Clara - Notable Figures

Notable Figures

St Brigid of Ireland (c 450 – c 525). Also known as St Brigid of Kildare. Born in Faughart, Co. Louth, Ireland, St Brigid was the daughter of a pagan chieftain and Christian slave woman. She was religious by nature and when she reached maturity she took vows under St. Mel. She founded a famous monastery in Kildare (Cill Dara) which became an ecclesiastical city and eventually the cathedral city of a diocese. She was revered as a saint in her own lifetime. She is buried with St Patrick and St Columba in Downpatrick, Northern Ireland: the three are considered the patron saints of Ireland. Her association with Clara is ancient: according to tradition she founded her first monastery there, the ruins of which are still extant. She is the patron of the parish of Clara and the local Catholic church preserves a first-class relic of the saint.

Matilda de Lacy (1223–1289). Born in Lincolnshire in England]in 1223, Matilda (Maud) was one of the most significant women of her time. The daughter of John de Lacy, the Earl of Lincolnshire and Margaret de Quincy, Countess of Derby, granddaughter of Walter de Lacy, Lord of Meath, she inherited a considerable fortune following her grandfather's death on 1241. As the eldest of her family, she inherited the family castle in Trim, Co. Meath and with it a number of estates. Unusual for women at the time, she exercised considerable power and influence. She was married to Peter de Genevre (died 1249). She founded a convent at Gageborough, a townland of Clara. She died in 1289.

Connall Mac Geoghegan (17th century). Connall Mac Geoghegan, known as Connall the Historian, lived in Lismoyny, a townland of Clara. He is noted by history as the translator of the Annals of Clonmacnoise, a chronicle of historical events in Ireland from pre-history to 1408 AD. His translation into English was complete by 1627 and was his work was praised for its understanding of the Gaelic idiom. The years of Connall's life are not known, but he was still alive in 1644.

Hubert Fox (17th century). The Irish love a rebel, and Hubert Fox can stake a claim to this affection. Chief of the Fox clan in the 17th century he resisted English rule and fought against Cromwellian forces. He lost his estates and fled his ancestral home, Lehinch castle, in 1641 with a price of 400 pounds on his head: the English even promised outlaws a pardon if they delivered Fox into their hands. A testament to the loyalty of the Irish, no one did, and he disappeared from history. Many lines of the Fox family today claim descent from him.

Fr James Dillon (c 1643- ?). Fr Dillon was the Catholic pastor of the parish of Kilbride (Clara). Born around 1643, he was ordained priest in 1688 in Ballyleoge, Co. Galway. He was appointed to the parish in 1704. He was an astounding pastor, but given the nature of the times he was the victim of much persecution. He was betrayed a number of times to the priest-hunters and several times arrested for carrying out his ministry, spending time in prison and almost dying of his ill-treatment at one stage. The date of his death is unknown, but he was buried in the cemetery of St Brigid's monastery in Kilbride.

Andrew Armstrong (1727–1802). As noted above, Armstrong was a successful industrialist in the town. Born in 1727 the son of Warenford Armstrong of Ballycumber and Elizabeth Bagot of Newtown. He was responsible for Clara's prominence as a manufacturing town in the late 18th/early 19th centuries.

Robert Goodbody (1781–1860). Born in Mountmellick, County Laois, Ireland, on April 9, 1781, he was the son of Quaker parents, Mark Goodbody and Elizabeth Pim. The Goodbodys were already a prominent merchant family in the Midlands, but Robert would prove to be the one who would strengthen the family's position in Ireland's industrial elite. He moved to Clara on October 17, 1825 when he took over Brosna Mills and from this industry he founded a dynasty of merchants who would dominate not only the commercial life of the Midlands, but have considerable influence in Ireland and abroad. He married twice and had six children. When he was 74 years old he began writing his Memoirs which constitute not only an autobiography but also a valuable record of events in the Midlands including the rebellion of 1798, an important uprising against English rule in Ireland.

Vivian Mercier (1919–1989). Vivian Mercier was a foremost literary historian. Born in Clara in 1919 he studied at Portora Royal School in Enniskillen (Oscar Wilde's alma mater) and afterwards at Trinity College, Dublin, where he completed his doctorate entitled Realism in Irish Fiction. After a spell in Ireland working for a literary periodical, he went to the US where he held a number of positions in various universities, finally accepting a professorship at the University of California at Santa Barbara in 1974. The same year he married his second wife, the Irish writer Eilis Dillon. He published a number of works in the area of literature and was a committed defender of the Irish language (Gaelic), writing a landmark work on Irish literature in 1964. He was also regarded as an authority on the works of Samuel Beckett. He died in 1989 and is buried in Clara with his wife, Eilis.

