McFADDEN, JAMES 1842-1917

James McFadden was born in Doochary, County Donegal, and was educated at Maynooth. He came to Gweedore, County Donegal, where he was appointed parish priest in 1875. He campaigned against the drinking of poteen and inhibited traditional gatherings where it might be consumed. He was known as 'An Sagart Mor': 'The Big Priest' and 'The fighting priest of Gweedore', although he was a small man. He championed the cause of the Land League and in 1888 was imprisoned for encouraging tenants not to pay rent. In 1889, District Inspector Martin attempted to serve a summons on him outside Derrybeg Chapel after mass; a scuffle broke out, and Martin was allegedly murdered by bystanders. Cannon McFadden, along with others, was arrested and tried for murder. He was released, although some of the participants were imprisoned for up to thirty years. He became parish priest of Iniskeel and died in Glenties. He was a prolific pamphleteer.

MacFARLAND, JOHN HENRY 1851-1935

John MacFarland was born in Omagh, County Tyrone and educated at Queen's College, Belfast and at Cambridge. In 1881 he went to Ormond College, Melbourne and in 1886 became a Member of the University Council. A Doctorate of Laws was conferred upon him by the Royal University of Ireland in 1892. He was appointed Vice-Chancellor of Melbourne University in 1910 and became Chancellor in 1918. He was knighted the following year.

MAC FHIONNGHAILE (or MAC FHIONNLAOICH), PEADAR (MacGINLEY, PETER) 1857-1940

Peadar Mac Fhionnghaile was born in County Donegal and though he learned some Irish as a child, he was not an Irish speaker. In 1878 he joined the civil service in England. When he returned to Ireland in 1893, he joined the Gaelic League, and from 1923 served as its President. As well as A Handbook of Irish Teaching, he wrote plays and edited anthologies of Irish verse. Among his works, many of which were written under the pseudonym Cu Uladh, are Eachtra Aodha Ruaidh Ui Dhomhnaill, Conchubhar Mac Neasa and An Cogadh Dearg agus Sgealta Eile.

MAC GABHANN, MICI 1865-1948

Mici Mac Gabhann was born in County Donegal, the eldest child of a Gaelic-speaking family. When he was nine years old he was hired out as a herder. At the age of fifteen he went as a labourer to Scotland, and when he was twenty went to America as a gold prospector. In 1902 he returned to Ireland, rich with Klondyke gold and bought a farm. His story, which was transmitted orally to Sean O hEochaidh was published as Rotha Mor an tSaoil, and it won the Club Leabhar award. Valentin Iremonger translated it into English as The Hard Road to Klondyke.

MAC GABHRAIN, AODH 18th century

Aodh Mac Gabhrain was from County Cavan. His 'Plearaca na Ruarcach' was translated by Swift as 'O'Rourke's Feast' and set to music by Carolan.

MacGAURAN (or MAGAURAN), EDMUND 1548-1593

Edmund MacGauran was born in County Cavan and was educated abroad. In 1581 he was appointed Bishop of Ardagh, and in 1587 became Archbishop of Armagh. He was opposed to the rule of Elizabeth and sought help from Philip II of Spain. On his return to Ireland, he had to take refuge with Hugh Maguire. He was killed when Maguire, at his instigation, rebelled against the English. His followers are said to have taken away his head.

McGEE, JAMES E. 1830-1880

James McGee was born in Cushendall, County Antrim, and was educated in Wexford where he joined the staff of The Nation. He emigrated to New York and practised law. He joined the army during the Civil War, rising to be Colonel. He published The Men of '48; Sketches of Irish Soldiers; and Priests and Poets of Ireland.

McGETTIGAN, DANIEL 1815-1887

Daniel McGettigan was born in Mevagh, County Donegal. He was educated at Navan and Maynooth and was ordained in 1839. He served as parish priest in Ballyshannon until he became coadjutor to the Bishop of Raphoe in 1856, eventually succeeding to the see in 1861. In 1870 he was appointed Archbishop of Armagh, his original refusal to accept the position having been overruled by the Pope.

MACGILL, PATRICK 1891-1963

Patrick MacGill was born in the Glenties, County Donegal, where he left school when he was ten years old and was hired out at the Strabane hiring fair. He emigrated to Scotland when he was fourteen and worked as a navvy, a platelayer and a labourer. He published Gleanings from a Navvy's Scrapbook; Songs of a Navvy and Songs of the Dead End, all of which were very popular, the former procuring him a job on the editorial staff of the Daily Express. The archivist of the Chapter Library of Windsor Castle appointed MacGill, who was twenty-three, to the position of editor of ancient manuscripts. In 1914 he wrote a semi-autobiographical novel, Children of the Dead End, which in its first week of publication sold thirty-five thousand copies in England. During the First World War he served with the London Irish Rifles and later published The Great Push : An Episode of the Great War, Soldier Songs and The Amateur Army. His play, Suspense; which also deals with the war, was published in 1930. Among his other works are Maureen, The Glen of Carra and The Rat Pit. He went to America in 1930 on a proposed lecture tour, but because of the depression, the tour fell through. Because he had no money, he and his family were stranded in Los Angeles. His wife, Margaret Gibbons MacGill opened a dramatic school in Los Angeles and later in Florida. She published twenty novels, and later, short stories. Patrick lived in America for the rest of his life, and died at Fall River, Massachusetts, where he is buried.

McGILLIGAN, PATRICK 1889-1979

Patrick McGilligan was born in Coleraine, County Londonderry, and was educated at St Columb's, Derry, Clongowes Wood College and University College, Dublin. He was called to the Bar in 1921. After an unsuccessful attempt to win a seat for Sinn Fein in 1918, he became a member of the Dail for the National University of Ireland. From 1924 to 1932 he was Minister for Industry and Commerce, during which time he set up the Electricity Supply Board to harness the waters of the Shannon. In 1927 he had the additional office of Minister for External Affairs. During 1929 and 1930 he was heavily involved in the Imperial Conference and the Committee on the Operation of Dominion Legislation. From 1937 to 1965 he represented Dublin constituencies in the Dail. During this period he was Minister for Finance, and he also became Professor of Constitutional and International Law at University College, Dublin. In 1946 he was appointed Senior Counsel and served from 1951 to 1954 as Attorney-General.

