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.
- Beckett, Mary (1926–2013), writer
- Boland, Harry (1925–2013), businessman
- Brugha, Máire MacSwiney (1918–2012), teacher, author and charity worker
Biography of the Day
Lemass, Noel Denis Joseph (1897–1923)
by Anne DolanLemass, Noel Denis Joseph (1897–1923), republican, was born 15 December 1897 at 2 Capel Street, Dublin, the eldest of the seven children of John Timothy Lemass (d. 1947), draper, and his wife, Frances (née Phelan). He was educated at O'Connell's CBS, North Richmond Street, and in 1915 he joined the Irish Volunteers (A coy, 3rd bn, Dublin bde). Informed of the outbreak of the 1916 rising by Eoin MacNeill (qv), he attempted to join his battalion under the command of Éamon de Valera (qv) at Boland'...
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The Dictionary of Irish Biography, a project of the Royal Irish Academy, is funded by the Higher Education Authority.