James Magennis VC plaque, Great Victoria Street, Belfast - geograph

The Ulster History Circle is a heritage organisation that administers

Blue Plaque A blue plaque is a permanent sign installed in a public place in the United Kingdom and elsewhere to commemorate a link between that location and a famous person, event, or former building on the site, serving as a historical marker. The term ...

s for the area that encompasses the

province A province is almost always an administrative division within a country or state. The term derives from the ancient Roman ''provincia'', which was the major territorial and administrative unit of the Roman Empire's territorial possessions out ...

Ulster Ulster (; ga, Ulaidh or ''Cúige Uladh'' ; sco, label= Ulster Scots, Ulstèr or ''Ulster'') is one of the four traditional Irish provinces. It is made up of nine counties: six of these constitute Northern Ireland (a part of the United Kin ...

on the island of

Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean, in north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel, the Irish Sea, and St George's Channel. Ireland is the s ...

. It is a voluntary, not-for-profit organisation, placing commemorative plaques in public places in honour of people and locations that have contributed to all genres of history within the boundary of the Irish province of Ulster, or contemporary country of

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 ...

. Founded in the early 1980s, the group receives no government funding, unlike many similar organisations in the United Kingdom. Doreen Corcoran served as chair of the Circle from 1998 to 2009.

Blue Plaques recipients in Ulster

Since the first plaque was formally unveiled over 150 individuals have been honoured, including: *

Cecil Frances Alexander Cecil Frances Alexander (April 1818 – 12 October 1895) was an Anglo-Irish hymnwriter and poet. Amongst other works, she wrote "All Things Bright and Beautiful", " There is a green hill far away" and the Christmas carol "Once in Royal David's Ci ...

, hymn writer * Mabel Annesley, artist and wood engraver *

Thomas Andrews Thomas Andrews Jr. (7 February 1873 – 15 April 1912) was a British businessman and shipbuilder. He was managing director and head of the drafting department of the shipbuilding company Harland and Wolff in Belfast, Ireland. He was the nava ...

, designer of RMS ''Titanic'' *

Joe Bambrick Joseph Gardiner Absolom Bambrick (3 November 1905 – 13 October 1983) was a Northern Irish footballer who played for Chelsea, Walsall, Glentoran, and Linfield. A former gas worker of medium build, he was a prolific goalscorer in the Irish L ...

, soccer player *

Samuel Beckett Samuel Barclay Beckett (; 13 April 1906 – 22 December 1989) was an Irish novelist, dramatist, short story writer, theatre director, poet, and literary translator. His literary and theatrical work features bleak, impersonal and Tragicomedy, tr ...

, playwright * Samuel Black, pioneer cardiologist *

Lilian Bland Lilian Bland (28 September 1878 – 11 May 1971) was an Anglo-Irish journalist and pioneer aviator who, in 1910–11, became one of the first women in the British Isles, and maybe even in the world, to design, build, and fly an aircraft – the ...

, pioneer aviator *

Edward Bunting Edward Bunting (1773–1843) was an Irish musician and folk music collector. Life Bunting was born in County Armagh, Ireland. At the age of seven he was sent to study music at Drogheda and at eleven he was apprenticed to William Ware, organist ...

, folk music collector *

Margaret Byers Margaret Byers (, Morrow; April 1832 – 21 February 1912) was an Irish educator, activist, social reformer, missionary, and writer of the long nineteenth century. She was the founder of Victoria College, Belfast. Byers was involved in philanthro ...

, educationalist * Daniel Cambridge, soldier and recipient of the

Victoria Cross The Victoria Cross (VC) is the highest and most prestigious award of the British honours system. It is awarded for valour "in the presence of the enemy" to members of the British Armed Forces and may be awarded posthumously. It was previousl ...

Joseph Campbell Joseph John Campbell (March 26, 1904 – October 30, 1987) was an American writer. He was a professor of literature at Sarah Lawrence College who worked in comparative mythology and comparative religion. His work covers many aspects of the ...

, poet *

Joseph W. Carey Joseph William Carey ARUA (1859–1937) was an Irish artist. Joseph was the son of the Rev. J. W. Carey, the minister of the Moravian Church in Kilwarlin, County Down. He trained as an illustrator with Marcus Ward & Co., publishers. When this fi ...

, painter *

Amy Carmichael Amy Beatrice Carmichael (16 December 1867 – 18 January 1951) was an Irish Christian missionary in India who opened an orphanage and founded a mission in Dohnavur. She served in India for 55 years and wrote 35 books about her work as a miss ...

