Baldwin, Richard
Baldwin, Richard (1668?–1758), provost of TCD (1717–58), was born in Athy, Co. Carlow (sic in Alumni Dubl.), son of Richard Baldwin, a gentleman of Athy. Educated at Kilkenny school under Mr Hinton, he entered TCD aged…...
Bale, John
Bale, John (1495–1563), protestant writer and Church of Ireland bishop of Ossory, was born 21 November 1495 in the village of Cove, near Dunwich, Suffolk, England. He entered the Carmelite house at Norwich and began studying at Cambridge (probably Jesus College) in 1514, and was…...
Balfour, Arthur James
Balfour, Arthur James (1848–1930), chief secretary for Ireland (1887–91), was born 25 July 1848 at Whittingehame, East Lothian, Scotland, eldest son among five sons and three daughters of James Maitland Balfour (1820–56), country gentleman and MP, and Lady Blanche Harriet Cecil (…...
Balfour, Gerald William
Balfour, Gerald William (1853–1945), chief secretary for Ireland, was born 9 April 1853 in Edinburgh, fourth son of James Maitland Balfour, country gentleman and MP, and Lady Blanche Harriet Cecil, daughter of the 2nd marquis of Salisbury. Educated at Eton and Trinity College,…...
Balfour, Mary E.
Balfour, Mary E. (fl. 1789–1810), poet, was born on 24 January; one source gives the year as 1755. However, if – as seems likely – she was the eldest daughter of John Balfour (who seems to have been a doctor in Derry city before becoming a clergyman in 1789, and who…...
Ball, John Thomas
Ball, John Thomas (1815–98), lord chancellor of Ireland and MP, was born 24 July 1815 in Portmarnock, Co. Dublin, eldest of six sons and four daughters of Maj. Benjamin Marcus Ball and Elizabeth Ball (née Feltus). He was educated at Dr Smith's school, Rutland Square, Dublin, and…...
Ball, Sir Charles Bent
Ball, Sir Charles Bent (1851–1916), surgeon, was born 21 February 1851 in Dublin, third and youngest son among seven children of Robert Ball (qv), naturalist, and Amelia Gresley Ball (née Hellicar). He entered…...
Ball, Sir Robert Stawell
Ball, Sir Robert Stawell (1840–1913), astronomer and mathematician, was born 1 July 1840 at Granby Row, Dublin, son of Robert Ball (qv), LLD, curator of the museum at…...
Ball, Walter
Ball, Walter (c.1538–1598), merchant and philanthropist, was the eldest of the three sons of Bartholomew Ball (d. 1567?), merchant, and his wife, Margaret (qv) (née Bermingham). Prospering in business, Walter Ball drew income…...
Barber, Samuel
Barber, Samuel (1738?–1811), presbyterian minister and radical, was born in the parish of Killead, Co. Antrim, younger son of John and Sarah Barber, farmers. He entered Glasgow University in 1757 and graduated MA in 1759. On 28 August 1761 he…...
Barbour, Sir John Milne
Barbour, Sir John Milne (1868–1951), industrialist and politician, was born 4 January 1868 at The Fort, Dunmurry, near Lisburn, Co. Antrim, son of John Doherty Barbour (chairman of one of Ulster's biggest flax-spinning firms) and Elizabeth Law Milne Barbour of Edinburgh. He was…...
Bardin, Charles
Bardin, Charles (c.1788-1841), clergyman and producer of instructive literature, was born in Dublin, son of Peter Bardin, revenue officer; his date of birth and his mother's name are unknown. He graduated BA (1817),…...
Barkley, John Monteith
Barkley, John Monteith (1910–97), presbyterian minister, scholar and historian, was born in Belfast on 18 October 1910, the only son of Robert James Barkley and his wife Mary Darcus (née Monteith). He had a younger sister. When John was born the family was living with his mother's…...
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…...
Barlow, Randolph (Randal)
Barlow, Randolph (Randal) (1572?–1638), Church of Ireland archbishop of Tuam, was probably the Randal Barlow baptised 31 January 1572 at Malpas, Cheshire, the son of John Barlow, rector of Malpas. Educated at Macclesfield grammar school, he matriculated at Jesus College, Cambridge…...
Barnardo, Thomas John
Barnardo, Thomas John (1845–1905), philanthropist, was born 4 July 1845 at 4 Dame Street, Dublin, the fourth son of John Michaelis Barnardo (d. 1874), a wholesale furrier, and his second wife, Abigail Matilda (née O'Brien). His father was born in Havelberg, Prussia, and settled…...
Barnard, Thomas
Barnard, Thomas (1727–1806), Church of Ireland bishop, was born in Surrey and baptised there on 22 February 1727, the eldest son of Dr William Barnard (1697–1768), bishop of Derry, and his wife, Anne (d. 1782), sister of the Irish primate …...
Barnes, William
Barnes, William (1801-86), poet and philologist, was born at Bagber Common in the Blackmore Vale, Dorset, England, and baptised on 20 March 1801, son of John Barnes, tenant farmer, and Grace Barnes (née Scott). After a variety of occupations, including the making of woodcuts, he…...
Barnett, John
Barnett, John (1794–1880), presbyterian minister, was born near Saintfield, Co. Down, eldest son of John Barnett, tanner in Belfast; his mother may have been Jane Gibson. He was at first apprenticed to a Belfast business house, but his father allowed him to leave to attend Glasgow…...
Barnhill, John ('Jack') Eccles Nixon
Barnhill, John ('Jack') Eccles Nixon (1905–71), senator and businessman, was born 11 April 1905 at Brickfield, Strabane, Co. Tyrone, the third child and second son in a family of at least five children (two sons and three daughters) of William Wilson Barnhill (1867–1950), a well-to-do…...
Barr, Andrew (Andy)
Barr, Andrew (Andy) (1913–2003), trade unionist and communist, was born 23 September 1913 at 29 Cluan Place, off Mountpottinger Road, Ballymacarrett, Belfast, second child among two sons and five daughters (two other children died in infancy) of Andrew Barr (d. 1986, aged 98), a…...
Barran, Nicholas
Barran, Nicholas (c.1555–1613), merchant and politician, was eldest son of Edmund Barran, alderman and sheriff of Dublin, and his wife Mary, daughter of Alderman Nicholas Humphrey, mayor of Dublin (1541). Elected sheriff for the year 1590–91 and alderman in 1592, he…...
Barrett, Eaton Stannard
Barrett, Eaton Stannard (1785/6–1820), satirical writer, was born in Cork city, eldest son of Richard Barrett, gentleman; nothing is known of his mother. He was educated at a private school in Surrey (where he wrote a play, which was performed at the school), and at…...
Barrett, John (‘Jacky’)
Barrett, John (‘Jacky’) (1753–1821), eccentric scholar, was born in Ballyroan, Queen's Co. (Laois), son of the Rev. Daniel Barrett, Church of Ireland clergyman, and his wife Rossamund Gofton. Educated by a Mr Sheils in Dublin, he entered TCD…...
Barrett, Richard
Barrett, Richard (c.1793/4–1854), journalist, was born possibly in Co. Cork, son of Richard Barrett, gentleman. His mother may have been Eleanor Stannard. Little is known of his early life but after working briefly as a brewer he became a journalist. A protestant, he was…...