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.
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.
December 30 1691 - Robert Boyle, pioneer chemist and physicist dies 1830 - William Lewery Blackley, cleric and social reformer, is born in Dundalk, Co. Louth 1975 - Mark Clinton, the Minister for Agriculture, notifies Trinity College that all future state funds for veterinary medicine would be allocated to University College 1997 - Key files from the Department of Defence, the Department of Justice and the Office of the Attorney General relating to the Arms Crisis of 1970 are discovered to be missing from the State archives 1997 - Thousands of loyalists pack the streets of Portadown for the funeral of LVF commander Billy Wright 2002 - To mark the 400th anniversary of the exodus of the O’Sullivan Beare clan from West Cork to Leitrim, a group of 40 people begins walking the entire 260-mile route which will take them through 11 counties and about two weeks to complete.
December 31 1602 - The O’Sullivan Beara’s are driven out of West Cork by the English who had defeated the combined Spanish and Irish forces at the Battle of Kinsale. Dónal Cam O’Sullivan, chieftain of the clan, begins the long march to Leitrim on this date, where he hopes to gain sanctuary with the O’Rourke’s of Breffni. Accompanying him are 1,000 men, women and children representing the first large-scale exodus of people from the Castletownbere region 1728 - Sylvester O'Halloran, surgeon, founder of Limerick Infirmary, and antiquary, is born in Limerick 1804 - Francis Mahony, 'Father Prout, priest and humorist, is born in Cork 1820 - Novelist Mary Anne Sadlier, née Madden, is born in Cootehill, Co. Cavan 1930 - The appointment of Letitia Dunbar-Harrison as Mayo County Librarian leads to controversy, for reasons related to her lack of Irish-language skill, her disregard of local patronage, and the fact that she's a Protestant; Mayo County Council is dissolved by ministerial order on this date 1961 - Radio Éireann's television service begins transmission on this date 1975 - The Anti-Discrimination (Pay) Act establishes the right to equal pay for equal or like work and provides a system whereby this right may be attained and enforced 1999 - Thousands of people gather at celebrations in towns and cities throughout Ireland to ring in the new millennium.
January 1 1710 - Charles O'Conor, writer, historian and editor, is born in Kilmactranny, Co. Sligo 1767 - Maria Edgeworth, author of Castle Rackrent and one of the few women literary figures of the late 18th and early 19th centuries, is born 1790 - James Wills, clergyman and writer, is born in Castlerea, Co. Roscommon 1801 - The Act of Union between Ireland and Great Britain goes into effect 1801 - George Benn, historian, is born in Tandragee, Co. Armagh 1862 - Edward Harland's Belfast shipyard assumes the name 'Harland & Wolff' 1871 - Gladstone's Irish Church Act which disestablishes the Church of Ireland takes effect 1880 - Gretta Bowen, artist, is born in Dublin 1889 - Patrick McGill, navvy, novelist and poet, is born in Maas, Co. Donegal 1892 - Ellis Island becomes reception center for new immigrants. The first immigrant through the gates is Annie Moore, 15, of Co. Cork 1941 - On this date and through January 3, German bombs fall on counties Carlow, Kildare, Louth, Meath, Wexford and Wicklow 1990 - Northern Ireland Fair Employment Act becomes law 1998 - Foreign Affairs Minister David Andrews urges all sides to show the "greatest possible restraint" in the wake of a sectarian bar-room gun attack which plunges Northern Ireland into an uncertain New Year 1999 - The world's oldest priest, the Venerable Archdeacon Patrick Lyons, passes away at Limerick Regional hospital, just two months before his 106th birthday 2001 - Retired garda sergeant John Fahy from Kinlough, Co Leitrim catches the first salmon of the season. The accomplished angler is also the first salmon fisherman to insert a blue bar coded tag into the gills and mouth of a freshly caught fish. For the first time, every salmon caught by commercial fishermen or leisure anglers will have to be tagged, as part of a new controls on salmon fishing which are in effect as of this date 2002 - Taoiseach Bertie Ahern helps write history by spending euros in his local news-agent.
January 2 1602 - The Spanish force under Aguila surrenders Kinsale to Mountjoy 1793 - A Catholic Committee petition is presented to the king 1880 - Parnell begins his tour of the United States on this date 1910 - James Joyce and Eileen Joyce leave Dublin for Trieste, Italy 1920 - Recruitment begins for the 'Black and Tans', Britain's unofficial auxiliary army 1962 - Margaret Emmeline Conway Dobbs, Irish historian, language activist, and defender of Roger Casement, dies 1998 - Troops are ordered back on to the streets of Belfast and police patrols are intensified in a bid to foil loyalist attacks on Catholics in Northern Ireland 2000 - Patrick O'Brian, born Richard Patrick Russ, 85-year-old author of maritime novels dies in a Dublin hotel 2000 - A bronze life size statue of Fungi, the Dingle dolphin is unveiled in a special millennium ceremony 2001 - Ireland's third largest greyhound coursing meeting, Corn na Féile, is abandoned after saboteurs steal up to 30 hares. 2007 - Irish Becomes The 23rd Official Language Of the EU. It is accorded the status of a treaty language, which means it is regarded as an authentic text for treaties. As from 1 January, however, all key EU legislation are translated into Irish, with provisions put in place so that Irish can be spoken at council meetings. The move means the creation of 29 new posts in translation, revision and publication.
January 3 1663 - Thomas Crompton of Arklow, a clergyman, petitions the House of Lords that 'Constantine Neal of Wexford, merchant, refuseth to restore the bell belonging to the steepl (sic) of Arklow, which he saw in his possession'. An order is made for its restoration 1905 - Pádraic Fallon, poet and playwright, is born in Athenry, Co. Galway 1940 - Emergency anti-IRA legislation is introduced in the Free State 1999 - Economic history is created with the much-heralded arrival of the euro on the international currency markets. Its first day of trading gets off to a smooth start in Australia, at 6.00pm Irish time. 2007 - Michael Yeats, the only son of the poet W. B. Yeats dies at age 86. A former Fianna Fáil Senator, he served both as a Senator and as Cathaoirleach of the Seanad, and was also one of Ireland's first members of the European Parliament.
