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Geel

(Encyclopedia)Geel khāl [key], commune, Antwerp prov., N Belgium. It is famous for its large colony of men...

Desmond, Gerald Fitzgerald, 15th earl of

(Encyclopedia)Desmond, Gerald Fitzgerald, 15th earl of dĕzˈmənd [key], d. 1583, Irish nobleman. He spent his life fighting Thomas Butler, 10th earl of Ormonde, who represented English interests. He was twice imp...

Cuchulain

(Encyclopedia)Cuchulain kəho͝olˈən, –ho͞oˈlən [key], Irish legendary hero of Ulster, of prodigious strength and remarkable beauty. He is the central figure of the Ulster legends, the greatest work of which...

Culdees

(Encyclopedia)Culdees kəldēzˈ [key] [Irish,=servants of God], ancient monks of Ireland and Scotland, appearing after the 8th cent. Little is known of their origin, and their relationship to the monks of the Celt...

O'Meara, Barry Edward

(Encyclopedia)O'Meara, Barry Edward ōmäˈrə [key], 1786–1836, Irish physician. A surgeon in the British navy, he attended the exiled French emperor Napoleon I on St. Helena and became involved in a feud with N...

Walton, Ernest Thompson Sinton

(Encyclopedia)Walton, Ernest Thompson Sinton, 1903–95, Irish physicist, educated at Methodist College (Belfast), Trinity College (Dublin), and Cambridge. He became a fellow of Trinity College in 1934 and professo...

Brunanburh, battle of

(Encyclopedia)Brunanburh, battle of bro͞oˈnənbûrg [key], a.d. 937, a victory won by Athelstan, king of the English, over a coalition of Irish, Scots, and Britons (or Welsh) of Strathclyde. The site of the battl...

Bridget, Saint

(Encyclopedia)Bridget, Saint, 453?–523?, Irish holy woman. She is often called St. Brigid, St. Bride, or St. Bridget of Kildare. Little is known of her, but she did found a great monastery at Kildare. She is buri...

MacNally, Leonard

(Encyclopedia)MacNally, Leonard, 1752–1820, Irish political informer. A lawyer, he joined the United Irishmen and defended many of their members in court. His clients, however, were invariably convicted, and afte...

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