Top 30 most important and famous people from Ireland

Painter, known for his raw, unsettling imagery. Focusing on the human form, his subjects included crucifixions, portraits of popes, self-portraits, and portraits of close friends, with abstracted figures sometimes isolated in geometrical structures

Writer, author of Gulliver's Travels

Writer, author of The Vicar of Wakefield and The Deserted Village

Writer, author of The Picture of Dorian Gray

Writer, author of Dracula

Writer and key figure of XX century literature. He was a driving force behind the Irish Literary Revival and became a pillar of the Irish literary establishment who helped to found the Abbey Theatre. Winner of Nobel Prize in Literature in 1923

Writer, author of Dubliners and Ulysses

Writer, author of Waiting for Godot, winner of Nobel Prize in Literature in 1969

Playwright, author of Man and Superman, Pygmalion and Saint Joan, winner of Nobel Prize and Academy Award

Poet, author of Death of a Naturalist, winner of Nobel Prize in Literature in 1995

Philosopher whose primary achievement was the advancement of a theory he called immaterialism or subjective idealism

Politician, called The Liberator, his mobilization of Catholic Ireland secured the final installment of Catholic emancipation in 1829 and allowed him to take a seat in the United Kingdom Parliament to which he had been twice elected

Politician who opposed British rule in Ireland, and was one of the leaders of the Easter Rising of 1916, commanding the Irish Citizen Army

The first modern chemist, one of the founders of modern chemistry, and one of the pioneers of modern experimental scientific method

Physicist known for his work with John Cockcroft to construct one of the earliest types of particle accelerator, winner of Nobel Prize in Physics in 1951

Physicist who made major contributions in optics, classical mechanics and abstract algebra. His work was fundamental to modern theoretical physics, particularly his reformulation of Newtonian mechanics

Physicist and mathematician who made contributions to fluid mechanics, physical optics, with notable works on polarization and fluorescence, vector calculus and contributed to the theory of asymptotic expansions

Actor, famous for his roles in Daredevil and Alexander

Actor famous for his role as Alastor Moody in the Harry Potter films. He is also known for his supporting roles in films such as Braveheart and Troy

Actor known as the fifth actor to play secret agent James Bond in the Bond film series

Actor, famous for his role in Schindler's List

Actor, famous for his role as Albus Dumbledore in the Harry Potter film series

Actor, famous for his roles in The Last of the Mohicans, My Left Foot and Lincoln, three times winner of Academy Award

Actor, famous for his roles in Red Desert, This Sporting Life and Camelot

Actor, famous for his role in Lawrence of Arabia

Actress and singer, who became successful in Hollywood from the 1940s to the 1960s. She was a natural redhead who was known for playing passionate but sensible heroines, often in Westerns and adventure films

Composer and Celtic harper, considered by many to be Ireland's national composer

Rock band, With or Without You, I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For

Footballer of 1990s and 2000s, legend of Manchester United

Mixed martial artist former Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) featherweight and lightweight double-champion