List of Irish people
This is a list of famous Irish people.
It covers
- people who come from the island of Ireland, which includes people from both Irish territories, the Republic of Ireland and the province of Northern Ireland.
- people of Irish descent who identified themselves or involved themselves with Ireland (eg, Eamon de Valera, Princess Grace of Monaco),
- people who chose to adopt an Irish identity or Irish citizenship (eg, Daniel Day-Lewis).
Some people born on the island of Ireland, particularly from Northern Ireland, also regard themselves as British. Perhaps because of the extent of Irish emigration, talented people of Irish birth or descent have become known throughout the world.
Art
- Francis Bacon, painter
- Robert Ballagh, painter, Aosdána
- John Behan, sculptor, Aosdána
- John Coll, sculptor
- Pauline Bewick, Aosdána
- Louis le Brocquy, Saoi of Aosdána, painter
- Dorothy Cross, various media, Aosdána
- Edward Delaney, sculptor, Aosdána
- Evie Hone stained glass
- Gene Lambert, painter, Aosdána
- Sir William Lavery painter
- Daniel Maclise
- Anne Madden, Aosdána
- William Orpen
- Patrick Pye, sculptor, painter and stained glass artist, Aosdána
- Camille Souter, painter, Aosdána
- Imogen Stuart, sculptor, Aosdána
- Jack B Yeats
- Patrick Collins, Saoi of Aosdána
- Tony O'Malley, Saoi of Aosdána
Architecture
- Eileen Gray
- James Hoban (designer of White House)
- Kevin Roche
- Sam Stephenson
Actors
- Pierce Brosnan - Navan-born James Bond Actor
- Sir Michael Gambon
- Gabriel Byrne
- Cyril Cusack (born in South Africa)
- Niamh Cusack
- Sorcha Cusack
- Hilton Edwards - British born co-founder of the Gate Theatre
- Daniel Day-Lewis, Oscar winner, (born in UK, now Irish citizen)
- Colin Farrell
- Barry Fitzgerald - Abbey Theatre actor turned Hollywood star
- Brenda Fricker - Oscar winner
- Richard Harris
- Grace Kelly - Irish American actress who married Prince Rainier III of Monaco
- Joe Lynch - TV actor
- Micheál MacLiammoir - British born co-founder of the Gate Theatre
- Victor McLaglen
- Colm Meaney
- Charles Mitchel
- Cillian Murphy
- Liam Neeson
- Maureen O'Hara - actress
- Milo O'Shea
- Maureen O'Sullivan - actress, mother of Mia Farrow
- Peter O'Toole, Oscar-Academy Award winner
- Stephen Rea
- Fiona Shaw
- Patrick Bergin
Music
- Gerald Barry - composer, member of Aosdána
- Derek Bell, harpist
- Enya (real name: Eithne Ní Bhraonáin), singer/songwriter
- Bono (real name: Paul Hewson), lead singer of U2
- Boyzone
- Jerome de Bromhead, member of Aosdána
- The Chieftains, traditional music group
- The Corrs
- Frank Corcoran, member of Aosdána
- Phil Coulter - composer
- The Cranberries
- Dana, Rosemary Scallon,MEP - singer turned politician
- John Field, composer (creator of the nocturne)
- The Fury Brothers and Davy Arthur
- John Buckley, member of Aosdána
- Raymond Deane, member of Aosdána
- Roger Doyle, member of Aosdána
- Eibhlis Farrell, member of Aosdána
- James Galway - musician
- Bob Geldof, songwriter, singer of the Boomtown Rats, activist
- Hamilton Harty - composer and arranger
- Michael Holohan, member of Aosdána
- Brian Irvine, composer
- Fergus Johnson, member of Aosdána
- Ronan Keating, singer/songwriter
- Luke Kelly, singer
- Brian Kennedy - singer
- John Kinsella, member of Aosdána
- Johnny Logan, singer/songwriter
- Phil Lynott - Thin Lizzy frontman
- Philip Martin, member of Aosdána
- John Count McCormack - singer
- Christy Moore, singer/songwriter
- Van Morrison, singer/songwriter
- Samantha Mumba - singer
- Turlough O'Carolan, 17th century harpist and composer ("Last of the Bards")
- Sinead O'Connor,Mother Bernadette, singer
- Kevin O'Connell, member of Aosdána
