PD#1
Famous people · Magherafelt, Mid Ulster
24 famous people were born in Magherafelt, more of them leaders than in most towns
Articles in 19 languages make the northern Irish footballer Peter Doherty the best known. Among the 5 towns in Mid Ulster with famous people on record, the town ranks 3rd. From John Boyd to Aaron Donnelly, the births on the list run from 1826 to 2003. The largest group, 11, was born since 1970.
Born here
24
notable people
Best known
Peter Doherty
in 19 Wikipedia languages
First
1826
John Boyd
Youngest
2003
Aaron Donnelly
Most common field
Sports
15 people
What stands out about Magherafelt’s famous people
★ What stands out · Through the years
When Magherafelt’s famous people were born
The 1980s top the chart, with 7 births in the decade.
SportsPolitics & LawWriting & ArtsFilm, TV & StageMilitaryScience & MedicineMusic
Each dot is a person, stacked by the decade they were born.
Known for
What Magherafelt is known for
Magherafelt has 1.9× the usual share of leaders.
The usual town: the share across everyone listed across UK towns. Tap a field to see its people.
The best known
Born in Magherafelt
Peter Doherty, Dean Shiels and Jonathan Anderson are written about in 19, 18 and 11 languages.
#2
#3Writing & Arts
Jonathan Anderson
born 1984Northern Irish fashion designer; founder of JW Anderson
11 Wikipedia languagesRead more ↗
Everyone
Everyone else born in Magherafelt
A further 21 follow, born between 1826 and 2003.
Harriet Russell Morison
1862–1925New Zealand tailor, trade unionist, suffragist and public servant (1862-1925)
Politics & LawWikipedia ↗
No one matches both filters.
Next door
Famous people from the towns next door
Cookstown has the longest list next door: 30.
Questions about famous people from Magherafelt
Who is the most famous person from Magherafelt?
Peter Doherty (northern Irish footballer (1913-1990)) is the best known by our measure: Wikipedia has an article about them in 19 languages. Next come Dean Shiels and Jonathan Anderson.
How many famous people were born in Magherafelt?
24 people born in Magherafelt have an English Wikipedia article that confirms the town as their birthplace. Wikidata places 29 people here; the rest aren’t listed because their article names somewhere else, or no town.
What is Magherafelt known for?
Among its famous people, athletes: 15 of the 24. That is 63% of the town’s list, against 49% across UK towns.
Who is the earliest-born famous person from Magherafelt?
John Boyd, born in 1826. The youngest on the list was born in 2003.
Who counts as from Magherafelt?
People Wikidata records as born in a place inside Magherafelt’s settlement (NISRA’s settlement development limit), 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 bigger area (“London”), 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) and English Wikipedia (each person’s article confirms the birthplace; linked, not quoted). Birthplaces are placed in the town by NISRA’s Settlement Development Limits 2015 (Open Government Licence v3.0). Ranked by how many Wikipedia languages cover each person. Fields are read from Wikidata’s description and occupations. “The usual town”: everyone listed across UK towns. Portraits: each person’s Wikidata image, from Wikimedia Commons under the licence below (our copy, resized).
Photo credits (13)
- Dean Shiels: Stuart Chalmers, CC BY 2.0, Wikimedia Commons
- Jonathan Anderson: Marie Claire Korea, CC BY 3.0, Wikimedia Commons
- Simone Magill: Katie Chan, CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons
- Aaron Donnelly: Stuartp1213, CC0, Wikimedia Commons
- Terry McFlynn: Camw, CC BY-SA 3.0, Wikimedia Commons
- Harriet Russell Morison: New Zealand Department of Labour, Public domain, Wikimedia Commons
- John Boyd: William James Topley, Public domain, Wikimedia Commons
- Philip Maini: Royal Society uploader, CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons
- JC Stewart: Warner Music New Zealand, CC BY 3.0, Wikimedia Commons
- Ian McCrea: Northern Ireland Assembly, CC BY 4.0, Wikimedia Commons
- Typhoid Mary: Unknown authorUnknown author. First published in the June 20, 1909 issue of The New York American., Public domain, Wikimedia Commons
- Charles Thomson: Joseph Wright / Formerly attributed to Matthew Pratt, Public domain, Wikimedia Commons
- Donal McKeown: Brian O'Neill from Belfast, Northern Ireland, CC BY 2.0, Wikimedia Commons
Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Contains HM Land Registry data © Crown copyright and database right 2026. Contains OS data © Crown copyright and database right 2026 (ONS boundaries). Northern Ireland: Source: NISRA; contains Land & Property Services data and Ordnance Survey of Northern Ireland information, © Crown copyright, licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Scotland: contains National Records of Scotland data, Registers of Scotland data and SEPA data, © Crown copyright / © SEPA 2025, licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.