Columbia Encyclopedia

(Encyclopedia) Glendalough glĕnˈdəlōˌ [key], wooded valley, Co. Wicklow, E Republic of Ireland, W of Wicklow. It is noted for the ruins of several churches of the 11th and 12th cent. (part of the center of Iris...

(Encyclopedia) Grace, William Russell, 1832–1904, American financier, b. Queenstown, Ireland. He was in business in England and Peru before establishing (1865) W. R. Grace & Company in New York City. After Per...

(Encyclopedia) Strafford, Thomas Wentworth, 1st earl of, 1593–1641, English statesman. Regularly elected to Parliament from 1614 on, he became one of the critics of George Villiers, 1st duke of Buckingham, and of ...

(Encyclopedia) Spenser, Edmund, 1552?–1599, English poet, b. London. He was the friend of men eminent in literature and at court, including Gabriel Harvey, Sir Philip Sidney, Sir Walter Raleigh, and Robert Sidney,...

(Encyclopedia) Leitrim lēˈtrĭm [key], county (1991 pop. 25,301), 589 sq mi (1,526 sq km), N Republic of Ireland. The county seat is Carrick-on-Shannon. Leitrim is divided into two parts by Lough Allen; the northe...

(Encyclopedia) Owen, John, 1616–83, English Puritan divine and theologian. In the civil war Owen supported the parliamentary cause. Oliver Cromwell took him as chaplain to Ireland and Scotland and had him appointe...

(Encyclopedia) dog racing, trials of speed between dogs. Now contested on oval tracks, the sport developed from the ancient practice of coursing, in which specially trained dogs chase game animals in the open field....

(Encyclopedia) Blessington, Marguerite, countess of, 1789–1849, English author and famous beauty, b. Ireland. At the age of 14 she was forced by her father into marriage with Capt. Maurice St. Leger Farmer, a sadi...

(Encyclopedia) Chesterfield, Philip Dormer Stanhope, 4th earl of, 1694–1773, English statesman and author. A noted wit and orator, his long public career, begun in 1715, included an ambassadorship to The Hague (17...

(Encyclopedia) Croker, John Wilson krōˈkər [key], 1780–1857, British Tory politician and author, b. Ireland. He was a member of Parliament from 1807 to 1832 and secretary of the admiralty from 1810 to 1830. The...