Rory Gallagher was a famous Irish rock guitarist born in Donegal
9,700 lives; 700 contributors; 8 million words; over 2000 years of history
The Dictionary of Irish Biography, edited by James McGuire and James Quinn, was launched this week by An Taoiseach, Brian Cowen TD, in Dublin Castle. At over 8 million words, it is the biggest work ever published on the lives of Irish women and men.
The Dictionary is made up of 9,700 biographies written by over 700 contributors, and spans over two thousand years of Ireland’s history. It includes the lives of deceased 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 St Patrick to Patrick Pearse, Grainne O’Malley to Maud Gonne MacBride, Dáibhí Ó Bruadair to Samuel Beckett, Shane O’Neil to Eamon deValera and Edward Carson to Bobby Sands.
The Dictionary reveals much about Donegal men and women throughout history – biographies include those of Vincent ‘Mad Dog’ Coll (1908-32) of Gweedore, a gangster; Ray McAnnally (1926-89) of Buncrana, an actor and star of My Left Foot; Brigid Ellen McCole (142-96) of Glenties, a hepatitis C campaigner; Máire De Paor (1925-94) of Buncrana, an archaeologist; and Rory Gallagher (1949-95) the famous rock guitarist from Ballyshannon.
Biographical subjects include artists, architects; scientists, lawyers, journalists; actors, musicians, bankers, sporting figures, writers, engineers, criminals, public servants, politicians and philanthropists. Contributors are principally professional historians but many are from diverse fields and include: T.K. Whitaker; Gerard Hogan SC; Colm Tóibín, writer; Adrian Hardiman, Supreme Court judge; and Peter McVerry, social worker.
The Dictionary is a joint project between the Royal Irish Academy and Cambridge University Press and is being published simultaneously in nine volumes and online. The online version of the Dictionary will be an ongoing project, with new biographies being added twice a year. The first set of new entries will appear from May 2010.
The biographies are arranged alphabetically from Jacques Abbadie (d. 1727), a Huguenot refugee who became dean of Killaloe, through to Zozimus (aka Michael Moran) d. 1846), the Liberties-born balladeer. St Brigit is the earliest woman featured and the earliest man was Palladius, an envoy sent to Ireland by Pope Celestine. The most recent biographical subject is Dorothy Walker, writer and critic, who died in December 2002. Approximately 1,000 of the 9,700 people featured were born outside of Ireland. The shortest-lived person in the Dictionary is Nellie Organ (1903-08), a pious child from Co. Waterford, whose cause for beatification received widespread popular support after her death
The nine-volume Dictionary of Irish Biography costs €730 if purchased before 31 January 2010. For ordering details see www.dib.ie .
Where is the most vilified Irish man of all time – Thierry Henry – Ole Ole Ole Ole