About the Dictionary of Irish Biography

"Publication of the RIA's Dictionary of Irish Biography is an epoch-making event in the history of Irish scholarship. It changes the state of knowledge in the twenty-first century as decidedly as the Ordnance Survey did in the nineteenth."

--Seamus Heaney

"The Dictionary of Irish Biography will be greeted with delight by all those who study Irish literature and Irish history. It will not only make life easier for scholars and students, but become a palimpsest of the Irish achievement over many centuries."

--Colm Tóibín

"Imaginatively conceived, and meticulously edited, the Dictionary of Irish Biography fills, and fills handsomely, perhaps the most glaring of all gaps in Irish historiography, propelling Ireland into the very front rank internationally for reference works on this scale."

--J.J. Lee, Director, Glucksman Ireland House and Glucksman Professor of Irish Studies,
New York University

"Combining the fascination of vivid personal portraits with the best in modern historical scholarship, it is a major milestone in Irish historical studies."

--Eamon Duffy, University of Cambridge

"A work of impressive scholarship and bears testimony to the high standards set by its editors. In many ways it marks the coming of age of Irish Studies as a discipline worldwide. The Dictionary is a composite work by the generation who achieved this and in its editors, James McGuire and James Quinn, it has had true leaders, with the patience and vision to pull together a work of remarkable and enduring quality. A truly momentous landmark has been reached."

--Marianne Elliott, Director, Institute of Irish Studies, University of Liverpool

The Dictionary of Irish Biography is a collaborative project between Cambridge University Press and the Royal Irish Academy, available in print and online, involving 700 contributors and spanning over 9,700 lives. The Dictionary is the indispensable reference work for Ireland. It includes the lives of Irish men and women who made a significant contribution in Ireland and abroad, as well as those born overseas who had noteworthy careers in Ireland from James Ussher to James Joyce, St Patrick to Patrick Pearse, St Brigit to Maud Gonne MacBride, Shane O'Neil to Eamon de Valera, Edward Carson to Bobby Sands. The Dictionary will put their lives into every major library in the world and on the shelves of scholars, journalists, teachers, broadcasters, diplomats and general readers. It will be especially important in helping to sustain Irish studies courses in universities throughout the world.

General Editors

James McGuire, MRIA University College Dublin
James Quinn, Royal Irish Academy

Editorial Board for the online edition
Professor Aidan Clarke, MRIA Trinity College, Dublin
Professor Ronan Fanning, MRIA University College, Dublin
Professor K. Theodore Hoppen, FBA University of Hull
Professor Maureen Murphy, Hofstra University, New York

Download Prelims of the 2009 edition

The Dictionary of Irish Biography, a project of the Royal Irish Academy, is funded by the Higher Education Authority.