Welcome to the Dictionary of Irish Biography

The Dictionary of Irish Biography, a collaborative project between Cambridge University Press and the Royal Irish Academy, is the most comprehensive and authoritative biographical dictionary yet published for Ireland. These 11 volumes contain fascinating short summaries and detailed assessments that document over 10,000 lives, ranging from the earliest times to 2010. Biographical subjects include: artists, scientists, lawyers, actors, musicians, writers, politicians, criminals, and saints.

The following lives were added to the Dictionary of Irish Biography Online in June 2019.

1. Beckett, Mary (1926–2013), writer
2. Boland, Harry (1925–2013), businessman
3. Brugha, Máire MacSwiney (1918–2012), teacher, author and charity worker

Click here for complete listing »

Read more »

Biography of the Day

Barré, Isaac (1726–1802)

Barré, Isaac (1726–1802), politician and soldier, was born 15 October 1726 in Dublin, son of Peter Barré (d. 1776), merchant, and Marie Madelaine Barré (née Raboteau), both huguenot refugees from La Rochelle. His father arrived in Dublin c.1720 and prospered, becoming high sheriff of Dublin (1756), alderman of Dublin corporation (1758), and a governor of the Dublin Society. Isaac entered TCD as a pensioner 19 November 1740 and graduated BA (1745). Defying his parents' wish that he practise law, ...

Read more »