#1Sports
Sonia O'Sullivan
born 1969Irish long and middle-distance runner
31 Wikipedia and sister-site articlesWikipedia ↗
Famous people · Cobh, Co. Cork
Soldiers and sailors stand out among the 42 famous people born in Cobh
Sonia O'Sullivan, the Irish long and middle-distance runner, is the most widely known, written about in 31 languages. The next two names are Stephen O'Halloran and Emmet Fox. In the Revival and independence years, 16 were born, the most of any period. The list runs from Robert Ball, born in 1802, to Edwin Edogbo, born in 2002.
Born here
42
confirmed by Wikipedia
Best known
Sonia O'Sullivan
31 Wikipedia and sister-site articles
First
1802
Robert Ball
Youngest
2002
Edwin Edogbo
Most common field
Sports
12 people
What stands out about Cobh’s famous people
★ What stands out · Known for
What Cobh is known for
The field furthest above the usual share is soldiers and sailors, at 4 times.
The usual town: the share across everyone listed in Irish towns. Tap a field to see its people.
The best known
Born in Cobh
Two of the three are athletes.
#1SO#2
EF#3
Writing & Arts
Emmet Fox
1886–1951American New Thought writer (1886–1951)
12 Wikipedia and sister-site articlesWikipedia ↗
Through the years
When Cobh’s famous people were born
Count by decade and the 1910s come out on top, with 8 births.
SportsMilitaryFaithScience & MedicineWriting & ArtsPolitics & LawNotableMusicFilm, TV & StageBusiness
Each dot is a person, stacked by the decade they were born.
Everyone
Everyone else born in Cobh
Another 39, 10 of them athletes.
Anne Elizabeth Ball
1808–1872Irish botanist, algologist, and botanical illustrator (1808-1872)
Science & MedicineWikipedia ↗
Mary Ball
1812–1898Irish naturalist, entomologist and botanical collector (1812 - 1898)
Science & MedicineWikipedia ↗
Frederick Jeremiah Edwards
1894–1964Irish soldier (1894–1964); recipient of the Victoria Cross
MilitaryWikipedia ↗
Sir Geoffrey Vavasour, 5th Baronet
1914–1997Irish-born English cricketer (1914-1997)
SportsWikipedia ↗
No one matches both filters.
Next door
Famous people from the towns next door
Of the towns nearby, Mahon lists the most people: 58.
STMahon · 9 kmSusan Williams, Baroness Williams of Trafford & 57 more
Glanmire · 9 kmDara Murphy & 25 moreCMDouglas · 8 kmCillian Murphy & 19 moreDBCarrigtwohill · 7 kmDáibhí de Barra & 10 more
Passage West-Monkstown · 3 kmJ. Kevin Boland & 7 moreRBGlounthaune · 7 kmRichard Beamish & 6 moreFHCarrigaline · 7 kmFrancis Hodder & 6 moreWCWhitegate · 6 kmWilliam Cosgrove & 3 more
Glanmire · 9 kmDara Murphy & 25 moreCMDouglas · 8 kmCillian Murphy & 19 moreDBCarrigtwohill · 7 kmDáibhí de Barra & 10 morePassage West-Monkstown · 3 kmJ. Kevin Boland & 7 moreRBGlounthaune · 7 kmRichard Beamish & 6 moreFHCarrigaline · 7 kmFrancis Hodder & 6 moreWCWhitegate · 6 kmWilliam Cosgrove & 3 moreQuestions about famous people from Cobh
Who is the most famous person from Cobh?
Sonia O'Sullivan (Irish long and middle-distance runner) is the best known by our measure: Wikipedia has an article about them in 31 languages. Next come Stephen O'Halloran and Emmet Fox.
How many famous people were born in Cobh?
42 people born in Cobh have an English Wikipedia article that confirms the town as their birthplace. Wikidata places 47 people here; the rest aren’t listed because their article names somewhere else, or no town.
What is Cobh known for?
Among its famous people, athletes: 12 of the 42. That is 29% of the town’s list, against 32% across Irish towns.
Who is the earliest-born famous person from Cobh?
Robert Ball, born in 1802. The youngest on the list was born in 2002.
Who counts as from Cobh?
People Wikidata records as born in a place inside Cobh’s urban area (the CSO’s 2022 urban area), a hospital or district within it included, whose English Wikipedia article agrees. People who only lived here, adult performers and people known mainly for crimes aren’t listed.
Why is someone missing?
Their Wikidata birthplace may be a county or just “Ireland”, a townland or village we don’t list, another town, or missing, or their article may give no birthplace. We only list people both sources agree on; editing Wikidata or Wikipedia changes this page at the next refresh.
From Wikidata (CC0: birthplaces, descriptions, years, occupations, how many Wikipedia and sister-site articles cover each person) and English Wikipedia (each person’s article confirms the birthplace; linked, not quoted). A birthplace is placed in a town by its own Wikidata item, its Logainm place name, or a point inside its CSO 2022 outline; a birth recorded only as one of the five cities stays on the city’s page. Ranked by the number of articles. Fields are read from Wikidata’s description and occupations. “The usual town”: everyone listed across Irish towns. Portraits: each person’s Wikidata image, from Wikimedia Commons under the licence below (our copy, resized).
Photo credits (20)
- Sonia O'Sullivan: Sean Kelly MEP from Ireland, CC BY 2.0, Wikimedia Commons
- Michael O'Connor: Unknown author Unknown author, Public domain, Wikimedia Commons
- Patrick Walsh: Peter Clarke, CC BY-SA 3.0, Wikimedia Commons
- Francis Orpen Morris: Unknown author Unknown author, Public domain, Wikimedia Commons
- James O'Connor: John Gilmary Shea is the author of the book, Public domain, Wikimedia Commons
- Mary Ball: Studio Schroeder, Dublin, Public domain, Wikimedia Commons
- John O'Flynn: CommonsHelper2 Bot, CC BY-SA 3.0, Wikimedia Commons
- Maeve Higgins: Jeannie O'Brien, CC BY-SA 3.0, Wikimedia Commons
- Michael Devine: GavinZac at English Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 3.0, Wikimedia Commons
- Robert Ball: Unknown author Unknown author, Public domain, Wikimedia Commons
- Jack Doyle: Unknown photographer, Public domain, Wikimedia Commons
- L. Adams Beck: Bertrand Zadig, Public domain, Wikimedia Commons
- Pat Saward: Eskil Malmberg, Public domain, Wikimedia Commons
- Patsy Donovan: Unknown author Unknown author, Public domain, Wikimedia Commons
- Charlie Piggott: Tradmusiclover, CC BY-SA 3.0, Wikimedia Commons
- Michael P. Grace: Reproducción de un grabado de fines del siglo XIX, de autor no precisado, Public domain, Wikimedia Commons
- Seán Ronayne: Windboundbefriend, CC BY 4.0, Wikimedia Commons
- Frederick Jeremiah Edwards: Unknown author Unknown author, Public domain, Wikimedia Commons
- Dara Murphy: European People's Party, CC BY 2.0, Wikimedia Commons
- J. Kevin Boland: Saint Joseph Catholic Church, CC BY 3.0, Wikimedia Commons
Contains Central Statistics Office (CSO) data, Census 2022, and Tailte Éireann boundaries (CSO Urban Areas, Small Areas, local electoral areas, constituencies), under Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 (CC BY 4.0).