December 21 1796 - A French fleet under General Hoche with Wolfe Tone, 43 vessels and 14,500 men sails from Brest in December and is scattered by storms; 36 ships arrive at Bantry Bay but do not attempt a landing and return to France, thus preventing what might have been an Irish/French victory over the English 1821 - Birth in Co. Carlow of Samuel Haughton, scientist, mathematician and doctor; he is "famous" for calculating the drop required to kill a hanged man instantly 1915 - Violet Martin, an Irish novelist who wrote under the pen name, Martin Ross, dies. Edith Somerville continues to list her as co-author 1919 - Dáil Éireann meets for the first time and elects Eamon de Valera as President of Ireland 1924 - Golfer Christy O'Connor is born in Knocknacarragh, Co. Galway 1934 - An Anglo-Irish 'cattle and coal' pact is signed 1948 - Republic of Ireland Act passed by Dáil 1985 - Progressive Democrats founded by Dan O'Malley, Mary Harney, and other former members of Fianna Fáil, following split within party 1998 - Clear skies over Co. Meath guarantee one of the best winter solstice displays ever witnessed at the Newgrange burial tomb 2001 - University College Cork is awarded a £62.2m research grant, the highest research funding ever secured under the Government's prestigious Programme for Research at Third Level Institutes 2001 - The pedestrian Ha'penny Bridge across Dublin's River Liffey is reopened after a multimillion pound restoration.
December 22 1691 - Patrick Sarsfield and The Wild Geese sail out of Cork harbour for France 1740 - Joseph Stock, bishop and author, is born in Dublin 1919 - "The Better Government of Ireland Bill" proposes two home rule parliaments, for the six north-eastern counties and the remaining 26, to come into effect in May 1920 1943 - The government announces that henceforth bus-queuing is compulsory throughout Ireland if more than five people are waiting at a bus-stop 1948 - Birth of TV presenter, Noel Edmonds 1961 - Marcus O'Sullivan, athlete, is born in Cork 1965 - The Succession Act secures to widows a third of the estate (half if they have no children) and empowers the court to make provisions for children 1974 -The London home of the Conservative leader and former Prime Minister Edward Heath is damaged from the impact of a bomb planted by the IRA. The attack comes just hours before a Christmas truce is due to come into effect 1989 - Death of Samuel Beckett 1997 - Northern Ireland Secretary Mo Mowlam battles to save the Stormont talks from total collapse as four Ulster Unionist MPs withdraw their support for their party's continuing participation in the negotiations 1997 - The funeral of former Minister for Agriculture, Jim Gibbons, takes place in his native Kilkenny 1998 - Legislation to ensure the compilation of a full record of the country's important buildings and monuments which should be protected is circulated by the Minister for Arts, Heritage, Gaeltacht and the Islands, Síle de Valera 2002 - The Minister for the Marine, Dermot Ahern, warns about the possibility of a "war on the seas" as a result of the failure by the European Union to agree on a policy relating to the Irish Box fishing area.
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 14 1585 - Nicholas Walsh, Bishop of Ossory and a pioneer of printing in Irish type, is murdered by James Dullard, against whom he had proceeded in his court for adultery 1715 - Irish-born Thomas Dongan, soldier and colonial governor of New York, dies in Ireland 1791 - Charles Wolfe, poet and clergyman, is born in Blackhall, Co. Kildare 1822 - A 'bottle riot' takes place on this date. Missiles are thrown at the vice-regal box during a performance in a Dublin theatre as a result of Wellesley banning celebrations in memory of William III 1831 - A process server and 12 policemen are killed by tithe protesters at Carrickshock, Co. Kilkenny 1900 - Maud Gonne and Paul Kruger (former president of the Transvaal) are offered the freedom of Limerick by the city council 1918 - Sinn Féin, pledged to an Irish Republic, wins 73 of 105 Irish MP seats. Winners include Constance Markievicz who becomes the first woman elected to the Parliament of England 1921 - Dáil Éireann begins Anglo-Irish treaty debate 1955 - The Republic of Ireland becomes a member of the United Nations 1965 - An Anglo-Irish free trade agreement is signed; the UK and Ireland undertake to establish a free trade area by the mid-1970s 1982 - FitzGerald succeeds Haughey as Taoiseach 1985 - Jack Charlton quits as Ireland manager 1998 - Farmers are to be banned from feeding antibiotic enhanced animal feed to pigs and poultry amid fears that drug residues in meat are a health risk for humans 2001 - Euro kits distributed by the Central Bank go on sale in post offices throughout the country. Demand for the packs, comprising of 19 coins and priced at £5 (€6.35), is brisk, with nearly all the big towns and cities selling out by evening 2001 - Garda technical experts examine 180 rounds of ammunition found on the outskirts of Cork city which they believe may be connected to the Real IRA.
December 15 1760 - John MacNaghten, a gambler, duellist and criminal, is hanged at Strabane jail for his involvement in the killing of Mary Anne Knox, daughter of Andrew Knox MP. At the first attempt to hang him, the rope breaks but, ignoring offers from the crowd to help him make his escape, he declares that he does not wish to be known for ever as 'half-hung McNaghten' and asks the hangman to proceed 1899 - Irish units of the Boer army face the Dublin Fusiliers, Connaught Rangers and the Inniskillings in the battle of Colenso 1930- Edna O’Brien, novelist and short story-writer, is born 1971 - Death of General Richard Mulcahy, Irish Volunteer and TD 1993 - Albert Reynolds and John Major sign the Downing Street Declaration: if the IRA stops its campaign for three months, Sinn Féin will be allowed to join all-party talks.
December 16 1653 - Oliver Cromwell becomes Lord Protector of Ireland 1780 - John Beresford is appointed Chief Commissioner of Revenue 1838 - John Gubbins, racehorse owner and breeder, is born in Kilfrush, Co. Limerick 1922 - Arthur Griffith and his ministers assume seat of government at Dublin Castle 1939 - Barney McKenna of the Dubliners is born 1969 - Swimmer and Olympic gold medalist Michelle de Bruin (née Smith) is born in Rathcoole, Co. Dublin 1987 - Fairytale of New York by the Pogues and Kirsty McColl reaches no. 2 in the British charts 1997 - Tom Parlon is elected President of the Irish Farmers' Association 1998 - More than 250 guests pay tribute to Gay Byrne at a surprise farewell party 1999 - Padraic Wilson, a senior republican tipped to represent the IRA in disarmament talks, is given an early release from Northern Ireland’s top security Maze Prison 2002 - The 15 European Union Agriculture Ministers begin talks on the future of EU fish quotas amid calls for the toughest cutbacks ever.
