The Dictionary of Irish Biography regularly publishes new entries on important figures who have died in recent times, and on ‘missing persons’ – previously overlooked figures deserving fresh interest. Our most recent additions are listed below.
Entries published May 2026
- O’Kelly, Brendan (1928–2017), state company executive and businessman
- Sweeney, Matthew (1952–2018), poet
- Yeo, Gerald Francis (1845–1909), general surgeon, academic and physiologist
ENTRIES PUBLISHED April 2026
New
- Bewley, Beulah (1929–2018), epidemiologist
- Levitas, Max (1915–2018), communist and community activist
- Timoney, John (1948–2016), police officer
- Warren, Barbara (1925–2017), artist
Revised
- Levitas, Maurice (1917–2001), communist activist and educator
ENTRIES PUBLISHED MARCH 2026
- Beaufort, Louisa (1781–1863), antiquarian, artist, entomologist and writer
- Browne, Garech Domnagh (1939–2018), arts patron and founder of Claddagh Records
- Devlin, Liam St John (1924–2017), businessman and state company chairman
- Kellaghan, Thomas Pearse (1933–2017), educational researcher
- Murray, Paul (1885–1949), theatrical agent and producer
ENTRIES PUBLISHED FEBRUARY 2026
- Allen, Myrtle (1924–2018), chef, food writer and hotelier
- Buttimer, Anne (1937–2017), geographer
- Cosgrave, William Michael (‘Liam’) (1920–2017), politician and taoiseach
- Hanafin, Desmond (‘Des’) (1930–2017), businessman, politician and Catholic activist
- Scanlan, Gerald Brendan (‘Gerry’) (1934–2016), banker
Entries published January 2026
- Clery, Noelle May Curtis (1921–2017), educational pioneer and entrepreneur
- Glover, Goody (d. 1688), last person executed in Boston as a witch
- Haddock, Marsden (c. 1759–p. May 1829), entertainer, exhibitor of automatons and organ builder
- Hingston, Richard William George (1887–1966), physician and naturalist
- Nolan, Dan (1910–89), newspaper managing director and publisher
Entries published October 2025
New
- Barnes, Eamonn (1934–2017), Ireland’s first director of public prosecutions
- Barr, Glen (1942–2017), loyalist politician and community activist
- Callan, Eugene (1964–2017), disabled activist
- Cogley, Fred (1934–2017), sports journalist and commentator
- Conneally, Patrick (‘Mike’) (1931–2017), human geneticist
- Daly, Marcus (1841–1900), mining magnate
- Dardis, Rena (1924–2017), publisher
- Fagan, Madge (1923–2017), housing and community activist
- Gallagher, Dermot Anthony (1945–2017), diplomat
- Galwey, Honoria (1830–1925), folk music collector
- Gilligan, Ann Louise (1945–2017), theologian, activist and educator
- Gresham, Thomas (c. 1787–1871), hotelier, property developer, businessman and philanthropist
- Griffin, Victor (1924–2017), dean of St Patrick’s cathedral
- Hendriks, David (1924–83), art dealer and gallery owner
- Keogh, Doreen (1926–2017), actor
- Kenny, Ivor (1930–2016), management expert
- Levins, Anna Frances (Lady Grattan Esmonde) (1876–1941), photographer, publisher, political activist, lecturer and portrait painter
- Magee, Jimmy (1935–2017), sports commentator, journalist, DJ and music promoter
- McGloughlin, Alfred Vincent (MacLochlainn, Alf) (1888–1932), draughtsman, writer, politician and revolutionary
- Montague, John Patrick (1929–2016), poet, writer, critic and translator
- Mulcahy, John (1932–2018), journalist, editor and publisher
- O’Connor, Christy (‘Jr’) (1948–2016), golfer
- O’Connor, Christy (‘Sr) (1924–2016), golfer
- Ryan, Patricia (1923–2011), ballet dancer, choreographer and ballet company founder
- Thornton, Anne Jane (1817–47), seafarer and subject of popular legend
- Turner, Mary (1938–2017), trade unionist
- Walsh, Dermot (1931–2017), psychiatrist and mental health advocate