, missionary and writer *

Joyce Cary Arthur Joyce Lunel Cary (7 December 1888 – 29 March 1957) was an Anglo-Irish novelist and colonial official. Early life and education Arthur Joyce Lunel Cary was born in his grandparents' home, above the Belfast Bank in Derry, Ireland in 1 ...

, novelist *

Francis Rawdon Chesney Francis Rawdon Chesney (16 March 1789 – 30 January 1872) was a British general and explorer. Life He was a son of Captain Alexander Chesney, an Irishman of Scottish descent who, having emigrated to South Carolina in 1772, served under Lo ...

, soldier and explorer * Margaret Clarke, artist *

Edward Coey Sir Edward Coey (March 1805 – 26 June 1887) was a 19th-century entrepreneur and philanthropist from Larne in County Antrim. He helped fund the establishment of Larne Grammar School in his town of birth, and was mayor of Belfast. Coey was bor ...

, mayor of

Belfast Belfast ( , ; from ga, Béal Feirste , meaning 'mouth of the sand-bank ford') is the capital and largest city of Northern Ireland, standing on the banks of the River Lagan on the east coast. It is the 12th-largest city in the United Kingdom ...

and philanthropist *

Mabel Calhoun Mabel is an English female given name derived from the Latin ''amabilis'', "lovable, dear".Reclams Namensbuch, 1987, History Amabilis of Riom (died 475) was a French male saint who logically would have assumed the name Amabilis upon entering ...

, photographer, teacher and archaeologist * William Conor, artist *

Kathleen Coyle Kathleen Coyle (23 October 1886 – 25 March 1952) was an Irish novelist, best known for her autobiographical work. Early life Kathleen Coyle was born in Derry on 23 October 1886. She was the eldest child of John and Catherine Coyle (née M ...

, writer *

James Humbert Craig James Humbert Craig (12 July 1877 in Belfast – 12 June 1944) was an Irish painter.Craig was born in Belfast to Alexander Craig, a tea merchant, and a Swiss mother, Marie Metzenen, from a family with a painting tradition. He was raised in Co ...

, artist * James Bell Crichton, soldier and recipient of the

* William Crolly,

Archbishop of Armagh In Christian denominations, an archbishop is a bishop of higher rank or office. In most cases, such as the Catholic Church, there are many archbishops who either have jurisdiction over an ecclesiastical province in addition to their own archdio ...

* James Deeny, public health pioneer * Edmund De Wind, soldier and recipient of the

George Dickson George Charles Dickson Jr. (September 27, 1921 – November 25, 2020) was an American gridiron football player and coach was the head coach of the Hamilton Tiger-Cats of the Canadian Football League for the first two games of the 1976 season. ...

, rose grower *

William Steel Dickson William Steel Dickson (1744–1824) was an Irish Presbyterian minister and member of the Society of the United Irishmen, committed to the cause of Catholic Emancipation, democratic reform, and national independence. He was arrested on the eve ...

United Irishman ''The United Irishman'' was an Irish nationalist newspaper co-founded by Arthur Griffith and William Rooney.Arthur Griffith ...

John Dill Sir John Greer Dill, (25 December 1881 – 4 November 1944) was a senior British Army officer with service in both the First World War and the Second World War. From May 1940 to December 1941 he was the Chief of the Imperial General Staff (CIGS ...

, soldier *

Gerard Dillon Gerard Dillon (191614 June 1971) was an Irish painter and artist. Life Dillon was born in Belfast, he left school at the age of fourteen and for seven years worked as a painter and decorator, mostly in London. From an early age he was intere ...

, artist *

James Dilworth James Dilworth (15 August 1815 – 23 December 1894) was a New Zealand farmer, investor, speculator and philanthropist. He was born in Donaghmore, County Tyrone, Ireland, on 15 August 1815 and attended the nearby Royal School, Dungannon, where ...

, New Zealand farmer, investor, speculator and philanthropist *

William Drennan William Drennan (23 May 1754 – 5 February 1820) was an Irish physician and writer who moved the formation in Belfast and Dublin of the Society of United Irishmen. He was the author of the Society's original "test" which, in the cause of ...

, physician and radical *

John Boyd Dunlop John Boyd Dunlop (5 February 1840 – 23 October 1921) was a Scottish-born inventor and veterinary surgeon who spent most of his career in Ireland. Familiar with making rubber devices, he invented the first practical pneumatic tyres for his c ...