- Daniel O'Donnell, Country and Western singer
- Mary O'Hara, harpist/singer
- Jane O'Leary, member of Aosdána
- Seóirse Bodley, member of Aosdána
- Eric Sweeney, Member of Aosdána
- Westlife
- Ian Wilson, member of Aosdána
- James Wilson, member of Aosdána
Dance
- Michael Flatley, dancer
- Bill Whelan - choreographer
- Dame Ninette de Valois, ballet
Writing
- George Barrington
- John Banville, novelist
- Samuel Beckett, Saoi
- Brendan Behan, playwright, novelist
- J. B. Bury, historian
- Mary Kusack, the "Nun of Kenmare," patriot and controversialist
- Roddy Doyle, novelist
- Brian Friel, playwright, member of Aosdána
- Oliver Goldsmith - novelist and dramatist
- Seamus Heaney, Saoi of Aosdána
- James Joyce, novelist
- Neil Jordan, author, film director, member of Aosdána
- Patrick Kavanagh,poet
- Francis Ledwidge, poet
- Thomas Moore - poet
- Edna O'Brien - novelist, member of Aosdána
- Sean O'Casey, playwright
- George Bernard Shaw,novelist, playwright,
- Laurence Sterne - novelist
- Bram Stoker (author of Dracula)
- Jonathan Swift, Dean of St. Patrick's Cathedral, Dublin, novelist and satirist
- John Millington Synge - dramatist
- Oscar Wilde, novelist, poet, satirist
- William Butler Yeats, poet
- Richard Brinsley Sheridan, playwright
- Martin Mc Donagh, playwright
- Walter Macken, novelist
- Cecil Frances Alexander
- William Allingham, poet
- Brian O'Nolan (aka Myles na Gopaleen, Flann O'Brien), novelist/columnist
- Christy Browne - author of My Left Foot
- Francis Stuart, Saoi of Aosdána
- Sebastian Barry, novelist, member of Aosdána
- Dermot Bolger, novelist, member of Aosdána
- Clare Boylan, Aosdána
- Pearse Hutchinson, Aosdána
- Rita Ann Higgins, poet, member of Aosdána
- Jennifer Johnston, member of Aosdána
- Benedict Kiely, Saoi of Aosdána
- Tom Kilroy, member of Aosdána
- Christopher Nolan, poet, member of Aosdána
- Frank O'Connor, short story writer
- John McGahern, novelist, member of Aosdána
- Seamus Deane, member of Aosdána
- Carlo Gébler, member of Aosdána
- Michael Longley, member of Aosdána
- Frank McGuinness, member of Aosdána
- Richard Murphy,poet, member of Aosdána
- James Plunkett, member of Aosdána
- William Trevor, writer, member of Aosdána
- Lady Gregory, playwright and founder of the Abbey Theatre
- Deirdre Purcell
- Marina Carr, Aosdána
- Ciarán Carson, Aosdána
- Leland Bardwell, Aosdána
- Philip Casey, Aosdána
- Harry Clifton, Aosdána
- Michael Coady, Aosdána
- Dermot Healy, Aosdána
- Aidan Higgins, Aosdána
- Adrian Kenny, Aosdána
- Ulick O'Connor, Aosdána
- Julia Ó Faoláin, Aosdána
- Seán Ó Faoláin, Saoi of Aosdána
- Anthony Cronin, Aosdána
- Margaretta D'Arcy, Aosdána
- Theo Dorgan, Aosdána
- Robert Greacen, Aosdána
- Eamon Delaney
- Oliver St John Gogarty
- Mary Lavin, Saoi of Aosdána
- James Clarence Mangan poet
- Aubrey de Vere poet
- Sir Samuel Ferguson poet
- George Russell, AE
Politics
- Eamon de Valera (born in USA) Taoiseach (1932-1948; 1951-54; 1957-1959) President of Ireland (1959-1973)
- Padraic Pearse - poet, teacher and leader of the Easter Rising
- James Connolly - Scottish-born socialist, founder of the Labour Party and Easter Rising participant
- W.T. Cosgrave - President of the Executive Council (prime minister) (1922-1932)
- Mary Harney, deputy Prime Minister (Tánaiste) & leader of the Progressive Democrats
- Desmond O'Malley - founder and first leader of the Progressive Democrats
- Tim Healy - politician and Governor-General of the Irish Free State (1922-28)
- Domhnall Ua Buachalla Fianna Fáil TD turned Governor-General (1932-36/7)
- Douglas Hyde - founder of the Gaelic League, President of Ireland (1938-1945)
- Patrick Hillery - Irish EEC Commissioner & President of Ireland (1976-1990)
