   #copyright

Irish people

2007 Schools Wikipedia Selection. Related subjects: Peoples

   Irish people
   Total population 85,000,000 (est.)
   Regions with significant populations Ireland^ :
      5,081,726 Ireland-born

   Great Britain^ :
     * Irish Born: 794,000
     * An estimated 6,000,000 have at least one Irish grandparent^ :

   United States^ :
     * Irish Ancestry: 34,487,790
     * Scotch-Irish
         Ancestry: 5,323,888 (estimates suggest that the true number of
       Scots-Irish in the USA is more in the region of 27 million. )

   Canada^ :
      3,822,665
   Australia^ :
      1,900,000
   Argentina ^:
      500,000
   New Zealand^ :
      1,000,000 est.
   Germany:
      10,000
   **See Demographics of Germany
   Language Irish, English, Ulster Scots
   Religion Roman Catholic, Protestantism
   Related ethnic groups Scottish, Manx, Welsh, English, Cornish, Bretons,
   Icelanders, Norwegians

   The Irish are a northwest European ethnic group who originated in
   Ireland. People of Irish ethnicity outside of Ireland are common in
   many western, especially commonwealth and North American, countries.

Descent

   During the past 9,000 years of inhabitation, Ireland has witnessed many
   different peoples arrive on its shores. Legendary early arrivals
   included the Nemedians, the Fomorians, the Firbolgs and the Tuatha Dé
   Danann, though with the exception of the Firbolgs, they are now treated
   as deities rather than actual human incursions.

   A little over three-quarters (76.9%) of the Irish population belonged
   to the Catholic Church, 12.34% were Anglican, and 9.2% were
   Presbyterian. The most important of the minority religions were
   Methodists at 8%, and ‘others’—Baptists, Brethren, Quakers,
   etc.—together amounted to less than 1%. By the time of the First World
   War in 1914, there had been a slight decrease in the number of
   Catholics (73.86%), and a slight increases in Anglicans (13.13%) and
   Presbyterians (10.04%). There were also important changes in other
   congregation sizes: Methodists by 1914 made up 1.42% of the population,
   and others accounted for 1.55%.

   The culture of the aboriginal Irish - though not the population - may
   have been transformed (or certainly influenced) by the arrival of
   Celtic culture from continental Europe between 600 BC and 150 BC.
   Despite assertions to the contrary, only a small number of Celts may or
   not have ever settled in Ireland. Irish insular culture therefore may
   have developed as a result of cultural exchange with the Celtic groups
   that did settle, those on mainland Europe, the peoples of Britain and
   the native Irish.

   The names the ancient peoples of Ireland (creators of the Ceide Fields
   and Newgrange) used for themselves are not known, nor are their
   language(s). As late as the middle centuries of the 1st millennium AD
   the inhabitants of Ireland did not appear to have a collective name for
   themselves. Ireland itself was known by a number of different names –
   Banba, Scotia, Fódla, Ériu by the islanders; Hibernia and Scotia to the
   Romans; Ierne to the Greeks.

   Likewise, the terms for people from Ireland – all from Roman sources –
   in the late Roman era were varied. They included Attacotti, Scoti, and
   Gael. This last word, derived from the Welsh gwyddel (meaning raiders),
   was eventually adopted by the Irish for themselves. However, as a term
   it is on a par with Viking, as it describes an activity (raiding,
   piracy) and its proponents, not their actual ethnic affiliations. The
   general term Pretani (or the prefix prit-) was sometimes applied to all
   the indigenous inhabitants of the British Isles ("Pretannic Isles") by
   the Greeks. The equivalent Roman prefix for these celtic islands (which
   they called Britannias and Britanniae) was Brit- (with similar
   pronunciation to prit-), and is the historical origin of the words
   Briton and British in Old English. Somewhat ironically, the word
   British is now more commonly associated with predominantly Anglo-Saxon
   United Kingdom than with its insular origins. However, Greek sources at
   the time cannot claim to have had an in-depth understanding of the
   ethnic nature of Ireland and Britain.

   The term Irish and Ireland is derived from the Érainn, a people who
   once lived in what is now central and south Munster. Possibly their
   proximity to overseas trade with western Britain, Gaul and Hispania led
   to the name of this one people to be applied to the whole island and
   its inhabitants.

   A variety of historical ethnic groups have inhabited the island,
   including the Airgialla, Fir Ol nEchmacht, Delbhna, Fir Bolg, Érainn,
   Eóganachta, Mairtine, Conmaicne, Soghain and Ulaid.

