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Yeats, W. B.

(Encyclopedia)Yeats, W. B. (William Butler Yeats), 1865–1939, Irish poet and playwright, b. Dublin. The greatest lyric poet Ireland has produced and one of the major figures of 20th-century literature, Yeats was ...

Sinn Féin

(Encyclopedia)Sinn Féin shĭn fān [key] [Irish,=we, ourselves], Irish nationalist movement. It had its roots in the Irish cultural revival at the end of the 19th cent. and the growing nationalist disenchantment w...

Bruton, John

(Encyclopedia)Bruton, John bro͞oˈtən [key], 1947–, Irish politician, b. Dublin. A lawyer and farm owner, he is a member of the centrist Fine Gael party. Bruton was first elected to the Irish parliament in 1969...

Parnell, Charles Stewart

(Encyclopedia)Parnell, Charles Stewart pärˈnəl, pärnĕlˈ [key], 1846–91, Irish nationalist leader. Haughty and sensitive, Parnell was only a mediocre orator, but he possessed a marked personal fascination an...

O'Mahony, John

(Encyclopedia)O'Mahony, John ōmăˈhənē [key], 1816–77, Irish patriot. He attended Trinity College, Dublin, and became a proficient Irish scholar. After taking part in the unsuccessful Young Ireland rebellion ...

Lover, Samuel

(Encyclopedia)Lover, Samuel, 1797–1868, Irish painter, novelist, and songwriter. Before turning to literature, Lover was a painter, and in 1828 he became a member of the Royal Hibernian Academy of Art. However, h...

rath

(Encyclopedia)rath rä, räth [key], circular hill fort protected by earthworks, used by the ancient Irish in the pre-Christian era as a retreat in time of danger. Some of the larger raths, such as that at Tara, we...

De Valera, Eamon

(Encyclopedia)De Valera, Eamon āˈmən dĕ vəlârˈə [key], 1882–1975, Irish statesman, b. New York City. He was taken as a child to Ireland. As a young man he joined the movement advocating physical force to ...

Lever, Charles James

(Encyclopedia)Lever, Charles James lēˈvər [key], 1806–72, Irish novelist. He began his career as a practicing physician. His early novels appeared periodically in the Dublin University Magazine, whose editorsh...

Bruce, Edward

(Encyclopedia)Bruce, Edward, d. 1318, Scottish king of Ireland, brother of Robert I of Scotland. He aided his brother in the war for independence from England and in 1315 was declared heir to Robert's throne. With ...