Co. Galway

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Anderson, Emily

Anderson, Emily (1891–1962), academic, civil servant, and translator, was born 17 March 1891 at Taylor's Hill, Galway, second daughter of Alexander Anderson (qv), professor of natural philosophy and later president of…

Arden, John

Arden, John (1930–2012), playwright and novelist, was born on 26 October 1930 in Barnsley, Yorkshire, to Charles Arden, a manager in a glass manufacturer, and Annie (‘Nancy’) Elizabeth Arden (née Layland), a primary school teacher. He was educated at the local primary school, Terringham…

Bain, John Alexander

Bain, John Alexander (1861–1947), presbyterian minister and theologian, was born at Galway 22 June 1861. He was educated at QCG and at Assembly's College, Belfast, and obtained an MA of the…

Bairéad, Tomás

Bairéad, Tomás (1893–1973), short-story writer and journalist, was born 7 July 1893 in Baile Dóite, Moycullen, Co. Galway, one of two sons and two daughters of Michael Barrett, farmer, and Mary (Mary Frank) Barrett (née McDonough), both of Moycullen, and received his only formal…

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…

Barnacle (Joyce), Nora

Barnacle (Joyce), Nora (1884–1951), was born 21/2 March 1884 in the maternity ward of Galway city workhouse (which then served as general hospital for Galway), second daughter (and child) of Thomas Barnacle, baker, and Annie Barnacle (née Healy), seamstress and dressmaker. After the…

Bellew, Christopher Dillon

Bellew, Christopher Dillon (1763–1826), catholic gentleman and activist, was the eldest son of Michael Bellew of Mount Bellew, Co. Galway, and his wife Jane, daughter of Henry Dillon. Born into a wealthy catholic family, one of the few that had prospered during the penal era, he…

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…

Birmingham, John

Birmingham, John (1816–84), astronomer, polymath, and landowner, was born at Millbrook, near Tuam, Co. Galway in May 1816, the only son of Edward Birmingham (d. 1833, the youngest son of John (Sean Rua) Birmingham of Dalgin, a landowner with interests in the West Indies) and his wife,…

Blake, Anthony

Blake, Anthony (1704?–87), catholic archbishop of Armagh (1758–87), was the younger of two sons of Andrew Blake, landowner, of Kilvine, Co. Mayo. Educated first at Saint-Omer and then at Louvain, he returned to Ireland about 1731 and was appointed priest to the diocese of Tuam,…

Blake, Caroline

Blake, Caroline (1835–1919), landlord and hotelier, was born Caroline Johanna Burke in 1835 in Co. Tyrone, to Henry A. Burke, a protestant clergyman, and Julia Burke (née Blake) of Co. Mayo. Little is known of her childhood, although she regularly spent holidays at Renvyle House in…

Blake, James

Blake, James (p.1560–1635), alias ‘Caddell’, ‘Blackcaddell’, ‘Blague’, and ‘Diego de Blac(c)adell’, merchant, soldier, and double agent, was born in Galway, second son of Walter Blake (d. 1573) and his wife Juliana (née Browne). The aliases derive from variants on ‘Blake’…

Bodkin (Bodekin, Bodikin), Christopher

Bodkin (Bodekin, Bodikin), Christopher (c.1505–1572), catholic and Church of Ireland archbishop of Tuam, was born in Galway, the son of John Bodkin, mayor of Galway in 1518. Said to have been educated at Oxford, he was provided to the see of Kilmacduagh 3 September 1533…

Bodkin, Matthias McDonnell

Bodkin, Matthias McDonnell (1849–1933), journalist and lawyer, was born in October 1849 at Tuam, Co. Galway, younger son among five children of Thomas Bodkin (c.1799–1886), doctor and FRCSI, and Maria…

Bourke (Burke, De Burgo), John

Bourke (Burke, De Burgo), John (c.1590–1667), catholic archbishop of Tuam, was born in Co. Galway, the son of a country gentleman and a relative of the earls of Clanricarde. He had at least three brothers, including Oliver, a Dominican friar, and Bishop…

Breathnach, Micheál (‘Tóchar Mhairtin’)

Breathnach, Micheál (‘Tóchar Mhairtin’) (1886–1987), civil servant, was born 26 October 1886 in Sylane, Tuam, Co. Galway, youngest of seven sons of Michael Walsh (originally of Kilmaine, Co. Mayo), principal of Sylane national school, and Bridget Walsh (née Joyner), schoolteacher, of…

Breatnach, Micheál

Breatnach, Micheál (1881–1908), writer and Irish-language activist, was born 16 September 1881 in Lochán Beag, Inveran, Co. Galway, son of Micíl Breatnach, farmer, and Margaret Breatnach (née Ní Fheinneadha). Although only learning to read and write Irish in his mid-teens, he was raised…

Brennan, Seamus

Brennan, Seamus (1948–2008), politician and government minister, was born in Galway city on 16 February 1948, the second of five children (four sons and a daughter) of James Brennan, a Fianna Fáil activist and builder (fifty employees in 1976), and his wife Tess (née O'Donnell), a…

Brent, George

Brent, George (1904–79), actor, was born George Nolan 15 March 1904 at Main St., Ballinasloe, Co. Galway, son of John Nolan, shopkeeper, and Mary Nolan (née McGuinness). Orphaned in 1915, he moved briefly to New York where he was cared for by an aunt, returning later to Dublin to…

Browne, Mary Bonaventura

Browne, Mary Bonaventura (d. ante 1694), abbess and chronicler, was one of at least four children (two daughters and two sons) of Andrew Browne, a merchant of Galway city with substantial landholdings across Co. Galway. Her mother was probably Helen Lynch, the earlier of her…

Browne, Michael John

Browne, Michael John (1895–1980), catholic bishop of Galway, was born 20 December 1895 in Westport, Co. Mayo, fifth child of Michael Browne, draper, and Elizabeth Browne (née Higgins). Educated at CBS Westport, St Jarlath's College,…

Browne, Noel Christopher

Browne, Noel Christopher (1915–97), politician and physician, was born 20 December 1915 at 38 Bath Street, Waterford city, second son and fourth among eight children of Joseph Browne, of Loughrea, Co. Galway, and Mary Theresa Browne (née Cooney), of Hollymount, Co. Mayo. His father was…

Burgh, Walter de

Burgh, Walter de (c.1230–1271) 1st earl of Ulster , lord of Connacht , was the second son of Richard de Burgh (qv) (d. 1243), lord of Connacht, and Egidia, daughter of Walter de Lacy…

Burke, Augustus Nicholas

Burke, Augustus Nicholas (c.1838–1891), painter, was born at Waterslade, Knocknagur, Co. Galway, the sixth son of William Burke, a catholic gentleman and landowner, and Fanny Xaveria Burke (née Tucker) of Brook Lodge, Sussex. Educated at a private catholic school in…

Burke (Bourke, De Burgo), Hugh

Burke (Bourke, De Burgo), Hugh (c.1592–c.1654), catholic bishop of Kilmacduagh, was born in Co. Galway and had at least three brothers, including Archbishop John Bourke (qv) and Oliver, a Dominican friar.…