December 17 1165 - John, the son of Henry II, returns to England after touring parts of southern Ireland. John de Courcy is appointed justiciar 1785 - Sir William Napier, general and historian, is born in Celbridge, Co. Kildare 1803 - Rebel leader Michael Dwyer, whose guerrilla attacks had maddened British colonial authorities since 1798, surrenders 1867 - Henry Harrison, nationalist politician and writer, is born in Holywood, Co. Down 1885 - The results of newspaper reports of Gladstone's conversion to Home Rule, following the general election, gives Parnellites the balance of power 1971 - Soldier and politician General Richard Mulcahy dies in Dublin 1983 - An IRA car bomb kills 3 police officers and 3 shoppers outside Harrods in London’s Knightsbridge; scores are injured 1997 - New regulations are unveiled which confer sweeping discretionary powers on Departmental officials responsible for processing asylum applications, including the authority to summarily deport foreigners 1997 - British Prime Minister Tony Blair makes a fleeting visit to Belfast in a bid to boost the faltering peace process 1998 - Danny McNamee's12-year campaign to clear his name of a terrorist conviction ends in triumph 1999 - The State announces the purchase of the 550 acre Battle of the Boyne site for about £9 million. The seller is an unidentified businessman.
December 18 1781 - Barry Yelverton introduces the bill that will become Yelverton's Act; the bill is an amendment of Poyning's Act and states that only bills passed by both Irish houses of Parliament would be forwarded to England for assent (see entry for July 27, 1782) 1798 - James Henry, physician and classical scholar, is born in Dublin 1801 - John Hely-Hutchinson Jr, MP for Cork Borough, is created Baron Hutchinson of Alexandria and Knocklofty for his military service 1850 - Birth in Bruff, Co. Limerick of James Bourchier, Times correspondent in the Balkan peninsula 1871 - The first ever rugby international is held in Ireland. The North are defeated by the West of Scotland 1878 - Joseph O'Neill, novelist and civil servant, is born in Tuam, Co. Galway 1964 - Sean O'Faolain's autobiography "Vive Moi" is published 1970 - Jockey Pat Taffe retires 1980 - Prisoners in Armagh and Long Kesh end their hunger strike on promises of political status. The promises are not kept 1998 - The Loyalist Volunteer Force becomes the first terrorist group in Northern Ireland to decommission some of its weapons 1999 - A limestone sundial built on a hilltop at the Dursey Sound in West Cork is set to capture Europe’s last daylight of the second Christian millennium 2000 - A boating accident in Mexico claims the life of singer Kirsty MacColl. She was best known for her vocals alongside The Pogues’ Shane McGowan on the 1987 Christmas No 1, Fairytale of New York 2000 - The first Diploma in Nursing students from Cork University Hospital graduate on this date. 178 students are awarded diplomas in nursing, and higher diplomas in midwifery and public health 2001 - The Conservative Party ends more than three decades of co-operation over Northern Ireland in protest at the British government's plans to allow Sinn Féin MPs to use offices at Westminster 2002 - The first section of the Dublin spire is lifted into place 2002 - According to the latest census figures, the prospect of a Catholic majority in Northern Ireland is fast becoming a reality 2002 - A study reveals that Ireland is the third worst country in Europe for traffic gridlock 2002 - The Irish and British governments issue firm assurances about the temporary nature of arrangements in operation during the current suspension of the elected Northern Ireland Assembly In the liturgical calendar, today is the feast day of St. Flannan, first Bishop of Clare.
December 19 11751 - The Irish Parliament authorizes application of a revenue surplus to the reduction of the national debt which causes a dispute between the House of Commons and the Government 1813 - Thomas Andrews, scientist and research chemist, is born in Belfast 1877 - Land League organizer, Michael Davitt, is released from Dartmoor Prison 1922 - Birth in Dublin of Eamon Andrews, Ireland's first media superstar 1972 - Thin Lizzy reach no. 1 in the Irish charts with Whiskey In The Jar 1973 - The Supreme Court in Dublin decides by a majority of four to one that a ban on contraceptives is unconstitutional 1974 - Cearbhall Ó Dálaigh is inaugurated as the fifth president of the Irish Republic following the death of Erskine Childers 1999 - Sinn Féin says it has no knowledge that Gerry Adams and Martin McGuinness are to be given Westminster offices without having to swear an oath of allegiance 2001 - Experts at the National Museum of Ireland confirm that two pieces of gold jewellery discovered on a beach in Co. Mayo are priceless ribbon torcs which may be up to 3,200 years old 2002 - Unionist leader David Trimble walks out of talks aimed at restoring the North’s government and parliament after documents leaked in Dublin say the IRA is still active 2002 - In Limerick, hundreds take part part in a candlelit peace march to express their sympathy and support for families who have lost loved ones through violence 2002 - Armed raiders get away with an estimated quarter of a million Euro after a raid on the Ulster Bank in Palmerstown in west Dublin.
December 20 1638 - Birth of Narcissus Marsh, provost of Trinity College Dublin and founder of Marsh's Library - the oldest public library in Ireland 1645 - Edward Worcester, Earl of Glamorgan, aristocrat and inventor, is sent to Ireland to raise troops for the king; he makes two secret treaties with the confederates - one on the 25 August and the other on this date 1769 - Sir Martin Shee, portrait painter and president of the Royal Academy, is born in Dublin 1780 - John Wilson Croker, politician and essayist, is born in Galway 1799 - Nicholas Callan, priest, physicist, writer, and inventor of the induction coil, is born in Dromiskin, Co. Louth 1859 - Birth of Kuno Meyer, Irish Celtic scholar 1865 - Birth in Dublin of Maud Gonne McBride, revolutionary and patriot, who dedicates her life to the attainment of an independent Irish nation 1902 - The Dunraven land conference, representing landlords and tenants, opens at the Mansion House, Dublin 1909 - Ireland’s first cinematographic theatre, the Volta, opens in Dublin, under the managership of James Joyce 1950 - The Industrial Development Authority is founded in the Republic 1961 - Robert McGladdery is hanged in Belfast for murder: his is the last judicial execution in Ireland 1998 - There is renewed speculation that the IRA will make a token gesture on the issue of decommissioning before 1998 passes into history 1999 - Another attempt to prevent Wicklow County Council building a controversial dual carriageway through the Glen of the Downs is rejected in the Supreme Court 2000 - The bomb making capacity of dissident terrorists is severely dented with the seizure of almost 400 sticks of Frangex commercial plastic explosive in Co. Kilkenny 2000 - A record 653 entries from 2,000 students is received for the Esat Young Scientist and Technology Exhibition 2000 - The Guinness Book of World Records confirms that an eight-inch egg laid by "Queen Maeve", a Belclare duck owned by the Costello family of Galway, is the world’s largest 2001 - The first casualty of the proposed 250 job cuts at the Irish Times is the Chairman of the Trust, Major Thomas McDowell, who earns close to £500,000 a year.