- White Lennon, Biddy (1946–2017), actress and food writer
Revised
- McKay, John (1852–1923), journalist, athletics administrator and co-founder of the GAA
Entries published April 2025
New
- Arnold, Mavis (1937–2017), journalist and psychotherapist
- Barry, Peter (1928–2016), government minister and businessman
- Beckett, Peter (1922–74), psychiatrist
- Byrne, John Gabriel (1933–2016), academic and computer scientist
- Craig, Charles Curtis (1869–1960), Ulster unionist politician
- Dennehy, Noreen (1920–2017), Franciscan missionary nun
- Déon, Michel (1919–2016), author and playwright
- Dunlop, Eliza Hamilton (c. 1796–1880), poet
- Ferguson, Catherine (1856–1915), journalist and writer
- Gough, Mary (1892–1983), educator and mathematician
- Hardiman, Adrian (1951–2016), supreme court judge and barrister
- Hurford, James (1822–97), soldier, engineer, civil servant and sporting maven
- Litster, Alice (1894–1980), civil servant
- Lynch, Maura (1938–2017), missionary nun and surgeon
- Makowski, Brigid (1937–2017), republican and community activist
- McGrath, Sean (1882–1950), republican activist
- Roe, George (c. 1796–1863), whiskey distiller and lord mayor of Dublin
- Temple, Robert (1869–1958), industrialist
- Whelan, Pascal (1942–2017), professional stuntman and last permanent resident of Omey Island
- Wiltshire, Elinor (1918–2017), photographer and botanist
Revised
- Crean, Tom (1877–1938), sailor and Antarctic explorer
- Hart, Peter (1964–2010), historian
Entries published october 2024
New
- Bardwell, Leland (1922–2016), poet, novelist and playwright
- Bourke, Seán (1934–82), notorious criminal and writer
- Branigan, Des (1918–2016), seaman, trade unionist and scuba diver
- Burke, Richard (‘Dick’) (1932–2016), government minister and European commissioner
- Connell, Desmond (1926–2017), theologian and cardinal
- Daly, Cyril (1933–2015), anti-corporal punishment campaigner and doctor
- Donleavy, J. P. (1936–2017), novelist, short story writer and playwright
- Griffith, Margaret Catherine (1911–2001), archivist and historian
- Head, Richard (c. 1637–76/86), author and playwright
- Hussey, Caroline (1941–2017), scientist, academic and educationalist
- Jefferson, Marlene (1934–2015), councillor and first female mayor of Derry
- Kernan, Anne (1933–2020), academic and particle physicist
- Lalor, Patrick J. (1926–2016), politician and cabinet minister
- Maher, Joseph (1933–98), actor
- McCarthy, James (‘Jim’) (1924–2015), rugby player and businessman
- McCarthy, Kate (1895–1971), Franciscan nun and member of the French resistance during the second world war
- McCullough, Henry (1943–2016), rock guitarist
- McGuinness, Martin (1950–2017), militant republican and deputy first minister of Northern Ireland
- Megaw, Helen (1907–2002), crystallographer
- Middleton, Noelle (married name Woodeson) (1926–2016), actor and television announcer
- Murphy, John (‘Johnny’) (1943–2016), actor
- O'Brien, Michael Joseph (1870–1960), historian of Irish America
- O'Brien, Timothy ('Tim') (1951–2017), professor of orthopaedic surgery
- O'Flaherty, Philip (‘Firipo’) (1835–86), teacher, soldier, missionary and translator
- O'Neill, John (c. 1874/6–1941), businessman and lobbyist
- Sheridan, Elizabeth (1758–1837), novelist and diarist
- Stapleton, Thomas (c. 1622–94), Roman catholic priest and professor of civil and canon law
Revised
- Anderson, Emily (1891–1962), academic, code breaker, musicologist and translator
- Blackwood, Hariot Georgina Hamilton-Temple- (1843–1936), marchioness of Dufferin and Ava, vicereine of India, philanthropist and memoirist
- Ward, Mary (1827–69), microscopist, astronomer, artist and author
ENTRIES PUBLISHED April 2024
New
- Adamson, George (1897–1922), soldier
