Dictionary of Irish Biography

@dib

An authoritative reference work of nearly 11,000 lives for scholars of Irish history, society and culture from the Royal Irish Academy. Sign up for our quarterly newsletter here:

966 Folgt3.231 Follower174 Posts

Bluesky

Ist das dein Profil?Übernimm es — dann gehört dir dib.dirty.social.Profil übernehmen

Dictionary of Irish Biography@dib· 14d

#DIBLives In 1610 cartographer John Speed (d. #OTD 1629) created one of the most famous early detailed records of Ireland. His 'Theatre of the Empire of Great Britaine' split the island into its four historic provinces and featured the earliest known street map of Dublin. www.dib.ie/biography/sp...

Dictionary of Irish Biography@dib· 16d

#DIBLives Antarctic explorer Tom Crean (d. #OTD 1938) spent more time in the Antarctic than Scott or Shackleton; he was awarded the Albert Medal and the Polar Medal with 3 Antarctic clasps. The Crean Glacier in South Georgia and Mount Crean in Antarctica are named for him. www.dib.ie/biography/cr...

Dictionary of Irish Biography@dib· 20d

The latest edition of our newsletter, 'Life Lines' is now available. Read our new entries, our blogs on the 1926 census and how the Irish holidayed in the past, and our featured biography of Gillian Bowler. mailchi.mp/ria.ie/lifel...

Dictionary of Irish Biography@dib· 20d

#DIBLives 'Humanity Martin'. Introduced #OTD 1822, The Cruel Treatment of Cattle Act was the first known piece of animal welfare legislation in the world. It was introduced by Galway-born MP Richard Martin and became known as 'Martin's Act' in his honour. www.dib.ie/biography/ma...

Dictionary of Irish Biography@dib· 21d

#DIBLives Humour and laughter were the essence of John B. Keane and his work: the earthy humour of rural Ireland, the humour of human foibles and the quirky humour that comes from the deliberate juxtaposition of the mundane and the exotic. He was born #OTD 1928. www.dib.ie/biography/ke...

Dictionary of Irish Biography@dib· 22d

#DIBLives Comhghairdeas le Luimneach! Fittingly the first MacCarthy Cup, purchased by London-born Liam MacCarthy with a Dáil national loan and presented to the GAA in 1922, was won by Limerick in the 1921 All-Ireland hurling final (played in 1923 because of the civil war). www.dib.ie/biography/ma...

Dictionary of Irish Biography@dib· 25d

#DIBLives 'Tell them I have done my duty.' General of Antrim & Commander-in-Chief of the United Irish army of the north, Henry Joy McCracken was court-martialled & sentenced to death. He was executed #OTD 1798 having refused to name other leaders in exchange for clemency. www.dib.ie/biography/mc...

Dictionary of Irish Biography@dib· 27d

#DIBLives Kinsale-born sailor Tim McCarthy (b. #OTD 1887) was aboard 'The Endurance' when it was crushed by ice in November 1915. He was awarded the polar medal for his part in sailing 1,450km through the treacherous seas of the South Atlantic to get help. www.dib.ie/biography/mc...

Dictionary of Irish Biography@dib· 28d

#DIBLives The first woman elected to the British parliament and the only female cabinet minister in the first Dáil Éireann, revolutionary, nationalist, labour activist, suffragist and politician Constance Markievicz died #OTD 1927. www.dib.ie/biography/ma...

Dictionary of Irish Biography@dib· Jul 13

#NewBlog Postcards produced by 1950s photographer John Hinde showed an Ireland of red-haired children, endless sunshine and cottages by a bright sea. In this month's blog 'Are we there yet?' Niav Gallagher looks at how Irish holidays have evolved over the last 200 years. www.dib.ie/blog/are-we-...

Dictionary of Irish Biography@dib· Jul 10

#DIBLives Recognised for wearing two sprigs of shamrock on his tennis shirt, Monaghan-born James Cecil Parke reached the men's singles semi-finals of #Wimbledon on two occasions & the doubles finals on four. He and Ethel Larcombe won the Wimbledon mixed doubles in 1914. www.dib.ie/biography/pa...

Dictionary of Irish Biography@dib· Jul 9

#DIBLives “The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing.” “Those who don't know history are doomed to repeat it.” “Rudeness is the weak man’s imitation of strength.” Philosopher and politician Edmund Burke died #OTD 1797. www.dib.ie/biography/bu...

Dictionary of Irish Biography@dib· Jul 8

#NewLives On 2 September 1911 barrister & judge Redmond John Barry was appointed Lord Chancellor of Ireland, reportedly the youngest ever. His youth & religion seemed to signal a shift away from the typical demographic, but severe mental health issues cut his career short. www.dib.ie/biography/ba...

Dictionary of Irish Biography@dib· Jul 7

#NewLives Architect Frederick MacManus helped design Silver End, a model village for workers at the Crittall Windows Ltd factory in Essex, among the earliest modernist-style buildings in Britain & regarded as some of ‘the most remarkable housing’ built there in the 1920s. www.dib.ie/biography/ma...

Dictionary of Irish Biography@dib· Jul 6

#NewLives One of Ireland's earliest & most influential speech therapists, Miriam Gallagher was also a writer of range & vision, who combined an acute awareness of human frailty with history and myth to form ‘an intriguing assortment of stories and mysterious characters.' www.dib.ie/biography/ga...

