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Abernethy, John, Rev., an eminent Presbyterian divine, was born at Coleraine, where his father was minister, 19th October 1680. In his thirteenth year he entered as a student at the University of Glasgow. There, and at Edinburgh, where he completed his education, his brilliant abilities were recognized by the most eminent of his cotemporaries and by his professors. Before he was twenty-one he received licence to preach, and in 1703 was appointed minister of an important congregation in Antrim. In 1717 he incurred the displeasure of the Presbyterian Synod by refusing to leave Antrim and accept a call in Dublin : a violent difference ensued, which gradually widened into what was known as the controversy between the " subscribers and non-subscribers." There can be no question that he and his associates sowed the seeds of that after struggle in which the Arian and Socinian elements of the Irish Presbyterian Church were thrown off as a separate body. In 1730 he responded to a call from Wood-street congregation, Dublin; and next year sprang up the most memorable controversy in which he was ever engaged - that in relation to religious tests and disabilities. He took an unflinching stand against all laws that, upon account of mere differences of religious opinions and forms of worship, excluded men of integrity and ability from serving their country. He was nearly a century in advance of his time, having actually to controvert the position that a Catholic or a Dissenter could not be a man of integrity and ability ! " And so," says the Encyclopaedia Britannica, "John Abernethy through life was ever foremost where unpopular truth and right were to be maintained; nor did he, for sake of an ignoble expediency, spare to smite the highest seated wrongdoers, any more than the hoariest errors (as he believed)." Although austerely temperate, he was carried off by gout " He was a burning and a shining light in his day. Polished in manners, possessing a rich fund of intelligence, with uncommon powers of conversation, etc., he was esteemed and admired as a man in the private intercourse of life. . . His Sermons on the Being and Perfections of God were widely celebrated, as is evinced by the many editions which have been printed." His grandson, John Abernethy, the eminent surgeon, has often been spoken of as an Irishman, but the latest authority (Encyclopaedia Britannica, 9th Edition) places his birth in London.

Adair, Robert, the hero of the song of " Robin Adair," set to the music of the old Irish air of " Aileen Aroon," was an Irishman, a descendant of the Desmond FitzGeralds. He died about 1789. His father, Sir Robert Adair, was made a knight-banneret by William III . on the field, after the battle of the Boyne. For particulars concerning him and the tune of " Robin Adair," see Notes and Queries, 3rd Series.

Adamnan, Saint, was born about 624, in the district now part of the County of Donegal. Very little is known concerning his early life, except that he was Abbot of Raphoe, a monastery which he probably founded. In 679 he was elected Abbot of the island of Iona, and in 686 was successful in a mission to Britain to plead for certain captives who had lately been carried away from Meath. About 692 he visited Ireland for the purpose of settling some matters connected with the Borromean tribute. In 697 he attended the Synod of Tara. It is probable that between these two visits he wrote his celebrated work, Vita Sancti Columbae, The latter part of his life was chiefly spent in efforts (attended with little success) to induce his countrymen and the Hebridean Scots to accept the Roman computation of Easter. He is supposed to have died in 704 at Iona. Adamnan is justly considered one of the fathers of the Irish Church - no fewer than ten Irish and eight Scotch churches having been dedicated to, or called after him. His Vita Sancti Columbae has been edited by Dr. Reeves, chiefly from a MS. of the early part of the 8th century, preserved in the public library of Schaffhausen. The following interesting remarks upon its style are made by the learned editor :-" The reader will observe the liberal employment of diminutives, so characteristic of Irish composition. He delights in distributive numerals instead of cardinals, and in the adjective termination ax where admissible. He uses the pluperfect for the perfect, and the nominative instead of the ablative absolute. He occasionally employs Greek or Greco-Latin words ; and in a few instances introduces Irish and Hiberno-Latin expressions. Proper names he sometimes inflects according to the rules of Irish grammar." Adamnan's festival is 23rd September.

Adhna, " Chief poet of Ireland," flourished in the reign of Conor MacNessa, in the 1st century. Fragments of laws attributed to him are to be found in the library of Trinity College. The sages Adhna, Forchern, and Atharne are said to have been the first to collect the axioms of Irish law into one volume.