- Mary Robinson, President of Ireland (1990-1997)
- Mary McAleese, President of Ireland (1997-present)
- Bertie Ahern, prime minister (the Taoiseach) and leader of Fianna Fáil
- Gerry Adams - politician & leader of Sinn Féin
- Wolfe Tone - nationalist leader
- David Trimble - former First Minister of Northern Ireland and leader of the Ulster Unionist Party
- Brian Lenihan - Tánaiste & defeated presidential candidate
- Roger Casement - human rights campaigner turned revolutionary
- Michael Collins - assassinated President of the Provisional Government
- Gerry Fitt - politician & first leader of the SDLP
- John Hume - MP, MEP and second leader of the SDLP
- Garret FitzGerald - politician and Taoiseach (1981-2, 1982-87)
- Charles Haughey - politician and Taoiseach (1979-81; 1982; 1987-92)
- Countess Markiewicz - politician
- Rev. Ian Paisley MP, MEP, MLA - politician and leader of the Democratic Unionist Party
- Charles Stewart Parnell - politician and leader of the Irish Parliamentary Party
- Boyle Roche - eighteenth century politician and member of the Irish House of Commons
- Edmund Burke
- Arthur Griffith - President of Dáil Éireann (Jan-Aug 1922) & 1921 Treaty delegation leader
- David Norris - senator, Joycean scholar and gay rights campaigner
- Lord Edward FitzGerald - eighteenth century aristocratic revolutionary
- Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington - member of Irish House of Commons, military leader and British Prime Minister
- Frank Pakenham, 7th Earl of Longford Irish-born UK politician, cabinet minister and author.
- Pat Cox - President of the European Parliament
- Brian Boru - High King of Ireland
- Rory O'Connor - High King of Ireland
- Dermot McMurrough - King of Leinster
- Garret Fitzgerald - the Great Earl of Kildare
- Patrick Sarsfield - Earl of Lucan - military leader
- Willam Joyce - Lord Haw Haw - Nazi propagandist
- Robert Emmet - leader of 1803 rebellion
- Henry Joy McCracken - Ulster leader of 1798 rebellion
- Daniel O'Connell - The Liberator - leader of campaign for Catholic Emancipation
- Isaac Butt - Home Rule leader
- Michael Davitt (1846-1906) - founder of the Land League
- John Redmond - Home Rule leader
- Eoin MacNeill - founder-member of the Gaelic League
- Thomas J. Clarke - signatory of 1916 Proclamation
- The O'Rahilly - 1916 leader
- Joseph Mary Plunkett - signatory of 1916 Proclamation
- Jeremiah O'Donovan Rossa - veteran Fenian leader (d. 1915)
- Seán Mac Diarmada - signatory of 1916 Proclamation
- Thomas MacDonagh - signatory of 1916 Proclamation
- Eamonn Ceannt - signatory of 1916 Proclamation
- Tomás MacCurtain - Lord Mayor of Cork (d. 1920)
- Terence MacSwiney - Lord Mayor of Cork (d. 1920)
- Arthur Griffith - Home Rule leader (d. 1922)
- Seán Lemass - Taoiseach
- General Eoin O'Duffy - leader of the Blueshirts
- John A Costello - Taoiseach (1948-51),(1954-57)
- Noel Browne - controversial Health Minister (1948-51)
- Seán MacBride - IRA chief, minister (1948-51),lawyer and founder member of Amnesty International
- T.K. Whitaker - architect of post-war economic development
- Liam Cosgrave - Taoiseach(1973-77)
- Frederick Boland - Diplomat and Irish delegate to UN
- Lord Edward Fitzgerald - aristocratic rebel in 1798 rebellion
- Henry Grattan- 18th century defender of Irish parliamentary independence and opponent of the Act of Union
- Thomas D'Arcy McGee, promoter of a federal union for the Canadian provinces
Science, Education and Technology
- Robert Boyle
- Nicholas Comins (binaural stethoscope)
- John Phillip Holland (submarine designer)
- John Boyd Dunlop (pneumatic tyre)
- William Rowan Hamilton (quaternions; mathematical physics)
