Irish History - April 20 - April 26

Here is your Irish history lesson for this week.

April 20
1176 - Strongbow, Anglo-Norman lord, dies in Dublin
1608 - James I grants a license to the Old Bushmills distillery in Co. Antrim which is thought to date from at least 1276 - the oldest distillery in the world
1696 - The Guild of Brewers and Maltsters is founded in Dublin; Richard Forster, former MP for Swords and a Dublin brewer, is a member
1772 - William Lawless, surgeon, United Irishman and general in Napoleon Bonaparte's revolutionary army, is born in Dublin
1791 - William Tone, soldier, author and son of Theobald Wolfe Tone is born in Dublin
1812 - Maurice FitzGerald, MP for Co. Kerry, presents the Irish Protestant petition for Catholic relief and calls for measures against grain scarcity in Ireland
1829 - Margaret Anna Cusack is born to an aristocratic family of English origin in Coolak, Co. Dublin; she is the founder of the first Poor Clares convent in the west of Ireland and also a talented writer who publishes on the issues of social injustice. Her writings and actions focus on advocacy of women's rights including equal pay, equal opportunity for education and legal reform to give women control of their own property
1857 - Sir Thomas Myles, surgeon, is born in Limerick
1879 - Robert Lynd, essayist and critic, is born in Belfast
1896 - A demonstration of the cinématographe is held in Dublin at Dan Lowrey's Star of Erin theatre of varieties, now the Olympia Theatre
1912 - Death of Dublin writer Bram Stoker, creator of Dracula
1945 - Alan Dukes, politician and Fine Gael leader is born in Dublin
1954 - Michael Manning becomes the last man to be executed by the state in the Republic of Ireland: he is hanged on this date at Mountjoy jail, Dublin, for the murder of a nurse
1874 - The conflict in Northern Ireland claims its 1,000 victim, petrol station owner James Murphy of Co. Fermanagh
1991- Sean O'Faolain, writer, dies at 91; he is best known for his short stories, collected in such volumes as Midsummer Night Madness, The Man Who Invented Sin, The Heat of the Sun, and The Talking Trees (1971). Among his novels are A Nest of Simple Folk and Come Back to Erin
2001 - Two cases of suspected foot-and-mouth rock the North’s agricultural community. Stormont Minister Bríd Rodgers admits her department is concerned about symptoms in animals at Ballintoy, near Ballycastle, and in a herd at Ardboe.

April 21
1738 - A Mr Lorimer, receiver of Sir Arthur Acheson (MP for Mullingar), is killed in a duel
1816 - Daughter of an Irish father, Charlotte Bronte, eldest of the three Bronte Sisters and author of Jane Eyre, is born
1871 - John Fitzpatrick, Labor leader and Irish nationalist is born in Athlone, Co. Westmeath
1874 - Walter Wilson, mechanical engineer, designer of cars and tanks, is born in Blackrock, Co. Dublin
1875 - Michael, "The O'Rahilly," Irish Volunteers leader, is born in Ballylongford, Co. Kerry
1879 - Birth of novelist Maurice Walsh in Listowel
1901 - Death of James Stephens, Kilkenny-born founder of the Irish Republican Brotherhood
1907 - The nationalist groups, Cumman na nGaedheal and Dungannon Clubs, combine to form the Sinn Féin (Ourselves) League
1916 - The Aud arrives at Banna Strand, Co. Kerry, from Germany with 20,000 rifles for use of the Volunteers in the Easter Uprising; they are discovered by the British and the crew scuttles the ship. Roger Casement, who is following behind the Aud in a submarine, lands safely, but is captured later
1970 - The Alliance Party of Northern Ireland is founded on this date, with Phelim O'Neill as leader
1994 - 'Guildford Four' man, Paul Hill, wins his appeal against a conviction for an IRA murder in Northern Ireland
1998 - In its annual study, the International Institute of Management Development ranks Ireland as the 11th most competitive country in the world – ahead of global economic powers such as Japan, Germany and Britain
1999 - Paddy McDonagh, a former Irish soldier caught transporting a massive bomb across the border on the day the Good Friday Agreement referendum votes are counted, is jailed for six years by the Special Criminal Court in Dublin
2000 - Dissident republicans threaten fresh violence as Sinn Féin President Gerry Adams claim hope in Northern Ireland had plunged to an all time low
2001 - The Advertising Standards Authority for Ireland orders Levi’s to remove posters featuring semi naked models from bus shelters and near schools
2002 - The IRA denies that it responsible for last month's break-in at Special Branch offices in Belfast. The organisation also insists it is not involved in targeting politicians and said its ceasefire remains intact.