Aedan, Maedoc, or Mogue, Saint, was born about 560, on a small island in Brackley Lough, County of Cavan. He formed a youthful friendship with St. Laserian of Devenish, and was educated in Wales by St. David, by whom he was much loved. Upon his return to Ireland he settled in Wexford, where he established various monasteries. He lived chiefly at Ferns, on land granted to him by King Brandubh, through whose influence Ferns was constituted a see, and Aedan appointed its first bishop. He was noted for his benevolence and hospitality; and was patron saint of Hy Kinsellagh or Wexford. He died in 632, and was buried at Ferns. His festival is 31st January. He is generally known in the County of Wexford as St. Mogue.

Aedh, King of Ireland, son of Laeghaire, reigned from 566 to 593. This monarch summoned a convention at Dromketh, now Daisy Hill, near Limavady - to reduce the power of the Fileas or Bards, of whom there were then in Ireland some 1,000, with hosts of followers; also to impose a tribute on the Scottish Dalriada, who until that time were bound to furnish an army and a fleet in time of war only ; and to depose Sganlan Mor, King of Ossory, for refusal to pay tribute to the Ard Righ. This convention was attended by twelve " Kings of the Fifths and Lords of Cantons," and by St. Columcille from Iona. Chiefly through St. Columcille's influence and advice, it was arranged that the number of head fileas should be reduced to those to be supported by the kings and chieftains, who were to allot them regular districts. St. Columcille refused to agree to the King's great desire to tax the Irish-Scotch, or to the deposition of Sganlan Mor, whom he freed from imprisonment, and reinstated on his throne. It appears to have been during Aedh's reign that the Isle of Man was lost to the Irish kings. Aedh fell at the battle of Dunbolg, in 593.

Aedh Ollam, King of Ireland, 739 to 748. He was noted as a bard as well as a warrior. The battle of Belach Feli, between Munster and Leinster, was fought in his reign. At a meeting with Cathal, King of Munster, at Tirdalethglas, they " established the rule, and law, and rent of Patrick over Ireland." He defeated the King of Leinster at the battle of Ath Senaid (Ballyshannon, County of Kildare), with dreadful slaughter. He was killed by his successor in the battle of Seridh, near Kells.

Aengus, King of Munster, lived in the 5th century. His father entertained St. Patrick hospitably at Cashel, and with Aengus, received from him baptism. It is related that whilst celebrating the rite the Saint unwittingly pierced Aengus' foot with his pointed staff, which the prince bore uncomplainingly, supposing it to be part of the ceremony instituted in remembrance of the Crucifixion. When Aengus became king he endowed the church in Munster with the triennial offering of 500 sheep, 500 pieces of linen, 500 pieces of cloth, and 500 balls of iron, which continued to be paid down to the time of Cormac MacCullinan.

Aengus Culdee, Saint, flourished in the latter part of the 8th century, and was remarkable for piety and learning. He was educated at Clonenagh in Ossory. Embracing the monastic state, he retired to a forest near Mountrath for prayer and meditation. Fearing that the fame of his austerities would unduly exalt him, he secretly entered the abbey at Tallaght as a lay brother. He continued seven years in this laborious station ; but at length was accidentally discovered by the abbot, St. Maelruan. Eugene O'Curry constantly refers in his Lectures to Aengus's Martyrology, speaking of him as " a celebrated and saintly priest, and a great Gaedhelic scholar." This Martyrology, that of Tallaght, styled by O'Hanlon "far the most valuable collection of records on Irish biographical lore that has come down to our time," he is believed to have written in conjunction with St. Maelruan. Very few copies are now extant : they are all more or less imperfect. His festival is 11th March. His death took place about 815, and he was buried at Clonenagh. The Culdees (or "Servants of God ") were religious communities. They are first mentioned in Irish history in 811. Their chief foundations in Ireland were at Tallaght, Armagh, Clonmacnoise, Clondalkin, Devenish, Clones, and Scattery Island.

