Irish History - Dec 23 - 29
Here is your Irish history lesson for this week.December 23
1686 - Samuel Madden, writer, economist and philanthropist, is born in Dublin
1688 - James II is deposed and flees to France
1770 - The Steelboys or Hearts of Steel, a Protestant agrarian protest movement, is involved in conflict in Ulster - 500 Steelboys release a prisoner in Belfast on 23 December
1864 - Death of James Bronterre O’Brien, Longford-born leader of the British Chartist movement
1900 - Noel Purcell, actor, is born in Dublin
1920 - The Government of Ireland Act enforces the secession of the six Northern Irish counties from the rest of Ireland
1950 - A bank strike that will last eight weeks begins on this date
2002 - The second 55ft section of the Spire of Dublin — better known as The Spike — is hauled into place.
December 24
1601 - The Battle of Kinsale. Hugh O'Neill and Red Hugh O'Donnell are heavily defeated by Mountjoy
1701 - Captain Thomas Bellew fights a duel with Major-General William Stewart on Christmas Eve - both men's right hands are disabled as a result of war wounds, and Bellew has served under Stewart. Stewart fires from two yards and blows Bellew's hat off, whereupon Bellew throws his pistol away, saying he does not wish to kill Stewart
1709 - Alan Brodrick, Speaker of the House of Commons, is appointed Lord Chief Justice of the Court of Queen's Bench
1713 - The second Irish parliament of Queen Anne sits from 25 November to this date. The Whig Alan Brodrick is elected Speaker for the second time (having served 21 September 1703 to 19 May 1710), in place of John Forster, after a stormy contest with the government's Tory nominee, Sir
Richard Levinge
1810 - John O'Connell, politician, is born in Dublin
1889 - Captain William O'Shea files for divorce, citing Parnell as his wife Kitty's lover, thus causing moral outrage and the subsequent loss of Parnell's political power
1895 - The 15-man crew of a Dun Laoghaire lifeboat crew is lost in a gale while attempting a rescue from a stricken vessel off Blackrock
1921 - Gerard Victory, composer, is born in Dublin
1942 - Psychiatrist and broadcaster Dr. Anthony Clare is born in Dublin
1997 - In one of the worst storms in living memory, seven people die and many others are injured as hurricane-force winds wreak havoc across the country
1998 - After 26 years, an exceptional era in broadcasting comes to a close on this date when Gay Byrne does his final morning radio show on RTE Radio One.
2002 - President Mary McAleese breaks her ankle in a skiing accident in Austria
December 25
1185 - Around Christmas, a crown that Henry had sought from the papacy for John's use as king of Ireland is delivered, but will never be used
1351 - William Ó Ceallaigh, chief of Uí Mhaine, holds a great Christmas feast for the bards of Ireland
1715 - Joshua Dawson sells the Mansion House with its gardens and park to Dublin Corporation for £3,500 plus 40 shillings per annum and a 'loaf of double refined sugar of six pounds weight' which is to be paid to the Dawsons every Christmas
1744 - Sir John Parnell, Chancellor of the Irish Exchequer, is born in Co. Laois
1781 - John Ward, mystic and religious writer, is born in Queenstown, Co. Cork
1824 - William Lawless, United Irishmen and officer in Napoleon's Irish Legion, dies in Paris
1829 - Patrick Sarsfield Gilmore, bandmaster and composer, is born in Co. Dublin
1831 - Christopher Palles, judge and Lord Chief Baron of the Exchequer in Ireland is born in Dublin
1844 - Rev. William Steel Dickson, Presbyterian minister and United Irishmen supporter, is born in Co. Antrim
1860 - Patrick Dinneen (Pádraig Ó Duinnín) priest, lexicographer and editor, is born in Rathmore, Co. Kerry
1873 - Patrick Gallagher aka 'Paddy the Cope', cooperative society developer, is born in Cleendra, Co. Donegal
1881 - Sir John Greer Dill, Field-Marshalis born in Lurgan, Co. Armagh
1916 - Irish prisoners interned at Frongoch are released
1941 - Jim Bolger, racehorse trainer, is born in Co. Wexford
1974 - Harry Kernoff, Irish artist in oils and woodcuts, dies
1999 - While most parts of the country experience heavy rain and winds, the snow capped Knockmealdown and Comeragh mountains in Co Waterford are picturesque on Christmas Day, particularly for punters who had a flutter on a White Christmas. The presence of snow in many areas costs bookmaker Paddy Power £50,000
2000 - Swimmers around the country brave icy seas and teeth chattering winds as the annual Christmas fund raising swims get off to a chilly start. Temperatures in coastal areas range from zero to four degrees
2002 - Ireland experiences its mildest Christmas in over a decade.
