#1Science & Medicine
Lawrence Parsons, 4th Earl of Rosse
1840–1908British astronomer (1840-1908)
19 Wikipedia and sister-site articlesWikipedia ↗
Famous people · Birr, Co. Offaly
Of the 56 famous people born in Birr, an unusual share are soldiers and sailors
Most widely known is Lawrence Parsons, 4th Earl of Rosse, the British astronomer, with articles in 19 languages. Henry George Farmer, the British musicologist and arabist, comes second, with Olivia Mitchell third. Since 1970, 21 were born, the most of any period. Among the 17 towns in Co. Offaly with anyone listed, none has more.
Born here
56
confirmed by Wikipedia
Best known
Lawrence Parsons, 4th Earl of Rosse
19 Wikipedia and sister-site articles
First
1821
Henry Palmer
Youngest
2000
Frank Dolphin
What stands out about Birr’s famous people
★ What stands out · Known for
What Birr is known for
Set against the usual town, soldiers and sailors come out 4.5 times as common.
The usual town: the share across everyone listed in Irish towns. Tap a field to see its people.
Through the years
When Birr’s famous people were born
Count by decade and the 1970s come out on top, with 12 births.
NotableSportsMilitaryPolitics & LawWriting & ArtsFilm, TV & StageScience & MedicineMusicBusinessFaith
Each dot is a person, stacked by the decade they were born.
The best known
Born in Birr
Counted by languages, Lawrence Parsons, 4th Earl of Rosse is ahead of Henry George Farmer and Olivia Mitchell: 19, 8 and 7.
#1HF#2
Music
Henry George Farmer
1882–1965British musicologist and Arabist (1882–1965)
8 Wikipedia and sister-site articlesWikipedia ↗
#3Politics & Law
Olivia Mitchell
born 1947Irish Fine Gael politician
7 Wikipedia and sister-site articlesWikipedia ↗
Everyone
Everyone else born in Birr
Still to come: 53 more, from 1821 to 2000.
Fanny Susan Copeland
1872–1970Irish translator, mountaineer, journalist, linguist (1872 – 1970)
Writing & ArtsWikipedia ↗
John Caffrey
1891–1953British soldier (1891–1953); recipient of the Victoria Cross
MilitaryWikipedia ↗
Thomas Bernard Hackett
1836–1880Irish military officer (1836–1880); recipient of the Victoria Cross
MilitaryWikipedia ↗
Henry Palmer
1821–1916Member of the Queensland Legislative Assembly, 1821-1916
Politics & LawWikipedia ↗
No one matches both filters.
Next door
Famous people from the towns next door
The neighbour with the most names is Banagher, at 31.
Questions about famous people from Birr
Who is the most famous person from Birr?
Lawrence Parsons, 4th Earl of Rosse (British astronomer (1840-1908)) is the best known by our measure: Wikipedia has an article about them in 19 languages. Next come Henry George Farmer and Olivia Mitchell.
How many famous people were born in Birr?
56 people born in Birr have an English Wikipedia article that confirms the town as their birthplace. Wikidata places 59 people here; the rest aren’t listed because their article names somewhere else, or no town.
Who is the earliest-born famous person from Birr?
Henry Palmer, born in 1821. The youngest on the list was born in 2000.
Who counts as from Birr?
People Wikidata records as born in a place inside Birr’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 (22)
- Lawrence Parsons, 4th Earl of Rosse: Unknown author Unknown author, Public domain, Wikimedia Commons
- Olivia Mitchell: William Murphy at https://www.flickr.com/photos/infomatique/, CC BY-SA 2.0, Wikimedia Commons
- Frederic Charles Dreyer: Unidentified photographer, Public domain, Wikimedia Commons
- Mundy: Lisa, CC BY 2.0, Wikimedia Commons
- Thomas Waters: Unknown author Unknown author, Public domain, Wikimedia Commons
- Winston Dugan, 1st Baron Dugan of Victoria: not identified, Public domain, Wikimedia Commons
- Bernadette O'Farrell: Uncredited, Public domain, Wikimedia Commons
- Caitlín Brugha: Unknown Unknown, Public domain, Wikimedia Commons
- Fanny Susan Copeland: Unknown author Unknown author, Public domain, Wikimedia Commons
- Charles Egerton: Unknown author Unknown author, Public domain, Wikimedia Commons
- Des Keogh: Northofdc at en.wikipedia, CC BY-SA 2.5, Wikimedia Commons
- Percy Crutchley: Unknown author Unknown author, Public domain, Wikimedia Commons
- John Caffrey: Unknown author Unknown author, Public domain, Wikimedia Commons
- Michael F. Farley: National Retail Liquors Association, Public domain, Wikimedia Commons
- Thomas Bernard Hackett: Unknown author Unknown author, Public domain, Wikimedia Commons
- Barry Glendenning: Welfairstate, CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons
- Frank Dolphin: David Dolphin, CC BY 4.0, Wikimedia Commons
- Michael Milne: Stefano Delfrate, CC BY-SA 2.0, Wikimedia Commons
- Brian Hennessy: Don't Hastle the hoff, CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons
- John Murray: Unknown, Public domain, Wikimedia Commons
- Joseph Johnstone Muir: Unknown author Unknown author, Public domain, Wikimedia Commons
- Daisy Bates: DaisyBates1921.jpg : Matilda derivative work: Regi51, Public domain, 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).