   The shared language and culture of these peoples (and indeed the
   peoples of Atlantic Europe) is one that can be placed among the
   European peoples. Current genetic research supports the idea that
   people living in the Britain and Ireland are on average mainly
   descended from the indigenous European Paleolithic (Old Stone Age
   hunter gatherers) population (about 80%), with a smaller neolithic (New
   Stone Age farmers) input (about 20%). Paleolithic Europeans seem to
   have been a homogenous population, possibly due to a population
   bottleneck (or near-extinction event) on the Iberian peninsula, where a
   small human population is thought to have survived the glaciation, and
   then expanded into Europe during the Mesolithic period. The assumed
   genetic imprint of Neolithic incomers is seen as a cline, with stronger
   neolithic representation in the east of Europe and stronger paleolithic
   representation in the west of Europe. The frequencies of Y-chromosome
   haplotypes in the Irish population are similar to that of most other
   populations of Atlantic Europe, especially the Basques of northern
   Spain and southern France. Y-chromosome analysis also seems to indicate
   that the Vikings that settled in Dublin came from Norway rather than
   Denmark. Mitochondrial DNA, which is inherited through the female line,
   shows part of the maternal ancestors of the Irish to be of broad north
   European origin.

   Other recent evidence, involving a very large number of DNA markers
   distributed over the entire genome, suggests that most Irish people of
   today are genetically affiliated with people from other Celtic Nations,
   many Atlantic European populations and some other North European
   populations, while modern Spaniards and Portuguese have more
   Mediterranean inputs. Genetic research shows that since humans settled
   in Ireland in the Paleolithic and Mesolithic times the main incoming
   populations were of broad North European origins, however in Spain the
   main incoming populations following Paleolithic times were of
   Mediterranean origins, although the Paleolithic element, also known as
   Basque or Iberian, continues to be the clearly dominant one in both
   areas to this day .

   In fact, in two recently published books, Blood of the Isles, by Brian
   Sykes and Origins of Britons, By Stephen Oppenheimer, both authors
   state that according to genetic evidence, most Irish people and most
   Britons descend from the Iberian Peninsula, as a result of different
   migrations that took place during the Mesolithic and the Neolithic and
   which laid the foundations for the present-day populations in the
   British Isles, indicating an ancient relationship among the populations
   of Atlantic Europe.

   One legend states that the Irish were descended from Míl Espáine
   (coined Milesius, from Latin "Miles Hispaniae", meaning "Soldier of
   Hispania"). The character is almost certainly a mere personification of
   a supposed migration by a group or groups from Hispania to Ireland, but
   it is supported by the fact that the Celtiberian language is more
   closely related to insular Celtic than to any other. This legend is the
   source of the term " Milesian" in reference to the Irish. If this
   invasion was as large as the mythology would suggest, it would account
   for the genetic similarity of the Northern Iberian populations and the
   Irish.

   The Vikings were mainly Norwegians and despite their notorious
   reputation in Irish history, did not settle in particularly large
   numbers nor did they significantly alter the Irish polity. The arrival
   of the Normans brought Welsh, Flemish, Normans, Anglo-Saxons and
   Bretons, most of whom became assimilated into Irish culture and polity
   by the 15th century. The late medieval era saw Scottish gallowglass
   families of mixed Gaelic-Norse-Pict descent settle, mainly in the
   north; due to similarities of language and culture they too were
   assimilated. The Plantations of Ireland and in particular the
   Plantation of Ulster in the 17th century introduced great numbers of
   Scottish, English as well as French Huguenots as colonists. Despite
   these divergent backgrounds most of their descendants consider
   themselves Irish – even where they are aware of such ancestry – mainly
   due to their lengthy presence in Ireland.

   Historically, religion, politics and ethnicity became intertwined in
   Ireland, with Protestants generally identifying as British and Irish
   and most Roman Catholics as exclusively Irish. This is far less true
   today, although connections between ethnicity and religion can still be
   observed - especially in Northern Ireland. Four polls taken between
   1989 and 1994 revealed that when asked to state their national
   identity, over 79% of Northern Ireland Protestants replied "British" or
   "Ulster" with 3% or less replying "Irish", while over 60% of Northern
   Ireland Catholics replied "Irish" with 13% or less replying "British"
   or "Ulster". A survey in 1999 showed that 72% of Northern Ireland
   Protestants considered themselves "British" and 2% "Irish", with 68% of
   Northern Ireland Catholics considering themselves "Irish" and 9%
   "British". The survey also revealed that 78% of Protestants and 48% of
   all respondents felt "Strongly British", while 77% of Catholics and 35%
   of all respondents felt "Strongly Irish". 51% of Protestants and 33% of
   all respondents felt "Not at all Irish", while 62% of Catholics and 28%
   of all respondents felt "Not at all British".

   It is thought that the majority of the Irish population is descended
   from the initial settlers who arrived after the end of the last Ice
   Age, as can be seen in the high presence of the genetic marker known as
   R1b among the Irish. The genetic marker R1b averages at 90% amongst
   Irish Y-Chromosomes, Welsh Y-Chromosomes and amongst the Y-Chromosomes
   of the Basques of Northern Spain and South-Western France. Haplotype
   R1b averages 78% in the British Isles, 73% in Spain, 64% in Belgium,
   55% in France and 40% in Germany.

