Richard Crosbie, Second son of Sir Paul Crosbie, 4th Baronet of Maryborough, was born at Crosbie Park, County Wicklow, in 1755. As a boy he attended Trinity College, Dublin. In 1780 he married Charlotte Armstrong of Twickenham. They had two children, Edward Crosbie and Mary Crosbie.
Richard Crosbie often discussed the idea of flight with friends and colleagues prior to the Montgolfier brothers invention of the hot air balloon in 1783. The success of the french brothers inspired Richard Crosbie to create his own means of flight, and was determined to become the first person to cross a sea by crossing the Irish Sea using a hydrogen balloon. He first tested his idea by flying a balloon 12 feet in diameter for multiple days in the Ranelagh Gardens, Dublin. After multiple successful tests of flying animals in his balloon, Richard Crosbie became the first man to fly from Irish soil on 19 July 1785. Unfortunately
Richard Crosbie died in 1824.