1999

Fictional Characters (in order of mention)

Finbar Lewis Halloran (Barry):
Born in Switzerland on April 6, 1939; son of Ursula Halloran; grandson of Ned Halloran.

Ursula Jervis Halloran:
Born approximately 1910 in Dublin; foster child of Ned and Síle Halloran.

Séamus McCoy (James Andrew McCoy):
Born in West Belfast in 1918; former IRA training officer.

Barbara Kavanagh:
Born in America in 1947; daughter of Michael and Isabella Kavanagh.

Henry Mooney and his wife, Ella Rutledge Mooney:
Barbara's grandparents.

Danny, Luke, and Patsy:
Irish nationalists who meet at the Bleeding Horse Pub.

Brendan Delahanty:
Retired schoolteacher; one of the regulars at the Bleeding Horse.

Warren Philpott:
The former owner of Barry's boardinghouse.

Alice Cassidy and her husband, Dennis:
Friends of Barry's from his days in Trinity College.

Isabella Mooney Kavanagh:
Born in Dublin in 1923; elder daughter of Henry and Ella Mooney and sister of Henrietta Mooney Rice; widow of Michael Kavanagh.

Father John Aloysius:
Catholic priest from Derry; an old friend of Barry Halloran's.

Winifred Baines Speer:
Sister of Donald Baines (from
1921
by the same author); widow of Jonathan Speer and matriarch of an extended family in Belfast.

Paudie Coates:
Automobile mechanic in Harold's Cross.

Brian Joseph (b. 1973), Grace Mary (b. 1976), and Patrick James Halloran (b. 1979):
Children of Barry and Barbara Halloran.

Louise Kearney:
A cousin of Henry Mooney who once owned a boardinghouse in Dublin's Gardiner Street, where Ursula lived as a child.

Paul Morrissey, his wife Eithne, their four sons and twin daughters, Dorothy and Eleanor:
A farm family in County Clare.

Breda Casey Cunningham:
Widowed nurse who helps take care of Ursula.

Michael Kavanagh:
Barbara's deceased father.

Frederick Liggitt:
Belfast businessman and leading member of the Orange Order.

Lewis Baines:
Former lover of Ursula's and nephew of Winifred Speer.

Billy Keane and his family:
Catholics living in West Belfast.

Historical Characters

Adams, Gerry (b. 1948):
Belfast-born Irish republican and politician. First interned in 1972, he later took part in secret talks between the British and Irish governments; elected president of Sinn Féin in 1983 and won the seat for West Belfast in the British parliamentary elections; between 1988 and 1994 was involved in talks with John Hume towards establishing a peace process in Northern Ireland; was instrumental in arranging the 1994 IRA ceasefire; in 2005 it was Gerry Adams, together with Martin McGuinness, who convinced the IRA to decommission their arms and thus effectively end the war against Britain.

Ahern, Patrick “Bertie” (b. 1951):
Dublin-born to a strong republican family; Fianna Fáil politician who became
taoiseach
on June 26, 1997.

Berners-Lee, Tim:
Graduate of Oxford University; a principal computer research scientist at MIT; inventor of the World Wide Web.

Black, Christopher:
IRA informer.

Blair, Tony (b. 1953):
Became leader of the British Labour Party in 1994; prime minister 1997–2007.

Bradley, Fr. Denis (b. 1945):
Born in Co. Donegal; enrolled in St. Columb's College and lived in Derry thereafter; administered last rites to three dying men on Bloody Sunday; officiated at the wedding of Martin McGuinness; left the priesthood in the late 1970s to marry and raise a family; pursued twin careers in the media and in drug counselling; helped negotiate the 1994 IRA ceasefire by serving as a link between the IRA and the British government; later appointed vice chairman of the Northern Ireland policing board.

Bruton, John Gerard (b. 1947):
Politician, landowner, member of Fine Gael, served as
taoiseach
1994–97.

Carter, James Earl “Jimmy” (b. 1924):
Thirty-ninth president of the United States 1977–81.

Clinton, William Jefferson “Bill” (b. 1946):
Forty-second president of the United States 1993–2001.

Corrigan, Mairéad, and Betty Williams:
Cofounders of the Northern Ireland Peace People Movement in 1976; recipients of the Nobel Peace Prize in 1977.

Cosgrave, Liam (b. 1920):
Son of W. T. Cosgrave, revolutionary and cofounder of the Irish Free State. Liam Cosgrave studied law and practiced at the bar before entering the Dáil for Fine Gael in 1943; minister for external affairs 1954–57; became leader of Fine Gael in 1965; became
taoiseach
in the Fine Gael/Labour coalition elected in 1973; lost to Fianna Fáil in 1977 general election; retired from the Dáil in 1981.

