Belgium

Archdekin (Ardsdekin, MacGiolla Cuddy), Richard (1619–93), Jesuit priest and scholar, was born 16 March 1619 in Kilkenny city, son of Nicholas Archdekin and his wife Ann (née Sherlock). After being educated at the classical school in Kilkenny, he travelled to Antwerp (1637) to study…

Bagenal, Dudley (d. 1712), Jacobite, was eldest son of Col. Walter Bagenal (qv) of Dunleckney, Co. Carlow, and his wife Elizabeth, daughter of John Roper, 3rd Lord Teynham, and widow of John Plunkett of Dunsoghly. His father, a…

Barrett, John (d. 1693), soldier and Jacobite, emerged in James II’s (qv) reign (nothing being known of his early life) as the head of the Barrett family who held 400 acres in Castlemore, near Mallow, Co. Cork. MP for Mallow in…

Cavendish, William (1720–64), marquess of Hartington, 4th duke of Devonshire , lord lieutenant of Ireland, was baptised in London 1 June 1720. He was the eldest son of William Cavendish, 3rd duke, and Catherine, daughter and heir of John Hoskins of Oxted, Surrey. As marquess of…

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…

Colgan, John (1592?–1658), Franciscan friar and hagiographer, was born in Priestown in the parish of Donagh, Inishowen, Co. Donegal. Little is known for certain of his early years or family circumstances. He was a member of a well-established Donegal clerical family, the Mac Colgans of…

Crofton, Sir Walter Frederick (1815–97), penal reformer, was born 27 February 1815 at Courtrai, in western Flanders, the second son of Walter Crofton (1784–1815), captain in the 54th foot, and his wife, Harriet (née Waukhope). His father was killed at the battle of Waterloo on 18…

Crotty, Michael (1794/5–1862), catholic priest and Church of England clergyman, was born at Broadford, Co. Clare, son of James Crotty, a farmer, and his wife, Catherine (née Drew). At the age of nineteen he entered St Patrick's College, Maynooth, to train for the priesthood (September…

Dease, Maurice James (1889–1914), soldier, first VC of the first world war, was born 28 September 1889, only son of Edmund Fitzlaurence Dease, JP, of Coole, Co. Westmeath, and Katherine Dease (née Murray…

Devenish, John James (c. 1669–1739), military officer, was born to William Devenish of Curraghnegoole, near Strokestown, Co. Roscommon, and his wife Eleanor (née O’Conor Roe) of nearby Cloonfree, near Strokestown. His grandfather was George Devenish, a catholic Dublin merchant…

Dingley, Thomas (d. 1695?), antiquary and traveller, a native of Southampton, England, is known in Ireland for his account of a tour he made in Leinster and Munster in 1681. It contains much on Irish ways of life, particularly diet, dress, pastimes, customs, language, money,…

Dowdall, William (c.1768–1809), United Irishman, spent much of his youth in Mullingar, Co. Westmeath, and may have been a natural son of Hussey Burgh (qv); no further details are available of his birth, parents, or…

Doyle, William Joseph Gabriel (1873–1917), Jesuit priest and military chaplain, was born 3 March 1873 at Melrose, Dalkey, Co. Dublin, youngest child of Hugh Doyle, registrar of the insolvency court, and Christine Doyle (née Byrne). He was educated by the Rosminian Fathers at…

Folens, Albert Joseph Marcel (1916–2003) Flemish nationalist and educational publisher, was born 15 October 1916 in Bissegem, west Flanders (latterly part of the municipality of Kortrijk, formerly Courtrai) to a devoutly catholic Flemish‐speaking family. (Folens recalled saying many…

French, Nicholas (1603–78), catholic bishop of Ferns, was born in the town of Wexford. His father, John French, was a younger son of a landed family settled at Ballytory in the barony of Forth since the thirteenth century. His mother, Christina (née Rossiter), came from a family…

Gallagher, Eamonn (1926–2009), diplomat and administrator, was born 13 July 1926 in Curley Street, Whiteinch, Glasgow, one of ten children of Edward Gallagher, from Glenswilly, Co. Donegal, and his wife Anne (née Hayes), from Letterkenny, Co. Donegal. Working first as a dock labourer…

Gallaher, David (Dave) (1873–1917), rugby player, was born on 30 October 1873 in Castle Street, Ramelton, Co. Donegal, son of James Henry Gallagher, a shopkeeper trading at Market Cross there, and (Anna) Maria Hardy Gallagher (née McCloskey), a schoolteacher originally from Belfast.…

Garvey, Tom (Thomas) (1936–2008), public servant, was born at 7 Herbert Place, Ballsbridge, Dublin, on 27 May 1936, the son of Tom Garvey, of Leinster Road, Rathmines, Dublin, an inspector in the Department of Agriculture, and his wife Brigit (née Lynch). He was educated at St. Mary…

Geldof, Zenon (1882–1939), chef, restaurateur, and entrepreneur, was born 28 February 1882 at Boesinghe (Boesinge), near Ypres, Belgium, son of Zenon Geldof, schoolteacher, and his wife Mini. He served his apprenticeship in confectionery in Bruges. His experience working in London's…

Kent, John (c.1699–1778), Roman catholic priest, was born on the border of Co. Waterford and Co. Tipperary in the diocese of Waterford and Lismore about 1699. Nothing is known of his parents, but as his sister was described in 1759 as having ‘person, language, and…

Kirke, Percy (1646?–1691), lieutenant-general in William III's (qv) army in Ireland, was one of several children of George Kirke (d. c.1675), gentleman of the robes to Charles I, and probably his second wife, Mary, daughter of…

Lauder, James Stack (‘Jacques Lafayette’) (1853–1923), portrait photographer, born 22 January 1853, was one of ten children (six sons and four daughters) of Edmond (sometimes Edmund) Stanley Lauder (c.1824–91) and his wife, Sarah Harding Lauder (née Stack, c.1828–…

This is a co-subject for the entry on Lynch, Clementine (Mary Scholastica). View the original entry.

Lynch, Clementine (Mary Scholastica) (1754–99), fifth abbess of the Ypres Benedictine convent, was born 16 June 1754 (place and parentage unknown). She entered the abbey school of the Benedictine nuns in Ypres, Flanders (then in the Austrian Netherlands) on 9 July 1764. She was…

Mac an Bhaird, Aodh Buidhe (Ward, Hugh; Vardaeus, Hugo) (c.1593–1635), hagiographer, was born in the barony of Tirhugh, Co. Donegal, probably at Ballymacaward, a townland that was named after his family. The Mac an Bhaird family belonged to the hereditary learned caste of…