- Anthony, Mary Anne (‘Miss Anthony’) (fl. 1875–90), litigant
- Barnes, Eileen Elizabeth Janet (1876–1956), museum artist
- Bowler, Gillian (1952–2016), businessperson
- Brehun (Brehon, Briones), Thomas (1582–1645), Jesuit priest and administrator
- Crawford, Mabel Sharman (1820‒1912), author and feminist reformer
- Dunning, Gertrude Frances (née Hayes; other married name Talbot Power) (1856–1926), philanthropist
- Fagan, Seán (1927–2016), Marist priest and theologian
- Fitzgerald, Joan (née FitzGerald; other married names Butler, Bryan) (a. 1516–65), countess of Ormond, Ossory and Desmond
- Hayes, Maurice Richard Joseph (1878–1930), professor of materia medica, radiologist and surgeon
- Kelly, Francis Declan (‘Frank’) (1938–2016), actor, singer and writer
- Maguire, Myra (1928–2015), artist and teacher
- Mara, Patrick James Joseph (‘P. J.’) (1942–2016), businessperson, politician and public relations officer
- McCullagh, Crawford (1868–1948), businessperson and politician
- Mulvihill, Mary Rita (1959–2015), science communicator
- Naidoo, Krish Stephen (Yananthan) (1943–2015), nightclub owner, Miss Ireland impresario and businessperson
- Naughton, Martin (1954–2016), disabled activist
- Ní Thuathail, Máire (1957–2016), businessperson and television producer
- Nolan, Margaret Mary (1896–1984), obstetric surgeon, gynaecologist and missionary nun
- Nugent, Jane (née Marward; Janet) (c. 1562–1629), family matriarch
- O’Brien, Paddy (Terence) (1916–89), head barman
- O’Connor, Paul James (c. 1796–1878), educator and Patrician Brother
- O’Connor Faly, Bernard (Ó Conchobhair Failghe, Brian; O Conor Phaly, Bernardo) (1696–1780), soldier and military governor
- O’Rourke, Kathleen Mary (1906–80), physical education pioneer and co-founder of the Central Remedial Clinic
- Power, James Talbot (1851–1916), 5th baronet of Edermine and distillery owner
- Redmond, George William (1924–2016), local authority official
- Roche, John (1848–1914), land agitator and politician
- Smyth, Alfred Patrick (1942–2016), historian
- Wren, Laurence (‘Larry’) (1922–2016), Garda commissioner
Revised
- Conry, Florence (Ó Maolchonaire, Flaithrí) (c. 1560–1629), catholic archbishop of Tuam and Franciscan minister provincial of the Irish province
- Folens, Albert Joseph Marcel (1916–2003), educational publisher and Flemish nationalist
- Kerins, Walfrid (Andrew) (1840–1915), educator and founder of Celtic football club
- O’Flaherty, Kathleen Mary Josephine (1916–94), French scholar
ENTRIES PUBLISHED SEPTEMBER 2023
New
- Ainsworth, Thomas Joseph (Joe; ‘Two Gun Joe’) (1927–2015), garda
- Altman, Albert Liebes Lascar (c.1853–1903), businessman and nationalist politician
- Burke, Joan (1929–2016), nurse, politician and farmer
- Bushell, Ellen Sarah (‘Nellie’) (1884–1948), silk weaver, usher and activist
- Caitilín Dubh (fl. 1624–9), poet
- Casey, Juanita (Joy Barlow) (1925–2012), novelist, poet, artist and expert horse breeder
- Connolly, Patrick Joseph (1927–2016), barrister and attorney general of Ireland
- Crozier, (Rose Mary) Maurna (1942–2015), social anthropologist
- Dalgarno, Alexander (1928–2015), mathematician, physicist and astrophysicist
- Darragh, Austin (1927–2015), doctor and businessman
- Diver, Bridget (‘Irish Biddy’, ‘Michigan Bridget’) (fl. 1861–4), vivandière and ‘daughter’ of the First Michigan Cavalry regiment
- Fenton, Tony (Anthony Fagan, ‘the Dude’) (1961–2015), music broadcaster and disc jockey
- Gilmartin, Thomas Patrick (1861–1939), catholic archbishop of Tuam
- Healy, Thomas Gerard (‘Gerry’) (1913–1989), Trotskyist party-leader
- Hedderman, Bridget (1872–1943), district nurse
- Hull, Sir William (c.1573–1643), pirate collaborator and settler