, tyre inventor *

Timothy Eaton Timothy Eaton (March 1834 – 31 January 1907) was an Irish businessman who founded the Eaton's department store, one of the most important retail businesses in Canada's history. Early life and family He was born in Ballymena, County Antrim, ...

, businessman * William John English, soldier and recipient of the

* E. Estyn Evans, geographer * Harry Ferguson, inventor * Vere Henry Lewis Foster, educationalist *

William Gibson William Ford Gibson (born March 17, 1948) is an American-Canadian speculative fiction writer and essayist widely credited with pioneering the science fiction subgenre known as ''cyberpunk''. Beginning his writing career in the late 1970s, hi ...

, goldsmith and philanthropist *

Sarah Grand Sarah Grand (10 June 1854 – 12 May 1943) was an English feminist writer active from 1873 to 1922. Her work revolved around the New Woman ideal. Early life and influences Sarah Grand was born Frances Elizabeth Bellenden Clarke in Roseba ...

, novelist and suffragette * W. A. Green, photographer * Paul Henry, artist * Robert Mitchell Henry, academic * John Hewitt, poet *

Chaim Herzog Major-General Chaim Herzog ( he, חיים הרצוג; 17 September 1918 – 17 April 1997) was an Irish-born Israeli politician, general, lawyer and author who served as the sixth President of Israel between 1983 and 1993. Born in Belfast and ...

, sixth

President of Israel The president of the State of Israel ( he, נְשִׂיא מְדִינַת יִשְׂרָאֵל, Nesi Medinat Yisra'el, or he, נְשִׂיא הַמְדִינָה, Nesi HaMedina, President of the State) is the head of state of Israel. The posi ...

*The

Huguenot The Huguenots ( , also , ) were a religious group of French Protestants who held to the Reformed, or Calvinist, tradition of Protestantism. The term, which may be derived from the name of a Swiss political leader, the Genevan burgomaster Be ...

Community * Barney Hughes, master baker and philanthropist *

Brian Desmond Hurst Brian Desmond Hurst (12 February 1895 – 26 September 1986) was a Belfast-born film director. With over thirty films in his filmography, Hurst has been hailed as Northern Ireland's best film director.Screening will honour 'NI's best film ...

, film director * Francis Hutcheson, philosopher and teacher * Alexander Irvine, writer *

Otto Jaffe Sir Otto Moses Jaffe, JP (13 August 1846 – 29 April 1929), also spelt Jaffé, was a German-born British businessman, who was twice elected Lord Mayor of Belfast and was a leader of the Jewish community in the city. Family Jaffe was born in ...

, Lord Mayor of Belfast 1899 and 1904 and philanthropist * James Johnston, tenor * Samuel Kelly, coal importer and philanthropist * Kellys Cellars, meeting place of the

United Irishmen The Society of United Irishmen was a sworn association in the Kingdom of Ireland formed in the wake of the French Revolution to secure "an equal representation of all the people" in a national government. Despairing of constitutional refor ...

* John King, explorer *

Charles Lanyon Sir Charles Lanyon DL, JP (6 January 1813 – 31 May 1889) was an English architect of the 19th century. His work is most closely associated with Belfast, Northern Ireland. Biography Lanyon was born in Eastbourne, Sussex (now East Sussex) in ...

, architect *

Philip Larkin Philip Arthur Larkin (9 August 1922 – 2 December 1985) was an English poet, novelist, and librarian. His first book of poetry, ''The North Ship'', was published in 1945, followed by two novels, ''Jill'' (1946) and ''A Girl in Winter'' (1947 ...

, poet *

John Lavery Sir John Lavery (20 March 1856 – 10 January 1941) was a Northern Irish painter best known for his portraits and wartime depictions. Life and career John Lavery was born in inner North Belfast, baptised at St Patrick's Church, Belfast an ...

, painter *

Charles Lever Charles James Lever (31 August 1806 – 1 June 1872) was an Irish novelist and raconteur, whose novels, according to Anthony Trollope, were just like his conversation. Biography Early life Lever was born in Amiens Street, Dublin, the second ...

, novelist *

C. S. Lewis Clive Staples Lewis (29 November 1898 – 22 November 1963) was a British writer and Anglican lay theologian. He held academic positions in English literature at both Oxford University (Magdalen College, 1925–1954) and Cambridge Univers ...