MacGINLEY, PETER, see MAC FHIONNGHAILE, PEADAR

MAC GIOLLA GUNNA, CATHAL BUIDHE c.1680-1756

Cathal Mac Giolla Gunna was born in County Cavan or County Fermanagh, and though he had been educated for the priesthood, he wandered the roads as a poet and gained such an infamous reputation that the priests of County Cavan ordered that no Catholic home should shelter him. It is said that on his death, when a priest was being fetched, he wrote a poem of repentance, 'Aithreachas Chathail Bhuidhe', on the wall of a hut and that a halo of light surrounded his dead body. A few poems survive which are attributed to him, the most celebrated of which is 'An Bonnan Buidhe'.

McGONAGLE (Mac GONGAIL), DONALD c.1520-1598

Donald McGonagle was a native of Killybegs, County Donegal, and in 1562 was appointed Bishop of Raphoe. In the same year he was consecrated in Rome and took part in the Council of Trent. He returned to Ireland and attended a provincial synod in Ulster in 1587 when the decrees of the Council of Trent were instigated. He lived in the Manor House at Killybegs and, according to a manuscript in the British Library, 'could write well and spoke Latin and English as well as Irish'.

McGONIGAL, AMBROSE JOSEPH 1917-1979

Ambrose McGonigal was educated at Clongowes Wood College and Queen's University, Belfast. He served with distinction in the Royal Air Force during the Second World War and was decorated. In 1948 he was called to the Northern Ireland Bar and later became a High Court judge. In 1975 he became Lord Justice of Appeal. He was subsequently knighted.

McGONIGAL, JOHN 1870-1943

John McGonigal was born in Sydenham, County Down, and educated at St Malachy's College, Belfast, and Blackrock College. In 1892 he was called to the Bar, and from 1910 to 1913 was Professor of the Law of Personal Property, Contracts and Torts at King's Inns. In 1917 he was appointed Senior Crown Prosecutor in Belfast and in 1939 he became county court judge for Tyrone.

McGOUGH, JOHN 1887-1967

John McGough was born in County Monaghan and emigrated to Scotland. He was a middle-distance athlete and won a silver medal for Great Britain in the 1,500 metres race.

McGOWAN, JAMES 1841-1912

James McGowan was born in Comber, County Down. He emigrated to New Zealand in 1865 and began a business which made him rich. He was elected Mayor of Thames, New Zealand, and on entering political life became Minister of Justice and Mines. While he was in office he wrote on mines and minerals and introduced prison reforms. He died in New Zealand.

McGOWN, THOMAS MELVLLLE WHITSON 1876-1956

Tom McGown played international rugby for the North of Ireland Football Club. He won three international caps for Ireland and played in all four Test matches when he went with the Lions on the 1899 tour of Australia. In 1896 he won a Blue at Cambridge

McGRATH, MILER see MAGRATH, MILER

McGREDY, SAMUEL 1828-1903

Sam McGredy had been a head gardener but in 1880 leased ten acres of ground outside Portadown, County Armagh and established the firm of Samuel McGredy & Son, Nurserymen. He grew and sold fruit trees, shrubs and pansies and his business flourished. He was appointed a justice of the peace. When he died the business was run by his son.

McGREDY, SAMUEL b. 1861

Samuel McGredy was born in Gilford, County Armagh and educated there. He inherited his father's nursery business at Woodside, Portadown, County Armagh and began to grow his own roses in 1891. Already there was competition from Dicksons in Newtownards, County Down. He began by raising a few hundred seedlings and in 1886 won first prize for roses at Douglas, Isle of Man. This was followed by a first prize and cup in Glasgow the following year and many awards followed. He won a Gold medal for his salmon pink rose `Countess of Gosford' with the National Rose Society and in 1921 won the Society's Dean Hole Medal. He became a justice of the peace and was known as `The Irish Wizard'.

MAC GRIANNA, SEOSAMH (GREENE, JOSEPH) 1900-1990

Seosamh Mac Grianna was born in Ranafast, County Donegal. He was educated at St Columbkille's College in Derry and St Patrick's, Drumcondra, where he qualified as a schoolteacher in 1921. During the civil war and its aftermath (1922-4) he was interned as a political prisoner. He is regarded as one of the finest writers in Irish of the 20th century. He translated many books from English into Irish under the auspices of An Gum working on the belief that only a writer can translate a writer. He visited Wales in the mid-1930s and his experience there is recorded in his autobiography, Mo Bhealach Fein. From late 1935, when he felt his creativity had failed him, he suffered a nervous disorder. This was exacerbated by the fact that he was living in penury. Eventually he returned to Donegal and spent a long period in a mental institution in Letterkenny, where he died. Among his publications are An Druma Mor, An Gradh agus an Ghruaim, Eoghan Rua O Neill, Padraic O Conaire agus Aisti Eile, and An Bhreatain Bheag.

McGUINNESS, NORAH 1903-1980

Norah McGuinness was born in Derry and was educated at Victoria High School. In 1921 she entered the Metropolitan School of Art, Dublin, and later studied at Chelsea Polytechnic, London, and later in Paris. She went to India to stay with her sister, and on her return to London, became engaged in book illustration. She exhibited in New York shortly before the Second World War and created window displays for stores. Having returned to Ireland, she was President of the Living Art Exhibition from 1944 to 1972, during which period she was elected to the Royal Hibernian Academy. She illustrated books by W. B. Yeats, designed window displays for shops, and sets for the Abbey and Peacock Theatres. At the Venice Biennale she was one of the Irish representatives and her paintings have been exhibited in London, Dublin, Belfast, New York, Monaco, Derry and Paris. In 1980 she received an honorary degree from Trintiy College, Dublin. She died in Dublin and the Douglas Hyde Gallery held a retrospective exhibition in 1968.

MACHA

Macha, a mythological figure, was the queen of Uladh who won her right to the throne by killing one rival and marrying the other. She compelled the sons of the dead man to build the palace of Emain Macha, the site of which is near the city of Armagh.

McHENRY, JAMES 1753-1816

James McHenry was born in Ballymena and emigrated to America, where he joined the army as a surgeon. He became private secretary to George Washington. He was elected to Congress and served as Secretary of War from 1786 to 1800. He died in Baltimore.

McHENRY, JAMES 1785-1845

James McHenry was born in Larne and published poetry in order to pay for his education at Glasgow. He emigrated to America in 1817, where he traded, edited the American Monthly Magazine and practised medicine. He published many novels, including O'Halloran, the Insurgent Chief; The Hearts of Steel (1825); The Wilderness and Meredith. Edgar Allan Poe praised his poem 'The Antedeluvians'. He was American consul in Derry from 1842 to 1845.

