The ''Dictionary of Irish Biography'' (DIB) is a

biographical dictionary A biographical dictionary is a type of encyclopedic dictionary limited to biographical information. Many attempt to cover the major personalities of a country (with limitations, such as living persons only, in ''Who's Who'', or deceased people onl ...

of notable

Irish people The Irish ( ga, Muintir na hÉireann or ''Na hÉireannaigh'') are an ethnic group and nation native to the island of Ireland, who share a common history and culture. There have been humans in Ireland for about 33,000 years, and it has bee ...

and people not born in the country who had notable careers in Ireland, including both

Northern Ireland Northern Ireland ( ga, Tuaisceart Éireann ; sco, label=Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots, Norlin Airlann) is a part of the United Kingdom, situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland, that is #Descriptions, variously described as ...

and the

Republic of Ireland Ireland ( ga, Éire ), also known as the Republic of Ireland (), is a country in north-western Europe consisting of 26 of the 32 counties of the island of Ireland. The capital and largest city is Dublin, on the eastern side of the island. ...

.Dictionary of Irish Biography 9 Volume Set

Cambridge University Press Cambridge University Press is the university press of the University of Cambridge. Granted letters patent by King Henry VIII in 1534, it is the oldest university press in the world. It is also the King's Printer. Cambridge University Pr ...

History

The work was supervised by a board of editors which included the historian

Edith Johnston Edith Mary Johnston aka Edith Mary Johnston-Liik (11 July 1930 – 25 February 2008) was a historian and editor. She was the first female St. Andrews PhD student to go on to an academic career. She served on the board who created the Dictionary ...

. It was published as a nine-volume set in 2009 by

in collaboration with the

Royal Irish Academy The Royal Irish Academy (RIA; ga, Acadamh Ríoga na hÉireann), based in Dublin, is an academic body that promotes study in the sciences, humanities and social sciences. It is Ireland's premier learned society and one its leading cultural ...

(RIA), and contained about 9,000 entries. The 2009 version of the dictionary was also published online via a digital subscription and was predominantly used by academics, researchers, and civil servants. An online version is now

open access Open access (OA) is a set of principles and a range of practices through which research outputs are distributed online, free of access charges or other barriers. With open access strictly defined (according to the 2001 definition), or libre op ...

, having been launched on 17 March 2021 (St. Patrick's Day), and new entries are added to that version periodically. Funding is from the

Higher Education Authority __NOTOC__ The Higher Education Authority (HEA), officially An tÚdarás um Ard-Oideachas, is the statutory body providing policy advice for higher education in Ireland. Description and functions The HEA was established under the Higher Educ ...

, Department of Foreign Affairs, and Dublin City Council Libraries. The biographies range from 200-15,000 words in length, with about 11,000 entries in total as of March 2021.Dictionary of Irish Biography home page
/ref> For subjects to be eligible for inclusion, they must be deceased for at least five years and must either be born on the island of Ireland or have had a significant career there.

References

External links

* 2009 non-fiction books Irish Biography Cambridge University Press books Irish encyclopedias {{bio-dict-stub