by-forms) (d. 467/8), bishop and disciple of St Patrick, was according to the genealogies son of Sescnén, descendant of Tadc son of Cian of Éoganacht Chaisil. In the works of the Patrician hagiographers Muirchú (qv)…...
Bennis, Elizabeth (Eliza)
Bennis, Elizabeth (Eliza) (1725–1802), methodist activist and diarist, was probably born in Limerick, one of two surviving daughters of Isaac and Alice (née Mitchell) Patten . The Pattens were presbyterian, and Elizabeth had a conventionally pious upbringing and evidently received…...
Benson, Charles William
Benson, Charles William (1836–1919), clergyman and schoolmaster, was born 12 July 1836, eldest son of Dr John Benson of Castlecomer, Co. Kilkenny, and his wife Elizabeth, daughter of Capt. Fitzgerald, RN, of Waterford. Educated at Dr Price's school…...
Berchán
Berchán (6th cent.?), founder and first abbot of Cluain Sasta (Clonsast, Co. Offaly) and saint in the Irish tradition, appears to be at the centre of an extensive network of interlocking cults. The genealogies represent him as the son of Muiredach son of Daig and of Fiamain daughter…...
Beresford, George de la Poer
Beresford, George de la Poer (1765–1841), Church of Ireland bishop, was born 19 July 1765 in Dublin, second son of the Rt Hon. John Beresford (qv) (1738–1805) and his wife Anne Constantia, daughter of Gen.…...
Beresford, Lord John George de la Poer
Beresford, Lord John George de la Poer (1773–1862), Church of Ireland archbishop of Armagh, was born 22 November 1773 in Tyrone House, Dublin, third son (among four sons and two daughters) of George de la Poer Beresford (1735–1800), 2nd earl of Tyrone and 1st marquess of Waterford…...
Beresford, Marcus Gervais
Beresford, Marcus Gervais (1801–85), Church of Ireland archbishop of Armagh, was born in Dublin 14 February 1801, second son in a family of three sons and five daughters of George de la Poer Beresford (qv), bishop of…...
Beresford, William
Beresford, William (1743–1819), 1st Baron Decies, Church of Ireland archbishop of Tuam, was born 16 April 1743, an illegitimate son of Marcus Beresford, first earl of Tyrone (1694–1763). He entered Trinity College Dublin on 18 December 1759, and there graduated Bachelor of Arts in 1763…...
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…...
Bermingham, Francis
Bermingham, Francis (c.1602–c.1672), Franciscan priest, was born in Athenry, Co. Galway. Educated on the Continent, he joined the Franciscan order, where he was known as Franciscus a Galvia (Francis of Galway). In 1636 he left Spain to complete his…...
Bermingham (Mac Fheorais), William
Bermingham (Mac Fheorais), William (d. 1312), archbishop of Tuam, was second son of Meiler de Bermingham, lord of Athenry. Though details of his early ecclesiastical career are exiguous, he did receive the church of Knockraffen (Knockgraffon parish, Co. Tipperary) in Cashel when he was…...
Bernard, Agnes Morrogh (Mother Mary Arsenius)
Bernard, Agnes Morrogh (Mother Mary Arsenius) (1842–1932), nun, teacher, and founder of Providence Mill, Foxford, Co. Mayo, was born 24 February 1842 in Cheltenham, Gloucestershire, the eldest child of John Morrogh , of a prominent catholic family from Glanmire, Cork, and Frances…...
Bernard (Barnard), Nicholas
Bernard (Barnard), Nicholas (d. 1661), Church of Ireland clergyman and writer, was born in England about the start of the seventeenth century. He entered Emmanuel College, Cambridge in May 1617, graduating BA (1621) and…...