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Francis Thomas Aiken, also known as Frank Aiken, was an Irish revolutionary, chief of staff of the Anti-Treaty IRA after the Civil War and TD for Louth from 1923 to 1973. A full biography of Frank Aiken can be found in the Dictionary of Irish Biography (https://www.dib.ie/biography/aiken-francis-thomas-frank-a0070).

Anne was the second daughter of the Duke of York, afterwards King James II of England and VII of Scotland. She succeeded to the throne in 1702 following the death of her brother-in-law William III of Orange, joint monarch with his wife Mary, Anne’s elder sister, following the deposition of King James II in the Glorious Revolution of 1688. Anne’s reign was short and relatively peaceful, although it did witness a further tightening of the Penal Laws against the Roman Catholic population in Ireland.

Francis Arthur was the only surviving son of Patrick Arthur, a prominent wine and timber merchant in Limerick city and developer of the new suburb, Newtown Pery. Patrick also built Arthur’s Quay on the Shannon and laid out a number of streets which he named after members of his own family. Francis was in partnership with his father on these projects from about the mid-1770s. By the early 1790s, Francis Arthur was one of the leading Catholics of Limerick City and doing successful business not only in Limerick but also in the neighbouring counties, most notably Cork and Kerry.

In 1796, Francis Arthur raised and trained a corps of yeomanry artillery at his own expense as protections against a feared French invasion. In May 1798 he was accused of treason for concealing weapons and advancing money to Lord Edward Fitzgerald, the leader of the United Irishmen. At his trial, which took place a month later, Francis was refused counsel and most of his witnesses were excluded from the court. He was sentenced to transportation for life to Botany Bay and fined £5,000. After a petition by his wife to the Lord Lieutenant, Francis was liberated on condition that he leave Ireland. He moved to England but retained his business interests in Limerick and made sporadic visits to the city. He died on 17 June 1824 in Dunkirk, France, where he had been living for some years prior to his death.

Francis Arthur married Ellen née Sexton in 1779 and by her had a son, Patrick Edmond (1783-1814), who qualified as a barrister and married Susanna Grainger in 1812; and at least four daughters: Catherine (1780-1867) who became a nun; Alicia (1785-1859), who married Jeremiah Scully in 1809; Margaret (b. 1789) who married Daniel Leahy in 1818; and Ellen (1793-1842), who became a nun. Some records identify a fifth daughter, Maria, who married Patrick Greene in 1806, while other records state that Patrick Greene was Margaret Arthur’s first husband.

Robert Rennie Ballingal was born on 9 June 1867 at Killarrow, Argyllshire in Scotland. In 1894, he was appointed land agent to the 4th Earl of Dunraven at Adare Manor, county Limerick, which role he retained for 27 years until his retirement in 1921. One of his duties included the supervision of the works at the tobacco factory established in Adare by the 4th Earl of Dunraven in 1908. A keen sportsman, Ballingal was secretary of the Adare Manor Golf Club and an active member of the Limerick Lawn Tennis Club and the Irish Coursing Club. He was also co-director of Killoran Slate Quarries in county Tipperary and a board member of the Limerick Fishery Conservators. Following his retirement he returned to Argyllshire, where he died on 27 July 1928.

Matthew Barrington was born on 21 May 1788 in Limerick as the eldest of five sons and two daughters of Joseph Barrington and Mary née Baggott. He was educated in Limerick and King's Inns and established a highly successful solicitor's practice in Dublin and Limerick. In 184, he was appointed a crown solicitor for Munster. From the 1840s he acted as solicitor and adviser to the Great Southern and Western Railway and was instrumental for the establishment of the railway station known as Limerick Junction. He was the founder of Barrington's Hospital and City of Limerick Infirmary (1831), the first general hospital in Limerick to provide for the poor. He owned extensive estates in Limerick and was the builder of the massive Norman revival castle, Glenstal. Matthew Barrington died on 1 April 1861 and is buried in St Mary's cathedral in Limerick.

Winifred Frances Barrington was born in London on 5 July 1897 as the eldest child and only daughter of Sir Charles Burton Barrington, 5th Baronet, of Glenstal Castle, county Limerick and Mary Rose née Bacon. She served as a nurse during the First World War and was a universal favourite with those who knew her. She struck up a friendship with District Inspector (Major) Henry Biggs, one of the most notorious and hated Black-and-Tan officers. On 14 May 1921, the couple were travelling in a car in Coolboreen, county Tipperary when their vehicle was ambushed by the IRA and Winifred was mistakenly shot and mortally wounded. She died later the same day at home, while Biggs died at the site of the ambush.