December 7 521 - Birth of St. Columcille, Irish bard and monk honored in all the Celtic lands 1487 - The Earl of Desmond is murdered at the instigation of his brother, John; another brother, Maurice, is his heir 1688 - Thirteen 'Apprentice Boys' refuse to let a Catholic army into Derry/Londonderry (7 December); Tyrconnell backs down and allows the city to keep its Protestant garrison. Enniskillen also defies James II 1754 - Francis Rawdon-Hastings, 1st Marquess of Hastings, soldier and colonial administrator, is born in Dublin 1768 - William Bulkely, an officer in the Irish Brigade of France, is born in Clonmel, Co. Tipperary 1879 - Birth in Tralee, Co. Kerry of Austin Stack, anti-Treaty nationalist 1888 - (Arthur) Joyce Cary, author, is born in Derry/Londonderry. Two of his novels were made into films: The Horse's Mouth (1958) starring Sir. Alec Guinness and Mister Johnson (1990) 1922 - The six counties of Northern Ireland opt out of the Free State 1972 - "Special position" of the Catholic Church is removed by referendum from Irish constitution 1998 - The IRA makes an historic decision to start decommissioning following an IRA Army Convention meeting in Donegal 2000 - Blackrock Castle in Cork City goes on the auction block with a starting bid of £850,000. There are no bidders.
December 8 1831 - Death of James Hoban, the Kilkenny architect who designed the White House 1896 - Death of Isabella Maria Susan Tod, Irish women's rights activist 1922 - Liam Mellows, Rory O'Connor, Joseph McKelvey and Richard Barrett, Irish patriots - one from each of the four provinces - are executed by the Free State forces 1881 - Birth in Longford of Padraic Colum playwright, poet and novelist 1939 - Birth of Belfast flutist* Sir James Galway. *Sir James has publicly stated on several occasions that he plays the flute - not the flaut 1945 - John Banville, novelist, is born in Wexford 1980 - Haughey and Thatcher meet in Dublin and agree to consider 'the totality of relationships within these islands' 1999 - The Government implements a 32-year old law banning the sale of turkeys, ducks and geese at livestock marts 2002 - Gardaí recover €100,000 in coins stolen from the Pennies from Heaven charity 2002 - Hundreds of anti-war demonstrators march on Shannon airport in protest at the continued use of the airport by the US Air Force in preparation for possible war in the Gulf In the liturgical calendar, today is the Feast of the Immaculate Conception. If it falls on a week day, Roman Catholic schoolchildren get a holiday and in recent times, it has become the custom to go Christmas shopping in the city.
December 9 1791 - Sir Thomas Wyse, politician and diplomat, is born in St John, Co. Waterford 1861 - John O'Donovan, Irish language scholar, dies 1952 - The Irish Management Institute holds its inaugural meeting 1973 - At Sunningdale, Berkshire, British Prime Minister Edward Heath, Irish premier Liam Cosgrave, and representatives of the Ulster Unionist Party, the Social Democratic and Labour Party and the Alliance Party of Northern Ireland, sign an historic agreement to set up a Council of Ireland 2000 - Irish Prime Minister Bertie Ahern arrives for the third day of the European Summit in Nice. Leaders of the 15 EU states have convened in this heavily guarded city to tackle a tough agenda which centers on the future structure of the European Union and the integration of new member states 2002 - Carlow town wins first place in the inaugural all-Ireland anti-litter league. Accepting the award, Carlow’s civic leader Mayor Michael Abbey said the town had enthusiastically embraced the competition which involved 29 towns, including three from Northern Ireland 2002 - Tourism Ireland and Bord Fáilte unveil plans to increase the number of tourists by 5% in 2003, despite the prospect of higher prices across the sector. 2005 - Nearly 150,000 people take to the streets as the Irish Ferries protest mushroomed into the largest public demonstration the country has seen for two decades. 2005 - President Mary McAleese and Queen Elizabeth II meet in Northern Ireland. According to President McAleese, this historic event could clear the way for an unprecedented State visit. No British monarch has made such a trip since George V visited Dublin in 1911, a decade before partition.
December 10 1479 - Garret More Fitzgerald of Kildare, the 'Great Earl', holds a parliament in Dublin from 10 December; it will run, with adjournments, into 1481 1690 - Sir John Dillon, MP for Co. Meath, fights a duel with the Earl of Anglesey 1920 - Martial law is imposed in Cork, Kerry, Limerick and Tipperary 1939 - Birth in Waterford of Brendan Bowyer, "Ireland's answer to Elvis" and the lead singer with the Royal Showband 1944 - The Dublin actor Wilfrid Brambell takes over from Jimmy O’Dea in the annual Christmas pantomime at the Gaiety Theatre 1960 - Kenneth Branagh, actor and director is born in Belfast 1977 - Mairead Corrigan and Betty Williams receive the Nobel Peace Prize 1998 - The Irish and British governments launch a fresh search for a breakthrough in the Northern Ireland peace process in the wake of the joint award of the Nobel Peace Prize to Ulster's political leaders David Trimble and John Hume 1999 - Taoiseach Bertie Ahern says that a lasting end to the Northern Ireland conflict is now well in sight 1999 - Tánaiste Mary Harney is in Ballyfermot to officially open the new manufacturing facility of Michael H, one of Ireland’s most successful clothing companies 2000 - Following four days of marathon talks in Nice, Taoiseach Bertie Ahern defeats European Union efforts to directly influence Ireland’s taxation policy 2002 - Loretta Brennan Glucksman, director of philanthropic organisation, the Ireland Funds, presents a €300,000 cheque to Gate Theatre director Michael Colgan towards the Dublin venue’s redevelopment 2002 - The Government postpones the announcement of an expected 43% increase in the cost of an RTÉ licence fee. 2005 - Elizabeth Yensen, the oldest women in Ireland passes away at 110 years old. Born in Glasgow on 25 July 1895, Elizabeth spent more than 70 years in Northern Ireland.