- George Francis FitzGerald - physicist
- George Stokes
- Ernest Thomas Sinton Walton - physicist (1951 Nobel Prize in Physics)
- Virginia O'Mahony - President of the Irish Primary Principals Network
Sport
- George Best, footballer
- John Pius Boland - double Olympic medal-winner/tennis,1896
- Sean Boylan, long-time manager of All-Ireland winning Meath football team
- Eamonn Coghlan, runner
- Ronnie Delany - Olympic medal winner/athletics
- Damien Duff, footballer
- Eamon Dunphy, soccer player turned media commentator and broadcaster
- Shay Given, footballer
- Elizabeth Hawkins-Whitshed, 19th century mountaineer
- Eddie Irvine, Formula One driver
- Robbie Keane, footballer
- Roy Keane, footballer
- Sean Kelly, cyclist
- Dave McAuley, boxer
- Mick McCarthy - former Republic of Ireland football manager
- Paul McGinley, golfer
- Barry McGuigan, boxer
- Pat O'Callaghan - Olympic gold medal/hammer, 1928, 1932
- Brian O'Driscoll, rugby player
- Mick O'Dywer, successful gaelic inter-county football manager
- Jonjo O'Neill, jockey
- Colm O'Rourke, Gaelic Athletic Association GAA footballer
- Sonia O'Sullivan, Olympic medal winner
- Niall Quinn, footballer
- Stephen Roche, cyclist
- Michelle Smith - disgraced Olympic swimming medal-winner
- Bob Tisdall - Olympic gold medal/400mH, 1932
- John Treacy - Olympic silver medal/marathon, 1984
- Ruby Walsh, jockey
- Keith Wood, rugby player
Other
- Emily O'Reilly - journalist, Ombudsman and Information Commissioner
- James Hamilton - Director of Public Prosecutions
- Harry Clarke - stained glass artist
- Michael Mills - Ombudsman
- Kevin Murphy, Ombudsman and Information Commissioner
- Arthur Guinness - brewer
- Terry Wogan - TV and radio "personality"
- Gay Byrne - broadcaster and presenter of the Late Late Show (1962-1999)
- Eamonn Andrews - TV personality, producer and businessman
- Graham Norton - TV personality and actor
- Pat Kenny - broadcaster & presenter of the Late Late Show (1999-present)
- George Berkeley - philosopher
- Desmond Connell, Cardinal Archbishop of Dublin and Primate of Ireland
- Lord Eames, Church of IrelandArchbishop of Armagh and Primate of All Ireland
- Jim Duffy - Irish advisor to Australia's Republic Advisory Committee
- Lord Killanin, former head of the International Olympic Committee
- St. Patrick - Welsh born Irish patron saint
- St. Brigid - Irish saint and bishop
- St. Aidan of Lindisfarne
- Dermot Morgan - satirist and star of Father Ted
- Lord Henry Mountcharles - rock impressario, owner of Slane Castle, politician
- Edward Arthur Henry Pakenham, 6th Earl of Longford - Gate Theatre manager
- Lady Mary Heath - early aviator
- Michelle Burke - twice Oscar-winner for make-up
- Philip Treacy - milliner
- Norah Barnacle - wife of James Joyce
- Sir Alfred Chester Beatty
- Sir Horace Plunkett - founder of co-operative movement
- Sir Anthony J F O'Reilly - Independent Newspapers and head of Heinz, 1979-1996
- Kitty O'Shea - mistress of Charles Stewart Parnell
- Edward Martyn - co-founder of the Irish Literary Theatre
- James Larkin - labour leader
- William Martin Murphy - Dublin Employers Association (1911)
- Johannes Scotus Erigena - theologian (b. 810)
- Ernest Shackleton - explorer
- Grace O'Malley - Granuaile,Gráinne Mhaol, pirate queen
- Edward McLysaght - Chief Herald of Ireland, 1943-54
- Gerard Slevin - Chief Herald of Ireland, 1954-81
- Patricia Donlon - Chief Herald of Ireland, 1995-97
- Donal Begley - Chief Herald of Ireland, 1981-95
- Brendan O Donoghue - Chief Herald of Ireland, 1997-date
- Niall FitzGerald, honorary KBE, chief executive Unilever
- Eliza Lynch, mistress of Francisco López, Paraguayan dictator