April 22
1365 - Lionel returns to England, leaving Ormond as his deputy
1671 - An English Navigation Act prohibits direct importation of sugar, tobacco and other produce from the colonies to Ireland; act expires in 1681 but is renewed in 1685 and extended in 1696
1717 - John Marshall, a successful attorney and father of Robert Marshall, a future MP for Clonmel and an executor of Hester Vanhomrigh (Vanessa), commits suicide in Boate Street, Clonmel, Co. Tipperary
1834 - Daniel O'Connell introduces debate on Repeal of Union bill in the House of Commons
1905 - Capt. William O'Shea, politician and accuser of Parnell, dies in Hove
1918 - A general strike takes place throughout Ireland against the British government's attempts to introduce conscription
1945 - Birth of Alan Dukes Irish President (Fine Gael)
1967 - Actor and writer, Walter Macken dies at his home in the gaeltacht village of Menlo, Galway. A prolific author, he is best known for his novel Rain on the Wind and his trilogy about the famine - Seek the Fair Land, The Silent People and The Scorching Wind
1999 - In Washington DC, the House International Relations Committee hears allegations of continuing abuses against citizens by security forces in Northern Ireland
1999 - Sinéad O'Connor is ordained in Lourdes by the dissident bishop Michael Cox
1999 - An historic meeting between David Trimble and the Pope takes place in Rome yesterday; careful stage-management ensures there are no public photographs of the two men close together. Mr Trimble is the first unionist leader to meet a Pope
1999 - Sir Peter Ustinov receives his 14th honorary degree — doctor of laws - from the National University of Ireland
2002 - Taoiseach Bertie Ahern sends a blunt pre-election warning to the Progressive Democrats that he is determined to have a national stadium and sports campus built if he is returned to power
2003 - It is announced that gardaí are to be given video cameras to record drink-related offences at pubs, nightclubs and takeaways, as part of a new clampdown on public order offences. Special units in 25 Garda districts will be provided with hand-held cameras.

April 23
1014 - The Dublin Norse and the king of Leinster, with Viking allies from overseas, are defeated by Brian Boru's army at Clontarf. Brian, now an old man, is killed. This thwarts the potential domination of Ireland by the Norse, but they are well established in the coastal towns, and will continue to have a major influence. Máel Sechnaill succeeds Brian as high king
1357 - Four days after the end of his campaign against the O'Tooles, O'Byrnes and O'Nolans in Leinster, justiciar Thomas Rokeby dies on this date at Kilkea, Co. Kildare
1723 - Mervyn Archdall, antiquary, is born in Dublin
1727 - Actress George Anne Bellamy is born in Fingal, Co. Dublin. The illegitimate daughter of Lord Tyrawley, British ambassador at Lisbon, her mother marries a Captain Bellamy and the child receives the name George Anne, by mistake for Georgiana. She grows up to become an accomplished actress and plays on the stage in London and Dublin. She is a contemporary of Sheridan and Garrick, and is patronized by aristocratic society.
1792 - Thomas Romney Robinson, astronomer and physicist, is born in Dublin
1805 - James Henthorn Todd, scholar, is born in Dublin
1918 - The Military Service Act18 April threatens conscription for Ireland: there is a one-day general strike in protest (except in Ulster) on this date
1926 - Son of irish immigrants, J.P. Donleavy, author of The Ginger Man, is born in New York; he emigrates to Ireland during World War II and becomes an Irish citizen. He now lives in Westmeath
1927 - Shamrock Rovers player Bob Fulham scores Ireland’s first international goal, against Italy
1947 - Birth of Bernadette Devlin McAliskey in Cookstown, Co. Tyrone; she is the youngest MP ever to be elected to Parliament
1961 - A census shows the population of Northern Ireland is1,425,642; an earlier census on April 9 shows the population of the Republic to be 2,818,341
1967 - A local parish priest voices his extreme opposition to the appearance of Jayne Mansfield at the Mount Brandon Hotel in Tralee, and the concert is duly cancelled. Three weeks later, she is killed in a car accident
1998 - The Government's package of measures designed to dampen down rocketing house prices — particularly in the Dublin area — draws mixed reaction
1998 - The largest dry bulk carrier ever to dock at an Irish port, the 183,000-tonne Buccleuch, arrives at the deep-water jetty of the ESB's generating station at Moneypoint, Co. Clare
1999 - It emerges that detectives from outside the Royal Ulster Constabulary are being drafted into Northern Ireland to join the murder squad hunting the killers of human rights lawyer Rosemary Nelson
2002 - Just months after voting No to Nice, Irish support for EU membership hits a record high, according to the latest survey carried out among the 15 member States
2003 - Key questions to the IRA posed by British Prime Minister Tony Blair spark an angry reaction from Sinn Féin but are supported by the Government. According to Mr Blair, the deadlock in the Northern Ireland peace process is down to uncertainty over the IRA’s future intentions.