Aengus M'Uathamore, a distinguished Firbolg chief of the 1st century, who after the battle of Moytura, where the Firbolgs were defeated by the Tuatha-de-Dananns, took refuge in the Aran Islands with his brother Conor. Meave, Queen of Connaught, granted them the islands. He is generally reputed to have been the builder of Dun Aengus, the great fort on Aranmore, upon the summit of the southern cliffs, 300 feet above the sea. Its sea front measures about 1,150 feet. The walls are some 13 feet thick and 18 feet high. The land approaches are defended by rude chevaux-de-frise of splintered rocks. Sir William Wilde characterized this fort as " the greatest barbaric monument of its kind in Europe." A fort on Inismaan is called Dun Conor, after Aengus' brother Conor; while the name of his brother Mil is associated with the strand of Port Murvey, known in Irish as Muirveagh Mil, or " The sea-plain of Mil."

Aidan, Saint, born in Ireland early in the 7th century. Oswald, King of Northumberland, induced him to go over to England to help in the conversion of his subjects to Christianity. Oswald at first translated into Saxon, Aidan's Gaelic. We are told that he wrought a great conversion, and that he travelled up and down, persuading those who were infidels, and comforting and strengthening the Christians. He founded the monastery of Lindisfarne, and governed it for seventeen years, and was the first in the line of bishops that take their title from Durham. Greatly to the disgust of his biographer Bede, he sided with the Irish Church in the differences regarding the celebration of Easter. St. Aidan died in 651. His festival is 31st August.

Ailbe, Saint, patron and first bishop of Emly, County of Tipperary, a convert and friend of St. Patrick in the 5th century. O'Curry mentions a poem by him. He was born in Minister, and is said to have been consecrated at Rome; after converting his native province, he was anxious to proceed on a mission to other parts of Ireland, but was forced by King Aengus to abandon his intention, and remain with him. " The reputation of this holy and learned man was so great, that he was styled 'Another Patrick,' and was reckoned among the principal fathers of the Irish Church." He died in 541, and was buried in Emly Cathedral. His festival is 12th September.

Albin or Albinus, an eminent Irish monk, who about 792, with his friend Clement, proceeded to Paris in search of a missionary field. They cried through the streets, " If anybody wants wisdom, let him come to us and receive it, for we have it to sell," and were sent for by Charlemagne, who was so much pleased with them that he entrusted Clement with the education of a number of young men, and sent Albin into Italy, assigning to him the monastery of St. Augustine at Pavia, where he afterwards died. Some epistles of his were extant in Ware's time.

Allen, John, Archbishop of Dublin. He had been Treasurer of St. Paul's, London, and was consecrated Archbishop, 14th March 1528, being appointed by Wolsey mainly to resist and embarrass Gerald, Earl of Kildare. Soon after his arrival he was invested with the Chancellorship, of which office he was deprived in 1532 through Kildare's influence. During Lord Thomas' revolt in 1534, the Archbishop, apprehending a siege of Dublin Castle, endeavoured to escape to England. He embarked at Dame Gate, but his boat stranding at Clontarf, he took refuge in the house of a Mr, Hollywood at Artane. Early next morning, 28th July 1534, Lord Thomas arrived before the house in hot pursuit of him. The Archbishop was dragged out in his shirt, and, falling on his knees, begged for mercy. " Take away the churl," exclaimed FitzGerald to his followers. The old man was then set upon and murdered. Lord Thomas subsequently insisted that he meant only that the Archbishop should be removed in custody. Archbishop Allen was the author of the Liber Niger of Christ Church. " He was of a turbulent spirit, but a man of hospitality and learning, and a diligent enquirer into antiquities."

Allen, John, Colonel, was an associate of Robert Emmet's in the emeute of 1803, and one in whom he placed unlimited confidence. He was partner in a woollen-drapery business at 36 College-green. After Emmet's failure he was for a time concealed at Butterfield-lane, and then in Trinity College, escaping eventually as a member of the College Yeomanry Corps. On his arrival in France he entered the army, and rapidly rose, through his daring-services, to the rank of colonel. He served with distinction in the campaign of Leipsic; he joined Napoleon on his return from Elba; and it is stated that his surrender was demanded by the British Government on the second occupation of Paris. He was sent under guard to the frontier to be delivered up. On the last night of the journey, one of his guard, on conducting him to his room, whispered: " Monsieur le Colonel, the room in which you are to be confined is strong, but one of the iron bars of the window is loose: we trust you will not escape." He took the hint, and regained his liberty. Some years afterwards he privately visited Dublin, and removed his aged sisters, with whom he spent the remainder of his life in Normandy. The precise date of his death is not known-he was living in 1846.