December 11 1225 - Laurence O'Toole is canonized by Pope Honorius III. It will be 750 years before another Irish person is canonized 1650 - Ormond leaves for France, leaving Ulick Burke, 1st Marquis of Clanrickard, as Lord Deputy 1853 - Birth of H. Kingsmill Moore, educationist 1905 - Birth of Erskine Childers, Ireland’s fourth president (1973-1974) 1920 - Martial law is declared in Ireland. Black and Tans and Auxiliaries go on a rampage of burning and looting in Cork 1931 - Statute of Westminster is passed by British Parliament giving Dominion parliaments, including the Free State, equal status of the Imperial Parliament at Westminster 1936 - In the wake of the abdication of Edward VIII, the Dáil passes legislation removing the King from the Irish Constitution and abolishing the position of Governor General 1956 - The Irish Republican Army (IRA) begins what it calls "The Campaign of Resistance to British Occupation"; it is also known as the 'Border Campaign'. As a result of the campaign, Internment is introduced in both Northern Ireland and the Republic. The campaign ends on 26 February 1962 because of lack of support 1979 - Charles Haughey is elected Taoiseach 1998 - Taoiseach Bertie Ahern and British Prime Minister Tony Blair meet in Vienna; they fail to find new ways of breaking the deadlock in the row over implementing the Good Friday Agreement 2001 - Customs and gardaí board a container ship in Dundalk, Co. Louth and seize up to 80 million smuggled cigarettes - the most in State history 2002 - The replica famine ship, the Jeanie Johnston, arrives in Dublin after final fittings in Cork.
December 12 1803 - Birth in Limerick of writer Gerald Griffin 1881 - Birth in Cork of James O'Flynn, also known as 'Father O'Flynn of the Loft'; priest; teacher of acting, singing and dancing 1883 - Birth in Dublin of Peadar Kearney, songwriter, revolutionary and house-painter; he is famous for writing the words of the Irish national anthem 1920 - Birth of Christy Ring in Cloyne, Co. Cork. His 24-year career record earned him a reputation as the greatest hurler of all time 1920 - Black & Tans continue their attacks in Cork 1955 - The Cork Opera House is destroyed by fire 1957 - The IRA begins a violent four-year campaign in Northern Ireland 1960 - Birth of Donegal superstar Daniel O'Donnell 1966 - Birth of Sinéad O'Connor 1975 - A six-day siege on Balcombe Street in London ends peacefully after four IRA gunmen free their two hostages and give themselves up to police 1993 - Ireland's first and Radio Éireann's own agony aunt, Frankie Byrne, whose legendary programme with its 'Dear Frankie' letters of advice was broadcast from 1963 to 1985, passes away at the age of 71 1997 - The Taoiseach and the British Prime Minister Tony Blair invite the key players in the talks into a 12-week negotiating blitz beginning in the New Year 2000 - At a farewell reception in Dundalk, US President Bill Clinton makes an emotional plea to the people of Ireland: “redouble your efforts for peace” 2001 - Intelligence agent William Stobie is gunned down in Belfast by former associates 2002 - The Minister for Arts, Sport and Tourism rules that Fossett's Circus is be recognised as an art form and is thus entitled to State funding. The recognition makes the 115-year old circus the oldest performing arts institution in the country, 30 years' older than the Abbey Theatre.
December 13 1779 - British goods are boycotted in Ireland; armed Volunteers parade in College Green, Dublin in November and demand 'a free trade or else' (i.e. the removal of restrictions on Irish trade with the colonies). This demand is granted on this date 1867 - An explosion at Clerkenwell gaol in London, intended to aid in the escape of two Fenians, causes several deaths and injuries 1904 - Sir William McCrea, mathematician and astronomer, is born in Dublin 1905 - Críostóir Mac Aonghusa, writer and promoter of the Irish language is born in Blackwater, Co. Offaly 1955 - Grace Gifford Plunkett, Irish patriot, dies 1960 - Aer Lingus’ first jet, the Boeing 707 ‘St. Patrick’ makes its inaugural flight 1997 - Over a thousand people take to the streets of Dublin in a theatrical spectacle called "Féile Fáilte".to protest racism, particularly against refugees 1999 - Taoiseach Bertie Aherns addresses the historic inaugural plenary meeting of the North South Ministerial Council in Armagh 2000 - Crowds roaring their approval greet Bill and Hillary Clinton on stage at the Odyssey Arena in Belfast, confirming the first couple’s enduring popularity in Northern Ireland 2001 - Queen's University honours Manchester United legend, George Best, with an honorary doctorate in recognition of his services to football 2002 - For the eighth year, the only live Christmas crib in Ireland opens in the forecourt of the Mansion House on Dawson Street in Dublin. This year's nativity scene features two llamas as well as the usual donkeys, calves, goats and sheep 2002 - Rugby legend Mick Galwey receives an honorary degree from Trinity College in recognition of his services to Ireland, Munster and Shannon clubs.
November 30 1667 - Birth in Dublin of Jonathan Swift, poet, satirist and clergyman 1670 - Birth in Inishowen, Co. Donegal of John Toland, deist and philosopher 1864 - Cork-born Confederate General Patrick Cleburne is killed in command of his division at a battle in Franklin, Tennessee 1869 - Birth of James Hamilton, 3rd Duke of Abercorn and first Governor of Northern Ireland 1900 - Death of Oscar Wilde in Paris 1909 - Lloyd George's People's Budget is rejected by the House of Lords, the first money bill to be rejected by Lords in 200 years. The Lords' loss of power to veto subsequent bills comes as good news to the Irish Nationalist Party because a third Home Rule Bill looked likely now that the Liberals are back in power and dependent on their support. 1930 - Death of Cork-born union organizer and human rights activist, Mary Harris - "Mother" Jones" 1933 - Birth of Eamon Campbell of the Dubliners 1960 - Catherina McKiernan, athlete, is born in Cornafean, Co. Cavan 1967 - Death of poet Patrick Kavanagh 1970 - Birth of Phil Babb, Irish soccer international 1995 - Bill Clinton visits Northern Ireland on this date - the first serving US president to do so 2000 - Tributes are paid in the Supreme Court to former Chief Justice, Mr Justice Liam Hamilton, who passes on in the early morning hours on this date 2000 - With forecasters saying rainfalls in September, October and November are the highest in living memory, severe storms again lash the country. Munster and South Leinster get the worst of the weather as gales of up to 80 mph batter parts of Cork, Tipperary, Carlow, Kilkenny and Wexford.