, author * Charles Davis Lucas, naval officer and first recipient of the

* John Luke, artist * Robert Wilson Lynd, writer * Robert Shipboy MacAdam, antiquarian and Gaelic scholar * Aodh Mac Aingil, scholar, poet and bishop *

George Macartney, 1st Earl Macartney :''George Macartney should not be confused with Sir George Macartney, a later British statesman.'' George McCartney, 1st Earl McCartney (14 May 1737 – 31 May 1806), also spelt Macartney, was an Anglo-Irish statesman, colonial administrator a ...

, diplomat * Thomas McCabe and William Putnam McCabe,

Luke Livingston Macassey Luke Livingstone Macassey (1843 – 9 May 1908) was an Irish civil engineer and barrister, notable for his contributions to public health by improving the water supply in the north of Ireland (today Northern Ireland). In 1874 he was appointed co ...

, civil engineer and barrister *

Samuel McCaughey Sir Samuel McCaughey (1 July 1835 – 25 July 1919) was an Irish-born pastoralist, politician and philanthropist in Australia. Early life McCaughey was born on 1 July 1835 at Tullynewey, near Ballymena, Ireland, the son of Francis McCaughey ...

, sheep farmer and politician *

John Macoun John Macoun (17 April 1831 – 18 June 1920) was an Irish-born Canadian naturalist. Early life Macoun was born in Magheralin, County Down, Ireland in 1831, the third child of James Macoun and Anne Jane Nevin. In 1850, the worsening ec ...

, explorer and naturalist *

Henry Joy McCracken Henry Joy McCracken (31 August 1767 – 17 July 1798) was an Irish republican, a leading member of the Society of the United Irishmen and a commander of their forces in the field in the Rebellion of 1798. In pursuit of an independent and democra ...

United Irishman ''The United Irishman'' was an Irish nationalist newspaper co-founded by Arthur Griffith and William Rooney.Arthur Griffith ...

* Mary Ann McCracken, social reformer *

James MacCullagh James MacCullagh (1809 – 24 October 1847) was an Irish mathematician. Early Life MacCullagh was born in Landahaussy, near Plumbridge, County Tyrone, Ireland, but the family moved to Curly Hill, Strabane when James was about 10. He was the e ...

, mathematician and physicist * Charles McKimm, first General Superinendant of Parks for the City of Belfast *

Michael McLaverty Michael McLaverty (5 July 1904 – 22 March 1992) was an Irish writer of novels and short stories.Louis MacNeice, poet * Martha Magee, benefactor * James Joseph Magennis, submariner and recipient of the

* Guglielmo Marconi, radio pioneer * W. F. Marshall, preacher and poet * Colin Middleton, artist * Rinty Monaghan, World Champion boxer * James Murray, inventor of milk of magnesia * Andrew Nicholl, painter *

Sister Nivedita Sister Nivedita ( born Margaret Elizabeth Noble; 28 October 1867 – 13 October 1911) was an Irish teacher, author, social activist, school founder and disciple of Swami Vivekananda. She spent her childhood and early youth in Ireland. She wa ...

(Margaret Elizabeth Noble), writer and Indian nationalist * Cathal O'Byrne, singer, poet and writer * Stewart Parker, playwright * H. B. Phillips, impresario *

Sir Henry Pottinger, 1st Baronet ''Sir'' is a formal honorific address in English for men, derived from Sire in the High Middle Ages. Both are derived from the old French "Sieur" (Lord), brought to England by the French-speaking Normans, and which now exist in French only as ...

, first

Governor of Hong Kong The governor of Hong Kong was the representative of the British Crown in Hong Kong from 1843 to 1997. In this capacity, the governor was president of the Executive Council and commander-in-chief of the British Forces Overseas Hong Kong. ...

Robert Lloyd Praeger Robert Lloyd Praeger (25 August 1865 – 5 May 1953) was an Irish naturalist, writer and librarian. Biography From a Unitarian background, he was born and raised in Holywood, County Down. He attended the school of the Reverend McAlister and t ...

, naturalist and historian *

Rosamond Praeger Sophia Rosamond Praeger, MBE, HRHA, MA (17 April 1867 – 16 April 1954) was an Irish artist, sculptor, illustrator, poet and writer. Early life and education Praeger was born in Holywood, County Down, Ireland on 17 April 1867. Her parents ...

