Evers, Liz

Bailey, Mary (‘Lady Bailey’) (née Westenra) (1890–1960), aviator, was born on 1 December 1890 at 30 Grosvenor Square, London, to Derrick (Derry) Warner William Westenra (1853–1921), the fifth Baron Rossmore, and his wife Mittie (née Naylor) (d. 1953), the daughter of a wealthy English…

Blackshaw, Basil (1932­–2016), artist, was born on 20 July 1932 in Glengormley, Co. Antrim, the youngest of seven surviving children of Samson (Sam) Blackshaw, a groom and gamekeeper from England, and his wife Edith (née Clayton), the daughter of a gamekeeper, from Coalisland, Co.…

Buckley, Christine (1946–2014), nurse, midwife and advocate for survivors of childhood abuse in religious and state-supported institutions, was born Christine West on 10 October 1946 at Mile End Hospital, London, the daughter of Anna West (née Kershaw) from Longford, and Ariwodo Kalunta…

Burrowes, Wesley (1930–2015), writer, was born in Bangor, Co. Down, on 26 April 1930, one of four children (two boys and two girls) of Harry Burrowes, a first world war veteran and civil servant attached to the Northern Ireland education department, and his wife Carrie Burrowes (née…

Colgan, Eileen (1934–2014), actor, was born on 2 January 1934 in Dublin to Charles Colgan, a cabinet maker, and his wife Eileen (née McNamara). She was one of five children (three boys and two girls) and grew up on Russell Street on the north side of the city. Her father and an elder…

Dillon, Michael (1915–62), physician, writer, Buddhist novice-monk and the first person known to surgically transition from female to male, was born Laura Maud Dillon on 1 May 1915 in Ladbroke Grove, London, England. Dillon was the second child of Robert Arthur Dillon (1865–1925),…

Dwyer, Bernie (1943–2013), journalist, filmmaker and political activist, was born in Dublin on 14 December 1943 to Mary (née Fagan) and Arthur Hannon , a clerk at Dublin Corporation. She spent her early childhood in Drimnagh, before the family moved to Sutton, Co. Dublin. She left…

Fields, Arthur (1901–94), photographer, known as the 'man on the bridge', was born Abraham Feldman on 27 October 1901 at home in Dublin to Ukrainian Jewish parents Malka (also known as 'Molly' or 'Mary'; née Sweed) and Simon Feldman, a draper, of 6 Raymond Street, Dublin 8. He had four…

FitzGerald, Susan (1949–2013), actor, was born on 28 May 1949 in Leicester, to Irish parents Emily FitzGerald (née Irwin) and William FitzGerald, a general practitioner. She was the eldest of six children, with three brothers and two sisters. The FitzGeralds were a well-connected family…

Fitzsimons, Jack (1930–2014), architect, writer and politician, was born on 26 April 1930 in the county home at Trim, Co. Meath, one of a family of six of John (Jack) Fitzsimons, a farm labourer, and Annie Fitzsimons (née Monaghan), a former domestic servant, living at Kilbeg,…

Fleming, Marie (1953–2013), campaigner for assisted suicide, was born Eileen Mary Brolly on 26 December 1953 in Lifford, Co. Donegal, the first of five children (two girls and three boys) to Annette (née Maxwell) and Daniel Brolly, a painter and decorator. In 1969, when she was fourteen…

Freyne, Seán (1935–2013), theologian, was born on 23 April 1935 in Kilkelly, Co. Mayo, to John Vincent Frain, a warehouse manager and one-time IRA captain, and Lucy Ellen (née Flaherty), a primary school teacher. He had one older sister, Mary. Following his father's death in 1940 when…

Gibson, Violet Albina (1876–1956), failed assassin, was born 31 August 1876 in Dalkey, Co. Dublin, to Edward Gibson (qv), a wealthy lawyer and politician, and Frances Maria Adelaide Gibson (née Colles), the daughter of a barrister. Violet was…

Halappanavar, Savita (1981–2012), catalyst for change in Irish abortion laws, was born Savita Andanappa Yalagi on 29 September 1981 in Bagalkot, Karnataka province, south-west India, the youngest of three children (two boys, one girl) of Andanappa Yalagi, an electrical engineer with the…

Hayden, Father Augustine (1870–1954), Capuchin priest, nationalist and Irish language advocate, was born John Hayden in November 1870, to William Hayden and Mary Hayden (née Morrisey) in Gowran, Kilkenny, and grew up in Blarney, Co. Cork, where his father was appointed railway station…

Henderson, Cathy (1963–2014), artist, was born in London on 4 February 1963, one of four children (three boys and one girl) of English parents Peter Henderson, a lecturer in occupational psychology and his wife Mary (née Topham), an artist. She spent her early childhood living in Barton…

Judge, Michael (1921–2015), writer and teacher, was born on 26 July 1921, one of eight children of Michael Judge, a builder, and his wife Elizabeth (née Smith) at the family home at 189 Clonliffe Road, Drumcondra, Dublin. He was educated at the Irish-language school Coláiste Mhuire on…

Kelly, Rosaline (1922–2013), union official and media professional, was born on 27 November 1922 to Laurence Kelly, an insurance agent, and Ellen Kelly (née Fogarty) of 2 Sandyford Terrace, Drogheda, Co. Louth. Rosaline attended primary school at St Patrick's and St Philomena's in…

Keohler (Keller), Thomas Goodwin (1873–1942), writer, company secretary and long-time friend of James Joyce (qv), was born in Belfast on 19 June 1873 to Joshua William Keohler, a methodist who was in the flour business,…

Lentin, Louis (1933–2014), theatre, film and television producer and director, was born in Limerick on 11 December 1933, the first of six children of Isaac Lentin, who owned a women’s tailoring business, and Annie Rose (Hyacinth) Lentin (née Goldberg). His parents were the children of…

Lovett, Ann (1968–84), schoolgirl, was born in Cobh, Co. Cork, on 6 April 1968, the seventh of nine children (three girls and six boys) of Diarmuid Lovett (d. 1987), builder and publican, and his wife Patricia (née MacNamee, d. 2015). EARLY LIFE AND EDUCATION The Lovett family moved…

McCann, Seán (1929–2015), journalist, author and rose expert, was born on 7 May 1929 in Dublin. He was the eldest child of three, followed by Brian (b. 1931) and Moira (b. 1933), of Seán ‘Jack’ McCann from Foxrock, Co. Dublin, and his wife Annie (née Murnaghan) from Anny, Co. Monaghan.…

McCluskey, Constantine Mary (‘Conn’) (1915–2013), medical doctor and civil rights campaigner, was born on 19 February 1915 in Warrenpoint, Co. Down, the elder of two sons of John Montague McCluskey, a farmer, and his wife Anne (née Hughes), also from a farming family. Conn attended…

This is a co-subject for the entry on McCluskey, Constantine Mary (‘Conn’). …

McCormack, Inez Jane Mary (née Murphy) (1943–2013), human rights activist and trade unionist, was born on 28 September 1943 in Belfast to Francis Cecil Murphy, a printer, and his wife, Margaret Murphy (née Sterritt), a nurse. She had one older brother, Terence (b. 1942). When Inez was…