   For the global genetic make-up of the Irish and other peoples, see
   also: and

Surnames

   It is common for some Irish surnames to be anglicised, meaning that
   they were changed to sound more Hiberno-English. This usually occurred
   with Irish immigrants arriving in the United States during the 19th
   century and the early 20th century, and and when British settlers
   arrived in Ireland.

   It is also very common for people of Gaelic origin to have surnames
   beginning with " Ó" or " Mc" (less frequently "Mac" and occasionally
   shortened to just "Ma" at the beginning of the name). "O" was
   originally Ó which in turn came from Ua (originally hUa), which means "
   grandson", or " descendant" of a named person. For example, the
   descendants of High King of Ireland Brian Boru were known as the Ua
   Brian ( O'Brien) clan. The prefix is often incorrectly written as O',
   using an English apostrophe instead of the Irish fada mark.

   "Mac" or "Mc" means "son of"; many names also begin with this. There is
   no basis in fact for the claim that Mac is Scottish and Mc is Irish: Mc
   is simply an abbreviation of Mac. However, while both Mac and O'
   prefixes are Gaelic in origin, Mc is more common in Ulster and O' is
   far less common in Scotland than it is in Ireland. Some common surnames
   that begin with Ó are: Ó Reilly, Ó Neill, Ó Brien, Ó Connor, Ó Hickey,
   Ó Leary, Ó Shaughnessy, Ó Donnell, Ó Dowd, Ó Toole, Ó Meara, Ó Malley,
   Ó Hara, and Ó Bradaigh,Ó Sheanacháin . Some names that begin with Mac
   are: MacDermott, MacCarthy, MacDonough, MacDonnell, MacQuillan,
   MacGuinness, MacLaughlin, MacGuire, MacMahon and MacCormack.

   "Fitz" is a version of the French word fils, used by the Normans,
   meaning son, which is the equivalent to the Scandinavian way to name a
   person. (It must be remembered that the Normans, although coming at
   that time from present day England, were descendents of Vikings who
   settled in Normandy and had thoroughly adopted French ways and
   language.)

   A few names that begin with Fitz are: FitzGerald, FitzSimmons,
   FitzGibbons, Fitzpatrick and FitzHenry, most of whom descend from the
   inital Norman settlers. Exceptions occur in a small number of Irish
   families of Gaelic origin who came to use a Norman form of their
   original surname - witness Mac Giolla Phádraig becoming FitzPatrick -
   while some assimilated so well that the Gaelic name was dropped in
   favour of a new, Hiberno-Norman form. Cases in this category include
   Mac Gilla Mo-Cholomoc of Dublin becoming FitzDermot (after Dermot or
   Diarmaid Mac Gilla Mo-Cholomoc).

   Other Norman families derived their name from places or people in
   Ireland. This was the case of the family of Athy (see Tribes of Galway)
   who took their surname, de Athy, from the town of that name in
   Leinster. More common, however, was that the Normans became
   'Hiberniores Hibernis ipsis' and in this process the Fitzmaurices
   became Mac Muiris, the Fitzsimons became Mac Síomóin and Mac an Ridire,
   Fitzgerald became Mac Gearailt, Bermingham became Mac Fheorais, Nangle
   became Mac Coisdeala, Staunton became Mac an Mhíleadha, and so forth.

   In the late 12th century and 13th century Norman, Welsh, English,
   Flemish and Breton peoples arrived in Ireland at the request of
   Diarmait Mac Murchada, King of Leinster, and took over parts of the
   island. During the next three hundred years, they intermarried with
   ruling Irish clans, adopted Irish culture and the Irish language and as
   the English put it "became more Irish than the Irish themselves".
   Another common Irish surname of Norman Irish origin is the 'de'
   habitational prefix, meaning 'of the' and originally signifying
   prestige and land ownership. Many Irish surnames share this: de Búrca
   (Burke), de Brún, de Barra, de Stac, de Tiúit, de Faoite(White), de
   Paor (Power), and so forth.

   It should be emphasised, especially with Gaelic surnames, there may be
   two or more unrelated families bearing the same or similar surnames.
   For example, there were at least nine separate Ó Ceallaigh septs, all
   unrelated. The Mac Lochlainn, Ó Mael Sechlainn, Ó Mael Sechnaill, Ó
   Conchobair Mac Loughlin and Mac Diarmata Mac Loughlin families, all
   distinct, are now all subsumed together as MacLoughlin. The full
   surname usually indicated which family was in question, something that
   has being diminished with the loss of prefixes such as Ó and Mac. In
   addition, in Classical Irish when a Mac surname was followed by a name
   which began with a vowel, the Mac became Mag. This explains why one
   will still see the older spelling of Mac Aonghusa (McGuinness) as Mag
   Aonghusa, Mac Uidhir (Maguire) as Mag Uidhir, and so forth.