- Kelly, Dominick (d. 1806), poet, novelist and physician
- King, Mary (1911–95), bookseller (Co-subject of O’Flaherty, May)
- Lovett, Ann (1968–84), schoolgirl
- Macfadyen, Amyan (1920–2015), ecologist and university pro-vice chancellor
- Mason, Roy (1924–2015), secretary of state for Northern Ireland
- Mayhew, Patrick Barnabas Burke (1927–2016), British Conservative politician, law officer and secretary of state for Northern Ireland
- McCann, Seán (1929–2015), journalist, author and rose expert
- Morrow, Henry Cooke (‘Harry’) (‘MacNamara, Gerald’) (1865–1938), playwright, writer and artist
- Murphy, William Richard English (1890–1975), teacher, soldier, schools’ inspector, general and police commissioner,
- O’Conor, Hugh (Oconór, Hugo) (1734–79), soldier and colonial military officer
- O’Flaherty (Flaherty), May (1904–91), bookshop owner
- O’Mahony, Dermot Patrick Leo (1935–2015), catholic auxiliary bishop of Dublin
- Prior, James Michael Leathes (‘Jim’) (1927–2016), British Conservative politician, secretary of state for Northern Ireland and businessman
- Rambaut, Daniel Frederick (1865–1937), doctor and Irish international rugby player
- Taylor, Sir John James (1859–1944), civil servant
- Treacy, Raymond Christopher Patrick (‘Ray’) (1946–2015), footballer and travel agent
Revised
- Dillon, Michael (1915–62), physician, writer, Buddhist novice-monk and the first person known to surgically transition from female to male
- Hiffernan, Joanna (‘Jo’) (1839–86), artist’s model
- Ludgate, Percy Edwin (1883–1922), pioneer in digital computing
Entries published early 2023
- Arkless, Brede (née Boyle) (1939–2006), rock climber and mountain guide
- Bailey, Mary (‘Lady Bailey’) (née Westenra) (1890–1960), aviator
- Barry, Alice (1608–c. 1667), 1st countess of Barrymore
- Bernard, James Francis (1850–1924), 4th earl of Bandon, landowner and kidnapping victim
- Blackshaw, Basil (1932–2016), artist
- Boyle, Elizabeth (1613–1691), countess of Cork and Burlington
- Boyle, Margaret (1623–1689), 1st countess of Orrery
- Charlton, Jack (1935–2020), soccer player and manager
- Conolly, Thurloe (1918–2016), artist
- Copley, Clara (‘Ma’) (1865–1949), boxing promoter
- Crookshank, Anne Olivia (1927–2016), art historian
- Daly, Edward Kevin (1933–2016), catholic bishop and social activist
- Davis, Derek (1948–2015), broadcaster
- Devenish, John James (c. 1669–1739), military officer
- Flood, Finbarr (1938–2016), soccer player, managing director of Guinness brewery and chairman of the Labour Court
- Fuller, Stephen (1899–1984), farmer, political activist and survivor of the 1923 Ballyseedy massacre
- Gill, Mollie (Ní Giolla, Máire) (1891–1977), camogie player and administrator
- Hannan, Edward Joseph (1836–1891), catholic priest
- Hederman, Anthony (‘Tony’) (1921–2014), barrister, attorney general and supreme court judge
- Higgins, Aidan Charles (1927–2015), writer
- Irvine, George (1877–1954), republican, language activist and campaigner
- Kennedy, Percy William (‘Darby’) (1914–2016), aviator and founder of Weston aerodrome
- Kennedy, Sir Robert (c. 1584–1668) baronet, landowner, member of parliament and exchequer official
- Lalor, Joseph (1811–1886), psychiatrist
- Mayne, Ethel (Ethelind) Frances Colburn (1865–1941), novelist, short story writer, biographer and translator
- McEnery, Michael Joseph (1858–1940), archivist, antiquarian, deputy keeper of the Public Record Office of Ireland
- Molyneaux, James Henry (1920–2015), Ulster Unionist Party leader
- Moore, Dorothy (née King; other married name Dury) (1612/13–1664), woman of letters
- O'Brien, Anne Monica (1956–2016), soccer player
- O'Rourke, Owen (1660–1743), soldier, courtier and diplomatic agent
- Pulter, Lady Hester (1605–78), author