McHENRY, JAMES 1816-1891

James McHenry was a leading Irish-American financier and patron of the arts. He is remembered for having introduced Indian corn into Ireland at the time of the Famine. He published the Life and Works of J. Sheridan Knowles (5 vols) and the Geneological Table of Sheridan, Lefanu and Knowles Families. He was the son of James McHenry (1785-1845).

McILHAGGER, DAVID SHERWOOD 1911-1993

David McIlhagger was born in Belfast and at the age of sixteen was an apprentice with the Belfast Omnibus Co., during which period he attended evening classes at the Belfast School of Technology. In 1933 he graduated in electrical engineering from Queen's University, Belfast, and in 1935, was appointed lecturer at the Belfast College of Technology. In 1942 he gained his doctorate from Queen's University and became lecturer there in 1955, and senior lecturer in 1960. In 1970 he was given a Readership. He was a senior research fellow in Civil Engineering and in 1977 joined the wave power research group. He contributed to the rebuilding of St Barnabus Church, Belfast, after the war, and in 1963 was lay representative from Connor diocese at the Anglican Congress in Toronto. He was Chairman of the local branch of the Institute of Electrical Engineers, and was the Northern Ireland Representative on the Council of the Benevolent Fund.

MacILROY, ARCHIBALD 1860-1915

Archibald MacIlroy was born in Ballyclare, County Antrim, and worked in insurance and banking and was a local councillor. He wrote many stories and novels, including A Banker's Love Story (1901); The Humour of Druid's Island (anecdoted of Islandmagee) and The Auld Meeting House Green (1898). He died at sea in the Lusitania which was sunk off the coast of Cork in 1915.

MacILWAINE, JOHN ELDER 1874-1930

John MacIlwaine was born in Belfast and was educated at the Royal Belfast Academical Institution, Queen's University, Belfast, and Glasgow University, where he was a student of engineering and naval architecture. In 1894 he took a degree in the latter after serving an apprenticeship in a shipyard. He then studied medicine and graduated as a doctor from the Royal University of Ireland in 1904. He studied at the Universities of Berlin, Cambridge, Paris and Vienna and held the Chair of Materia Medica and Theraputics at Queen's University, Belfast.

MacILWAINE, WILLIAM 1807-1880

William MacIlwaine was minister of St George's Church, Belfast. He was a classical and English scholar and was a member of the board of the Linen Hall Library. His works include Death Conquered and other poems; A Vision of Italy: a poem; Heotha and Melech and other poems; and The Thistle, Rose and Shamrock, as well as several religious texts. He was editor of the second edition of Lyra Hibernica Sacra in 1879.

McINERNEY, MICHAEL 1906-1980

Michael McInerney was born in Limerick and was educated at Limerick Vocational School. While working as a clerk on the railways in London he joined the Communist Party and was co-founder of the London Connolly Club. He contributed to the Daily Worker and was editor of the Irish Front from 1939 to 1941, when he became a clerk for the Great Northern Railway in Belfast. During this period he was an active trade unionist and editor of the Communist Party of Ireland newspaper, Unity. In 1946 he moved to Dublin as a reporter on the Irish Times and was appointed political correspondent in 1951. Among his many writings are biographies of Erskine Childers and Peadar O'Donnell. He was president of the Irish branch of the National Union of Journalists and was elected an honorary life member in 1974.

McIVOR, JOHN b.1894

John McIvor was born in Ballybay, County Monaghan. He was a school teacher and published many books, including Popular Education in the Irish Presbyterian Church; Extracts from a Ballybay Scrapbook (1974) and Divining in Ireland (1980).

MacKAY, WILLIAM b.1846

William MacKay was born in Belfast, and he and both his brothers Wallace and Joseph wrote fiction, plays and poetry. William published several novels among which is Beside Still Waters.

McKEE, EVA b.1890

Eva McKee studied at the School of Art in Belfast where she attended evening classes. It is likely that at the same time she was working with the Irish Decorative Art Association. She first exhibited her work in 1921 at the Arts and Crafts Society of Ireland and later took part in most of the major craft exhibitions. She formed a partnership with Eveline McCloy, and together they produced decorated wood-work, decorated ceramics, embroidery, jewellery, leather-work, repousse metal-work lace-work, enamelling and calendars and cards, containing the hand-lettered verses of writers such as James Stephens and Joseph Campbell. They used Celtic and Oriental designs. Eva McKee specialised in painted pottery and used the products of Belleek and Wedgewood on which to work. She won a medal in 1922 at the Tailteann Exhibition in Dublin. She also produced ceramic tiles and ceramic brooches. Into the 1940s, the studio in Wellington Place was active and producing innovative and inspirational work.

McKEE, FREDERICK 20th century

Fred McKee played soccer for Cliftonville and won Irish Cup medals in 1907 and 1909. He played for Belfast Celtic and won three Irish Football Association Cup medals in 1915, 1916 and 1919. He also played for Linfield. He was capped five times for Northern Ireland .

McKEE, WILLIAM DESMOND 1923-1982

Des McKee was both a rugby and cricket international. He played for the North of Ireland Football Club and was capped twelve times for Ireland between 1947 and 1951. He scored two international tries, both against England, one in 1948 and the other in 1949. He played cricket for Ireland on one occasion against Scotland in 1946.

McKELVEY, FRANK 1895-1974

Frank McKelvey was born in Belfast. He worked as a poster designer before entering the Belfast School of Art. In 1911-12 he won the Sir Charles Brett Prize for figure drawaing, the Fitzpatrick Prize for figure drawing in 1913-14 and a bronze medal in 1917. He was commissioned by Thomas McGowan to paint pictures of old Belfast, and this collection is in the Ulster Museum. He was a member of the Royal Hibernian Academy, and exhibited in Belfast, Dublin and Derry. He had a one-man show in 1936 where three of his landscapes were purchased as a wedding present for Queen Juliana by Dutch people residing in Ireland. He painted many portraits, amongst them Sir William Whitla, the Duke of Abercorn, first governor of Northern Ireland and Professor Sir William Thomson. He illustrated Margaret Holland's Book My Winter of Content, and his work is represented in many collections, including that of the Ulster Museum.

MACKEN, JOHN, (pseud. FITZADAM, ISMAEL) 1784-1823

John Macken was born in Brookeborough, County Fermanagh, and served in the navy. He was one of the founders of the Erne Packet in 1808. In 1818 he went to London, where he was involved with the Literary Gazette, but he returned to Ireland in 1821. Much of his literary work appeared under the pseudonym Ismael Fitzadam. He published volumes of poetry: The Harp of the Desert (1818) and Lays on Land. He died in Enniskillen.