   Furthermore, different branches of a family with the same surname
   sometimes used distinguishing epithets, which sometimes became surnames
   in their own right. Hence the chief of the clan Ó Cearnaigh (Kearney)
   was referred to as An tSionnach (Fox), which his descendants use to
   this day.

   Similar surnames are often found in Scotland for many reasons, such as
   the use of a common language and mass Irish immigration to Scotland in
   the late 19th and early to mid-20th centuries. Also Scottish surnames
   are noticeable in some Catholics in Ireland due to intermarriage and
   pre-Reformation immigration.

Personal names (forenames)

   Personal names in modern Ireland are derived from traditional Irish
   names, anglicised Irish names, British names and, more recently,
   popular American names.

   The recent years have seen a major decline in most Irish names for
   babies being born in the Republic of Ireland. While in the past names
   such as Patrick (a name of Roman origin), Séamus (the Irish form of
   James) and others were almost ubiquitous in any family, today they are
   among the rarer names for children and the same goes for most other
   Irish names, although there are a few notable exceptions. Conor remains
   very popular, having topped the Most Popular new names for babies list
   many years running. The name Jack, which is an Irish diminutive of
   John, James and Jacob, has grown in popularity. Seán, also derived from
   the Hebrew root John, remains one of the most popular Irish names. Male
   names from across the Atlantic Ocean have seen a surge in popularity
   from the mid 1990s, names such as Taylor being a good example of this.
   There are many other Anglicised Irish names which remain popular, such
   as Ryan, Neil and others remaining on the Names List. Biblical names
   also form a large composition, such as Matthew, Philip and Paul.

   Aside from Seán other male names from the Norman-Irish tradition
   include Gearóid (Gerard), Piaras (Pearse), Éamonn and Liam and indeed
   the very use of the name Pádraig (Patrick) is a Norman tradition. Prior
   to the Normans the Gaeil, out of reverence to Saint Patrick, named
   their children Giolla Phádraig, the servant of Patrick. Piaras is an
   interesting example of how both Norman and English traditions collided.
   Piaras is from the Norman-French Piers which itself is derived from the
   Latin, Petrus. Piaras was a common name in late medieval and early
   modern Ireland. However, with the expansion of British rule the English
   name Peter, which shares the same Latin root, began to replace it.
   Today, the Irish version (Peadar) of the English name (Peter), tends to
   be more common than the Irish version (Piaras) of the older Norman name
   (Piers). Thus, families with Norman surnames where Piaras has been a
   traditional name have broken the link to their historic tradition. An
   exception to this would be in the Gaeltachtaí where, for example,
   Piaras would still be very common, especially in the Corca Dhuibhne
   area of County Kerry due to the legacy of Piaras Feiritéar, where
   Piaras remains a very common name in the Feiritéar family. The
   maintenance of such traditions in personal names outside the
   Gaeltachtaí would generally be a sign of more educated parents. In an
   analogous way to Piaras, Irish families of patrilineal Gaelic descent
   sometimes use the Irish version (Séarlas) of the English name, Charles,
   rather than the name with a much longer vintage in their families,
   Cathal. Where Cathal is used it is often wrongly termed "the Irish for
   Charles" in a similar way to which the ancient Irish personal name,
   Áine, is wrongly said to be an Irish version of the English word, Anne.
   Rather, both Cathal and Áine are two very ancient Irish names with no
   etymological link whatsoever to the above English names.

   For females, the traditional Irish names are far more popular, although
   their spellings are not always uniform. Names such as Mary, Ann, and
   Eileen which were hugely common in the past have now declined, although
   there was always much more variety in female names than in male. Today
   Aoife, Aisling, Ciara, Sinéad, and Orla are more popular as traditional
   Irish names, while foreign names such as Ella, Emma, Lisa, Rachel and
   Isabelle have seen a rise in popularity. Some older names have
   maintained their popularity, such as Sarah, Kate, Catherine and Louise.
   Female names from the Norman-Irish tradition are widespread and among
   the most traditional of Irish personal names. In a similar way to the
   name Pádraig (Patrick), in the pre-Norman tradition Máire did not exist
   but rather Maol Muire, devotee of the virgin Mary, was the normal Irish
   usage. Other common Irish female names of Norman origin (with their
   anglicised form) are Caitríona (Catherine), Síle (Sheila), Caitlín
   (Kathleen), Cáit (Kate), Gearóidín (Geraldine), Sinéad (Jane, Janet
   etc) and Siobhán (Susan, June etc). English names such as Victoria,
   Elizabeth, and Rebecca, while never hugely popular have also seen a
   decline in popularity, while some Irish names such as Bridget, Una and
   Maureen have dropped off the list altogether.