Allen, William Philip, was born near the town of Tipperary, April 1848. When three years old his father, a Protestant, moved to Bandon. Young Allen was educated at a Protestant training school, but his mother being a Catholic, he eventually joined that church. He was apprenticed to a carpenter; but before his apprenticeship expired he left his native town, and worked in Cork, Dublin, and Chester. An enthusiastic Fenian, he incited his countrymen in Manchester to attempt the rescue of his friend, Colonel Kelly. On the 18th September 1867, with a small body of confederates he effected Kelly's release from a prison van strongly guarded by police. In the melee, a police-sergeant named Brett was killed. This attack and rescue provoked a considerable panic in England in the Autumn and Winter of 1867. Allen and twenty-five others were taken and tried; and Allen, O'Brien, Larkin, Condon, and Maguire, were sentenced to death. The trial was pressed on during the height of the Fenian scare; and its conduct may be judged from the fact that Maguire was subsequently pardoned as being innocent (though sworn to by ten witnesses as an active member of the releasing party), and Condon, an American citizen, was respited. Allen and his friends made spirited and manly speeches before sentence. It was on this occasion that the words " God save Ireland," were first uttered by one of the prisoners, after conviction. Their last hours were spent in religious exercises, and in writing letters to their friends, breathing resignation and devotion to their principles. Allen, O'Brien, and Larkin were executed at the old prison, Manchester, on the 23rd November 1867, in the presence of an enormous military force. Their bodies were ultimately interred in the new prison, Manchester. Mr. Allen was of a slight figure, and almost feminine in appearance.

Alley, Jerome, Rev., a minor poet and author, was born in 1760. He was educated and took his degree in Trinity College. He was Rector of Drumcar in the diocese of Armagh, and was the author of several poems and pamphlets. In 1826, shortly before his death, he published a work upon the various religions of the world.

Ambrose, Miss, a celebrated beauty of the Viceregal court during the administration of the Earl of Chesterfield (1745-'7). She was a Catholic heiress, of very ancient descent, allied to the best families in Ireland, gifted with exquisite beauty, and possessed of considerable mental acquirements. At one of the Castle balls, given on the anniversary of the battle of the Boyne, she appeared with an orange lily in her breast, upon which Chesterfield improvised the following lines:
Say, lovely tory, where's the jest
Of wearing orange on thy breast,
When that same breast uncovered shows
The whiteness of the rebel rose?
His lordship used to say that she was " the most dangerous rebel in Ireland." In 1752 she married Roger Palmer, M.P. for Mayo (ancestor of the present Sir Roger Palmer of Mayo); and by his elevation to a baronetcy in 1777, became Lady Palmer. She is said to have lived to the age of one hundred years, retaining to the last' a vehement hatred of the wrongs under which her Catholic fellow-countrymen laboured. Although rich, she spent the latter years of her life in seclusion in a small lodging in Henry-street, Dublin.

Annesley, Arthur, Earl of Anglesea, was born in Dublin, 10th July 1614. He was educated at Oxford, studied law, and entered Parliament for Radnorshire. When the civil war broke out, he for a time followed the fortunes of Charles, but afterwards went over to the side of the Parliament, and was sent to Ireland in 1645 as a commissioner, in which employment he did good service for the preservation of the Protestant interest. He was one of those who brought about the restoration of Charles II., and was subsequently created Earl of Anglesea, and appointed Vice-Treasurer of Ireland. He held the post of Lord Privy Seal from 1673 to 1682, when he was dismissed in consequence of a misunderstanding with the Duke of Ormond. He died 6th April 1686, aged 71. The Earl was a man of considerable independence of character, "of deep politicks, very subtle and reserved in the management of affairs, of more than ordinary parts, and one who had the command of both a smooth and a keen pen." Ware enumerates nine political tracts written by him. In Notes and Queries, 2nd Series, will be found a notice of the sale of his library, and an anecdote concerning Sir Arthur Chichester having once unjustly accused him of stealing a purse, which a pet monkey had abstracted.