In the liturgical calendar, today celebrates the birth of Jesus Christ.
December 26
1381 - The sudden death of Edmund Mortimer at Cork leaves the colony without effective leadership and prompts a military crisis
1820 - Dion Boucicault, dramatist and actor, is born in Dublin
1823 - John Cairnes, economist, is born in Castle Bellingham, Co. Louth
1950 - James Stephens, writer, dies
1997 - St. Stephen's Day fox hunts are marked by major animal welfare protests with Gardaí forced to separate hunt supporters and animal welfare activists
1998 - Thousands of homes and businesses in the northern half of the country are without electricity as hurricane-force gales and gusts of over 100 miles per hour send poles crashing to the ground and entangle wires in fallen trees. Galway, Mayo, Sligo and Donegal are the worst affected counties
1998 - Former IRA Chief of Staff, Cathal Goulding, dies in a Dublin hospital
1999 - Hundreds of people walk through the Glen of the Downs in a show of solidarity with eco warriors, despite a Government order closing off the nature reserve to the public
2001 - Politicians from all parties join in mourning the passing of Mark Clinton, who was a major figure in Irish public life over three decades. Mr. Clinton died peacefully at Lucan Lodge Nursing Home, in Lucan, Co Dublin, on December 23, after a lengthy illness
In the liturgical calendar, today is the feast of St. Stephen. (see our article: St. Stephen's to New Years Eve)
December 27
1601 - Red Hugh O'Donnell leaves Ireland for Spain; Hugh O'Neill withdraws to Ulster
1727 - Arthur Murphy, actor and playwright, is born in Cloonyquin, Co. Roscommon
1791 - 68 conservative members secede from the Catholic Committee, which thereby becomes more militant
1821 - Lady Jane Francesca Wilde is born in Co. Wexford. Author, poet and the mother of Oscar Wilde, she is also known as Speranza.
Note: Many sources give the year of birth as 1826
1849 - James Fintan Lalor, Young Irelander, dies
1904 - Séamus Byrne, lawyer and playwright, is born in Dublin
1904 - The Abbey Theatre opens with productions of Yeat's "On Baile's Strand" and "Cathleen ni Houlihan", as well as Lady Gregory's "Spreading the News"
1904 - George Bernard Shaw's John Bull's Other Island is performed in London
1960 - Death of Elizabeth Crotty, Irish traditional musician and activist for Comhaltas Ceoltóiri Éireann
1969 - Dan Breen, IRA leader during War of Independence dies
1997 - A leading protestant paramilitary, Billy Wright, is shot dead at the maximum security Maze prison in Northern Ireland
1999 - After a five-year delay, the construction of the £204 million Dublin Port tunnel is finally approved
2000 - A White Christmas arrives late in many parts of the country. The post Christmas whiteout leaves the west and north west blanketed in snow with even offshore islands, where snow rarely lies, covered to a depth of several inches
2001 - Sales fever drives bargain hunters from their beds to join pre-dawn queues as the nation goes on a record £1bn consumer splurge
2002 - A young man is “executed” in north Belfast as the simmering feud among loyalist paramilitaries erupts
2002 - Leopardstown loses up to €500,000 in revenue. Day two of the big Dublin race meeting is cancelled because of water-logging.
December 28
1673 - Birth of Marmaduke Coghill, lawyer, judge and MP
1795 - Lord Gosford, Governor of Armagh declares the Orange Order a "lawless banditti"
1880 - The trial of Parnell and others for conspiracy begins on this date
1883 - St John Greer Ervine, playwright, author, critic and manager of the Abbey Theatre from 1915 to 1916, is born in Belfast
1997 - The British government orders the deployment of the SAS in Mid-Ulster in a bid to thwart another Loyalist Volunteer Force outrage as IRA commanders in Tyrone meet in emergency session in an effort to keep the lid on the Provo ceasefire
2000 - Heavy snow and freezing temperatures are reported throughout the country. The heaviest snowfall in 18 years brings chaos to the North.