- Rea, Joe (1938–2007), farm leader
- Rivers, Elizabeth Joyce (1903–64), artist
- Seaton, Molly (Mary Anne) (1905–74), soccer player
- Stewart, Louis (1944–2016), jazz guitarist
- Sugrue, Elizabeth (‘Lady Betty’) (1740/50–1807), executioner
- Tadc (d. 1023), son of Brian Bórama
- Waddington, Leslie (1934–2015), art dealer
- Waller, Bolton Charles (1890–1936), journalist, soldier, public servant, peace activist and clergyman
Entries published September 2022
- Bannard Cogley, Daisy (1884–1965), theatre director and producer, actor and singer
- Blake, Caroline (1835–1919), landlord and hotelier
- Boal, Desmond Norman Orr (1928–2015), lawyer and politician
- Burrowes, Wesley (1930–2015), writer, creator of Glenroe
- Cashier, Albert (1843–1915), soldier in the American civil war
- Craig, John Duncan (1830–1909), clergyman and man of letters
- De Tomanzie, Ethens (1841–86), doctor, politician and impostor
- Delahunt, Katherine (1956–2015), first female solicitor appointed to the Circuit Court
- Devlin, Liam (1877–1964), revolutionary, publican and industrialist
- Doyle, Jimmy (1939–2015), hurler
- Eddery, Patrick (Pat) James John (1952–2015), flat racing jockey and racehorse trainer
- Friel, Brian (1929–2015), playwright and writer
- Gallagher, Michael Paul (1939–2015), Jesuit theologian, writer and lecturer
- Gallaher, Francesca (Fannie) Mary (1854–1936), writer
- Haughey, Edward Enda (1944–2014), Baron Ballyedmond, businessman and politician
- Henderson, Cathy (1963–2014), artist
- Heron, (Mary) Dorothea (1896–1960), first woman to be admitted as a solicitor in Ireland
- Irwin, Florence (1883–1965), educator
- Judge, Michael (1921–2015), writer and teacher
- Maher, Fr Tommy (1922–2015), hurling coach
- Mahon, Bríd (Bridget) (1918–2008), folklorist
- Mansfield, Jim (1939–2014), businessman
- McCann, James (‘Jim’) (1944–2015), singer
- McCormack, Percy (Percival Davis) (1929–2015), nuclear scientist, rocket engineer, pilot and physician
- McGinn, Michael (‘Mick’) (1850/51–1916), Fenian
- Murphy, John (c. 1755–1832), engraver and educational publisher
- Murray, James Andrew (1840–1921), businessman
- Ní Bhrolcháin, Muireann (1955–2015), academic and activist
- O’Callaghan, Donal (1891–1962), lord mayor of Cork, chairman of Cork County Council and TD
- O’Donohue, Maura (1933–2015), missionary doctor and public health campaigner
- O’Donovan, Fred (1884–1952) actor, film maker, theatre manager and television director
- O’Duinn, Seán (1873–1952), teacher, propagandist and trade representative
- O’Flanagan, Michael (‘Mick’) (1922–2015), soccer and rugby international
- O’Herlihy, Bill (1938–2015), broadcaster, journalist and public relations consultant
- Randles, Eileen (1937–2015), teacher, education leader and nun
- Redmond, Mary (1950–2015), solicitor and founder of the Irish Hospice Foundation
- Reid, Christina (1942–2015), playwright
- Rice, Noreen (1936–2015), artist
- Smith, Michael (1942–2014), poet, translator, editor and publisher
- Tullio, Paolo Luigi Mario (1949–2015), restaurant owner, writer and food critic
- Walsh, Sr Patricia (1942–2015), missionary nurse
- Wogan, Sir Terry (1938–2016), broadcaster
- Woulfe, Tom (1915–2015), Gaelic Athletic Association (GAA) administrator and civil servant
Entries published March 2022
- Anderson, Gerry (1944–2014), broadcaster
- Arden, John (1930–2012), playwright and novelist
- Browne, Jeremy Ulick (1939–2014), 11th marquis of Sligo and entrepreneur
- Cassidy, Joseph (1933–2013), archbishop and preacher
- Colgan, Eileen (1934–2014), actor
- Colleary, (James) Gordon (1941–2014), travel entrepreneur and publisher
- Conlon, Gerard (‘Gerry’) (1954–2014), victim of a miscarriage of justice
