Welcome to the National Database of Irish-language Biographies

There are 1,794 biographies on this site. All of the featured lives, from 1560 to the present day, had a connection to the Irish language. The people featured in the biographies hail from every corner of the country and were active in a wide range of fields. The contents of the site are based, principally, on the series Beathaisnéis by Diarmuid Breathnach and Máire Ní Mhurchú. Since 2013, new biographies have been drafted by a panel of joint editors under the direction of Cló Iar-Chonnacht.

This collection of biographies, from 1560 to the present day, is an extensive and valuable academic work. While the Irish language is the common thread, the entire narrative is extensive and will be of great interest to historians, local communities, the families of the people featured, Irish-language academics and the Irish diaspora.

The following biographies are available on the site:

The Beathaisnéis series: there are 1.3 million words in the original text. The following is a list of the original works:

• 1882–1982 Beathaisnéis a hAon. Baile Átha Cliath: An Clóchomhar. 1986.
• 1882–1982 Beathaisnéis a Dó. Baile Átha Cliath: An Clóchomhar. 1990.
• 1882–1982 Beathaisnéis a Trí. Baile Átha Cliath: An Clóchomhar. 1992.
• 1882–1982 Beathaisnéis a Ceathair. Baile Átha Cliath: An Clóchomhar. 1994.
• 1882–1982 Beathaisnéis a Cúig. Baile Átha Cliath: An Clóchomhar. 1997.
• 1782–1881 Beathaisnéis. Baile Átha Cliath: An Clóchomhar. 1999.
• 1560–1781 Beathaisnéis. Baile Átha Cliath: An Clóchomhar. 2001.
• 1983–2002 Beathaisnéis. Baile Átha Cliath: An Clóchomhar. 2003.
• Beathaisnéis a Naoi: Forlíonadh agus Innéacsanna. Baile Átha Cliath: An Clóchomhar. 2007.

Updated material: The original biographies are updated as new information emerges.

New material: Since 2010, over 100 new and previously unpublished biographies have been added to the site. Most of these biographies are of people who have died since 2007, although there are also a few newly-written accounts of earlier lives. Gaois, Fiontar & Scoil na Gaeilge prepared the material for publication online. Diarmuid Breathnach and Máire Ní Mhurchú, the original authors of the series, wrote most of the new biographies published on the site until 2012. A panel of joint editors was established in January 2013 to write new biographies and to inform Cló Iar-Chonnacht of biographies that need to be updated. New biographies are added to the site as they are made available.