April 24
1596 - Pacificatie of Ireland drawn
1718 - Nathaniel Hone, portrait painter, is born in Dublin
1764 - Thomas Emmet, nationalist and brother of Robert Emmet, is born in Dublin
1857 - William Thompson, journalist, is born in Derry/Londonderry
1906 - Son of an Irish father, William Joyce aka 'Lord Haw-Haw'; fascist and broadcaster of Nazi propaganda in World War II is born in Brooklyn, New York
1912 - Irish novelist, historian and politician, Justin McCarthy, dies
1913 - Large supply of guns from Germany are landed at Larne for the Ulster Volunteer Force (UVF)
1916 - On Easter Monday, the Irish Volunteers and Citizen Army seize the General Post Office (GPO) in Dublin and demand Irish sovereignty
1927 - Bishop Eamon Casey is born
1945 - Singer Johhny McEvoy is born
1948 - Birth of writer, Clare Boylan
1951 - Birth of Enda Kenny, leader of Fine Gael
1961 - Laura Magahy, head of development of Temple Bar, Dublin, is born
1993 - A massive IRA bomb rips through the City of London, killing one, injuring more than 40
1998 - The Ulster Defence Association and Ulster Freedom Fighters' Inner Council - the North's largest loyalist paramilitary group - backs the Stormont Agreement, saying it secures the state's place within the United Kingdom
1998 - The second-largest ever construction project in the history of the State, a £120m drainage system designed to make Cork's River Lee and Lough Mahon pollution free in four years time and create up to 500 jobs during construction, is announced
2002 - The IRA is accused of being part of a global terrorist network after a US inquiry claims the group has sent up to 15 members to Colombia to train Marxist rebels
2003 - The United States backs British Prime Minister Tony Blair’s demand that the IRA should clarify its commitment to the peace process.

April 25
1185 - Henry II sends his son John to Ireland; John lands at Waterford on this date to assert control over Hugh de Lacy, but he fails to achieve this. Henry still suspects that de Lacy wants to be king of Ireland
1681 - Count Redmond O'Hanlon (outlawed chief) is shot dead by his foster-brother
1707 - Thomas Erle, MP for Cork city, commands the centre at the Battle of Alamanza and loses his right hand on this date; David Dunbar, later MP for Blessington, is wounded and captured in the same battle, and John Upton, later MP for Co. Antrim, distinguishes himself
1819 - Vere Foster, philanthropist and educationist, is born in Copenhagen; he is the inventor of copy books used in schools throughout Ireland until the 1950s
1861 - William Ford, who crossed the Atlantic from Ireland by steerage, marries fellow country woman Mary O'Hern. Their son Henry Ford, pioneered the mass manufacturing of the automobile
1877 - Ralph Henry Byrne, architect, is born in Dublin
1918 - Irish Labour Party declares one-day strike in protest over conscription act
Anglo-Irish agreements on defence, finance and trade (25 April) end the 'Economic War': the 'Treaty' ports are ceded by Britain; the Irish Government pays £10 million to settle financial claims; both sides repeal penal duties on imports
1938 - Anglo-Irish agreements on defence, finance and trade end the 'Economic War': the 'Treaty' ports are ceded by Britain; the Irish Government pays £10 million to settle financial claims; both sides repeal penal duties on imports
1946 - Birth of Peter Sutherland; in 1981, he becomes Ireland's youngest ever Attorney-General in the Fine Gael–Labour coalition government. In 1997, he becomes chairman of BP and when BP merges with Amoco in 1998 he becomes non-executive chairman of the new company. BP Amoco has a market value of about $40 billion. Sutherland is also on the boards of ABB Asea Brown Boveri Ltd., Investor AB and Eriksson. He is chairman of the Overseas Development Council in Washington and the recipient of numerous honorary doctorates and awards in Europe and America.
1976 - About 10,000 people attend the Easter week commemorative rally at the GPO, convened by the Provisionist IRA, despite government prohibition
1998 - The first ever mass demonstrations against immigration laws and racism take place in Dublin, Cork and Limerick. At the same time, protests are staged by Irish people outside embassies all over Europe and the United States. Dublin edges close to a standstill as more than 1,000 protesters march from St Stephen's Green to the GPO
1999 - The RUC strongly denies fresh claims of police collusion and cover-up in the 1974 Dublin and Monaghan bombings that claims 33 lives in the Republic 25 years ago
2003 - Sinéad O’Connor announces her retirement from the music business.