Craig, William:
Served as home affairs minister in the Northern Ireland Parliament at Stormont; launched a militant right-wing movement called Vanguard.

DeLorean, John:
Entrepreneur and automobile manufacturer.

de Valera, Eamon (1882–1975):
Born in America, raised in Ireland; joined the Volunteers at the founding of the organisation; a commandant in the 1916 Rising; elected member of Parliament for East Clare in 1917; in 1919 elected president of the first Dáil Éireann; resigned due to his opposition to the 1921 Anglo-Irish Treaty; formed Fianna Fáil political party in 1926; elected president of Ireland in 1959; reelected 1966.

Donoughmore, Lord (John Michael Henry Hely-Hutchinson):
Born in England in 1902; educated at Oxford; served as Conservative MP 1943–45; steward for the Irish Turf Club; Grand Master of the Order of Freemasons in Ireland. Married Dorothy Jean Hetham, who became president of the Clonmel Flower Show.

Drumm, Máire:
Sinn Féin vice president murdered in 1976 by members of the UDA.

Dugdale, Bridget Rose (b. 1941):
Daughter of a wealthy English landowner and Lloyds underwriter, Lieutenant Colonel James Dugdale; studied at Oxford and earned a Ph.D. at London University; became a recruit to Irish republicanism as a result of Bloody Sunday and was involved in a number of arms smuggling operations amongst other exploits.

Ennis, Séamus (1919–82):
Born in north County Dublin, the son of a piper, Ennis became the foremost exponent of the uilleann piper in Ireland and an expert in all aspects of traditional music.

Ervine, David (1953–2007):
Born to a working-class family in East Belfast; joined the UVF at 19; arrested in 1974 for possession of explosives; sent to Cage 19, Long Kesh; released in 1980; stood in local council elections as a Progressive Unionist Party candidate in 1985; subsequently became leader of the Progressive Unionist Party and one of the architects of conflict resolution in Northern Ireland. Died on January 7, 2007, following a heart attack. Gerry Adams was one of the mourners at his funeral.

Faul, Fr. Denis (1932–2006):
Campaigned for civil rights in Northern Ireland; chaplain at Long Kesh during the hunger strikes; subsequently elevated to Monsignor.

Faulkner, Brian (1921–77):
Unionist politician and heir to a large shirt-manufacturing business; appointed chief of the power-sharing Northern Ireland Executive in January 1974; resigned within a matter of months when power sharing was brought down by a general strike.

Fennell, Desmond (b. 1929):
Belfast-born journalist and author; lived in Connemara during the 1970s; lecturer in political science at University College Galway 1976–82; lecturer in communications at the College of Commerce in Rathmines, Dublin, from 1983.

FitzGerald, Garret (b. 1926):
Born in Dublin, the son of Desmond FitzGerald, who was one of the founders of the Irish Free State. Educated at Belvedere and UCD; worked in Aer Lingus 1947–58; lectured on economics at UCD; entered politics in 1964; became a Fine Gael senator in 1965; became TD for Dublin Southeast in 1969; appointed minister for foreign affairs in 1973; became
taoiseach
of Fine Gael/Labour coalition in 1981.

Fitzgerald, Jim:
Head groom at Ballymany Stud Farm, County Kildare.

Gadhafi, Muammar:
Libyan dictator.

Gageby, Douglas (1918–2004):
Journalist and editor of
The Irish Times
1963–74 and again 1977–86. Gageby was also the son-in-law of Seán Lester, the last secretary-general of the League of Nations.

Gallagher, Eddie:
IRA member from Ballybofey, County Donegal, and close friend of Rose Dugdale.

Gardiner, Luke:
Self-made millionaire and property developer in the eighteenth century; appointed as deputy vice treasurer of Ireland and receiver general in 1725; surveyor general of Customs in 1745. Together with his son, also Luke Gardiner (1745–98), was responsible for planning much of Dublin.

Garland, Seán (b. 1934):
Dublin-born of a working-class family; educated by the Christian Brothers; joined the IRA in 1953; joined the British Army in 1954 in order to infiltrate it and pass on information to the IRA; commandant of the Lynch Column during the Border Campaign of 1956; later chief of staff of the Official IRA; national organiser for Official Sinn Féin; chairman of the Workers Party.

“Gibraltar Three”:
Seán Savage, Daniel McCann, and Mairéad Farrell.