McKENNA, ANDREW JOSEPH 1883-1872

Andrew McKenna was born in County Cavan. He moved to Belfast in 1862 as editor of the Ulster Observer. After a quarrel with Bishop Dorrian in 1868 he left the Observer and founded the second Northern Star, which ceased publication on his death in 1872. He wrote poetry. He died in Holywood, County Down.

McKENNA, ELLEN (REV. MOTHER AUGUSTINE) 1819-1883

Ellen McKenna was born at Aghaninimy, near Monaghan. She emigrated to the United States of America after the Great Famine, and taught in a school in New York, before she entered the Sisters of Mercy in 1855. She was a committed social worker, particularly during the American Civil War. She published many poems and articles anonymously. She died in Balmville.

McKENNA, JAMES EDWARD 1868-1931

James McKenna was born in Truagh, County Monaghan, and was educated at St Macarten's College and Maynooth. He was curate in Enniskillen from 1893 to 1909 and parish priest of Dromore, County Tyrone, from 1909. He was a member of the Royal Society of Antiquaries in Ireland and of the Royal Irish Academy. He contributed to journals, especially the Ulster Journal of Archaeology. Among his works are Parish of Dromore (1916); A History of the Diocese of Clogher (printed in sections by the Fermanagh Herald from 1920); Lough Erne; Lough Derg; Fermanagh and its Princes and Devenish (1899).

MacKENNA, JOHN (or JUAN) 1771-1814

John MacKenna was born either in Clogher, County Tyrone or in Aghaninimy, County Monaghan, and was educated at the Royal Academy of Mathematics in Barcelona. He was appointed a cadet in the Irish Corps of Military Engineers in the Spanish army. In 1796 he sailed to Peru and served as a military engineer in Chile. In 1797 he was appointed Governor of Osorno. He became Commander-in-Chief of Artillery and Engineers in Carrera's revolutionary organisation. After a disagreement he was banished, but was recalled in 1813, at which point he became military commander of Santiago, having been promoted to brigadier-general. He changed allegiance to Carrera's rival, Bernardo O'Higgins and became second-in-command after O'Higgins's victory. In 1814 Carrera was restored to power and MacKenna was banished. He died the same year in a duel with Carrera's brother in Buenos Aires. [Biography by his grandson, 1859]

MacKENNA, NIAL early 18th century

Nial MacKenna was born in Fews, County Armagh and settled at Mullaghcrew, County Louth. He was a prolific song-writer, and his Gaelic songs were extremely popular. Some of them are preserved in the Transactions of the Iberno Celtic Society (1808).

McKENNA, SIOBHAN 1923-1986

Siobhan McKenna was born in Belfast and moved to Galway when she was five years old. She was educated at the Dominican Convent, Galway, St Louis Convent, Monaghan, and University College, Galway. Her acting career began in An Taibhdhearc (the Irish-language theatre in Galway), after which she joined the Abbey Theatre in 1944. The Evening Standard named her actress of the year in 1958, and she was famous for performances in plays such as St Joan by Bernard Shaw and Synge's Playboy of the Western World. Here are Ladies, her one-woman show, was a tremendous success, especially her delivery of Molly Bloom's soliloquy from Joyce's Ulysses. The honours conferred on her include the gold medal of the Eire Society of Boston, an honorary doctorate from Trinity College, Dublin, and in 1983, life membership of the Royal Dublin Society. In 1975 she was appointed President of Ireland's advisory Council of State.

McKENZIE, G. W. 1857-1924

G. W. McKenzie was born in Belfast and trained in the Government School of Design, where he won the National Scholarship which allowed him to study at the Royal Academy, London, where he exhibited, and at Julian's, Paris. He was involved with the Belfast Ramblers' Sketching Club and the Belfast Art Society and he became one of the foremost portrait painters in Ulster. He was an associate of the Royal Hibernian Academy, Dublin and he exhibited there. The Ulster Museum holds his portrait of William Gray.

MacKENZIE, JOHN c.1648-1696

John MacKenzie was born near Cookstown, County Tyrone, and was ordained as a Presbyterian minister in Cookstown in 1673. Having taken refuge in Derry during the siege of 1688-9, he wrote A Narrative, which showed George Walker, who had written his own account, in a very different light. McKenzie's is regarded as the more accurate.

McKEOWN, JAMES 1814-1889

James McKeown, after a brief schooling, went to work in Barbours, the thread-manufacturers, in Hilden, County Antrim. He contributed poems to the Nation using the pen-name `Curlew' and `Kitty Connor'. He became known as the Bard of Lambeg. For forty years he worked at Richardson's Glenview Bleachworks and received a pension. It was said that he frequently walked from Lambeg to Belfast to attend the theatre. His poems were written in Ulster Scots dialect and appeared in The Harp of Erin; a book of ballad poetry and native song, collected, arranged and annotated by Ralph Varian, in 1869.

McKINNEY, WILLIAM FEE 1832-1917

William Fee McKinney was born in Sentry Hill, Carnmoney, County Antrim. He farmed the family land. He was a member of the Belfast Naturalists' Field Club and he col-lected fossils and stone axes, which he displayed at Sentry Hill. He compiled family histories of the people of Carnmoney and collected ballads and books of local poetry. He helped to found the Carnmoney Mutual Improvement Society in 1869. He was a keen photographer and six hundred photographic plates remain in his collection.

MACKLIN, CHARLES, see McLAUGHLIN, CHARLES

MacKNIGHT, JAMES 1801-1876

James MacKnight was born near Rathfriland, County Down, and was educated in Belfast. In 1826, in the absence of the librarian, McKnight was appointed deputy librarian of the Linen Hall Library. He became editor of the Belfast News-Letter in 1827 and when he went to Derry he worked on the Londonderry Standard though for a brief period he returned to Belfast to edit Banner of Ulster. He was an opponent of Repeal, but a strong supporter of the Tenant Right movement, and in 1852 he joined the Tenant League. Among his work is The Ulster Tenants' Claim of Right, published in 1848

MacKNIGHT, THOMAS 1829-1899

Thomas MacKnight was born in County Durham and educated at Gainsford and King's College, London. From 1865 he was editor of the Northern Whig, Belfast. He published A Literary and Political Biography of the Right Honorable Benjamin Disraeli, MP, in 1853; The History of the Life and Times of Edmund Burke in three volumes, 1856 to 1860, and Ulster as it is or Thirty Years Experience as an Irish Editor, 1896.