Anster, John, LL.D., Professor, was born at Charleville, County of Limerick, in 1793, and was educated at Trinity College, where he took the degree of LL.D. in 1825. He was called to the Bar the same year; in 1837 was appointed Registrar of the Admiralty Court, and in 1849, Regius Professor of Civil Law in Dublin University. Without attaining the first rank, he was favourably known as a writer. Coleridge had a high opinion of his poetical talents. He was a frequent contributor to the University and other magazines; perhaps his best known work is a translation of portions of Faust. He died 9th June 1867.

Arbogast, an Irish ecclesiastic, was consecrated Bishop of Strasbourg, 646. " He came a hermit and a stranger into Alsace, and there built an oratory in a sacred grove, almost where Haguenau now stands, and in that place served God diligently in fasting and prayer. Yet he was not altogether idle, for he appeared abroad and diligently instructed the inhabitants in the knowledge and fear of God, and in the true invocation of the omnipotent power of his son Christ." He was appointed by Dagobert II. to the see of Strasbourg, which he governed five years. He died in 658, and was buried near the present site of Strasbourg Cathedral.

Archdall, Mervyn, Rev., antiquarian and genealogist, was born in Dublin, 22nd April 1723. His ancestors migrated from Great Britain in the reign of Elizabeth, and settled in the County of Fermanagh. He passed through the University with credit, and imbibed a taste for antiquities and literary research, and for collecting coins, medals, and seals. He finally resolved on collecting materials for a monastic history of Ireland. Acquaintance with Walter Harris, Charles Smith (author of the County Histories), and Thomas Prior, led him the more zealously to pursue the design. The living of Attanagh having been bestowed on him, he had leisure for these pursuits. Afterforty years' labour, however, he found publication in extenso beyond his means, and was obliged to cut down his Monasticon Hibernicum to one 4to volume, which appeared in 1786. Through the influence of the Right Hon. W. Conyngham, a society had been formed in 1781 for the publication of works on Ireland, and Archdall was one of the members. Vallancey's Collectanea appeared under its auspices, but differences sprang up between Ledwich and Vallancey, and the society fell to pieces - one branch publishing the Anthologia Hibernica (1793-'4), under Ledwich's editorship. In 1789 Archdall brought out an edition of Lodge's Peerage of Ireland, enlarged from four to seven volumes. Many of Lodge's valuable notes had been left in cipher, and would have been lost but that Mrs. Archdall, a woman of remarkable ingenuity (a relation of Prior, the poet), discovered the key and deciphered them. In the index to Lanigan's Ecclesiastical History are to be found eighty-two references under the head of " Archdall, blunders of, noticed." He died 6th August 1791, aged 68.

Archdekin, Richard, Rev., or MacGillacudy, a famous Jesuit, and controversial writer, was born in Kilkenny, 1619. At Louvain and Antwerp he filled successively the chairs of classical literature, moral philosophy, and theology, and acquired the reputation of an able divine. He died in Antwerp, 1690. He was the author of several books which enjoyed extensive popularity. His Essay on Miracles was said to be the first work printed in English and Irish conjointly. His Theologica Tripartita Universa reached its eleventh edition in 1700.

Arthur, James, Rev., born in Limerick, a Dominican friar in the abbey of St. Stephen at Salamanca, Professor of Divinity, the author of a Commentary on Aquinas, and other works. He was deprived of his chair in 1642 for refusing to subscribe to the doctrine of the Immaculate Conception, and withdrew to the convent of St. Dominick in Lisbon, where he died about 1670.