- Cooke, Barrie (1931–2014), artist
- Doonican, Val (1927–2015), singer and musician
- Ellis, James (‘Jimmy’) (1931–2014), actor and theatre director
- Farrell, Brian (1929–2014), broadcaster and academic
- Farrell, Edmund Anthony (1946–2014), businessman
- Fitzpatrick, John Michael (1948–2014), urologist and surgeon
- Fitzsimons, Jack (1930–2014), architect, writer and politician
- Gibson, Norman (1931–2014), economist and university administrator
- Gill, Earl William (1932–2014), musician
- Healy-Rae, Jackie (1931–2014), politician
- Hogan, Jim (1933–2015), athlete
- Jones, Jimmy (1928–2014), footballer
- Kee, Robert (1919–2013), journalist, broadcaster and historian
- Loughridge, Lavinia (1930–2014), nephrologist and physician
- McAughtry, Sam (1921–2014), writer and broadcaster
- McCluskey, Constantine (1915–2013), civil rights campaigner
- McCluskey, Patricia (1914–2010), civil rights campaigner
- McKee, Maud (1954–2014), medical doctor and therapist
- Nealon, Ted (1929–2014), journalist, broadcaster and politician
- Nevin, Donal (1924–2012), trade unionist and historian
- Nowlan, Kevin B. (1921–2013), historian and conservationist
- O’Connor, Jerome Murphy- (1935–2013), biblical scholar
- O’Hara, Maureen (1920–2015), actor
- Porter, Robert Wilson (1923–2014), lawyer and politician
- Robson, Christopher (‘Chris’) (1941–2013), architect and activist
- Scott, Francis Leslie (1928–2008), chemist
- Scott, Patrick (1921–2014), artist
- Thornberry, Cedric Henry Reid (1936–2014), lawyer and UN official
- Walsh, Joe (1943–2014), government minister
Entries published September 2021
- Barry, Billie (1927–2014), stage school founder
- Brodie, Malcolm (1926–2013), sports journalist
- Byrne, John (1919–2013), property developer
- Corish, Patrick Joseph (1921–2013), priest and historian
- Darby, John (1941–2012), social and political scientist
- Deasy, Joseph (1922-2013), Marxist writer
- Donnelly, Catherine (1948–2014), advertising copywriter
- Dunlop, Robert (1938–2014), baptist minister and ecumenist
- Fallon, Sean (1922–2013), footballer and coach
- Foreman, Philip (1923–2013), engineer and chief executive
- Gilmartin, Tom (1935–2013), property developer and businessman
- Gorman, John (1923–2014), soldier, policeman, businessman and politician
- Halappanavar, Savita (1981–2012), catalyst for change in Irish abortion laws
- Hannelly, Dympna (1922–2014), missionary nurse
- Hardiman, Áine (1926–2013), nun, teacher and community activist
- Hart, Peter (1963–2010), historian
- Hayes, Margaret (1954–2014), civil servant
- Kennedy, Kieran (1935–2013), economist
- Kyle, Jack (1926–2014), rugby player and surgeon
- Lentin, Louis (1933–2014), theatre, film and television producer and director
- McKeever, Ian (1970–2013), mountaineer and charity fundraiser
- Mould, Daphne (1920–2014), author, geologist, photographer
- Nicholson, Ernest Wilson (1938–2013), biblical scholar
- O Ceallacháin, Seán Óg (1923–2013), sports broadcaster and hurler
- O’Keeffe, Paddy (1923–2013), editor, businessman and farmer
- O’Reilly, Joan Gertrude (1924–2014), hockey player
- Reihill, John Philip (1933–2013), coal and oil importer
- Tallon, Ronald (1927–2014), architect
- Tighe, Joan (1922–2014), journalist, editor and historian
- Weaver, John (1923–2013), soldier and physician
Entries published March 2021
- Buckley, Christine (1946–2014), nurse and advocate for survivors of childhood abuse in state institutions
- FitzGerald, Garret (1926–2011), economist, politician and taoiseach
- Healy, Dermot (1947–2014), novelist, poet, memoirist and playwright
- Paisley, Ian (1926–2014), Lord Bannside, protestant revivalist and politician
- Reynolds, Albert (1932–2014), businessman, politician and taoiseach