Dictionary of Irish Biography

Irish United-man in Europe

On 29 May 1968 Shay Brennan, Tony Dunne and George Best (1946–2005) became the first Irishmen to win a European Champions Cup winners medal ... read the DIB entry on Shay Brennan, By Dr Jim Shanahan, below.

The ragged trousered philanthropists, a seminal account of working class life, influenced the course of post-war Britain.

Karl Marx and the DIB: John Wheatley

19 May is the 149th anniversary of the birth of John Wheatley (1869–1930), a Co. Waterford native and childhood emigrant to Scotland

Karl Marx and the DIB

This month marks the 200th anniversary of the birth of the German scholar and revolutionary socialist Karl Marx on 5 May 1818. At intervals throughout the month, we will feature articles from the Royal Irish Academy’s...

Valentin Iremonger, Irish poet and diplomat

To celebrate the centenary of Valentin Iremonger's birth we are posting his entry in the Dictionary of Irish Biography by Bridget Hourican

100th anniversary of the birth of Sheila Tinney, MRIA

We are commemorating the100th anniversary of Sheila Tinney's birth one of our first female Members on 15th January 2018.

Fifty-seven new lives added to the Dictionary of Irish Biography online

Amongst the 57 new lives added to the DIB online in December 2017, our third batch of ‘Missing Persons’, you can read about the architect Hebert Simms (1898–1948), Theosophist and man of letters.

Maria Edgeworth's 250th anniversary

The 250th anniversary of the birth of Maria Edgeworth (1768–1849), novelist, essayist, and educationist is on 1st January 2018.

Thomas Ashe

To mark the centenary of the death of Thomas Ashe on 25 September 1917 we have published online his biography from our project the Dictionary of Irish Biography.