List of Famous people born in Ireland

Philip Courtney Laak is an Irish–American professional poker player and a poker commentator, now residing in Los Angeles, USA. Laak holds a World Poker Tour (WPT) title, a World Series of Poker (WSOP) bracelet, and has appeared on numerous nationally aired television shows.

Patrick Cox is a former Irish Fine Gael politician, journalist and television current affairs presenter who served as President of the European Parliament from 2002 to 2004 and Leader of the European Liberal Democrat and Reform Party Group from 1998 to 2002. He served as a Member of the European Parliament (MEP) for the Munster constituency from 1989 to 2004 and a Teachta Dála (TD) for the Cork South-Central from 1992 to 1994.

Margaret Mary Murnane is Distinguished Professor of Physics at the University of Colorado at Boulder, having moved there in 1999, with past positions at the University of Michigan and Washington State University. She is currently Director of the STROBE NSF Science and Technology Center, and is among the foremost active researchers in laser science and technology. Her interests and research contributions span topics including atomic, molecular, and optical physics, nanoscience, laser technology, materials and chemical dynamics, plasma physics, and imaging science. Her work has earned her multiple awards including the prestigious MacArthur Fellowship award in 2000, the Frederic Ives Medal/Quinn Prize in 2017, the highest award of The Optical Society, and the 2021 Benjamin Franklin Medal in Physics.

Professor Frank McGuinness is an Irish writer. As well as his own plays, which include The Factory Girls, Observe the Sons of Ulster Marching Towards the Somme, Someone Who'll Watch Over Me and Dolly West's Kitchen, he is recognised for a "strong record of adapting literary classics, having translated the plays of Racine, Sophocles, Ibsen, Garcia Lorca, and Strindberg to critical acclaim". He has also published four collections of poetry, and two novels. McGuinness has been Professor of Creative Writing at University College Dublin (UCD) since 2007.

Mary Kennedy is an Irish writer, television personality and former newscaster. She presented the Eurovision Song Contest 1995 from the Point Theatre in Dublin. She has also presented her own Saturday night chat show called Kennedy, a precursor to Saturday Night with Miriam. Kennedy was co-presenter of the magazine programme Open House with Marty Whelan. She has previously presented Up for the Match and the People of the Year Awards. She is now co-presenter of Nationwide with Anne Cassin, having been so for a time with Michael Ryan.

Michèle Burke is an Irish-born Academy Award-winning make-up artist.

Kathleen Watkins is an Irish broadcaster, harpist, actress, singer and author. She is the widow of Gay Byrne.

Kevin John Ryan is an Irish actor, known for his television roles in the TV series Copper and Crossbones.

Philip Deignan is an Irish former professional road racing cyclist, who rode professionally between 2005 and 2018 for the Ag2r–La Mondiale, Cervélo TestTeam, Team RadioShack, UnitedHealthcare and Team Sky squads. A former Olympian, Deignan won a stage in the 2009 Vuelta a España, and finished in the top ten in the general classification.