This is a list of notable Irish people who were born on the island of Ireland, in either the Republic of Ireland or Northern Ireland, and have lived there for most of their lives. Also included on the list are people who were not born in Ireland, but have been raised as Irish, have lived there for most of their lives or in regards to the Republic of Ireland, have adopted Irish citizenship (e.g., Daniel Day-Lewis). The names are sorted by surname.
Art
Architecture
George Ashlin
Angela Brady
George Drumgoole Coleman
Sir Thomas Drew
Yvonne Farrell
Eileen Gray
James Hoban – designer of the White House
Francis Johnston
Sheila O'Donnell
Thomas Parke
Edward Lovett Pearce
Kevin Roche
Michael Scott
Actors
Sara Allgood – actress
Jonas Armstrong – actor, star of the BBC series Robin Hood
Caitríona Balfe – actress
Spranger Barry – actor
Patrick Bergin – film actor
Sarah Bolger – actress, played Princess Mary Tudor in The Tudors; Spiderwick Chronicles; Princess Aurora in Once Upon a Time
Stephen Boyd – film actor
Kenneth Branagh – actor on stage, film and TV, the Harry Potter movies
Brid Brennan – actress
George Brent – Hollywood actor
Harry Brogan – actor
Shane Brolly – actor, Underworld Franchise
Pierce Brosnan – actor, best known as James Bond from 1994 to 2005
Gabriel Byrne – TV and film actor
Todd Carty – TV, stage and film actor and director
Elaine Cassidy – film actress
Tony Clarkin – actor of stage, TV, radio, film; voiceover artist
Michael Colgan – actor
Kerry Condon – actress
D'Arcy Corrigan – Hollywood actor
Nicola Coughlan – actress
Catherine Cusack – stage and TV actor; daughter of Cyril Cusack
Cyril Cusack – actor of stage, film and TV (born in South Africa)
Niamh Cusack – TV actress; daughter of Cyril Cusack
Sinéad Cusack – stage, film and TV actress; daughter of Cyril Cusack; married to Jeremy Irons
Sorcha Cusack – film and TV actress; daughter of Cyril Cusack
Daniel Day-Lewis – English-born Oscar winner
Thomas Doggett – actor
Alison Doody – actress, best known for her role in Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade
Richard Dormer – actor, playwright, known for roles in "Game of Thrones" and "Fortitude"
Jamie Dornan – actor and model; played the Huntsman in Once Upon a Time; best known for roles in The Fall and Fifty Shades of Grey
Roma Downey – actor, best known for her role as Monica in the TV series Touched by an Angel
Maria Doyle Kennedy – actress and singer
Ada Dyas – actress
Hilton Edwards – co-founder of the Gate Theatre, born in UK
Colin Farrell – Hollywood actor
Michael Fassbender – Hollywood actor, born in West Germany
Al Ferguson – actor
Barry Fitzgerald – Abbey Theatre actor turned Hollywood star
Geraldine Fitzgerald – actress
Fionnula Flanagan – actress
Brenda Fricker – Oscar winner
Bronagh Gallagher – actress
Michael Gambon – theatre, TV and film actor, Harry Potter films
Charles K. Gerrard – Hollywood actor
Douglas Gerrard – Hollywood actor
Aidan Gillen – actor, The Wire, Game of Thrones, Queer as Folk
Sir George Stokes, 1st Baronet (1819–1903) – mathematician, physicist, 'Stokes Theorem' and Stokes-Navier Equations'
George Johnstone Stoney (1826–1911) – atomic physicist, named the electron and measured its charge
John Lighton Synge (1897–1995) – mathematician
William Thomson, Lord Kelvin (1824–1907) – physicist
John Tyndall (1820–1893) – physicist
Ernest Walton (1903–1995) – physicist, 1951 Nobel Prize in Physics
Mary Ward (1827–1869) – microscopist
John Richardson Wigham (1829–1906) – inventor and lighthouse engineer
Thomas Wynne (1942–2005) – inventor, mechanic and engineer
Sport
Bundee Aki - rugby union player
Francie Barrett – professional boxer
George Best – soccer player (Northern Ireland)
John Pius Boland – double Olympic medal-winner, tennis, 1896
Packie Bonner – soccer player
Andre Botha – cricketer
Jeremy Bray – cricketer
Andrew Bree – swimmer
Tommy Byrne – racing driver
Kenny Carroll – cricketer
Michael Carruth – Olympic gold medal winner, boxing
Tony Cascarino – soccer player
Eamonn Coghlan – runner
Séamus Coleman – footballer
Enda Colleran – Gaelic footballer, member of the Football Team of the Millennium
Ray Cummins – member of the hurling Team of the Millennium
Liam Daish – soccer player
Derek Daly – racing driver
Gordon D'Arcy – rugby union player
Paul Darragh – showjumper
Ron Delany – Olympic medal winner/athletics
Fergal Devitt (Finn Bálor) – WWE wrestler