MacLAINE, ARCHIBALD 1722-1804

Archibald MacLaine was born in Monaghan and was educated in Glasgow. He was Presbyterian minister of the English Church at the Hague and Preceptor of the Prince of Orange. He translated Moscheim's Ecclesiastical History in 1765. He died in Bath.

MacLAINE (or McLEAN), JAMES 1724-1750

James MacLaine was born in Monaghan. He went to London as a servant and set up a grocer and chandler's shop in Cavendish Square. In 1748 he took to the road as a highwayman, and among his victims was Horace Walpole. In Ireland his gain from robbery allowed him to live like an Irish squire. In 1750 he was sent for trial to the Old Bailey, and among his possessions were found twenty-three purses. He was found guilty and hanged at Tyburn. He was a brother of Archibald MacLaine.

McLAUGHLIN (or MACKLIN), CHARLES c.1697-1797

Charles McLaughlin was born in the north of Ireland and educated in Dublin. Before he appeared in London in 1725 he had been a member of a company of strolling players. It is said that he stabbed a fellow actor in a quarrel. By 1740 he had become popular at Drury Lane and was a friend of Garrick's. He wrote many plays, among which are The True-Born Irishman; The Man of the World and Love a la Mode and he was renowned for his performance of Shylock in Shakespeare's The Merchant of Venice. He died in London. [Biographies by Congreve, Cooke and Parry].

McLAVERTY, MICHAEL FRANCIS 1904-1992

Michael McLaverty was born in Carrickmacross, County Monaghan, and moved to Belfast as a child. He was educated at St Malachy's College, Belfast, and Queen's University, Belfast. He was a teacher of mathematics and physics until 1957, when he became headmaster of St Thomas's Secondary School in west Belfast. He was a member of the Irish Academy of Letters, and among his works are several novels, including Call My Brother Back; Lost Fields; In This Thy Day; The Three Brothers (1948)and Truth in the Night (1951). He also published collections of short stories: Game Cock and other Stories and The Road to the Shore. He died in Ardglass and is buried in Strangford, County Down.

McLEAN, JOHN ROBINSON 1813-1873

John McLean was born in Belfast, trained as a civil engineer in Glasgow, and in 1844 was working as an engineer in London. He constructed many docks, harbours and railways and was asked to report on the feasibility of the Suez Canal. He was a Fellow of the Royal Society and member of parliament for East Staffordshire. He died in Kent.

MACLEAR, THOMAS 1794-1879

Thomas Maclear was born in Newtownstewart, County Tyrone, and was educated at Guy's Hospital and St Thomas's Hospital in London. In 1815 he became a member of the Royal College of Surgeons and worked in Bedford Infirmary, where he began to study astronomy and mathematics. In 1833 he was appointed Royal Astronomer at the Cape of Good Hope. He won the Lalande Prize and a Royal Medal for work which had been published in 1866. He made observations of many of the stars in the southern hemisphere, erected lighthouses on the African coast, and it is said that he taught David Livingstone the use of a sextant. He was knighted in 1860, and in 1876 became totally blind. He died in Cape Town.

MAC MAGHNUSA MHEG UIDHIR, CATHAL see MAGUIRE, CATHAL MacMANUS

MacMAHON, BERNARD d.1747

Bernard MacMahon was born in County Monaghan, and was educated in Rome. In 1718 he was appointed Vicar Apostolic of Clogher, becoming bishop of the diocese in 1727, and in 1737 Archbishop of Armagh and Primate of All Ireland.

MacMAHON, HEBER 1600-1650

Heber MacMahon was born in Farney, County Monaghan, was educated at the Irish College, Douai, and was ordained at Louvain in 1625. He was Vicar-General of Clogher and later Bishop of Down and Connor. In 1643 he was translated to the see of Clogher. Owen Roe O'Neill chose him as his adviser and on O'Neill's death in 1649 he was asked to lead the Ulster army. He stormed Dungiven, County Londonderry. His troops were defeated near Letterkenny, County Donegal, in an engagement in which he was badly wounded. He fled to Enniskillen, where he was taken prisoner by Cromwellian troops and executed.

MacMAHON, HUGH c.1606-1644

Hugh MacMahon was born in County Monaghan and after serving in the Spanish army returned to Ireland in 1641. He attempted to capture Dublin Castle, was betrayed, arrested and sent to London. He escaped from the Tower of London in 1644, but was recaptured, tried and hanged at Tyburn.

MacMAHON, HUGH d. 1737

Hugh MacMahon was born in County Monaghan, was appointed Bishop of Clogher in 1707, and Archbishop of Armagh in 1715. In 1728 he published Jus Primatiale Armachamum, which argued the question of precedence between Armagh and Dublin.

MacMAHON, JAMES 1865-1954

James MacMahon was born in Belfast and was educated at Armagh Christian Brothers' School, St Patrick's College, Armagh, and Blackrock College, Dublin. On leaving school he joined the civil service and in 1913 he was appointed Assistant Secretary to the Post Office. In 1916 he became Secretary. He was Under-Secretary to the Lord Lieutenant from 1918 to 1922.

MacMAHON, ROSS ROE 1698-1748

Ross MacMahon was born in County Monaghan and was educated in Rome. In 1727 he returned to Ireland and in 1738 was appointed Bishop of Clogher. In 1747 he became Archbishop of Armagh.

MacMANUS, ANNA (nee JOHNSTON; pseud. CARBERY, ETHNA) 1866-1902

Anna Johnston was born in Ballymena, County Antrim. She wrote many poems which were published in The Nation and United Ireland and in a collection, The Four Winds of Eirinn. In collaboration with Alice Milligan, she founded a monthly paper, the Northern Patriot and later The Shan Van Vocht, of which she was editor from 1896 to 1899. She was a member of Inghinidhe na hEireann, which provided free classes in Irish, music, dance, history and drama, and gave Yeats the impetus to launch the Irish National Theatre. Two volumes of her collected short stories appeared posthumously under the titles The Passionate Hearts and In the Celtic Past. Her collected poems, together with the poems of her husband, Seamus MacManus and of Alice Milligan, were published as We Sang For Ireland.

McMANUS, HENRY d.1873

Henry McManus was born in Monaghan and was educated at the Hibernian School in Phoenix Park, Dublin. He worked in Monaghan as an artist and painted many religious works for churches in the area. In 1835 he moved to Dublin and two years later, to London. In 1839 the Royal Academy accepted `Art Irish Market Day at Ballybay' and 'May Day at Finglas'. He became head of the Glasgow School of Design in 1845 and four years later, head of the Dublin School of Design. His illustrations were included in Hall's Ireland and Carleton's Traits and Stories of the Irish Peasants.