December 1 1494 - Poynings Law enacted. This forbids the Irish parliament to convene without the King's prior permission, and all intended legislation has to be approved by him 1848 - The paddle steamer The Londonderry, with immigrants fleeing the famine, takes shelter in Derry harbour. When the covers are removed from the hold it is discovered that 72 men, women and children have suffocated 1889 - Michael Hayes, politician and professor of Irish is born in Dublin 1890 - Six days of Irish Parliamentary Party debates begin, only to end in a split, with the majority opposing Parnell 1901 - Fenian Thomas Clarke Luby dies in New York. Luby was born in Dublin in 1821. He was the son of a Church of Ireland minister and graduate of Trinity College. His first political experience was in the Young Ireland movement 1946 - Singer Gilbert (Richard) O'Sullivan is born in Waterford 1955 - Birth of Pat Spillane, Kerry Gaelic footballer 1956 - Birth of hurler Joachim Kelly 1986 - Guinness shares plunge by £300m after the British government orders an inquiry into the affairs of the company 1998 - President Bill Clinton contacts First Minister, David Trimble, and his deputy, Seamus Mallon, in a bid to save the stalled Northern Ireland peace process 1999 - The British Prime Minister, Tony Blair hails the transfer of powers to Stormont as “one giant step forward” 1999 - Plans to develop Pol an Ionain cave, which according to the Guinness Book of Records contains the largest free hanging stalactite in the world, are given the go ahead by Clare County Council 2001 - Morans on the Weir, Kilcolgan, Co Galway, wins the prestigious Gilbeys Gold Medal Award 2002 - Film producer Noel Pearson and brother Billy Harris lead the tributes to Richard Harris as hundreds pack the Church of the Sacred Heart for a memorial mass 2002 - Gusts reaching up to 80 miles per hour and driving rain continue to sweep across the country; in the west Clare village of Quilty, six fishing boats sink as winds reached between gale force seven and nine along the Clare coast.
December 2 1791 - Death in Kilkenny of Henry Flood, founder of the movement which forces Britain to grant legislative independence to Ireland 1802 - Sir Dominic Corrigan, cardiologist, is born in Dublin 1805 - William Thompson, naturalist, is born in Belfast 1811 - The Kildare Place Society is formed to maintain non-denominational schools and to promote the education of the poor 1865 - The Fenian senate deposes founder John O'Mahoney as president, replacing him with William Roberts 1877 - Birth of nationalist politician Cahir Healy in Mountcharles, Co. Donegal 1924 - William Craig, unionist politician, is born 1998 - In an effort to break the deadlock in the stalled Northern Ireland political process, British Premier Tony Blair holds intensive discussions with David Trimble and Seamus Mallon at Stormont 1998 - Death of Mary McShain at Killarney House, Killarney, Co. Kerry. In 1960, she and her late husband, John McShain, acquired the Killarney Estate, which had been owned by the Earls of Kenmare since the 16th century. Most of that property has since been turned over the State and Killarney House will now be turned over as well 1999 - The Good Friday Agreement comes into operation as the British and Irish governments formally notify each other that all the necessary arrangements are in place.The notification ceremony takes place at Iveagh House, St Stephen’s Green, headquarters of the Department of Foreign Affairs, at a joint signing by Foreign Affairs Minister, David Andrews, and the Northern Ireland Secretary of State, Peter Mandelson 1999 - President Mary McAleese is entertained to lunch by Queen Elizabeth at Buckingham Palace 1999 - The IRA appoints an unnamed representative to enter into talks with General John de Chastelain on decommissioning 2002 - Former Fine Gael deputy leader Jim Mitchell loses his three-year battle with cancer.
December 3 1745 - John Toler, 1st Earl of Norbury and Chief Justice, is born in Beechwood, Co. Tipperary 1792 - Beginning on this date and continuing through December 8, a Catholic Convention is held in Tailors' Hall, Dublin to demand abolition of the remaining penal laws; a petition is presented to the king in London 1831 - Birth near Belfast of James Graham Fair, banker, mining tycoon and US senator 1897 - Birth in Limerick of Irish writer, Kate O'Brien who will become best known for her novels Land of Spices and That Lady 1942 - Birth in Belfast of rugby player Mike Gibson, former rugby player, 1945 - Ralph McTell, writer of From Clare To Here and Streets Of London is born 1956 - Limerick-born runner Ronnie Delaney wins Olympic Gold in Melbourne 1960 - Birth of broadcaster Eamonn Holmes 1990 - Inauguration of Mary Robinson as President of Ireland 1993 - Two bombs explode in the center of Manchester, injuring 65 people; the IRA claims responsibility the following day 1996 - Six officers are hurt as loyalists attack police with fireworks, bottles and stones in Portadown, Co Armagh 199 - The country’s first three day International Flower Fair opens in Lismore, Co. Waterford 2000 - Hiúdaí, an Irish language cartoon character, is voted Best TV Personality at the Irish Film and Television Awards in Belfast 2000 - Browns on the Green wins the prestigious Gilbeys Gold Medal Award for excellence in catering 2002 - Up to 2000 mourners gather at St Joseph’s Church, Terenure for the removal of Fine Gael minister and deputy leader, Jim Mitchell 2002 - Ulster Unionist leader, David Trimble, says there is little point in proceeding with multi-party talks in the North if the IRA refuses to address the need to give up all paramilitary activity.
December 4 1879 - Sir Hamilton Harty, musician and composer, is born in Hillsborough, Co. Down 1882 - John Curran, Dublin magistrate, opens a special inquiry into the Phoenix Park murders, in which Parnell is falsely implicated 1887 - Winifred Carney, trade unionist and revolutionary, is born in Bangor, Co. Down 1918 - Richard Bagwell, Irish historian, dies 1959 - Birth of Paul McGrath, footballer for St Patrick's Athletic, Manchester United, Aston Villa, Derby County and the Republic of Ireland 1971 - The UVF claims responsibility for a bomb blast which kills 17 people in a Belfast pub 1983 - SAS soldiers involved in an undercover operation in Northern Ireland shoot and kill two IRA gunmen and injure a third man who escapes 2000 -Ireland reluctantly agrees to a six months European Union wide ban on the feeding of meat and bone meal to all farm animals, including pigs and poultry 2001 - U2 frontman Bono and politician Pat Cox scoop two European of the Year awards at the first-ever such event in Brussels 2002 - Award-winning Cork-born author William Trevor receives an honorary knighthood in London in recognition of his services to literature. 2006 - Staff at an equestrian centre in Mullingar, Co Westmeath, return to the workplace prior to a planned Christmas party - and discover Gus, a newly-arrived camel from Morocco, has munched through 200 mince pies and cans of Guinness.