Br Placidus Timmons, OSF (1948–1997). Larry Timmons was born in Delvin, County Westmeath on April 17, 1948. He entered the Franciscan Brothers (Third Order of Penance) taking the name Br Placidus, and after profession was appointed to the Franciscan Monastery in Clara where he spent a number of years as a teacher in the Boy's Primary School. He was a popular figure in the parish, involved in numerous organisations and with a deep concern for the young and poor. In 1982 he was transferred to the Order's mission house in Kenya where he spent fifteen years teaching and helping improve the living standards of the local communities he served. On January 22, 1997 during an armed break-in, Br Placidus was shot dead. An investigation into his death revealed that his death was not an unfortunate mistake, but was in fact, deliberate: he was murdered for his efforts to obtain justice for the victims of a corrupt regime. His remains were brought back to Clara and a large crowd attended his funeral. He is buried in the community cemetery of the Franciscan Brothers. He is regarded as a martyr for justice by many.

Brian Cowen (born 1960) Taoiseach (Prime Minister) from 2008 to 2011. Son of Bernard Cowen, former TD and Junior Minister for Agriculture. He took office on 7 May 2008, heading a coalition government led by his Fianna Fáil party that includes the Green Party and the Progressive Democrats, with the support of independent TDs. He was a Teachta Dála (TD) for the constituency of Laois–Offaly from 1984 to 2011. He served as Minister for Labour (1992–1993), Minister for Energy (1993), Minister for Transport, Energy and Communications (1993–1994), Minister for Health and Children (1997–2000), Minister for Foreign Affairs (2000–2004) and Minister for Finance (2004–2008). He served as Tánaiste from 2007 to 2008. He became leader of Fianna Fáil on the resignation of Bertie Ahern. On 7 May 2008 following the resignation of Bertie Ahern as Taoiseach, Cowen was nominated in the Dáil and elected Taoiseach. Within a short period of him taking office Ireland was hit by the global recession, a construction industry collapse and a near-collapse of the country's banks leading to job losses, wage reductions,etc. This caused him and his government to take many unpopular decisions. Brian Cowen's term as Taoiseach came to an end following the general election in February 2011. He did not contest the election and stepped down from public life.

Michelle MKeon-Bennett (born 1974) current (Space Life Science researcher). Daughter of Michael and Margaret McKeon, was chosen in 2002 to travel to NASA, Florida as a potential astronaut candidate, after she approached NASA researchers regarding her research on bog plants. It was not until September 2003 that she began research into the use of Sphagnum Moss from Clara Bog for space applications. She developed a system that allowed water to be filtered and plants to grow in the enclosed environment of a space orbiter (shuttle) and planetary colony. She returned to Ireland (and ) in September 2004 and continued her research link with NASA, Kennedy Space Centre Florida under a student transfer programme from LIT with Dynamac Corporation, the space life science company contracted to NASA to carry out space life science research. She established the Controlled Environment Laboratory for Life Sciences (CELLS) in LIT in 2008, and successfully obtained funding to purchase state-of-the-art growth chambers to the exact specifications as those in Kennedy Space Centre, Florida. They are the only ones in of this specification in Europe. She currently has 6 postgraduate students based in LIT with placements in Kennedy Space Centre researching the use of Irish plants in space research with terrestrial applications such as health foods and natural pharmaceutical products. In 2005 she was made Head of Department of Applied Science, LIT and is currently developing a new space science programme for undergraduate students, the first in Ireland. In 2009, she made it to the third last round of astronaut selection in Europe.

Professional golfer Shane Lowry comes from Clara. He was born on April 2, 1987 and comes from a strong sporting background. His father Brendan played Gaelic football for Offaly, winning a senior All-Ireland medal in 1982. Shane's mother Brigid, née Scanlon, comes from a prominent sporting and musical family from Clara. Shane attended Clara's St. Francis boys national school and Clara vocational school. During his school years he played both football and hurling. At the age of 12 he developed an interest in pitch and putt and quickly began winning numerous prizes in the sport. In his mid teens Shane's interest turned to golf. Within a couple of years he was rising within the ranks of the amateur golf circuit. In 2009 he came to international attention when he won the Irish open golf championship, as an amateur. He turned professional shortly afterwards.