Ken Doherty – World Professional Billiards and Snooker Association champion
John Doyle – member of the hurling Team of the Millennium
Mick Doyle – rugby union player
Damien Duff – soccer player
Richard Dunne – soccer player
Joey Dunlop – motorcycle racer, 26 times Isle of Man TT race winner
Eamon Dunphy – soccer player, media commentator and broadcaster
Kieran Dynes – NASCAR driver
Shay Elliott – professional cyclist
Jonny Evans – Northern Irish footballer
Stephen Farrelly (Sheamus) – WWE wrestler
Dave Finlay (Finlay) – WWE wrestler
Ciaran Fitzgerald – rugby union player; British and Irish Lions captain
Seán Flanagan – Gaelic footballer, member of the Football Team of the Millennium
Sharon Foley – track and field athlete
Carl Frampton – boxer
Frankie Fullen – soccer player
Mick Galwey – rugby player
Edmond Gibney – equestrian
Darron Gibson – soccer player
Johnny Giles – soccer player
Peter Gillespie – cricketer
Shay Given – soccer player
Pádraig Harrington – golfer and three time Golf Majors winner
Elizabeth Hawkins-Whitshed – 19th-century mountaineer
David Healy – soccer player (Northern Ireland)
Jamie Heaslip - rugby union player
Kevin Heffernan – Gaelic footballer, member of the Football Team of the Millennium
Robert Heffernan – Irish race walker and Olympic medalist
Denis Hickie – rugby union player
Alex Higgins – Snooker player
Ray Houghton – soccer player
Denis Irwin – soccer player
Trent Johnston – cricketer
Eddie Jordan – racing driver and Formula 1 team owner
John Keane – member of the hurling Team of the Millennium
Robbie Keane – soccer player
Roy Keane – soccer player
Eddie Keher – member of the hurling Team of the Millennium
Joe Kelly – racing driver
Seán Kelly – road cyclist
David Kennedy – racing driver
Joe Keohane – Gaelic footballer, member of the Football Team of the Millennium
Kevin Kilbane – soccer player
Michael Kinane – jockey
Ham Lambert – rugby union and cricket player
Tommy Langan – Gaelic footballer, member of the Football Team of the Millennium
Dave Langford-Smith – cricketer
Jim Langton – member of the hurling Team of the Millennium
Liam Lawrence – soccer player for Shrewsbury Town FC and Republic of Ireland international
Alan Lewis – rugby union referee
Becky Lynch – WWE wrestler
Jack Lynch – member of the hurling Team of the Millennium, politician
Eddie Macken – horse showjumper
Mick Mackey – member of the hurling Team of the Millennium
Owen Madden – soccer player
Dan Marten – cyclist
Dave McAuley – boxer
Kevin McBride – boxer
Willie John McBride – rugby union player and British and Irish Lions captain
Kyle McCallan – cricketer
David McCann – cyclist
Mick McCarthy – soccer player and Republic of Ireland soccer manager
Wayne McCullough – Olympic silver medalist; WBC World Boxing Champion
Paul McGinley – golfer
Owen Roe McGovern – Gaelic football player for Cavan; an All-Ireland player
Paul McGrath – soccer player
Conor McGregor – mixed martial artist
Barry McGuigan – world featherweight boxing champion
Rory McIlroy – golfer
Catherina McKiernan – track and field athlete
Jimmy McLarnin – boxer
Lory Meagher – member of the hurling Team of the Millennium
Jason Molins – cricketer
John Mooney – cricketer
Paul Mooney – cricketer
Eoin Morgan – cricketer
Geordan Murphy – rugby union player
Seán Murphy – Gaelic footballer, member of the Football Team of the Millennium
Tommy Murphy – Gaelic footballer, member of the Football Team of the Millennium
Owen Nolan – hockey player
Aiden O'Brien – soccer player
Kevin O'Brien – cricketer
Niall O'Brien – cricketer
Vincent O'Brien – voted greatest horse trainer of all time by Racing Post
Pat O'Callaghan – Olympic gold medal, hammer, 1928, 1932
Martin O'Connell – Gaelic footballer, member of the Football Team of the Millennium
Mick O'Connell – Gaelic footballer, member of the Football Team of the Millennium
Patrick O'Connell – Real Betis/FC Barcelona manager, 1930s
Paul O'Connell – rugby union player and British and Irish Lions captain
Cian O'Connor – show jumper who had an Olympic gold medal taken from him
Shane O'Connor – Alpine skier, Olympian 2010
Christopher O'Donnell – track and field sprinter
Nick O'Donnell – member of the hurling Team of the Millennium
Brian O'Driscoll – rugby union player and British and Irish Lions captain
Ronan O'Gara – rugby union player
Dan O'Keeffe – Gaelic footballer, member of the Football Team of the Millennium
Malcolm O'Kelly – rugby union player
Jonjo O'Neill – jockey