In the liturgical calendar, today is the feast of the Holy Innocents and, in Irish folklore, it was very unlucky to start something new. It was also believed that whichever day of the week the feast fell, that day would be unlucky throughout the following year. To read a related article to Irish Superstitions for the Christmas Season please click: Christmas Supstitions.
December 29
1766 - Richard Dawson, MP for Monaghan Borough, dies on this date. Before his death, his bank - Wilcox & Dawson of Dublin, which was established in 1747 - closes with debts thought to amount to £192,000
1829 - Fr. John B. Bannon, Confederate Army Chaplain, is born in Co. Leitrim
1864 - The National Association of Ireland is founded in Dublin, backed by the Catholic hierarchy and intended to foster cooperation with English radicals to promote disestablishment of the Church of Ireland
1876 - The Society for the Preservation of the Irish Language is formed in Dublin
1902 - Birth of Edward Pakenham, 6th Earl of Longford; theatrical producer and dramatist
1932 - Eileen Desmond, Labour politician, is born in Kinsale, Co. Cork
1997 - Secretary of State Mo Mowlam holds day-long crisis talks with security chiefs and prison officials amid renewed calls for her resignation and fears that breakaway loyalist and republican terror bosses will ruthlessly exploit any political vacuum
1998 - Battered by gale-force winds and torrential rain, The Isle of Man ferry runs aground in Dublin Bay
1998 - More than 12,000 families across the country face their fifth day of candle-light and cold meals as the painstaking process of repairing storm-damaged electricity lines drags on
2000 - One of the coldest spells to grip the country in decades continues
2001 - Singer Daniel O'Donnell is awarded an honorary MBE in the Queen's honours list for his decades of service to the music industry. Fashion designer John Rocha is awarded a CBE.
Sources: Irish Culture and Customs, The Celtic League, Irish Abroad, The Wild Geese
1686 - Samuel Madden, writer, economist and philanthropist, is born in Dublin
1688 - James II is deposed and flees to France
1770 - The Steelboys or Hearts of Steel, a Protestant agrarian protest movement, is involved in conflict in Ulster - 500 Steelboys release a prisoner in Belfast on 23 December
1864 - Death of James Bronterre O’Brien, Longford-born leader of the British Chartist movement
1900 - Noel Purcell, actor, is born in Dublin
1920 - The Government of Ireland Act enforces the secession of the six Northern Irish counties from the rest of Ireland
1950 - A bank strike that will last eight weeks begins on this date
2002 - The second 55ft section of the Spire of Dublin — better known as The Spike — is hauled into place.
December 24
1601 - The Battle of Kinsale. Hugh O'Neill and Red Hugh O'Donnell are heavily defeated by Mountjoy
1701 - Captain Thomas Bellew fights a duel with Major-General William Stewart on Christmas Eve - both men's right hands are disabled as a result of war wounds, and Bellew has served under Stewart. Stewart fires from two yards and blows Bellew's hat off, whereupon Bellew throws his pistol away, saying he does not wish to kill Stewart
1709 - Alan Brodrick, Speaker of the House of Commons, is appointed Lord Chief Justice of the Court of Queen's Bench
1713 - The second Irish parliament of Queen Anne sits from 25 November to this date. The Whig Alan Brodrick is elected Speaker for the second time (having served 21 September 1703 to 19 May 1710), in place of John Forster, after a stormy contest with the government's Tory nominee, Sir
Richard Levinge
1810 - John O'Connell, politician, is born in Dublin
1889 - Captain William O'Shea files for divorce, citing Parnell as his wife Kitty's lover, thus causing moral outrage and the subsequent loss of Parnell's political power
1895 - The 15-man crew of a Dun Laoghaire lifeboat crew is lost in a gale while attempting a rescue from a stricken vessel off Blackrock
1921 - Gerard Victory, composer, is born in Dublin
1942 - Psychiatrist and broadcaster Dr. Anthony Clare is born in Dublin
1997 - In one of the worst storms in living memory, seven people die and many others are injured as hurricane-force winds wreak havoc across the country
1998 - After 26 years, an exceptional era in broadcasting comes to a close on this date when Gay Byrne does his final morning radio show on RTE Radio One.