December 5 1640 - John Atherton, Bishop of Waterford and Lismore, is executed on a charge of immorality 1700 - Birth of Anthony Malone, prominent politician and prime serjeant at time of money bill dispute from1753 to 1756 1853 - Assembly's College, Belfast, opens for the training of Presbyterian clergy 1921 - After lengthy negotiations, the British give the Irish a deadline to accept or reject the Anglo-Irish treaty. In the words of Lloyd George, rejection would mean "immediate and terrible war" 1976 - A rally of twelve to fifteen thousand Peace People from both north and south takes place at the new bridge over the Boyne at Drogheda 1998 - The IRA Army Council and up to 60 Provisionals meet at a secret location near the border to debate arms decommissioning 1999 - The Portmarnock Hotel in north Dublin wins the Gilbeys’ Gold medal in catering for the second year in a row 2000 - The IRA reaffirms its commitment to putting arms beyond use in a statement issued in advance of President Bill Clinton’s visits to Dublin and Belfast 2000 - Ruth Le Goff, from Cork, is named as winner of the 15th Annual RTÉ Radio 1 Francis MacManus Short Story Competition 2001 - Police and custom officers on both sides of the Border smash a multi-million pound smuggling operation with links to dissident paramilitary groups 2002 - Tesco's Premier Cru Brut NV comes out top in a blind tasting of 24 champagnes and 11 sparkling wines by British consumer magazine Which?
December 6 1679 - St. Oliver Plunkett, Archbishop of Armagh, is accused of instigating the "Irish Popish" Plot and arrested 1820 - Spanish General Diego O'Reilly is defeated by Peruvian revolutionaries 1908 - Cornelius Cremin, diplomat, is born in Kenmare, Co. Kerry 1921 - Representatives of the Irish government appointed by President Eamon de Valera, and those negotiating for the Crown sign the Anglo-Irish Treaty, ending the Irish War of Independence against England. Michael Collins declares: "I have signed my own death warrant" 1922 - The Irish Free State, Saorstát Éireann, comes into being 1925 - Con Houlihan, journalist, is born in Castleisland, Co. Kerry 1999 - The Abbey Bridge is opened in Limerick. It is intended to relieve chronic traffic congestion and provide a link to the city’s historic quarter of King’s Island 1999 - Actor Gabriel Byrne brings out a host of stars for the Irish premiere of his new movie End of Days in Dublin Image: Official Gabriel Byrne web site: Gabriel Byrne. 2002 - The RDS Irish Forestry and Wood Awards introduces a new special category award for hurley ash plantations and forests. This year's award is won by Theresa Greene, from Cappamurragh House, Dundrum, Co Tipperary, who has an eight-year-old plantation specifically geared towards the growing of suitable ash trees for hurley-making 2002 - Publicist to the stars, Chris Roche, loses his battle with cancer. In the liturgical calendar, today is the feast of St. Nicholas.
November 23 1074 - Donatus (or Dunan), the first Bishop of Dublin, dies and is buried in Christ Church Cathedral. Patrick, his successor, is sent to Canterbury for consecration. (Some records say he died on May 6) 1702 - Birth of Sir Richard Cox, politician and pamphleteer 1819 - Birth in Waterford of Margaret Aylward, founder of the Sisters of the Holy Faith 1841 - Birth in Co. Cork of Richard Croker, Boss of Tammany Hall, New York 1845 - Charlotte Grace O'Brien, social reformer who campaigned against conditions on emigrant ships, is born 1865 - Birth of Herbert Trench, poet, dramatist and theatre producer, in Avonmore, Co. Cork 1867 - Fenians Michael Larkin, William Philip Allen, and Michael O'Brien - the "Manchester Martyrs" - are executed 1876 - Sir Richard Dawson Bates, unionist politician and minister in Northern Ireland is born in Belfast 1913 - Irish Citizen Army is founded in Dublin by James Larkin 1923 - Tomás Ó Fiaich, cardinal, historian and Catholic Primate of All Ireland, is born in Cullyhanna, Co. Armagh 1927 - Birth of journalist and BBC political editor, John Cole 1941 - Birth of poet, Derek Mahon, in Belfast 2000 - The Opel Corsa is named the Semperit Irish Car of the Year 2001 by the Irish Motoring Writers Association 2000 - Traffic in Dublin comes to a standstill as hundreds of taxi drivers protest against the decision to deregulate the industry In the liturgical calendar, today is the feast day of St. Columbanus.
November 24 1713 - Lawrence Sterne, clergyman, humorist, and author of the experimental novel Tristram Shandy, is born in Clonmel, Co. Tipperary 1807 - Henry Blosse Lynch, soldier and explorer, is born in Ballinrobe, Co. Mayo 1820 - Arthur French, MP for Co. Roscommon, dies 'of excessive fox-hunting' 1865 - Two weeks after being arrested, James Stephens escapes from Richmond prison, Dublin 1922 - Irish republican Erskine Childers is executed by the Free State government 1940 - Prime Minister of Northern Ireland, Sir James Craig, dies peacefully at his home on this date and is succeeded by the Minister of Finance John Andrews 1942 - Death of Peadar Kearney, writer of the Irish National Anthem, "A Soldier's Song" 1965 - The Government imposes an experimental 70mph speed limit on motorways 1972 - The RTÉ authority is replaced by the government after RTÉ broadcasts a radio interview with IRA leader Seán Mac Stiofáin 1982 - General election in the Republic leads to a Fine Gael-Labour coalition government 1998 - The national 24-hour stoppage by train drivers costs Dublin City centre traders about £1·5m in lost sales, with Irish Rail losing substantial revenue from more than 60,000 stranded travellers 1999 - Father Aengus Finucane, CSSp, former chief executive of Concern Worldwide, is conferred by the University of Limerick with an Honorary Doctorate of Laws in recognition of his outstanding work with the world’s disadvantaged peoples 2002 - Ireland’s TDs and Senators, lose 3-2 to their Scottish counterparts in a friendly football match. The ‘Clash of the Celts’ inter-parliamentary match was held to highlight the Irish-Scottish bid to host the Euro 2008 football championships.
November 25 1713 - The second Irish parliament of Queen Anne sits from this date to 24 December. The Whig Alan Brodrick is elected Speaker for the second time, in place of John Forster, after a stormy contest with the government's Tory nominee, Sir Richard Levinge 1764 - Birth of Henry Sirr, Dublin town head of police 1784 - Napper Tandy asks for parliamentary reform for Ireland 1858 - John Smyth Crone, physician and editor, is born in Belfast 1906 - Birth in Belfast of Saidie Paterson, trade unionist and peace activist 1913 - The Irish Volunteers, a militant nationalist splinter of the Irish Parliamentary Party and nationalist version of the 18th-century Ulster Volunteers, is founded by Eoin MacNeill at a mass meeting at the Rotunda, Dublin 1947 - Birth of former Liverpool and Irish international footballer Steve Heighway 1999 - Mystery surrounds the identity of two human skeletons discovered on the site of the former Carnegie school in Killorglin, Co. Kerry. According to experts, the remains of a child and an adult are at least 100 years old and could date to medieval times 2002 - JP McManus, the man who never liked school, receives a doctorate from the University of Limerick. The reluctant schoolboy is now an internationally-renowned financier, racehorse owner and part-proprietor of soccer giants Manchester United 2002 - Hundreds of Irish tourists are left stranded in France as a series of transport strikes threaten to bring chaos to roads, rail, and air traffic. 2005 - James McLoughlin the former bishop of Galway, dies at the age of 76.