Seán O'Neill – Gaelic footballer, member of the Football Team of the Millennium
Joan O'Reilly – international hockey player
J. J. O'Reilly – Gaelic footballer, member of the Football Team of the Millennium
Derval O'Rourke – World Indoor Champion and European silver medalist
John O'Shea – soccer player
Peter O'Sullevan – horse racing commentator
Eddie O'Sullivan – rugby union coach
Gillian O'Sullivan – World Championships silver medalist
Sonia O'Sullivan – Olympic silver medalist
Michael Phelan – billiards
Paddy Phelan – member of the hurling Team of the Millennium
William Porterfield – cricketer
Seán Purcell – Gaelic footballer, member of the Football Team of the Millennium
Niall Quinn – soccer player
Bobby Rackard – member of the hurling Team of the Millennium
Boyd Rankin – cricketer
Jonathan Rea - motorcycle racer, six time Superbike World Champion
Tony Reddin – member of the hurling Team of the Millennium
Christy Ring – member of the hurling Team of the Millennium
Nicolas Roche – cyclist
Stephen Roche – road cyclist
Michael Roe – racing driver
Alain Rolland – rugby union player and referee
Glenn Ross – Strongman
Mark Scanlon – cyclist
Johnny Sexton - rugby union player, 2018 World Rugby Player of the Year
Tom Sharkey – boxer
Mikey Sheehy – Gaelic footballer, member of the Football Team of the Millennium
Andrew Slattery – rally car driver* Michelle Smith – multi gold medalist 1996 Olympics
Des Smyth – golfer
Dr. Bethel Solomons – rugby union player, Ireland national team, Olympic team silver
Pat Spillane – Gaelic footballer, member of the Football Team of the Millennium
Steve Staunton – soccer player
Jim Stynes – champion Australian rules footballer
Katie Taylor – boxer, Irish, European, World and Olympic champion in the 60 kg division. Olympic Gold Medalist (2012)
Bob Tisdall – Olympic gold medal, 400mH, 1932
John Treacy – Olympic silver medal, marathon, 1984
Josh van der Flier rugby union player, 2022 World Rugby Player of the Year
Ruby Walsh – jockey
Brian Whelahan – member of the hurling Team of the Millennium
Glenn Whelan – soccer player
Ronnie Whelan – soccer player
Andrew White – cricketer
Norman Whiteside – Northern Irish footballer
Joe Wickham – President of the Football Association of Ireland and soccer player
Keith Wood – rugby union player, 2001 World Rugby Player of the Year
TV and Radio
Eamonn Andrews – television personality, producer and businessman
Amanda Byram – broadcaster
Gay Byrne – broadcaster and presenter of The Late Late Show (1962–1999)
Matt Cooper – broadcaster and journalist
Ray D'arcy – broadcaster
Ian Dempsey – television presenter
Anne Doyle – journalist and broadcaster
Joe Duffy – radio broadcaster
Eamonn Holmes – journalist and broadcaster
Pat Kenny – broadcaster and journalist
Eoghan McDermott
Graham Norton – comedian, TV host & actor
Brendan O'Connor – journalist and broadcaster
Bill O Herlihy – Raidió Teilifís Éireann broadcaster
Seamus O'Regan – politician, television personality, and host of CTV's Canada AM, born in Newfoundland, Canada
Ray Shah – DJ and radio personality
Kathryn Thomas – Operation Transformation host and broadcaster
Ryan Tubridy – 'The Late Late Show' host (2009- ), broadcaster and writer
Louis Walsh – music manager and television personality
Laura Whitmore – television presenter
Terry Wogan – broadcaster
Saints
Saint Patrick (1 of the 3 Patron saints of Ireland)
Aidan of Lindisfarne
Saint Brigid (1 of the 3 Patron saints of Ireland)
Saint Brendan
Saint Caomhán
Saint Columba (Irish: Colmcille) (1 of 3 Patron saints of Ireland)
Saint Dymphna
Saint Enda (Irish: Éanna)
Saint Kevin (Irish: Caoimhín)
Saint Lorcán
Others
Anne Anderson – Irish Ambassador to the United States
Todd Andrews – civil servant
Alfred Chester Beatty – mining magnate
George Berkeley – philosopher
Brian Boru – 11th-century high-king of Ireland
Seán Brady – Roman Catholic Archbishop of Armagh and Primate of All Ireland
Brigh Brigaid – 1st-century Irish judge
Brigid of Kildare – Irish saint and bishop
William Brown – Irish-born Argentine Admiral
Edmund Burke – philosopher and politician
Frank E. Butler – marksman
Graham Cantwell – director
Edward Carson – Lord Carson, barrister and politician
Nellie Cashman – gold prospector in the United States; born in County Cork
Cheiro – astrologer
Harry Clarke – stained glass artist
Michael Collins (Irish leader) – Irish revolutionary leader and politician.
