Irish History - May 4-10

Here is your Irish history lesson for this week.

May 4
1699 - According to Jonathan Swift's book, Gulliver's Travels, it was on this day that Lemuel Gulliver sets sail on board the Antelope from Bristol
1715 - Joseph Deane, Justice of Assize for Munster and MP for Co. Dublin, dies of a fever resulting from a cold he caught (allegedly caused by a total eclipse of the sun) while returning from circuit on horseback
1773 - Art Ó Laoghaire, the subject of Eileen O'Leary's lament 'Caoineadh Airt Uí Laoghaire', is killed by soldiers near Millstreet, Co. Cork
1773 - The Dublin Journal of 4-6 May reports that Thomas Burton (former MP for Ennis) 'met with the melancholy accident of being overturned in his chaise, by which he was killed on the spot, in his return home, in company with a gentleman who was to have been married to his daughter the following day'
1782 - Second and third Catholic Relief Acts (4 May, 27 July) allow Catholics to own land outside parliamentary boroughs, to be teachers, and to act as guardians
1782 - Acts establish the Bank of Ireland, and validates marriages by Presbyterian ministers
1836 - The Ancient Order of Hibernians in America is founded in New York City
1838 - Charles Williams, war correspondent, is born in Coleraine, Co. Derry/Londonderry
1916 - Edward Daly, Michael O'Hanrahan, William Pearse (brother of Padraic Pearse) and Joseph Mary Plunkett are executed by firing squad in Kilmainham jail
1928 - Poet, Thomas Kinsella, is born
1946 - Birth in Belfast of John Watson, former Formula 1 racing driver
1998 - Dissident IRA bombers strike in the heart of west Belfast to disrupt the city's annual marathon in an incident which reflects the growing divisions among republicans
1999 - TV3 pulls off the biggest coup of its short existence by securing the broadcasting rights to the UEFA Champions League for three years from the start of the 2000-01 season
1999 - Taoiseach Bertie Ahern has a working dinner in Government Buildings with the Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat, who is in Ireland as part of an European tour
2000 - Ciaran Nugent, the first person to start the blanket protest against the British Government’s treatment of republican prisoners, is found dead at his home
2001 - The remains of St Therese of Lisieux arrive at Mountjoy Prison where they will remain overnight
2003 - Sinn Féin's chief negotiator, Martin McGuinness, tells a republican rally in West Belfast that the British government has effectively capitulated to the leadership of the Ulster Unionist Party by postponing the Assembly elections until the autumn.

May 5
1795 - House of Commons rejects Grattan's Catholic relief bill
1864 - Birth in Edgeworthstown, Co. Longford of Sir Henry Wilson, soldier; chief of the Imperial General Staff from 1918 to 1922; establishes British Intelligence 'Cairo Gang' in Dublin
1881 - Richard Downey (youngest ever Catholic archbishop in 1928, who reduces his weight from 18 stone to 9 stone in the 1930s) is born in Kilkenny
1916 - Irish patriot and a leader of the 1916 Easter Uprising, John MacBride, is executed by firing squad in Kilmainham Gaol
1939 - Death of Mick the Miller, the greatest greyhound in the history of the sport
1941 - Kate O'Brien's novel The Land of Spices is banned by the Free State Board of Censors; protests will eventually lead to the setting up of an appeals procedure
1965 - Birth on Belfast of Norman Whiteside, Manchester United, Everton and Northern Ireland footballer
1981 - Bobby Sands dies at Long Kesh prison on the 66th day of his hunger strike
1999 - The remains of celebrated British actor Oliver Reed arrive in Ireland and are taken by hearse to a funeral home in the North Cork town of Buttevant, not far from his Castle McCarthy home in nearby Churchtown
1999 - Prince Charles visits Omagh and meets with relatives of those killed in the 1998 bombing and some of the young people who were injured
1999 - A team of security personnel from the White House arrive in Galway to prepare the city's National University for the visit of First Lady Hillary Clinton
1999 - Sinn Féin leader Gerry Adams suggests that full implementation of the Good Friday Agreement could mean the end of the IRA
2000 - Hopes for a breakthrough in the peace process grow as high level talks at Hillsborough Castle overrun their expected timeframe by several hours
2003 - It is announced that almost a year after his death, two unpublished plays by John B, Keane have been discovered in his study and will be staged when his widow, Mary, decides the time is right.