   There can be major differentiations between regions. A personal name
   can still often indicate where a person, more precisely a man, is from.
   This is accounted for chiefly in the sainthood cults which have been
   traditional throughout the island. For instance, Fionnbharr is more
   common in Cork, Finnian in Meath and Donegal, Fionán in Kerry, and so
   forth, where these particular saints are institutionalised in local
   tradition. Seaghan remains the Ulster Irish spelling of Seán, though
   Séan, with the fada over the E, is also common. Páidí is more common in
   the Kerry Gaeltacht than elsewhere, and so forth. As in the Feiritéar
   family above, the first name can also often indicate a family tradition
   as well as place.

   See List of Irish given names

Recent history

   In Northern Ireland about 53.1% of the population are Protestant (21.1%
   Presbyterian, 15.5% Church of Ireland, 3.6% Methodist, 6.1% Other
   Christian) whilst a large minority are Roman Catholic at approximately
   43.8%, as of 2001.

   After Ireland became subdued by England in 1603 the English – under
   James I of England (reigned 1603 – 1625), Lord Protector, Oliver
   Cromwell (term 1653 – 1658), William III of England (reigned 1689 –
   1702) and their successors – began the settling of Protestant English,
   and later Scottish colonists into Ireland, where they settled most
   heavily in the northern province of Ulster. However, they did not
   intermarry heavily or integrate with the native Irish like the Normans
   did centuries earlier.

   Tens of thousands of native Irish were displaced during the 17th
   century Plantations of Ireland from parts of Ulster, and were replaced
   by English and Scottish planters. Only in the major part of Ulster did
   the plantations prove long-lived; the other three provinces (
   Connaught, Leinster, and Munster) remained heavily Catholic, and
   eventually, the Protestant populations of those three provinces would
   decrease drastically as a result of the political developments in the
   early 20th century in Ireland.

   It is predominately religion, history and political differences ( Irish
   nationalism versus British unionism) that divide the two communities,
   as many of the Scotch-Irish settlers are in part of Celtic origin
   themselves and therefore related to their Irish Catholic neighbours.

   Conversely, many Irish people would have at least some English or
   Scottish ( gallowglass families from the Highlands) ancestry.

   In 1921, with the formation of the Irish Free State, six counties in
   the northeast remained in the United Kingdom as Northern Ireland.

   "Ulster-Irish" surnames tend to differ based on which community
   families originate from. Ulster Protestants tend to have either English
   or Scottish surnames while Roman Catholics tend to have Irish surnames,
   although this is not always the case. There are many Catholics in
   Northern Ireland with surnames such as Emerson, Whitson, Livingstone,
   Hardy, Tennyson, MacDonald (however this surname is also common with
   Highland Roman Catholics in Scotland), Dunbar, Groves, Legge, Scott,
   Gray, Page, Stewart, Rowntree, Henderson, et al; almost certainly due
   to intermarriage. A report commissioned by the Irish Department of
   Foreign Affairs states that:

   The government of the Republic of Ireland notes that prejudice against
   the Irish is still found in some parts of the United Kingdom.

          The post-1945 Irish population has therefore been caught between
          these two images. On the one hand their migrant experience and
          cultural difference has been denied because they are a ‘white’,
          ‘British Isles’ population group. On the other anti-Irish
          stereotypes persist in British society and have been fuelled by
          anti-IRA fears over the last thirty years.

   Such prejudice is sometimes expressed in the form of Irish jokes.

Irish diaspora

   The Irish diaspora consists of Irish emigrants and their descendants in
   countries such as the United States, Britain, Canada, Australia, New
   Zealand, Argentina, South Africa and nations of the Caribbean. The
   diaspora contains over 80 million people; it is believed that roughly
   one third of the Presidents of the United States of America had at
   least some Irish descent, while Charles Carroll of Carrollton (whose
   Irish born grandfather Daniel had left Britain to escape Catholic
   persecution) was the sole Catholic signatory of the American
   Declaration of Independence.

   There are also large Irish communities in some mainland European
   countries, notably in France and Germany, as well as Brazil and other
   South American countries. The classic image of an Irish immigrant is
   led occasionally by racist and anti- Catholic stereotypes. Irish
   Americans number around 40 million. They are the second largest
   self-reported ethnic group in the United States, after German
   Americans. Large numbers of Irish people emigrated to Latin America in
   the 18th and 19th centuries. Their descendants include Che Guevara,
   Vicente Fox and Bernardo O'Higgins. One important Irish group in Latin
   American history are the "Patricios", or Saint Patrick's Battalion, a
   group of European Catholic immigrants, mostly Irish, who left the
   American side during the Mexican-American War and joined the Mexican
   Army. Although many of them were caught and executed by the American
   government, some escaped and remained in Mexico. The battalion are
   commemorated in Mexico on Saint Patricks's day and on September 12, the
   anniversary of the first executions.