MacMANUS, SEAMUS 1869-1960

Seamus MacManus was born in Inver, County Donegal. He was educated at Glencoagh National School and in 1888 became its principal. He began to write for the Weekly Irish Times and other journals, and in 1899 went to America, where his stories were popular. He wrote many fairy-tales, poetry and novels, among which are Shuilers; Humours of Donegal; Through the Turf Smoke; The Bewitched Fiddle; and Land of the O'Friels. He was also a playwright and published The Woman of Seven Sorrows; Orange and Green; Dinny O'Dowd and Father Peter's Miracle. Though he continued to be based in America, he returned to Donegal every year, and is remembered for having told stories to the children at the village pump. In 1938 he published his autobiography, The Rocky Road to Dublin.

MacMANUS, TERENCE BELLEW c.1823-1861

Terence Bellew MacManus was born in Tempo, County Fermanagh. He went to Liverpool, where he was engaged in shipping. After returning to Ireland, he joined the Young Ireland movement in 1843, was arrested as a rebel in Cork, tried and sentenced to death. In 1849 he was transported to Tasmania, but he escaped in 1852. He died in San Francisco, and his body was brought back to Ireland and buried in Glasnevin cemetery, attended by masses of sympathisers, the funeral having been organised by the Fenian Brotherhood.

MAC MAOLAIN, SEAN 1886-1973

Sean Mac Maolain was born in County Antrim. In 1912 he won first prize for the Oireachtas Ode. He published many plays, stories and poems, among which are Ean Corr; Finnsceal agus Firinna; Lomramh Ghlomair and an autobiography, Gleann, Airbh go Glasnaion.

McMASTER, ANEW 1894-1962

Anew McMaster was born in Monaghan and was educated in England. He became an actor. In 1911 he appeared in The Scarlet Pimpernel and played opposite Peggy O'Neill in Paddy and the Next Best Thing. In 1921 he toured Australia and on his return to England formed a company which he managed, as well as directing and acting in performances. He was renowned for his portrayal of Shylock and Coriolanus, and in 1933 appeared at the Shakespeare Memorial Theatre, Stratford-on-Avon, as Hamlet. He toured the Near East, Ireland and Australia, returning to Dublin in 1951.

MacMASTER, GILBERT 1778-1854

Gilbert MacMaster was born in Saintfield, County Down, and was educated in Philadelphia, where he became a medical doctor. He served as pastor of the Reformed Church at Duanesberg, New York, from 1808 until 1840 and of a church at Princetown for the next six years. He became Doctor of Divinity, and among his publications are Apology for the Book of Psalms and an Essay in Defence of Christianity. He died in Albany.

McMASTER, WILLIAM 1811-1887

William McMaster was born in County Tyrone and became a rich merchant in Toronto. He was a member of the Legislative Council from 1862 to 1867 and was called to the Senate. He was appointed as President of the Bank of Commerce and was founder of a Literary Institute and a Baptist church, as well as McMaster Hall, which is now the University of Toronto. He died in Toronto.

MAC MEANMAIN, SEAN 1891-1962

Sean Mac Meanmain was born in County Donegal and was a teacher of Irish in the McDevitt Institute in Glenties, County Donegal. Among his works are Scealta Goiridhe Geimhridh; Inne agus Inniu; Mam as mo Mhala; Tri Mhion-Drama; Crathadh an Phocain and Stair na h-Eireann.

McMILLAN, HECTOR 1923-1993

Hector McMillan was secretary of the Sandy Row and Lower Donegall Road Redevelopment Committee. He was Chairman of the Mid-Donegall Road and Sandy Row Tenants' Association. He was a prominent member of the Orange and Black Institutions in the Sandy Row District, and Treasurer of the Sandy Row Arch Committee. He was one of the founders of the Shaftsbury Credit Union. He served in the Ulster Special Constabulary and the Royal Ulster Constabulary Reserve and was an elder in Great Victoria Stree Presbyterian Church.

McMONAGLE, ALEXANDER 1848-1919

Alexander McMonagle was born near Derry and worked as a journalist in Belfast. He was founder of the Ulster Echo and The Witness, which he edited until his death.

McMORRAN, EDWARD J. 1925-1984

Eddie McMorran was born in Larne, County Antrim and was educated at Larne School where he won a schoolboy international cap for soccer. He played for Ballyclare, Larne, Belfast Celtic, Leeds united and Crewe Alexander. Between 1947 and 1957 he was capped fifteen times for the Northern Ireland senior side and scored four international goals.

MacMOYER, FLORENCE d.1713

Florence MacMoyer was born in Ballymoyer, County Armagh. He was a school master and his family were hereditary keepers of the Book of Armagh, a manuscript thought to date back to 807. It is said that he pawned the book for £5, a sum which took him to London to give evidence against Archbishop Oliver Plunkett. He returned to Ireland in 1683, his reputation totally discredited. In the nineteenth century, the Book of Armagh eventually came into the care of Bishop William Reeves, who donated it to the library of Trinity College, Dublin.

McMULLEN, JOHN 1833-1883

John McMullen was born in Ballynahinch, County Down, and was educated in Chicago and Rome. He was ordained in 1858 and became President of the University of St Mary, Chicago. In 1870 he was given responsibility for Chicago Cathedral. In 1877 he was appointed vicar-general, and in 1880 was consecrated Bishop of Davenport.

MacNAGHTEN, EDWARD 1830-1913

Edward MacNaghten was born at Dundarave, near Bushmills, County Antrim, and was educated at Cambridge, where he rowed twice in the boat race. He was called to the Bar and later became Queen's Counsel. He served as member of parliament for County Antrim from 1880 until 1885, and for North Antrim from 1885 to 1887, in which year he became a life peer.

MacNAGHTEN (or MacNAUGHTON), JOHN 1724-1761

John MacNaghten was born in Benvarden, near Ballymoney, County Antrim, and was educated at the Royal School, Raphoe, County Donegal, and Trinity College, Dublin. He gambled away an inheritance and left Trinity College without taking a degree. He was given a post as the Collector of the King's Duty in Coleraine, but he gambled away the money he had collected. His first wife having died in childbirth, he tried to abduct and trick into marriage the fifteen-year old Miss Knox, whose father had befriended him, but who opposed the proposed marriage. A member of the Knox family challenged him to a duel and wounded him, but he returned and attacked the Knox family when they were travelling to Dublin by coach and Miss Knox was accidentally shot dead. He was tried and convicted at Strabane in 1761. Supposedly the public were not in favour of the hanging, so that the Knox family had to erect the scaffold themselves and an executioner had to be summoned from Cavan. It is said that the rope broke, but MacNaghten refused his liberty.