2002 - President Mary McAleese breaks her ankle in a skiing accident in Austria
December 25
1185 - Around Christmas, a crown that Henry had sought from the papacy for John's use as king of Ireland is delivered, but will never be used
1351 - William Ó Ceallaigh, chief of Uí Mhaine, holds a great Christmas feast for the bards of Ireland
1715 - Joshua Dawson sells the Mansion House with its gardens and park to Dublin Corporation for £3,500 plus 40 shillings per annum and a 'loaf of double refined sugar of six pounds weight' which is to be paid to the Dawsons every Christmas
1744 - Sir John Parnell, Chancellor of the Irish Exchequer, is born in Co. Laois
1781 - John Ward, mystic and religious writer, is born in Queenstown, Co. Cork
1824 - William Lawless, United Irishmen and officer in Napoleon's Irish Legion, dies in Paris
1829 - Patrick Sarsfield Gilmore, bandmaster and composer, is born in Co. Dublin
1831 - Christopher Palles, judge and Lord Chief Baron of the Exchequer in Ireland is born in Dublin
1844 - Rev. William Steel Dickson, Presbyterian minister and United Irishmen supporter, is born in Co. Antrim
1860 - Patrick Dinneen (Pádraig Ó Duinnín) priest, lexicographer and editor, is born in Rathmore, Co. Kerry
1873 - Patrick Gallagher aka 'Paddy the Cope', cooperative society developer, is born in Cleendra, Co. Donegal
1881 - Sir John Greer Dill, Field-Marshalis born in Lurgan, Co. Armagh
1916 - Irish prisoners interned at Frongoch are released
1941 - Jim Bolger, racehorse trainer, is born in Co. Wexford
1974 - Harry Kernoff, Irish artist in oils and woodcuts, dies
1999 - While most parts of the country experience heavy rain and winds, the snow capped Knockmealdown and Comeragh mountains in Co Waterford are picturesque on Christmas Day, particularly for punters who had a flutter on a White Christmas. The presence of snow in many areas costs bookmaker Paddy Power £50,000
2000 - Swimmers around the country brave icy seas and teeth chattering winds as the annual Christmas fund raising swims get off to a chilly start. Temperatures in coastal areas range from zero to four degrees
2002 - Ireland experiences its mildest Christmas in over a decade.
In the liturgical calendar, today celebrates the birth of Jesus Christ.
December 26
1381 - The sudden death of Edmund Mortimer at Cork leaves the colony without effective leadership and prompts a military crisis
1820 - Dion Boucicault, dramatist and actor, is born in Dublin
1823 - John Cairnes, economist, is born in Castle Bellingham, Co. Louth
1950 - James Stephens, writer, dies
1997 - St. Stephen's Day fox hunts are marked by major animal welfare protests with Gardaí forced to separate hunt supporters and animal welfare activists
1998 - Thousands of homes and businesses in the northern half of the country are without electricity as hurricane-force gales and gusts of over 100 miles per hour send poles crashing to the ground and entangle wires in fallen trees. Galway, Mayo, Sligo and Donegal are the worst affected counties
1998 - Former IRA Chief of Staff, Cathal Goulding, dies in a Dublin hospital
1999 - Hundreds of people walk through the Glen of the Downs in a show of solidarity with eco warriors, despite a Government order closing off the nature reserve to the public
2001 - Politicians from all parties join in mourning the passing of Mark Clinton, who was a major figure in Irish public life over three decades. Mr. Clinton died peacefully at Lucan Lodge Nursing Home, in Lucan, Co Dublin, on December 23, after a lengthy illness
In the liturgical calendar, today is the feast of St. Stephen. (see our article: St. Stephen's to New Years Eve)
December 27
1601 - Red Hugh O'Donnell leaves Ireland for Spain; Hugh O'Neill withdraws to Ulster
1727 - Arthur Murphy, actor and playwright, is born in Cloonyquin, Co. Roscommon
1791 - 68 conservative members secede from the Catholic Committee, which thereby becomes more militant
1821 - Lady Jane Francesca Wilde is born in Co. Wexford. Author, poet and the mother of Oscar Wilde, she is also known as Speranza.