Notable Irish people (selection)

Actors

     * Pierce Brosnan - James Bond actor
     * Kenneth Branagh - actor and director
     * Gabriel Byrne
     * Daniel Day-Lewis
     * Roma Downey
     * Colin Farrell
     * Michael Gambon
     * Brendan Gleeson
     * Richard Harris
     * Colm Meaney
     * Patrick McGoohan - actor and creator of The Prisoner
     * Cillian Murphy
     * Liam Neeson
     * Jim Norton
     * Maureen O'Hara
     * Maureen O'Sullivan
     * Peter O'Toole - Honorary Oscar-winning actor
     * Jonathan Rhys-Meyers
     * Stuart Townsend
     * Ciaran Hinds
     * Brenda Fricker

Historians

     * Adomnán of Iona - 627/ 628- 704
     * Dicuil - fl. 775?
     * Marianus Scotus - 1028- 1082/ 1083
     * Seathrún Céitinn/ Geoffrey Keating - died 1643
     * John de Courcy Ireland - 1911- 2006 maritime historian
     * James Hardiman - 1782- 1855
     * Gerard Anthony Hayes-McCoy - 1911- 1975
     * Dermot MacDermot - 1906- 1989
     * Edward McLysaght - 1887– 1986
     * Dubhaltach MacFhirbhisigh - fl. 1643- 1671
     * Gilla Isa Mor mac Donnchadh MacFhirbhisigh - fl. 1390– 1418
     * Eoin MacNeill - 1867- 1945
     * Michael O'Clery - c. 1590- 1643
     * Eugene O'Curry - 1796- 1862
     * John O'Donovan - 1806- 1861
     * Daibhidh Ó Duibhgheannáin - fl. 1651- 1696
     * Peregrine O'Duignan - fl. 1627- 1636
     * Ruaidhri O Flaithbheartaigh - 1629- 1716/ 1718
     * T. F. O'Rahilly - 1883- 1953
     * Whitley Stokes - 1830- 1909

Kings and chieftains

     * Áed Dub mac Suibni - died c. 588
     * Áedán mac Gabráin - King of Dál Riata c. 574 - c. 609
     * Brian Boru - King of Munster and High King of Ireland, killed 1014
     * Congal Cáech - last Ulaid King of Tara, died 637
     * Diarmait mac Cerbaill - last pagan Irish High King, died 561
     * Diarmait mac Mail na mBo - King of Leinster, d. 1072
     * Domnall mac Áedo - King of the Cenél Conaill and High King died 642
     * Domnall Midi - first Clann Cholmáin King of Mide, c. 715– 763
     * Echmarcach mac Ragnaill - King of Dublin, ruler of the Irish Sea,
       died after 1061
     * Feidlimid mac Cremthanin - monk and King of Cashel, 820- 846
     * Flann Sinna mac Maíl Sechnaill - died 916
     * Maelruanaidh Mor mac Tadg - founder of the kingdom of Moylurg, fl.
       956
     * Niall of the Nine Hostages - ancestor of many Irish dynasties; died
       c. 450/ 455
     * Olaf III Guthfrithson - King of Dublin, died 941
     * Silken Thomas - 1513- 1537
     * Tuathal Maelgarb - first known Uí Néill King of Tara, d. 544?/ 549?
     * Ulick na gCeann Burke, 1st Earl of Clanricarde - died 1544
     * Ulick Burke, 1st Marquess of Clanricarde - 1604- 1657
     * Donagh MacCarthy, Viscount Muskerry - Irish Confederate, d. 1665
     * Dermot MacMurrough King of Leinster - died 1171
     * Art mac Art MacMurrough-Kavanagh - 1357- 1417
     * Hugh O'Donnell, 2nd Earl of Tyrconnell - 1606- 1642
     * Grace O'Malley - chief of the Clan Ó Malley and pirate, c. 1530-c.
       1603
     * Cormac mac Art O Melaghlain - King of Mide 1205- 1239
     * Hugh O'Neill, c. 1540- 1616 - last de facto King of Tir Eoghain
     * Phelim O'Neill - instigator of the Irish Rebellion of 1641; died
       1652
     * Conchobar Maenmaige Ua Conchobhair - last King of independent
       Connacht, died 1189

Literature & the arts

   James Joyce.
   Enlarge
   James Joyce.
     * Francis Bacon - painter
     * John Banville - novelist; winner of the 2005 booker prize
     * Samuel Beckett - playwright and novelist; Nobel prize laureate for
       literature
     * Brendan Behan - dramatist
     * Louis le Brocquy - painter
     * Patrick Brontë - author & father of the Brontë sisters
     * Eoin Colfer - author of the well-known Artemis Fowl series
     * Samuel Ferguson - poet and antiquarian
     * Cedric Gibbons - renowned Hollywood art director, and founder of
       the Oscars
     * Oliver Goldsmith - author and playwright
     * Augusta, Lady Gregory - playwright, co-founder of Abbey Theatre