, sculptor * Robert Quigg, soldier and recipient of the

* William Ritchie, pioneer shipbuilder *

Robert the Bruce Robert I (11 July 1274 – 7 June 1329), popularly known as Robert the Bruce (Scottish Gaelic: ''Raibeart an Bruis''), was King of Scots from 1306 to his death in 1329. One of the most renowned warriors of his generation, Robert eventual ...

King of the Scots The monarch of Scotland was the head of state of the Kingdom of Scotland. According to tradition, the first King of Scots was Kenneth I MacAlpin (), who founded the state in 843. Historically, the Kingdom of Scotland is thought to have grown ...

* Paul Rodgers, shipbuilder * Richard Rowley, poet *

George William Russell George William Russell (10 April 1867 – 17 July 1935), who wrote with the pseudonym Æ (often written AE or A.E.), was an Irish writer, editor, critic, poet, painter and Irish nationalist. He was also a writer on mysticism, and a centra ...

, writer, poet and artist * George Shiels, playwright *

Sir Robert Staples, 12th Baronet Sir Robert Ponsonby Staples, 12th Baronet (1853–1943) was an artist, also remembered for his eccentricity. Life He was the third son of Sir Nathaniel Staples, 11th Baronet of Lissan House near Cookstown in Co. Tyrone. He became one of Ulst ...

, artist *

George Vesey Stewart George Vesey Stewart (1832–1920) was a notable New Zealand farmer, coloniser and local politician. He was born in Brighton, Sussex, England in about 1832. The in the newly formed electorate was hotly contested. Four candidates were nom ...

, pioneer

New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ...

settler * Robert Sullivan, educationalist *

Jonathan Swift Jonathan Swift (30 November 1667 – 19 October 1745) was an Anglo-Irish satirist, author, essayist, political pamphleteer (first for the Whigs, then for the Tories), poet, and Anglican cleric who became Dean of St Patrick's Cathedral, Dubl ...

, cleric and writer *

Hugh Thomson Hugh Thomson (1 June 18607 May 1920) was an Irish people, Irish Illustration, Illustrator born at Coleraine near Derry. He is best known for his pen-and-ink illustrations of works by authors such as Jane Austen, Charles Dickens, and J. M. Bar ...

, illustrator *

William Thomson, 1st Baron Kelvin William Thomson, 1st Baron Kelvin, (26 June 182417 December 1907) was a British mathematician, Mathematical physics, mathematical physicist and engineer born in Belfast. Professor of Natural Philosophy (Glasgow), Professor of Natural Philoso ...

, scientist * Anthony Trollope, novelist *

Helen Waddell Helen Jane Waddell (31 May 1889 – 5 March 1965) was an Irish poet, translator and playwright. She was a recipient of the Benson Medal. Biography She was born in Tokyo, the tenth and youngest child of Hugh Waddell, a Presbyterian minister ...

, poet and writer *

Sir Richard Wallace, 1st Baronet Sir Richard Wallace, 1st Baronet (21 June 1818 – 20 July 1890), of Sudbourne Hall in Suffolk, Hertford House in London, and of the Château de Bagatelle in Paris, was a British art collector and Francophile. Origins and youth Richard i ...

, philanthropist and art collector *

Ernest Walton Ernest Thomas Sinton Walton (6 October 1903 – 25 June 1995) was an Irish physicist and Nobel laureate. He is best known for his work with John Cockcroft to construct one of the earliest types of particle accelerator, the Cockcroft–Walton ...

, physicist and Nobel Laureate * George Stuart White, soldier and recipient of the

* William Whitla, physician and politician * Oscar Wilde, playwright and poet * Guy Wilson, daffodil breeder *

John Butler Yeats John Butler Yeats (16 March 1839 – 3 February 1922) was an Irish people, Irish artist and the father of W. B. Yeats, Lily Yeats, Elizabeth Yeats, Elizabeth Corbett "Lolly" Yeats and Jack Butler Yeats. The National Gallery of Ireland holds a nu ...

, artist and writer * James Young, actor and comedian *

Annie Russell Maunder Annie Scott Dill Maunder (née Russell) (14 April 1868 – 15 September 1947) was an Irish-British astronomer, who recorded the first evidence of the movement of sunspot emergence from the poles toward the equator over the sun's 11-year cycle. ...

, astronomer

References

External links

Ulster History Circle plaques
recorded on openplaques.org {{coord missing, Ireland Non-profit organisations based in Northern Ireland History of Northern Ireland * Culture of Northern Ireland Ulster Blue plaques