May 6
1074 - Donatus (or Dunan), the first Bishop of Dublin, dies on this date and is buried in Christ Church Cathedral. Patrick, his successor, is sent to Canterbury for consecration (records are unreliable - the date of his death is also recorded as November 23)
1384 - Philip de Courtenay lands at Dalkey and campaigns in the midlands and the Leinster mountains
1728 - Act of Parliament removes the right to vote from Catholics
1763 - Mary Molesworth, widow of Richard Molesworth (3rd Viscount Molesworth, MP for Swords 1715-26), and her daughters Melosina and Mary die in a fire at their London house
1820 - Birth in St. Cleran’s, Co. Galway of Robert O’Hara Burke, explorer
1830 - Birth of Irish naturalist and librarian, William Archer in Magherahamlet, Co. Down. Archer did work on protozoa and was the first librarian of the National Library of Ireland
1882 - 'Phoenix Park murders' - The assassination of the British chief secretary of Ireland, Lord Frederick Cavendish, and his under secretary, T.H. Burke. Both are stabbed to death as they walk in Dublin's Phoenix Park by members of a nationalist secret society, the “Invincibles”. The attack is attributed to the Fenians. It is not actually connected with land agitation
1884 - Birth of painter William Conor in Belfast
1916 -The U-20, a German U-boat commanded by Captain Schweiger, sinks the Centurion off the south-east Irish coast; the next day, the U-20 sinks the Lusitania
1925 - Máire de Paor (née McDermott) archaeologist and arts activist, is born in Buncrana, Co. Donegal
1937 - Birth of Shay Brennan, Irish international footballer
1947 - Singer Paul Brady is born
1964 - Birth of actress Roma Downey in Co. Derry
1967 - Seven Drunken Nights by the Dubliners enters the British Top Ten
1970 - Charles Haughey (Minister for Finance) and Neil Blaney (Minister for Agriculture) are dismissed by Taoiseach Jack Lynch; later, the are arrested and charged with importing arms for the IRA. Blaney is discharged on 2 July; Haughey is acquitted on 23 October
1998 - The High Court hears that an advance of £175,000 has been negotiated by convicted IRA killer-turned-informer Seán O'Callaghan for his autobiography
2000 - Large crowds turn out in bright summer sunshine in Fenit, Co. Kerry, where President Mary McAleese officially christens the three-masted, famine ship replica, the Jeanie Johnston
2000 - Peace and prosperity are within Northern Ireland’s grasp, according to European Commissioner Chris Patten
2001 - A bomb explodes at a north London postal sorting office. It is the second such attack in three weeks and is linked to the Real IRA
2003 - The Taoiseach and the British Prime Minister pledge to move the Northern peace process forward following their talks at Farmleigh in Dublin.

