Ireland

Cairpre (fl. c.501?), putatively son of Niall and king of Tara, is the eponymous ancestor of the Cenél Cairpri. He may be regarded as a proto-historical figure; quite apart from his role as a dynastic ancestor, his inclusion in the seventh-century tract ‘Baile Chuinn’…

Cairpre (Corpre) Lifechair , son of Cormac and putatively king of Tara, is a pseudo-historical character and an ancestor-figure of the Connachta and Uí Néill. He is represented in genealogical tradition as a son of Cormac (qv) son of Art,…

Caitilín Dubh (fl. 1624–9), poet, lived in Thomond (present-day Co. Clare). She is the earliest woman poet for whom texts in the Irish language survive in quantity. Five of her elegies, in accentual (or stressed) caoineadh metre, are copied into Duanaire Uí Bhriain…

Cane, (Lucy) Mary (c.1866–1926), public servant, was born probably at Cahirmoyle, Co. Limerick, third child of Edward William O'Brien of Cahirmoyle and Mary Spring O'Brien, sister of the 2nd Baron Monteagle. William Smith O'…

Cantwell, John (1424–82), archbishop of Cashel, was, like his kinsman and predecessor, John Cantwell (qv) (c.1405–52), an illegitimate member of the important Cantwell family of Tipperary. He was a scholar at Eagle Hall, Oxford,…

Cantwell, John (a.1405–52), archbishop of Cashel, was (although illegitimate) a member of the important Cantwell family of Tipperary. He was sent to Oxford and studied at Eagle and Ape Halls, earning degrees in both canon and civil law by 1429. In March 1427…

Carroll, Sir James (d. 1639), landowner and state official, was eldest son of Thomas Carroll, a Dublin merchant (probably descended from the O'Carrolls of Ely), and his first wife Alice Mountfield. James is first recorded on his appointment as chief chamberlain of the exchequer on 26…

Carthach (Mochuta) (d. 637), monastic founder, was a son of Fínall and member of the Ciarraige Luachra group (Co. Kerry). He became abbot of the monastery of Rahan in Uí Néill territory (Co. Offaly), whence he was expelled in 636 (AU; Ann. Inisf. 638) and went south to Déisi…

Cathal (d. 742), son of Finguine and king of Munster, was a member of the Éoganacht Glendamnach dynasty (Rawl. B. 502, 148a 44, b1; LL, 320c 54). His father Finguine was a son of Cathal Cú cen Máthair (qv), but there is no…

Cathal (d. 925), son of Conchobar and king of Connacht, belonged to the Síl Muiredaig lineage of Uí Briúin Aí, which had virtually monopolised the provincial kingship of Connacht since the second half of the eighth century. His immediate predecessors in the kingship were his…

Cavanagh (Kavanagh), Patrick (d. 1581), catholic martyr, was a sailor in the port of Wexford. In 1581 Viscount Baltinglass (qv), then in rebellion against Queen Elizabeth I, and his Jesuit chaplain Robert Rochford attempted to find…

Cellach (d. 705), son of Rogallach and overking of Connacht, belonged to the dynasty of Uí Briúin Aí. He is called Cellach ‘of Loch Cime’ (Lough Hacket, near Headford, Co. Galway), perhaps the location of a family residence. His father Rogallach, who earlier reigned as overking, was…

Cellach (d. 776), son of Dúnchad and overking of Leinster, belonged to the dynasty of Uí Dúnlainge. His father Dúnchad (qv) (d. 728), ancestor of the lineage of Uí Dúnchada, briefly enjoyed the overkingship of Leinster, but Cellach's…

Cellach (Celsus) (d. 1129), bishop and abbot of Armagh, was one of the first of the reforming clerics of the Irish church in the eleventh century. He was a member of the Clann Sínaig family, which had held the abbacy of Armagh since c.965. He was son of Áed, grandson of…

Cellach Cualann (d. 715), son of Gerthide and overking of Leinster, was the last and arguably the most colourful representative of the Uí Máil dynasty to hold that dignity. His sobriquet associates him with Cualu, the Bray area in north Wicklow. While Cellach's father Gerthide…

Cellán (Cellanus) (d. 706) was fourth abbot of Péronne in Picardy, a foundation mainly associated with St Fursa (qv), whose body was translated there. He was a correspondent of the Anglo-Saxon author Aldhelm of Malmesbury, having…

Cennétig (d. 903), son of Gáethíne and king of Loíches, was probably the most distinguished representative of Síl Mescill, the ruling lineage of Loíches Cúile ocus Réta. From their caput at Ráith Baccáin in Mag Réta (Morret Heath near Port Laoise), the forebears of…

Cennétig (d. 951), son of Lorcán and overking of north Munster, was the first representative of the Dál Cais dynasty to achieve prominence at national level. He belonged to the lineage of Uí Thairdelbaig, which in the early tenth century was contesting the kingship of Dál Cais (…

Cenn-Fáelad (d. 679) was son of Ailill, grandson of Báetán (qv) (d. 572) king of Ailech, and great-grandson of Muirchertach/Mac Ercae (qv), king of Tara. According to some late traditions,…

Cerball (d. 888), son of Dúngal and king of Osraige, was certainly among the most distinguished representatives of the dynasty of Dál mBirn. As in the case of his nephew Cennétig (qv) son of Gáethíne, the most detailed account of Cerball's…

Cerball (d. 909), son of Muirecán and overking of Leinster, the last noteworthy ruler of the Uí Dúnlainge dynasty before the battle of Clontarf, belonged to the lineage of Uí Fháeláin. His father Muirecán, king of Nás and Airther Liphi (Naas and the eastern Liffey plain), was…

Challoner (Chaloner, Challyner), John (c.1515–81), merchant and administrator, was second son of Roger Challoner (d. 1521), London alderman, and Margaret Challoner (née Middleton), both of Welsh ancestry. John, sometime auditor in English-occupied Calais, settled in…

Chamberlain (Chamberlane), Robert (d. 1636), Franciscan friar, theologian, and political activist, was probably born at Niselrath (later Rathneestin), in the parish of Tallonstown, Co. Louth. His father was Roger Chamberlain, and five of his brothers fought in the Nine Years War…

Cheevers, Blessed Edward (d. 1581), Irish martyr, was a sailor in Wexford port. In 1581 he was one of a number of sailors who attempted to find passage to the Continent for Viscount Baltinglass (qv), then in rebellion against Queen…

Chetwood, Anna Maria (1774–1870), writer, was born on 7 February 1774, a daughter of the Rev. John Chetwood of Glanmire, Co. Cork (1742–1814), and Elizabeth Chetwood (née Hamilton) (d. 1826?), and great-granddaughter of Knightley Chetwood of Woodbrook, Portarlington, a friend of…