Cork's
Famous People
Aikenhead, Mary: Born in Cork on 19th
January 1787. Her father was Dr. David Aikenhead, a protestant who became
a Roman Catholic on his death bed. Mary founded the first congregation
of sisters of charity, at the request of Dr. Murray the archbishop of Dublin.
Mary went to train in York and then returned to Dublin where they opened
the orders first house in Ireland at North William Street, Dublin. She
also founded St. Vincent's hospital. She died on 22nd
July
1858.
Allman, George James: Born in Cork in 1812 and educated at RBAI
and TCD, graduating in medicine, he devoted much of his life to the study
of marine zoology. He conducted an investigation into the classification
and morphology of the coelenterata and polyzoa. he received medals from
the Royal Society of Edinburgh, the Linnean Society and the RIA for his
work on hydroids. He died at Parkstone, Dorset on 24th
November
1898.
Barry, James: Born at Water Lane in Cork on 11th
October 1741. His father was a shipmaster, but James having spent a short
time at sea went to study painting at West's academy in Dublin. His paintings
include "St. Patrick baptizing the king of cashel", "Philoctes on the isle
of Lemnos", "Adam and Eve" and six pictures illustrating the "culture and
progress of human knowledge" He died on the 22nd February
1806 and is buried in St. Paul's Cathedral, London.
Barry, Tom: Born in Ross Carbery, Co. Cork on 1stJuly
1897. He joined the British army in 1915 and served in Iraq during the
first world war. Upon his return to Ireland he joined the IRA and began
the organization and training of the West Cork column. In 1920 he commanded
the ambush of auxiliary forces at Kilmichael and in 1921 defeated a superior
force from the Essex regiment at Crossbarry. During the civil war he joined
the republican side and was imprisoned by free state forces at the Curragh.
He resigned from the IRA in 1938 as he would not support a planned bombing
campaign in England. His book "Guerilla days in Ireland" was published
in 1949. He died on 2nd July 1980.
Barter, Richard: Born in 1802 at Cooldaniel, Co. Cork, he became
convinced of the curative powers of water during the cholera epidemic of
1832. Ten years later he set up St. Anne's water cure establishment at
Blarney. He also set up a modern hot-air bath and Turkish baths. He died
at Blarney on 3rd October 1870.
Bennett, Edward Hallaran: Born at Charlotte Quay, Cork on the
9th April 1837, became an authority on
bone fractures. He made a collection of fractures and dislocations for
the pathological museum at the University of Dublin. A form of fracture at
the base of the metacarpal bone of the thumb is named in his honour.
He died on 21st June 1907 in Dublin.
Bergin, Osborn Joseph: Born in Cork on 26th
November 1873 and educated at Cork Grammar school and Queens College Cork
where, in 1897, he was appointed lecturer in celtic studies. After
studying Early Irish in Berlin he was appointed as the first professor
of Early and Medieval Irish at UCD. A post he occupied from 1909 - 1940.
He was general editor of the Royal Irish Academy's Dictionary of the Irish
Language. He died on 6th October 1950,
in Dublin.
Binchy, Daniel: Born in 1909 at Charleville, Co. Cork, Daniel
was called to the bar in 1921. In 1929 he was appointed as Ireland's first
minister to Germany. He devoted much of his life to the study of old Irish
legal texts and produced a six volume transcript of the surviving material
entitled Corpus Juris Hibernica. He died on 4th
May 1989 in Dublin. |