Ireland

Curtis, Patrick (1747/8–1832), college head and catholic archbishop of Armagh, was born either at Drogheda, Co. Louth, or at his family's home at Stamullen, Co. Meath. He attended the classical school at Stamullen and, after a short time in trade, took up ecclesiastical studies in…

Dagán (d. 641), founder and first abbot of Inber Doíle (Ennereilly, Co. Wicklow) and a saint in the Irish tradition, was a member of the familia of Glendalough. According to the genealogies his father was Colmad, whose ancestry is traced to the Leinster dynasty of Dál…

Daniel (Ó Domhnuill, O'Donnell), William (1570–1628), Church of Ireland archbishop of Tuam and translator of the New Testament into Irish, was a son of Nicholas Daniel of Kilkenny; nothing is known of his mother. During his youth he became a protestant, probably under the…

Darbiled (Derbiled, Dervilla) (fl. 575–600), anchoress and foundress of Inis Cethig on the Erris peninsula in Co. Mayo, and a saint in the Irish tradition, was – according to the metrical version of the genealogies of the saints – linked to the Connacht dynasty of Uí…

Darcy, Oliver (d. 1664), catholic bishop of Dromore, was from Wardenstown, Co. Westmeath, and was probably one of the Darcys of Platten, an influential Co. Meath family. He was educated by the Dominicans at either Mullingar, Co. Westmeath, or at Trim, Co. Meath, before studying…

Darcy, Sir William (c.1460?–1540), administrator, undertreasurer of Ireland, was son and heir of John Darcy, esquire, of Platten, Co. Meath, and his wife Elizabeth Plunket. The Darcys of Platten were a junior branch of a leading north of England family, descended from…

Darerca (Mo-Ninne) (d. 519?), foundress of Killevy, Co. Armagh, and saint in the Irish tradition, was, according to the medieval genealogies, daughter of Mochtae son of Lilach. Her genealogy is therefore traced to a discard segment of the Dál nAraide dynasty of east Ulster. Her…

Davis (Davies), John (d. 1667), politician and merchant, was the eldest son of Ezekiel Davis of Carrickfergus, Co. Antrim, whose family had come from Gustana, north Wales, in the early sixteenth century. Deeply involved in the commercial and public life of the town, he appeared…

Davis, Francis (1810–85), poet, was born 7 or 17 March 1810 in Ballincollig, Co. Cork, or in Belfast, son of Francis Davis, farmer's son from near Hillsborough, Co. Down, and Jane Davis (née McAfee), possibly from near Bushmills, Co. Antrim. His father impulsively enlisted in the…

Davys, Mary (1674–1732), novelist, playwright, and poet, was born in Ireland. Little is known of her background, including her maiden name: she married the Rev. Peter Davys, headmaster of the free school of St Patrick's cathedral and writer of a well-known grammar book, …

de Burgo, Augustine Gibbon (1613–76), one of the most eminent of Irish counter–reformation theologians and an erudite writer on the Lutheran–Calvinist controversies of his day, was born in Connacht and entered the Order of the Hermits Augustinian at Ballinrobe, Co. Mayo, at age 20…

Delamain, Henry (1713–57), delft manufacturer, was the eldest son of at least four sons and one daughter of Henry Delamain (1688–1781) of Dublin, latterly of Co. Kildare, and his wife, Sarah (Mary?) Steele, the daughter of the deputy clerk of the Irish privy council. A French…

Delaney, Malachy (1758?–1807), United Irishman, was from Ballitore, Co. Kildare. Little is known of his family background, but Mary Shackleton Leadbeater (qv), also of Ballitore, described him and his brother Peter as sons of a…

De Nógla, Éadbhard (fl. c.1710–c.1792), Irish-language poet and tailor, was probably born in Cork city, son of the Jacobite lawyer Patrick Nagle. His mother's name is unknown. His father was originally from the area between Mallow and Fermoy and was a close friend of…

Derrick, Samuel (1724–69), writer, was born in Ireland, of a Co. Carlow family which had become impoverished; nothing is known of his parents. Apprenticed to a linen-draper, he found business uncongenial, and escaped to London in his twenties, briefly and very unsuccessfully…

This is a co-subject for the entry on Devereux, Nicholas. View the original entry.

This is a co-subject for the entry on O'Connor Faly (Ó Conchobair Failge), Muircheartach Óg. View the original entry.

Diarmait (Diarmait mac Maíl (Máel) na mBó) (d.1072), Gaelic lord, was the son of Donnchad son of Diarmait, otherwise known as Donnchad Máel na mBó (qv) who died in 1006 when Diarmait was a young boy. His mother is named as Aífe…

Dicuil (Dícuil(l)) (c.760–p.825), Irish scholar-exile at the courts of Charles the Great and Louis the Pious, was an important author of several works on geography, computus, grammar, and astronomy. The only details of his life that are known are what can be…

Dillon, Cecily (Cecily of St Francis) (c.1603–1653), co-foundress and first abbess of the Irish Poor Clares in Dublin, Bethlehem and Athlone, both in Co. Westmeath, was probably born at Kellefaghny, Co. Westmeath, the daughter of…

Dillon (De Leon), Thomas (1613–90), Jesuit and scholar, was born in Ireland and educated in Spain. In 1627 he entered the Society of Jesus in Seville. He taught philosophy and then scholastic and moral theology at the society's colleges at Seville and Granada. In 1640 he was…

Dillon, Sir Robert (d. 1579), judge, was the third son of James Dillon of Riverstown, Co. Meath, and Elizabeth, daughter of Bartholomew Bathe of Dullardstown. He became a lawyer, probably having been trained at the inns of court in London, and was appointed attorney-general of…

Dillon, Sir Robert (d. 1597), judge, was the eldest son of Thomas Dillon of Riverston, Co. Meath, and his wife Anne, daughter of Sir Thomas Luttrell (qv), chief justice of the common pleas. He studied law at Lincoln's Inn, appearing…

Dillon, Theobald (d. 1625?), 1st Viscount Dillon of Costello-Gallen, administrator and landowner, was the third son of Thomas Dillon of Ardnecragh in the barony of Kilkenny West, Co. Westmeath, and his wife Margery, daughter of Sir Christopher Dillon of Kilmore. His family was…

Domnall (d. 1105), abbot of Armagh, was a son of Amalgaid and a member of the ecclesiastical lineage of Clann Sínaig (descended from the Uí Echdach lineage of Airgialla), which virtually monopolised the headship of Armagh in the eleventh and twelfth centuries, its representatives…