   Augusta, Lady Gregory
   Enlarge
   Augusta, Lady Gregory
     * Seamus Heaney - poet; 1995 Nobel Prize laureate for literature
     * Nuala Holloway - painter
     * James Joyce - author of Ulysses
     * Patrick Kavanagh - poet and author
     * Paul Kane - artist
     * C.S. Lewis - author
     * James Clarence Mangan - poet
     * David Marcus - author and literary advocate
     * Violet Florence Martin - author
     * Tom Murphy - playwright
     * Flann O'Brien - author
     * Dáibhí Ó Bruadair - Bardic poet
     * Sean O'Casey - dramatist & political activist
     * Máirtín Ó Direáin - poet
     * Liam O'Flaherty - author
     * Séamus Ó Grianna -Poet and author
     * George Bernard Shaw - dramatist; Nobel Prize laureate for
       literature
     * James Simmons - Poet and author
     * Bram Stoker - author of Dracula
     * Jonathan Swift - satirist & author of Gulliver's Travels
     * John Millington Synge - playwright
     * Ninette de Valois - ballerina & founder of the Royal Ballet
     * Oscar Wilde - playwight, poet & wit
     * Jack Butler Yeats - artist
     * John Butler Yeats - artist
     * William Butler Yeats - poet and dramatist; Nobel Prize laureate for
       literature

Military

     * John Barry - "Father of the American Navy"
     * Garret Barry, General of Irish Confederates in Munster, d. 1647
     * James Butler - stateman and soldier
     * Roger Casement - revolutionary
     * William Coffey - war hero
     * Tim Collins - former CO 1st Battalion, Royal Irish Regiment
     * Sir Eyre Coote - former Commander-in-Chief, British forces, India
     * Blair "Paddy" Mayne - founding member of the SAS
     * Duke of Wellington - solider and statesman
     * Ambrose O'Higgins - Baron of Ballynary, Marquis of Osorno, Governor
       of Chile and Viceroy of Peru.
     * William Brown - Founder of the Argentinian Navy.
     * Thomas Francis Meagher - one of the founders of the 1848 Young
       Irelander Rebellion and American Civil War Union general.
     * Juan MacKenna - Creator of the Corps of Military Engineers of the
       Chilean Army
     * Michael Collins - Commander-in-Chief of the Irish Free State forces
       in 1922 before being killed in action.

Music

     * Altan - traditional band
     * Aslan (rock band)
     * B*Witched - all-girl pop band
     * Máire Ní Bhraonáin - singer
     * Bell X1 - soft rock
     * Boyzone - boy band
     * Edward Bunting - first collector of traditional music, 1773 - 1843
     * Patrick Clancy - musician; member of the Clancy Brothers
     * The Chieftains - traditional
     * Clannad - traditional/pop/new-age band
     * Finghin Collins - pianist
     * Thomas Connellan - composer
     * The Corrs - traditional/pop band
     * Mary Coughlan - traditional singer
     * Nadine Coyle - singer
     * The Cranberries - Irish band
     * Elizabeth Cronin - traditional singer,1879 - 1956
     * Shaun Davey - composer
     * Chris de Burgh, singer
     * Val Doonican - singer
     * John Lennon - singer/peace activist
     * Paul McCartney - singer/animal rights activist
     * Dropkick Murphys - South Boston-based, Irish punk band.
     * Eithne ní Bhraonáin (Enya) - singer/songwriter
     * Julie Feeney - composer
     * John Field - pianist, composer and inventor of the nocturne
     * Tommy Fleming - singer
     * Rory Gallagher - guitarist
     * Flogging Molly - Los Angeles-based, Irish band.
     * Bob Geldof - Singer and political activist
     * Catherine Hayes - Opera Singer
     * Mairéad Ní Mhaonaigh - musician/singer
     * David Holmes - musician, D.J. and composer
     * Brian Kennedy - Eurovision contestant
     * Luke Kelly - singer and political activist
     * Johnny Logan - Eurovision winner
     * Phil Lynott - singer/songwriter and bass-guitarist
     * Linda Martin - Eurovision winner
     * Mickey MacConnell - Singer, Songwriter
     * Shane MacGowan - singer/songwriter and co-founded of The Pogues
     * John McCormack - singer/ tenor
     * Gary Moore - guitarist and rock/blues musician
     * Van Morrison - singer/songwriter
     * Paddy Moloney - composer and founder of The Chieftains
     * Christy Moore - singer/songwriter
     * My Bloody Valentine - rock band
     * Ed O'Brien - guitarist
     * Turlough O'Carolan - harpist and composer
     * Maura O'Connell - singer
     * Sinéad O'Connor - singer
     * Daniel O'Donnell - country singer
     * Liam O'Flynn - Uilleann piper
     * Francis O'Neill - Traditional flautist, music collector and
       publisher in Chicago, 1848 - 1936
     * Seán Ó Riada - composer, 1931 -1971

   Statue of Phillip Lynnot, Grafton Street, Dublin
   Enlarge
   Statue of Phillip Lynnot, Grafton Street, Dublin
     * Carmel Quinn - Singer
     * Damien Rice - singer/songwriter
     * Charles Villiers Stanford, composer
     * Thin Lizzy - rock band
     * Snow Patrol - indie rock band
     * U2 - rock band
     * Andy Irvine