May 7
1689 - James II arrives from exile in France and addresses the Irish Parliament. Thanking them for support, applauding their courage and vowing to "venture my life...in defence of your liberties". Thus begins the events leading up to the Battle of the Boyne
1689 - James II's predominantly Catholic Irish parliament which is in session from this date until 18 July, implements various measures redressing Catholic grievances
1716 - John Medcalf, previously dismissed as Church of Ireland curate of Powerscourt for conducting clandestine marriages, is excommunicated for refusing to appear in the Consistory Court when cited by a woman for conjugal rights
1720 - James Cotter is executed for high treason in supporting the Jacobite cause: his son, Sir James Cotter, will later be MP for Askeaton
1741 - Anthony Tanner, perpetual curate for Holmpatrick, who has been married for less than six months, is murdered near Rush, Co. Dublin
1838 - Charles Owen O'Conor, politician, is born in Dublin
1865 - John MacBride, revolutionary, is born in Westport, Co. Mayo
1915 - The Lusitania is sunk by a German U-boat off the Old Head of Kinsale, Co. Cork with the loss of more than 1,100 lives
1931 - An Oige, Irish Youth Hostel Association is established. At the end of that year, it has just 215 members and 2 hostels. Today, An Óige has well over 30 youth hostels located throughout Ireland
1938 - Johnny Caldwell, flyweight boxer and winner of a bronze medal in the 1956 Olympics, is born in Belfast
1966 - The UVF carry out a petrol bomb attack on a Catholic-owned bar and off-licence in Upper Charleville Street in the Shankill Road area of Belfast. The attackers miss their intended target and set fire to the home of Matilda Gould (77), a Protestant civilian, who lived next door to the public house. Gould is severely injured in the attack and dies on 27 June 1984
1992 - Bishop of Galway, Dr. Eamonn Casey, resigns
1996 - Henry Diamond, Irish Nationalist MP, dies at 87
1999 - James le Moyne, a UN negotiator, has agreed to help break the decommissioning deadlock in the Northern peace process before the marching season begins
2001 - The Broadway play Stones in His Pockets by Belfast playwright Marie Jones receives three nominations for the theatre world's top honour, the Tony awards, in New York. Conleth Hill and Sean Campion are nominated in the Leading Actor category and Ian McElhinney is nominated for Best Director
2001 - Islanders off the coast of Cork rescue a 20ft pilot whale that became stranded at Hare Island with another dead whale.

May 8
1567 - Shane O'Neill's army crosses the Swilly estuary at Farsetmore, and is defeated in a pitched battle by Hugh O'Donnell. Many drown while trying to escape; O'Neill loses1,300 men
1597 - Execution of Fiach MacHugh O’Byrne
1796 - John Pitt Kennedy, civil engineer; road and railway pioneer in India, is born in Carndonagh, Co. Donegal
1879 - Sir William Wheeler, surgeon, is born in Dublin
1899 - The first production of the Irish Literary Theatre, The Countess Cathleen is performed. Like many of Yeats' plays, it is inspired by Irish folklore. In a time of famine, demons sent by Satan come to Ireland to buy the souls of the starving people. The saintly Cathleen disposes of her vast estates and wealth in order to feed the peasants, yet the demons thwart her at every turn; at last, she sacrifices her own soul to save those of the poor
1916 - Irish patriots, Michael Mallin, Eamonn Ceannt, Cornelius "Con" Colbert and Sean Heuston are executed in Kilmainham gaol
1935 - Birth of Jack Charlton, footballer and manager
1945 - VE Day is marked in Dublin by small disturbances throughout the city which quickly turn into major disorder
1951 - The Arts Council is founded in the Republic
1990 - Primate of All Ireland, Cardinal Tomás Ó Fiach, dies in Lourdes
1999 - A freak mini-tornado hits Carraroe, near Williamstown in Co. Galway, leaving a trail of destruction in its path and almost killing a couple who just manage to escape from their mobile home before it is picked up and torn apart
2001 - A strike by more than 100 ATGWU drivers along the east coast causes havoc for 120,000 travellers who find themselves without suburban and inter-city train service; Dart service is cut in half
2003 - Visiting French angler Marc Peyronnie lands an enormous 44 lb-3oz pike following a 25 minute titanic struggle at Ardan Lake.The fish measured 1.18 metres and following this photo shoot he was returned to the lake with a kiss from his proud conqueror!
2007 - The Rev Ian Paisley and Martin McGuinness mark the end of almost four decades of bitter and bloody conflict in Northern Ireland as they are formally appointed first minister and deputy first minister. Taoiseach Bertie Ahern, British prime minister Tony Blair and other dignitaries, including former US president Bill Clinton and US democrat Ted Kennedy, witness the creation of a powersharing government led by political polar opposites the Democratic Unionist Party and Sinn Féin. This is the first time that Northern Ireland will be run by a government in which all the main nationalist and unionist parties have agreed to operate power together.