Gorbachev, Mikhail Sergeyevich (b. 1931):
General secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union from 1985 to 1991; president of the Soviet Union from 1990; awarded the Nobel Prize for Peace in 1990; presided over the breakup of the Soviet Union into individual constituent republics.

Goulding, Cathal (1927–98):
Joined the republican movement as a young man; imprisoned and also interned for IRA membership; elected chief of staff of the IRA in 1962; after the split in 1969 became chief of staff of the Official IRA.

H-Block escapees:
(in addition to Gerry Kelly) Rab Kerr, Tony McAllister, Brendan “Bik” McFarlane, Seán McGlinchey, Brendan Mead, Bobby Storey.

Haughey, Charles James (1925–2006):
Born in Castlebar, County Mayo; a brilliant student; barrister; certified accountant; member of Fianna Fáil; married to Maureen Lemass, daughter of Seán Lemass; elected to the Dáil in 1957; became minister for justice in 1961; minister for agriculture 1964–66; minister for finance 1966–70; dismissed from cabinet in 1970, arrested and charged with conspiring to import arms into Northern Ireland, acquitted of all charges; as leader of Fianna Fáil he served as
taoiseach
in 1979 and again in 1982 and 1987.

Heath, Edward “Ted” Richard George (1916–2005):
Conservative politician, writer, and prime minister of Great Britain from 1970 to 1974.

Hermon, Sir John “Jack” (b. 1928):
Chief constable of the RUC 1980–89.

Higgins, Michael D. (b. 1941):
Born in Limerick; author, poet, politician; educated at St. Flannan's College in Ennis, University College Galway, Indiana University and Manchester University; twice mayor of Galway City; chairman of the Irish Labour Party 1977–1987; Minister for Arts, Culture and the Gaeltacht 1993–1997; elected president of the Labour Party 2003; currently serving in Dáil Eireann as T. D. for Galway West.

Hilditch, Stanley:
Governor of Her Majesty's Prison, the Maze, in 1981.

Hume, John (b. 1937):
Leader of the SDLP—the Social Democratic and Labour Party in Northern Ireland.

Irwin, Stephen, and Torrens Knight:
Members of the Ulster Defence Association convicted of the Greysteele Massacre in 1993.

John Paul II, original name Karol Wojtyla (1920–2005):
The first Polish-born pope (1978–2005) in the history of the Roman Catholic Church.

Kennedy, Edward Moore “Ted” (b. 1932):
Born in Brookline, Massachusetts; a prominent figure in the Democratic Party; elected to the U.S. Senate in 1962; became majority whip in the Senate in 1969; a leading advocate of many liberal causes and a strong voice for Irish America.

Kinsella, Thomas:
Irish poet.

Lowry, Sir Robert:
Northern Ireland judge.

Lynch, John Mary “Jack” (1917–99):
Born in Cork; one of the county's most outstanding athletes, winning one All-Ireland Gaelic football championship and five All-Ireland hurling championships; qualified as a barrister while working in Dublin as a civil servant; elected to the Dáil in 1948; parliamentary secretary 1951–54; minister for education 1957–59; minister for industry and commerce 1959–65; minister for finance 1965–66; elected leader of Fianna Fáil and
taoiseach
1966–73, 1977–79.

McAliskey, Josephine Bernadette Devlin (b. 1947):
Born in County Tyrone; prominent member of the People's Democracy movement in Northern Ireland; took part in numerous civil rights marches and the Battle of the Bogside; sentenced to six months for riotous behaviour; became the youngest woman ever elected an MP in Westminster; seriously injured in a loyalist gun attack in February 1981; a central figure in the H-Block Committee during the hunger strike that same year.

McAnespie, Aiden:
Member of Sinn Féin, shot in the back by British security forces.

MacAirt, Proinsias (Frank Card) (1922–92):
Officer in the IRA.

MacBride, Seán (1904–88):
Volunteer, lawyer, politician, journalist, peace activist. The son of John MacBride, who was executed by the British for his part in the 1916 Rising, and Maud Gonne MacBride. Born and educated in France, MacBride was assistant to Michael Collins during the Treaty negotiations; later served for a time as chief of staff of the IRA; was called to the bar in 1937; in 1946 he founded the political party, Clann na Poblachta; served as a TD from 1954–57; chairman of Amnesty International 1973–76; received the Nobel Peace Prize in 1974; awarded the Lenin Peace Prize in 1977 and the American Medal for Justice in 1978; was one of those responsible for the European Convention on Human Rights.