James Grene Barry of Sandville, county Limerick was a local magistrate and Deputy Lieutenant of county Limerick. He served as a Justice of the Peace from 1864, was a member of the county Limerick Grand Jury from 1867 and acted as Land Commissioner from 1881 to 1886. A distinguished antiquarian, Barry joined the Royal Society of Antiquaries of Ireland in 1877 and remained a member until his death, serving as the society's honorary secretary for many years.

Dr Olive Beecher is a professional dancer and dance academic. She trained at the Nikolais/ Louis Dance School in New York under Alwin Nikolais and Murray Louis and studied improvisation and somatics under Sara Pearson. On returning to Ireland, Beecher worked as a dance lecturer at Thomond College, University of Limerick and became a founder member of Daghdha Dance Company under the artistic direction of Mary Nunan. Beecher devised, choreographed, and performed contemporary dance works for and with the Company for four years between 1988 and 1992.

Beecher left Daghdha Dance Company to develop her own work and continued to study under internationally renowned teachers including Jill Clarke, Laurie Booth, Motion House, teachers from Hawkins, and Merdith Monk Company. Olive performed in New York, the UK, and in theatres throughout Ireland. She also became a dance academic, completing an MA in Ethnochoreology in 1998 and a PhD in therapeutic applications of modern dance in 2005 at the Irish World Academy of Music and Dance, University of Limerick.

Beecher is first and foremost a dance artist. Between 1987 and 2016 she has created more than 25 original dance/performance works and continues to practice as an artist. Her work is influenced by the experimental movement of the 1960s and 1970s in Europe and America. She is also interested in German expressionism, eastern and post-modern approaches to movement and performance, and pedestrian movement. Most of her creative ideas stem from her own life experiences.

Beecher’s academic interests include topics such as improvisation; creativity, theory, and practice; phenomenology; somatics and fundamentals of contemporary dance movement; arts, health, and well-being; integrated dance and special education; dance education and Rudolf Laban; ritual; and post-modernism. She has been a regular contributor to the Irish World Academy Seminar Series from 1999 to 2015 and has worked as a dance tutor at the Irish World Academy of Music and Dance, University of Limerick since 2006. She also delivers the dance education and world dance modules each year at University College Cork, which she wrote for their Physical Education and Sports Science degree programme in 2007. She also works in special education. The integration of theory and practice is a key feature of her teaching and lecturing style.

David Bolger is an Irish dancer, choreographer and founder of the dance company CoisCéim.

Sir Richard Bourke was born in Dublin on 4 May 1777 as the only son of John Bourke and Anne née Ryan. Educated at Westminster School and Oriel College, Oxford, he joined the Grenadier Guards in 1798. A year later, he was wounded in the jaw while in active service in the Netherlands, suffering an injury that later discouraged him from public speaking and political office.

Bourke served in South America and the Peninsular War, where he acted as a liaison with Spanish forces and organized intelligence operations. Promoted to colonel and made a Companion of the Bath in 1814, he retired to his Irish estate, Thornfield, in County Limerick on half-pay but returned to public service due to financial necessity. In 1826, he was appointed lieutenant-governor of the Eastern District of Cape Colony and later became acting governor. Amid economic depression and administrative inefficiency, he reformed trade, secured press freedom, and reorganized government structures. His most notable act was Ordinance 50 (1828), which abolished discriminatory pass laws against free people of colour.

Bourke returned to Thornfield in 1828, but just two years later sought another post abroad. Appointed governor of New South Wales in 1831, he faced a divided society of free settlers and emancipated convicts. He championed liberal reforms, including replacing military with civil juries and consolidating criminal law to curb abuses by magistrates. He promoted religious equality through the Church Acts of 1836, which allocated public funds to major denominations based on population. Bourke also addressed land issues through the Crown Lands Occupation Act (1836), regulating squatter settlements and appointing magistrates to oversee them. He supported assisted migration, helping to bring over 50,000 migrants to the colony. His efforts helped shape the development of the Port Phillip district (later Victoria), where he personally oversaw early urban planning. He resigned in 1837 after a dispute with the Colonial Office over executive authority. His popularity was evident in the public farewell and the erection of his statue in Sydney.

Bourke was knighted (KCB) in 1835, promoted to general in 1851, and declined further high-profile appointments. In collaboration Earl Fitzwilliam, he edited and published the correspondence of his kinsman Edmund Burke (1844). He died of heart failure at his home in Thornfield on 13 August 1855 and was buried in the churchyard at Castleconnell.