Philosophy & religion

     * George Berkeley - idealist philosopher
     * Saint Brigid of Ireland
     * Saint Columba - missionary
     * Edmund Burke - conservative political philosopher and statesman
     * John Clyn - monk and chronicler
     * Thomas Croke - Archbishop of Cashel and Emly, early patron of
       Gaelic Athletic Association
     * Johannes Scotus Eriugena - philosopher
     * Saint Malachy - church reformer and prophet
     * Saint Patrick - patron saint
     * Saint Oliver Plunkett - Archbishop of Armagh, last Catholic martyr
       to die in England
     * Archbishop James Ussher - Irish primate & scholar

Politics

     * Mary McAleese - President of Ireland
     * Bertie Ahern - Taoiseach
     * Gerry Adams - Irish Republican politician and abstentionist,
       Westminster MP; president of Sinn Féin
     * Noel Browne - Politician
     * John Bruton - former Taoiseach
     * Ray Burke - Politician
     * Charles Carroll of Carrollton - sole Catholic signatory of the
       American Declaration of Independence
     * Michael Collins - Revolutionary, first president of the Irish Free
       State
     * Patrick Collins - former mayor of Boston
     * William T. Cosgrave - Second president of the Irish Free State
     * John F. Kennedy- President of the United States
     * Robert F. Kennedy - Former US Attorney General and Presidential
       candidate.
     * Thomas F. Gilroy - former mayor of New York City
     * William R. Grace - first Roman Catholic mayor of New York City
     * Charles Haughey - former Taoiseach
     * John Hume - former leader of the SDLP and co-laureate of the 1998
       Nobel Peace Prize
     * Hugh O'Brien - first Irish mayor of Boston
     * Daniel O'Connell - barrister and Irish emancipator
     * William O'Dwyer - former mayor of New York City
     * Brian Mulroney - Prime Minister of Canada 1984- 1993
     * Tip O'Neill - Speaker of the United States House of Representatives
     * Ian Paisley - British MP; leader of the DUP
     * Charles Stewart Parnell - leader of Irish Parliamentary Party
     * Albert Reynolds - former Taoiseach
     * Mary Robinson - seventh Irish president, United Nations
       Commissioner for Human Rights
     * Bobby Sands - 1981 Irish Hunger Strike participant, Westminster MP
     * David Trimble - former leader of the UUP and co-laureate of the
       1998 Nobel Peace Prize
     * Éamon de Valera - First Taoiseach and former Irish President

Science

     * Augustine Eriugena, fl. 655 - early Irish scientist.
     * Thomas Andrews - shipbuilder of the Titanic.
     * Robert Boyle - Natural philosopher, discoverer of Boyle's Law.
     * Patrick Browne - Doctor Botanist of Jamaica.
     * William Rowan Hamilton - mathematician & scientist, inventor of
       quaternions.
     * Lord Kelvin - mathematical physicist & Engineer.
     * Frank Pantridge - inventor of the portable defibrillator.
     * Ernest Walton - physicist & 1951 Nobel Prize winner for the first
       nuclear transmutation.
     * Nicholas Callan - priest at St. Patricks College, Maynooth,
       inventor of the induction coil.
     * Francis Beaufort - inventor of the Beaufort scale of wind intensity
       1774-1857.
     * John Tyndall - physicist who discovered the Tyndall effect.
     * John Philip Holland - inventor of the modern submarine 1841 -1914.
     * George Johnstone Stoney - scientist who coined the word electron.
     * Kathleen Lonsdale - discovered the structure of benzene.

Sports

     * Francis Barrett - boxer
     * George Best - footballer
     * DJ Carey - hurler
     * Darren Clarke - golfer
     * Steve Collins - boxer
     * Johnny Giles - footballer
     * Shay Given - footballer
     * Padraig Harrington - golfer
     * Alex Higgins - former World Snooker champion
     * Eddie Irvine - Formula One driver
     * Denis Irwin - footballer
     * Eddie Jordan - Formula One racing driver and team owner
     * Robbie Keane - footballer
     * Roy Keane - footballer
     * Barry McGuigan - boxer
     * Brian O'Driscoll - rugby union
     * Pat Spillane - Gaelic footballer
     * Sonia O'Sullivan - long-distance runner
     * Michelle Smith - swimmer
     * Dennis Taylor - former World Snooker champion
     * Dave Finlay - Pro-Wrestler

Business/Finance

     * Marcus Daly - Copper King of Butte, Montana
     * Joseph McGrath - Co-Founder Irish Sweepstakes
     * Tony Ryan - entrepreneur
     * Thomas McLoughlin - Initiator Shannon Hydroelectric Scheme
     * William Mulvany - pioneer of German Coal Industry, 1806 - 1885
     * Michael O'Leary, CEO of Ryanair airlines
     * Tony O'Reilly - entrepreneur

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