Dictionary of Irish Biography@dib· Jul 3

#DIBLives '[I will]...strain every nerve to effectuate a modification of the law of Poynings.' A superb orator and a determined advocate of constitutional and political rights, Henry Grattan (b. #OTD 1746) gave his name to the parliamentary period 1782-1800. www.dib.ie/biography/gr...

Dictionary of Irish Biography@dib· Jul 2

#DIBLives Demonstrating qualities of leadership & strategy, Fr John Murphy led key insurgent victories at Oulart Hill & Enniscorthy before defeat at Vinegar Hill. He was captured at Tullow, Co. Carlow, court-martialled and, #OTD 1798 flogged and hanged in the town square. www.dib.ie/biography/mu...

Dictionary of Irish Biography@dib· Jul 1

'...And where the earth was soft for flowers we made A grave for him that he might better rest...' (Francis Ledwidge, 'A Soldier's Grave') #OTD 1916 the Battle of the Somme began. Between 1 July and mid-November more than 3 million fought and 1 million died. www.dib.ie/biography/le... #DIBLives

Dictionary of Irish Biography@dib· Jun 30

#DIBLives #OTD 1922 a huge explosion at the Public Records Office in the Four Courts destroyed centuries of Irish administrative, legal & genealogical records. @virtualtreasury.bsky.social has spent years recreating many of these records & made them freely available to the public. virtualtreasury.ie

Dictionary of Irish Biography@dib· Jun 29

#DIBLives "If I did wrong in making that appeal to Irishmen to join with me in an effort to fight for Ireland, it is by Irishmen, and by them alone, I can be rightfully judged." #OTD 1916 Roger Casement was found guilty of treason and was sentenced to death. www.dib.ie/biography/ca...

Dictionary of Irish Biography@dib· Jun 26

#DIBLives Finally, to mark #Pride2026 we are featuring celebrated musician and activist Philip Chevron of The Pogues and The Radiators, writer of the heartfelt 'Under Clery's clock' about his yearning for love as a gay man in 1980s Dublin. www.dib.ie/biography/ch...

Dictionary of Irish Biography@dib· Jun 25

#DIBLives Cast as the kid brother of the group, 'the dreamy one', Boyzone's Stephen Gately was among the first of many prominent Irish men and women who came out publicly as gay. He came out in 1999, probably to preempt his outing by a former bodyguard. www.dib.ie/biography/ga... #Pride2026

Dictionary of Irish Biography@dib· Jun 23

#DIBLives Next in our #Pride2026 series is music broadcaster and DJ Vincent ‘Fab Vinnie’ Hanley. Together with Connor McAnally, he set up Apple Green which produced Europe's first music video show, MT USA, and influenced the music and lifestyles of a generation. www.dib.ie/biography/ha...

Dictionary of Irish Biography@dib· Jun 22

#DIBLives To celebrate #Pride 2026, this week we are featuring members of Ireland's LBGTQ+ community. In the 18th century Lady Eleanor Butler & diarist Sarah Ponsonby, better known as the 'Ladies of Llangollen' lived together as 'romantic friends' or 'damned Saphists'. www.dib.ie/biography/bu...

Dictionary of Irish Biography@dib· Jun 19

#DIBLives Arrested in June 1941 for aiding the French Resistance, Sr Kate McCarthy (d. #OTD 1971) endured 3 years of interrogation, solitary confinement & imprisonment before being sent to Ravensbrück concentration camp, where she evaded the camp 'huntsman' on 4 occasions. www.dib.ie/biography/mc...

Dictionary of Irish Biography@dib· Jun 18

#DIBLives In his famous defence on 11 July 1817, Robert Stewart, Lord Castlereagh admitted that ‘with respect to Ireland, I know I shall never be forgiven’. Born #OTD 1769 Castlereagh engineered the 1800 Act of Union, reshaping British-Irish history. www.dib.ie/biography/st...

Dictionary of Irish Biography@dib· Jun 17

#BloomsDay On 16 June 1954, the first Blooms Day commemoration took place when Brian O’Nolan, Anthony Cronin, Patrick Kavanagh, John Ryan and Michael Scott took a jaunt around Dublin in four horse-drawn cabs. Elinor Vere Wiltshire recorded the event with her camera. www.dib.ie/biography/wi...

By National Library of Ireland on The Commons - https://www.flickr.com/photos/nlireland/9054949487/, No restrictions, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=32384643

Dictionary of Irish Biography@dib· Jun 16

#BloomsDay 'Mr Leopold Bloom ate with relish the inner organs of beasts and fowls'. Today we celebrate Blooms Day - an ordinary, extraordinary day immortalised in James Joyce's 'Ulysses'. In Leopold Bloom Joyce created one of the greatest figures of 20th century fiction. www.dib.ie/biography/jo...

Dictionary of Irish Biography@dib· Jun 15

#BloomsDay. On 10 June 1904 Nora Barnacle first met James Joyce while walking in Nassau St. Dublin. He was supposedly so attracted to her that he walked up and presented himself. Their second meeting was on 16th June, the date immortalised by Joyce in 'Ulysses'. www.dib.ie/biography/ba... #DIBLives

Dictionary of Irish Biography@dib· Jun 12

On #WorldDayAgainstChildLabour, we remember union organiser Mary 'Mother Harris' Jones who led a ‘children's crusade’ against child labour in 1903, which included a 145km march from Philadelphia to New York City. She was active in the labour movement into her 90s. www.dib.ie/biography/jo...