Ruaidrí Ua Conchobair – 12th-century high-king of Ireland
Desmond Connell – Roman Catholic Cardinal of Ireland
James Craig – Viscount Craigavon, politician
Tom Crean – explorer
Rosanna Davison – Miss World 2003
Moya Doherty – impresario
Bishop James Doyle – bishop
Jim Duffy – Irish advisor to Australia's Republic Advisory Committee
Margaretta Eagar – Limerick-born governess to the last Russian royal family
Robin Eames – Church of Ireland Archbishop of Armagh and Primate of All Ireland
Johannes Scotus Eriugena – theologian (born 810)
Brendan Finucane – fighter pilot for the Royal Air Force
Michael Anthony Fleming – Bishop of St. John's, Newfoundland and Labrador
Eileen Flynn – Senator
Brian Gibbons – Welsh politician
Glenda Gilson – model
Veronica Guerin – journalist, murdered by drug dealers in 1996
Mary, Lady Heath – early aviator
Sir William Johnson, 1st Baronet – pioneer settler of America
Peter Lacy – Russian field marshal
James Larkin – labour leader
Samantha Lewthwaite – terrorism suspect
Eliza Lynch – mistress of Francisco Solano López, Paraguayan dictator
Annette Elizabeth Mahon (1918–2013) – only Irish women in the ATA during World War II
Dubhaltach Mac Fhirbhisigh – scribe, translator, historian and genealogist
Edward MacLysaght – Chief Herald of Ireland, 1943–1954
Martin Maher – cadet instructor at the United States Military Academy
Diarmuid Martin – Roman Catholic Archbishop of Dublin and Primate of Ireland
Edward Martyn – co-founder of the Irish Literary Theatre
Catherine McAuley – founder the Sisters of Mercy
Kevin McClory – screenwriter, producer and director
John McKenna – Liverpool FC manager
Seán William McLoughlin (AKA Jacksepticeye) – YouTube personality
Michael Mills – ombudsman and political journalist
Annie Moore – first person to pass through the Ellis Island immigration system
John Moore – director
Lord Killanin – head of the International Olympic Committee
Kevin Murphy – Ombudsman and Information Commissioner
Patricia O'Brien – United Nations Under-Secretary-General for Legal Affairs and United Nations Legal Counsel, Irish Ambassador to Geneva
May O'Callaghan – Irish suffragette and communist
Pat O'Connor – director
Seosamh Ó Duibhginn – writer, editor, publisher, Republican, and Gaelic language activist
Gráinne O'Malley – pirate queen
Emily O'Reilly – journalist, ombudsman and Information Commissioner
Katharine O'Shea – mistress of Charles Stewart Parnell
Ian Paisley – Lord Paisley, Northern Irish politician
Saint Patrick – Irish patron saint
Margaret Phelan – founder of the Kilkenny Archeological Society
Horace Plunkett – founder of co-operative movement
Jane Wyse Power – Irish activist, feminist, politician and businesswoman
Phoebe Prince – victim of bullycide
Jon Riley – major in the Saint Patrick's Battalion of the Mexican Army
Robert Ross – British Army officer during the Napoleonic Wars
Mary Ryan – first woman in Ireland or Great Britain to be appointed Professor in a University
Ernest Shackleton – explorer
William Petty, 2nd Earl of Shelburne – British Prime Minister
Gerard Slevin – Chief Herald of Ireland, 1954–1981
Timothy Smiddy – academic, economist, Ireland's first ambassador
Lisa Smith
Olivia Taaffe – founder of St Joseph's Young Priests Society
Launt Thompson – famous American sculptor from Abbeyleix, County Laois
Mary Catherine Tinney – first female Irish ambassador (to Sweden)
Thomas Joseph Tormey – Garda Síochána officer
Philip Treacy – milliner
David Trimble – Lord Trimble, Northern Irish politician
Peter Tyndall – ombudsman
Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington – Field Marshal (defeated Napoleon at Battle of Waterloo), Commander-in-Chief of the British Army and British Prime Minister
Mary Whelan – Irish diplomat, appointed ambassador to Austria in 2014
See also
List of Cork people
List of Donegal people
List of Dublin people
List of Galway people
List of Kilkenny people
List of Limerick people
List of Meath people
List of Sligo people
List of Waterford people
Further References
Hamilton, Catherine Jane (1900). Notable Irishwomen. Dublin, Ireland: Sealy, Bryers & Walker. Retrieved 10 November 2013.