MacNAGHTEN, WILLIAM HAY c.1793-1841

William MacNaghten was born at Dundarave, near Bushmills, County Antrim, and was educated at Charterhouse School. He entered the service of the East India Company in 1809. It is said that he learned many languages and dialects. In 1840 he was created a baronet, in 1841 became Governor of Bombay, and in 1848 envoy to Kabul. While quelling a rising in Kabul, he angered the Afghans by seeming to negotiate different settlements with both sides, and was shot dead.

McNAMARA, GERALD see MORROW, HAROLD

MacNEICE, LOUIS 1907-1963

Louis MacNeice was born in Belfast and was educated in Dorset and at Merton College, Oxford. He lectured in classics at Birmingham and was Lecturer in Greek at Bedford College, University of London. He was in Spain towards the end of the civil war. From 1941 he worked for the BBC as a scriptwriter and producer. He wrote many radio plays, among which are Christopher Columbus; The Mad Islands; The Administrator; Out of the Picture; One For the Grave and The Dark Tower. MacNeice is first and foremost a poet and his collections include Autumn Journal 1938-1939; Holes in the Sky 1947; Collected Poems, 1925-48; Autumn Sequel 1954; Visitations 1957, The Burning Perch and Solstices 1961. His collected poems were edited by E. R. Dodds and reprinted in 1979, and his autobiography, The Strings are False, was published posthumously in 1965.

McNEILE, HUGH 1795-1879

Hugh MacNeile was born in Ballycastle, County Antrim. He was educated at Trinity College, Dublin and was ordained as curate of Stranorlar, County Donegal in 1820. He preached in London and Liverpool and published many controversial works. He became Canon of Chester in 1860 and Dean of Ripon in 1868. He died in Bournemouth.

MAC NEILL, EOIN (MacNEILL, JOHN) 1867-1945

Eoin Mac Neill was born in Glenarm, County Antrim, and was educated at St Malachy's College, Belfast, and the Royal University of Ireland. He worked as a civil servant and in 1893 he was a founder member of the Gaelic League, editing its publication, the Gaelic Journal. From 1908 to 1945 he was Professor of Early Irish History at University College, Dublin. He became a commander of the Irish Volunteers, which he had helped to organise, and on Easter Sunday 1916 he countermanded orders for the Easter Rising because he felt that there could be no success. He was imprisoned and released in 1917. In 1918 he was elected member of parliament for the National University of Ireland. From 1922 to 1925 he was Minister for Education and served on the 1925 Boundary Commission, from which he resigned, just as its report was about to be published, and he retired thereafter from active politics. In 1927 he was appointed Chairman of the Irish Manuscripts Commission. He published Phases of Irish History; Celtic Ireland; St Patrick and Early Irish Laws and Institutions.

McNEILL, HENRY 1836-1904

Henry McNeill (Knockems) was born at Deerpark, Glenarm, County Antrim. He was a hotel proprietor and tourist pioneer in the Larne district. Even in winter, seventy horses were needed and in the summer, two hundred vehicles in which to transport the tourists. The average number of tourists dealt with was six thousand per year. Henry McNeill's portrait was painted by M. G. MacKenzie in 1903. He is buried in McGarel Cemetery.

MacNEILL, HUGH HYACINTH 1900-1963

Hugh MacNeill was born in Glenarm, County Antrim, and was a soldier in the Irish army. He was appointed chief of the military mission to the United States from 1924 until 1926. From 1941 to 1946 he served as General Officer Commanding the 2nd (spearhead) Division.

MacNEILL, JAMES 1869-1938

James MacNeill was born in Glenarm, County Antrim, and was educated at Belvedere College, Dublin, and Emmanuel College, Cambridge. After a successful career in the Indian civil service he returned to Ireland in 1914 and joined the Sinn Fein movement. In 1923 he was appointed High Commissioner for the Irish Free State in London and in 1928 was made Governor-General. The post was made defunct in 1932. He died in London.

McNEILL, RONALD 1861-1934

Roland McNeill, Lord Cushendun, was born in County Antrim and educated at Harrow and Oxford. He was called to the Bar in 1887, and from 1900 to 1904 was editor of the St James Gazette. From 1906 to 1911 he was assistant editor on the eleventh edition of the Encyclopaedia Britannica. He wrote several works defending the Union and was member of parliament for St Augustine's and Canterbury. In 1924 he was appointed a Privy Councillor, and as acting Foreign Minister signed the Kellogg Pact at Geneva. He was created a peer in 1927 and died at Cushendun.

McNULTY, EDWARD MATTHEW 1856-1943

Edward McNulty was born in Antrim and was educated in Dublin with George Bernard Shaw, who became his close friend. He wrote a memoir of Shaw which remains unpublished. During his lifetime he published two plays, The Lord Mayor and The Courting of Mary Doyle. Among his novels is Misther O'Ryan published in 1894.

McPEAKE, FRANCIS 1885-1971

Francis McPeake was born in Belfast, worked in a factory as a boy, and at the age of nine years played in the O'Connell Flute Band. Six years later he had graduated to second flute. He took the initiative of writing to Ireland's Own for information on Irish pipes and harp, as there was a decline in traditional Irish music at that time. He won many awards. When his daughter Mary died at the age of nineteen, followed a year later by his wife, 'he put his pipes away under the table' and did not play again until his son Francis formed the McPeake Trio'.

McPEAKE, FRANCIS 1917-1986

Francis McPeake was born in Belfast and began to play the pipes when he was eighteen years old. He formed the first McPeake Trio, which included his father, and they were to win the Llangollen International Music Eisteddfod three times. He afterwards included his children, which meant that the group had six members and was known as the McPeake Family. Among other places, they played in the Royal Festival Hall in London. He also formed the Clonard Traditional Music School, and many young people learned how to play traditional music there.

McQUAID, JOHN CHARLES 1895-1973

John McQuaid was born at Cootehill, County Cavan, and was educated at St Patrick's College, Cavan, Blackrock College, Clongowes and University College, Dublin. In 1924 he was ordained a priest in the Holy Ghost Order and seven years later became President of Blackrock College. From 1940 until 1972 he was Archbishop of Dublin. In 1941 he established the Catholic Social Welfare Conference, and in 1942 the Catholic Social Welfare Bureau from which he resigned in 1972. He opposed the Mother and Child Scheme of 1950 and the entry of Catholic students to Trinity College, Dublin.