Arthur, Thomas, Dr., a Catholic physician, born in Munster in 1593. He studied on the Continent, and became the leading practitioner in Ireland. His fee-book, published in The Journal of the Kilkenny Archaeological Society, is an interesting and valuable document, containing a list of his patients (many of them eminent characters of the day), with particulars of their illnesses, and memoranda of the fees received in each case. Once we find him attending Archbishop Ussher, or, as he styles him, " Pseudo-Primas Ardmachanus," curing him of a severe disease, and receiving £51 for his services at Drogheda and Lambay Island. His usual fees appear to have been 10s. and 20s. Dr. Arthur lived on through the siege of Limerick in 1651, and records many liberal honorariums from Parliamentary officers. The date of his death does not appear to be known. After his time, many of the well-known Irish physicians were Catholics, medicine being the only profession left open to members of that church.

Ashe, Andrew, a celebrated flautist, was born in Lisburn about 1758. He was sent to school at Woolwich, where he learned the first principles of music. On account of reverses of fortune, his parents were about removing him, when Count Bentick adopted the lad, took him to the Continent, and secured for him a musical education. He devoted himself to the flute, and soon rose to be principal player in Brussels, Dublin, and London, successively - being one of the first to use the additional keys. After engagements in the Italian opera, in 1810 he became director of the Bath concerts. He spent the last years of his life in retirement in Dublin, and died in 1838. His wife and daughter were celebrated pianists.

Ashe, St. George, D.D., was born in the County of Roscommon in 1658. He was educated at Trinity College, where he became a Fellow, and Professor of Mathematics; he afterwards acted as secretary and chaplain to the British Embassy at Vienna. Returning to Ireland in 1692, he was made Provost of Trinity College. He was consecrated Bishop of Cloyne in 1695, and promoted to the see of Clogher in 1697, and to that of Derry in 1717. He occasionally contributed to the proceedings of the Royal Society, of which he was a member. He died in Dublin, 27th February 1718, and was buried in Christ Church. He bequeathed his mathematical library to the College.

Ashford, William, a distinguished landscape painter, and first President of the Royal Hibernian Academy, was born in Birmingham, 1746, and settled in Ireland, 1764. He resided in College-green. "His works were many, and were justly appreciated. His early pictures were somewhat in the manner of Claude." He died at Sandymount-park, 17th April 1824, and was interred in Donnybrook old churchyard.

Atharne, a reputed poet and courtier of the 1st century, who resided at Beinn Edair (Howth). He made an expedition round Ireland, demanding exorbitant "gifts" for the recital of his lays - King Eochaidh is said to have given an eye to satisfy him ! On the way, he was attacked at Ath-Cliath (Dublin) by his late hosts, to recover some of their "presents." In the engagement that ensued, Conall Cearnach fought on his side. On one occasion Atharne fought and killed Mesgedra, whose wife Buana died soon after of fright at the sight of her husband's head. This was at the ford of Clane. Atharne buried them near by, preserving their brains in a lime ball - the same with which Conor MacNessa was afterwards killed.

Averell, Adam, Rev., a distinguished Primitive Wesleyan Methodist minister, was born at Mullan, County of Tyrone, 7th May 1754. His father was a landed proprietor. He early studied for the ministry of the Established Church, was appointed to a curacy, and then married. Becoming acquainted with Wesley, he resigned his preferment, so as to be free to extend his religious ministrations wherever he felt called. About 1797, after having being married about seven years, his wife separated from him, apparently from religious incompatibility. He made her an ample allowance, relinquished the personal care of his property, and unreservedly devoted himself to preaching in different parts of the country. His journal, which proves him to have been a man of exceeding earnestness and great piety, is full of interesting particulars concerning the condition of Ireland in his day. He was a profound believer in special providences. For nearly thirty years he was president of the Primitive Wesleyan Conference. Mr. Averell died at Mount Salem, near Clones, 16th January 1847, at the advanced age of 92.

Intro A | B | C | D | E | F | G | H | I | J | K | L | M(1) | M(2) | M(3) | N | O(1) | O(2) | O(3) | P | Q | R | S(1) | S(2) | T | U | V | W(1) | W(2) | X | Y | Z | Addenda

Intro A | B | C | D | E | F | G | H | I | J | K | L | M(1) | M(2) | M(3) | N | O(1) | O(2) | O(3) | P | Q | R | S(1) | S(2) | T | U | V | W(1) | W(2) | X | Y | Z | Addenda