May 9
1423 - Edmund Mortimer, 8th earl of Ulster, earl of March, the greatest Irish landowner and heir presumptive to the throne of England, is appointed lieutenant for nine years
1650 - The Battle of Clonmel begins with the first of two assaults. Cromwell's forces are beaten back on this date by Black Hugh O'Neill. Eventually, Cromwell loses up to 2,000 men, but O'Neill, realizing he has a shortage of ammunition, secretly withdraws
1671 - Irish adventurer Colonel Thomas Blood dresses as a clergyman and attempts to steal the British crown jewels from the Tower of London. He is arrested in possession of the crown
1691 - Charles Chalmont (Marquis de Saint-Ruth; French general) is sent by Louis XIV to command the Irish army and arrives on this date
1709 - The Irish House of Lords expresses hope that union of Ireland and England will follow union of England and Scotland
1807 - Thomas Wyatt, architect, is born in Loughlin House, Co. Roscommon
1814 - Birth in Dublin of John Brougham, actor and dramatist
1828 - Charles Kickham, Fenian, novelist, and author of Knocknagow, is born in Mullinahone, Co. Tipperary
1865 - The Dublin International Exhibition opens in Earlsfort Terrace
1896 - Austin Clarke, considered at his death to be the greatest poet of his generation after Yeats, is born
1916 - Irish Patriot, Thomas Kent, is executed at Cork Detention Barracks
1927 - Birth of John McDermott, Lord Justice of Appeal for Northern Ireland
1932 - Éamon de Valera is elected Taoiseach
1933 - Seán Swayne, priest and liturgist is born
1939 - Fianna Fáil politician and EU Commissioner, Padraig Flynn, is born in Castlebar, Co. Mayo
1943 - Mystery still surrounds what happened when a mine washes up on a beach in Co. Donegal and explodes; 19 men and boys, aged between 14 and 33, who lived in Ballymanus near Kincasslagh, are killed by the blast
1947 - Birth in Cork City of actor Anthony Corlan
1982 - General Election results in Fianna Fáil victory winning 81 seats. Charles J. Haughey is elected as Taoiseach on the 50th Anniversary of the first Fianna Fáil Government in 1932.

May 10
1318- Richard de Clare, while defending his protégé Mahon O'Brien, is defeated and killed by Murrough O'Brien at Dysert O'Dea. De Clare's heir is a minor; Norman-Irish power in Thomond is thus undermined
1603 - In the revolt of the towns, or recusancy revolt, Catholic worship is re-established in Kilkenny and the main Munster towns between 11 April and this date, in the hope that James I will grant religious toleration; Mountjoy marches south and forces the towns to submit
1642 - A Catholic confederacy ('the Confederation of Kilkenny') is instituted to administer Catholic-controlled parts of the country pending a final settlement
1739 - John Thomas Troy, Catholic Archbishop of Dublin and opponent of revolution, is born in Castleknock, Co. Dublin
1804 - After resigning as Prime Minister following a disagreement with George III over Catholic Emancipation, William Pitt returns to office
1838 - James Bryce, 1st Viscount Bryce of Dechmount; jurist, historian and Liberal politician, is born in Belfast
1870 - Jem Mace defends his heavyweight crown against Irish champ Joe Coburn; it lasts 1 hr & 17 minutes; neither is struck by a punch
1873 - Leslie Montgomery, comic writer; pseudonym Lynn C. Doyle, is born in Downpatrick, Co. Down
1886 - Richard Mulcahy, pro-Treaty nationalist and Fine Gael politician, is born in Waterford
1908 - Birth of Henry Diamond, Irish Nationalist MP
1918 - Birth of singer, Margo (Golden Irish Favorites)
1920 - Birth of Basil Kelly Lord Justice of Appeals for Northern Ireland
1925 - Birth of Danny Blanchflower; winner of 56 caps
1939 - Birth of Padraig Flynn, former EU Commissioner
1950 - Charlie Nash, former European and British lightweight champion, is born in Derry 1956 - Birth of Brendan Howlin, Labour TD and former Minister for the Environment
1960 - Paul Hewson, better known as Bono, is born at the Rotunda Hospital in Dublin
1972 - In a referendum in the Republic, 83 per cent favour accession to the European Economic Community
1998 - Members of Sinn Féin vote to accept the Good Friday peace agreement, effectively acknowledging the north-south border
2000 - Arts and Culture Minister, Sile de Valera, officially opens the fully restored 1817 fountain at the Iveagh Gardens in Dublin.

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