Note: Many sources give the year of birth as 1826
1849 - James Fintan Lalor, Young Irelander, dies
1904 - Séamus Byrne, lawyer and playwright, is born in Dublin
1904 - The Abbey Theatre opens with productions of Yeat's "On Baile's Strand" and "Cathleen ni Houlihan", as well as Lady Gregory's "Spreading the News"
1904 - George Bernard Shaw's John Bull's Other Island is performed in London
1960 - Death of Elizabeth Crotty, Irish traditional musician and activist for Comhaltas Ceoltóiri Éireann
1969 - Dan Breen, IRA leader during War of Independence dies
1997 - A leading protestant paramilitary, Billy Wright, is shot dead at the maximum security Maze prison in Northern Ireland
1999 - After a five-year delay, the construction of the £204 million Dublin Port tunnel is finally approved
2000 - A White Christmas arrives late in many parts of the country. The post Christmas whiteout leaves the west and north west blanketed in snow with even offshore islands, where snow rarely lies, covered to a depth of several inches
2001 - Sales fever drives bargain hunters from their beds to join pre-dawn queues as the nation goes on a record £1bn consumer splurge
2002 - A young man is “executed” in north Belfast as the simmering feud among loyalist paramilitaries erupts
2002 - Leopardstown loses up to €500,000 in revenue. Day two of the big Dublin race meeting is cancelled because of water-logging.
December 28
1673 - Birth of Marmaduke Coghill, lawyer, judge and MP
1795 - Lord Gosford, Governor of Armagh declares the Orange Order a "lawless banditti"
1880 - The trial of Parnell and others for conspiracy begins on this date
1883 - St John Greer Ervine, playwright, author, critic and manager of the Abbey Theatre from 1915 to 1916, is born in Belfast
1997 - The British government orders the deployment of the SAS in Mid-Ulster in a bid to thwart another Loyalist Volunteer Force outrage as IRA commanders in Tyrone meet in emergency session in an effort to keep the lid on the Provo ceasefire
2000 - Heavy snow and freezing temperatures are reported throughout the country. The heaviest snowfall in 18 years brings chaos to the North.
In the liturgical calendar, today is the feast of the Holy Innocents and, in Irish folklore, it was very unlucky to start something new. It was also believed that whichever day of the week the feast fell, that day would be unlucky throughout the following year. To read a related article to Irish Superstitions for the Christmas Season please click: Christmas Supstitions.
December 29
1766 - Richard Dawson, MP for Monaghan Borough, dies on this date. Before his death, his bank - Wilcox & Dawson of Dublin, which was established in 1747 - closes with debts thought to amount to £192,000
1829 - Fr. John B. Bannon, Confederate Army Chaplain, is born in Co. Leitrim
1864 - The National Association of Ireland is founded in Dublin, backed by the Catholic hierarchy and intended to foster cooperation with English radicals to promote disestablishment of the Church of Ireland
1876 - The Society for the Preservation of the Irish Language is formed in Dublin
1902 - Birth of Edward Pakenham, 6th Earl of Longford; theatrical producer and dramatist
1932 - Eileen Desmond, Labour politician, is born in Kinsale, Co. Cork
1997 - Secretary of State Mo Mowlam holds day-long crisis talks with security chiefs and prison officials amid renewed calls for her resignation and fears that breakaway loyalist and republican terror bosses will ruthlessly exploit any political vacuum
1998 - Battered by gale-force winds and torrential rain, The Isle of Man ferry runs aground in Dublin Bay
1998 - More than 12,000 families across the country face their fifth day of candle-light and cold meals as the painstaking process of repairing storm-damaged electricity lines drags on
2000 - One of the coldest spells to grip the country in decades continues
2001 - Singer Daniel O'Donnell is awarded an honorary MBE in the Queen's honours list for his decades of service to the music industry. Fashion designer John Rocha is awarded a CBE.
Sources: Irish Culture and Customs, The Celtic League, Irish Abroad, The Wild Geese
Labels: history
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