MacROICH, FERGUS see FERGUS MacROIGH

MacRORY, JOSEPH 1861-1945

Joseph MacRory was born in Ballygawley, County Tyrone, and was educated at St Patrick's Seminary, Armagh and at Maynooth. Immediately after his ordination in 1885 he was appointed President of Dungannon Academy. In 1887 he was appointed Professor of Moral Theology and Sacred Scripture in Birmingham. At the age of twenty-seven he returned to Maynooth and was appointed successively Professor of Sacred Scripture and Hebrew and Professor of Hermeneutics and Exegesis; in 1909 he became Vice-President of the college. He with others founded the Theological Quarterly and was a regular contributor to theological journals. In 1915 he was appointed Bishop of Down and Connor, and in 1928 became Archbishop of Armagh and Primate of All Ireland. In the following year he was created a cardinal in Rome. In 1933 he served as papal legate in Liverpool, being present at the laying of the foundation stone of the cathedral. He attended the National Eucharistic Congress at Melbourne in 1934. Among his publications are works on the Gospel of St John and the Epistles to the Corinthians. He died in Armagh.

MacRORY, PATRICK ARTHUR 1911-1993

Patrick MacRory was born in Limavady, County Londonderry. He was educated in Donegal, Cheltenham and Trinity College, Oxford, and was called to the Bar at Middle Temple in 1937. For four years during the war he was a parliamentary draughtsman, and in 1947, he joined Unilever. He became its director in 1968. He served on the Devlin Commission of Inquiry into industrial representation, and sat on a committee on the preparation of legislation. He was treasurer of the British Association for the Advancement of Science, and was the director of Rothman Carreras and of the Bank of Ireland. He served for eight years on the Northern ireland Development Council and on the Regional Committee of the CBI. He wrote military histories and thrillers, among which are Borderline (1932); Signal Catastrophe (1952); The Siege of Derry (1980) and The Ten Rupee Jezail, in 1992 with George Pottinger. It was his interest in Indian history and his ancestral links with the Indian army that instigated his becoming chairman of the Merchant Ivory production company from 1976 to 1992. Both he and his wife had walk-on parts in E. M. Forster's Room With A View, which was produced by Merchant Ivory.

McSKIMMIN, SAMUEL 1775-1843

Samuel McSkimmin was born in Carrickfergus, County Antrim, and served in the yeomanry in 1798. He wrote for Fraser's Magazine and the Gentleman's Magazine. His outstanding achievements are his History of Carrickfergus and The Annals of Ulster, or Ireland Fifty Years Ago, which was published posthumously and based on his manuscripts, which were scattered at his death. Bishop William Reeves said of him: 'He possessed a marvellous taste and faculty for archaeological pursuits'.

McSPARRAN, ARCHIBALD 1786-1848

Archibald McSparran was born in Drumseerin, County Londonderry, and was a schoolmaster at Glenkeen from 1802 to 1816. He then entered Trinity College, Dublin, where he wrote the very successful MacDonnell and the Norman de Burgos in 1829. He sunsequemtly emigrated to America, and his later published works include Tales of the Alleghanies and The Hermit of the Rocky Mountains. He died in Philadelphia.

MacSPARRAN, JAMES d.1757

James MacSparran was born in Dungiven, County Londonderry, and was educated in Glasgow. In 1720 he was ordained in the Church of Ireland and frequently spoke and preached in Irish. He went to America as a missionary on Rhode Island where he entertained Bishop Berkeley. In 1737 he gained a Doctorate of Divinity from Oxford. He published, among other works, America Dissected in 1753. He died in Rhode Island.

McSPARRAN, JAMES 1892-1970

James McSparran was born in Glasgow of Irish parents and was educated at Queen's University, Belfast, and the National University of Ireland. In 1916 he was called to the Bar and after some time was appointed chairman of the Anti-Partition League. He was a Nationalist member of the the Northern Ireland parliament from 1945 to 1958.

MacSWEENEY, TURLOGH (MAC SUIBHNE, AN PIOBAIRE MOR TURLOUGH) 1829-1920

Turlogh MacSweeney was born near Gweedore, County Donegal. He was known as 'the Donegal Piper' and also (on account of his great physical stature) as 'An Piobaire Mor' (the big piper). In 1893 such was his international reputation that he went to play at the World Exhibition in Chicago where he won the won the world championship. His pipes and fiddle are in display in the Fransiscan Friary Museum, Rossnowlagh, County Donegal.

McTIER, MARTHA c.1743-1837

Martha McTier was a sister of the United Irishman William Drennan and knew many of her brother's friends. Her husband, Samuel McTier, was President of the First Belfast Society of United Irishmen. She was a prolific letter writer, and her letters provide historians with a unique commentary on the political situation in Ireland during this period. She was a keen gambler, and wrote 'I play as well as any of them, and when I lose too much, will quit it'.

McWILLIAMS, FREDERICK EDWARD 1909-1992

F. E. McWilliams was born in Banbridge, County Down and was educated at Campbell College, Belfast. In 1926 he attended the Belfast School of Art and in 1928, Slade School, London, where he won a leaving scholarship which took him to Paris for a year. On his return from Paris, he settled in London, and in 1933 started sculpture. He had a one-man show in a London Gallery, and exhibited with the British Surrealist Group in 1838. During the Second World War, from 1940 to 1945, he served in the Far East as intelligence officer with the RAF. After the war he taught for a short period in Chelsea, and at the Slade School. In 1951 he was invited to Dublin as a guest artist to the Irish Exhibition of Living Art. He was given a number of important commissions, notably the Festival of Britain and Altnagelvin Hospital, Derry. He exhibited in Dublin and Belfast and in 1960 had a one-man show at Queen's University, Belfast. His work became internationally known, and he exhibited in Japan, London and America. In 1966 he was awarded the CBE and in 1971 was the winner of the Oireachtas Gold Medal in Dublin, for sculpture. He was the principal exhibitor at the opening of the Hillsborough Arts Centre, County Down.

McWILLIAMS, HUGH c.1783-1831

Hugh McWilliams was born in Glenavy, County Antrim. From 1800 to 1816 he was a schoolteacher in North Down. He was schoolteacher in the parish of Loughgiel, County Antrim from 1819 to 1831. He wrote songs in Irish and in Scottish dialect. He published two books, both called Poems and Songs on Various Subjects, one in 1816 and the other in 1831. A selection of his songs is published by John Moulden in his Ulstersongs series.