April 26
1718 - Thomas St Lawrence, 13th Baron of Howth, receives £215 14s 1 1/2d for the expense he incurs in building a quay at Howth for landing coals for the lighthouse
1745 - On this date, John Allen (3rd Viscount Allen), former MP for Carysfort, kills a dragoon in a street brawl. ‘His Lordship was at a house in Eustace Street. At twelve in the night, three dragoons making a noise in the street, he threw up the window and threatening them, adding as is not unusual with him a great deal of bad language. The dragoons returned it. He went out to them loaded with a pistol. At the first snapping of it, it did not fire. This irritated the dragoon who cut his fingers with his sword, upon which Lord Allen shot him.’ The wound occasions a fever which causes Lord Allen’s death on 25 May
1756 - John Ponsonby is unanimously elected Speaker of the Irish parliament
1784 - Death of Nano Nagle, 'God's Beggar', founder of the Order of the Presentation Sisters of the Blessed Virgin Mary
1808 - Benjamin Burton, son of William Burton (former MP for Gowran and Co. Carlow) fractures his skull in a fall from his horse while hunting but, having apparently recovered, goes out again with the hounds and dies from 'brain fever'
1895 - The trial of Oscar Wilde for homosexuality, then a crime, begins at the Old Bailey
1904 - Edward VII begins a visit to Ireland on this date
1916 - Francis Sheehy-Skeffington, writer, suffragist, pacifist and patriot, is apprehended while trying to stop Easter Rising looting and is later executed by the British without a trial
1932 - Aengus Finucane, priest, and charity worker deeply involved with the organization, Concern, is born in Limerick
1998 - Catriona McKiernan becomes the first Irish woman to win the London Marathon
1999 - Former Supreme Court Justice, Hugh O'Flaherty, confirms he will give a full and frank account of his role in the Philip Sheedy affair before the Oireachtas Committee on Justice, Equality and Women's Rights
2001 - Leading Sinn Féin members are among the 5,000 people who attend the funeral of former chief of staff of the Provisional IRA, Joe B. O'Hagan. Party president Gerry Adams gives the oration at the graveside when the leading republican figure is buried in Lurgan, Co Armagh 2002 - More than a million postcards are delivered to Prime Minister Tony Blair and the Prince of Wales as part of an Irish bid to have the Sellafield nuclear installation closed down. People throughout Ireland posted the cards after weeks of campaigning, backed by celebrities such as soccer international Roy Keane and pop stars Ronan Keating and Samantha Mumba 2003 - The Government says a deal securing the future of the North’s power-sharing executive is now close following the latest statement from Sinn Féin. Irish and British governments hail a speech by the Sinn Féin president, Gerry Adams, as a significant advance
2003 - Police in North Belfast try to keep rival factions apart after rioting erupts in the Limestone Road area of the city

Sources: Irish Culture and Customs,
The Celtic
League, Irish
Abroad, The Wild Geese