November 26 1624 - Birth in Dublin of John Stearne, founder and first president of the College of Physicians 1791 - First convicts from Ireland arrive in New South Wales, Australia 1852 - Aeneas Coffey, inventor of the Coffey Still, dies 1873 - Birth in Cork of Celtic scholar Osborn Joseph Bergin 1885 - Birth in Belfast of Thomas Andrews, chemist and physicist 1926 - Rugby player Karl Mullen is born in Courtown Harbour, Co. Wexford 1955 - Saor Uladh (Free Ulster) a splinter group of the IRA, attacks the police barracks in Rosslea, Co. Fermanagh 1972 - RTÉ Journalist Kevin O'Kelly is imprisoned for contempt of court arising out of an interview with then Provisional IRA chief Séan MacStiofáin. Mr O’Kelly had refused to identify his interviewee in court 1972: Eight armed men protesting against the imprisonment of IRA leader Sean MacStiofain try to rescue him from a Dublin hospital. Police foil the attempt 1998 - Prime Minister Tony Blair makes a historic address to the Houses of the Oireacthas.
November 27 784 - Fergil, the Geometer, Irish educator, dies 1612 - Dungannon, Co. Tyrone, is the first of 40 new boroughs to be incorporated 1774 - John Kyan, inventor, is born in Dublin 1857 - Birth in Clogher House, Kilmore, Co. Roscommon of Thomas Heazle Parke, surgeon, military officer and author. Educated at the Royal College of Surgeons in Dublin, he serves with the British Army in Egypt during Arabi`s 1882 revolt and on the 1884-1885 Nile expedition, to relieve General Gorden in Khartoum. In 1887, he volunteers as Medical Officer on an expedition led by Henry Morten Stanley. This journey takes them right across the Congo. He writes a book "My personal experiences in Equatorial Africa " which becomes a bestseller. He dies suddenly in 1893 at the early age of 36 years. His body is brought back to Clogher House and he is buried with full military honours in Drumsna graveyard 1876 - Henry Robinson Allen, tenor and composer, dies 1878 - Birth of Sir William Orpen, painter, in Stillorgan, Co. Dublin 1906 - Death of Michael Cusack, one of the founders of the GAA. 1953 - Playwright Eugene O'Neill dies 1963 - The Buchanan Committee warns of future chaos as traffic in cities multiplies 1975 - Guinness Book of Records co-founder and editor Ross McWhirter dies of wounds inflicted by Irish gunmen; an outspoken critic of the IRA, the BBC Records Breaker presenter had recently offered a £50,000 reward for information leading to the arrest of IRA bombers.
November 28 1727 - William Connolly is unanimously re-elected Speaker of the Irish House of Commons 1856 - Birth of Cardinal Patrick O'Donnell near Glenties, Co. Donegal 1863 - Foundation of the Fenian newspaper, "Irish People"; John O'Leary is the editor 1871 - The Gaiety Theatre, Dublin, opens with a performance of She Stoops to Conquer 1899 -Irish units in the Boer army fight in the battle of Modder River 1905 The Irish political party Sinn Féin is founded in Dublin by Arthur Griffith 1920 - An entire patrol of 18 auxiliaries at Kilmichael, west Cork, is wiped out by a flying column under the command of General Tom Barry in what would be one of the most effective and bloody IRA ambushes of the war. 1934 - Birth of travel writer Fervla Murphy 1959 - Birth of Tour de France winner, Stephen Roche 1967 - All horse racing in Britain has been cancelled indefinitely to help prevent the spread of foot-and-mouth disease 1969 - Birth of Olympic medalist Sonia O'Sullivan in Cobh, Co. Cork
November 29 1330 - Edward III, on attaining his majority, executes Mortimer on this date and banishes his own mother, Isabella. This revolutionizes the political situation in Ireland and England 1521 - William Rokeby, Archbishop of Dublin, dies 1641 - The Ulster rebels defeat the government forces at Julianstown Bridge 1740 - Edward Sewell, a "couple-beggar" - i.e. a clergyman who conducts illegal marriages involving Catholics and Protestants - is hanged at Stephen's Green 1783 - Ulster Volunteers' parliamentary reform bill is rejected by the Irish Parliament at College Green 1895 - Death of Denny Lane, Young Irelander, author and poet 1898 - Birth of novelist C.S. Lewis in Belfast 1993 - The Conservative government has come under attack in the Commons over the revelations it has had secret contacts with the IRA 1998 - IRA leaders are on the brink of making a goodwill gesture which could kick-start the stalled North peace process 1999 - Pressure grows on the Provisional IRA to hand over weapons in the wake of Northern Ireland’s first power sharing Government in 25 years 2002 - Hurling in Cork is thrown into chaos after the county’s senior squad goes on strike.
November 16 1272 - Henry III dies; his son Edward I, who has been Lord of Ireland since 1254, succeeds him 1754 - Birth in Verval, Co. Wicklow of William Marsden, orientalist, Malayan scholar and numismatist 1793 - Francis Danby, landscape painter, is born near Killinick, Co. Wexford 1814 - Michael Kelly Lawler, general in the Union army during the American Civil War, is born in Co. Kildare 1816 - Benjamin Woodward, architect, is born in Tullamore, Co. Offaly 1893 - Death of George A. Osborne, Irish composer, organist and director of the Royal Academy of Music 1939 - Birth of Luke Kelly of the Dubliners 1965 - Death of William Thomas Cosgrave, first President of the Irish Free State 1999 - In Lismore, Co. Waterford, a tradition stretching back almost 130 years passes away as the last remaining Christian Brother Patrick Ryan turns the key on the front door of the monastery for the final time; the order has had an uninterrupted presence in the town since 1871 2000 - Furious taxi drivers have to be restrained from protesting outside Leinster House following reports that the Government is poised to completely deregulate the industry 2000 - In the largest class of graduates since the BSN degree was introduced in 1997, more than 50 nurses are presented their diplomas at the Royal College of Surgeons 2000 - Dr Therese Kinsella, a senior lecturer at University College Dublin becomes the first woman to receive the prestigious Royal Irish Academy Medal in Biochemistry 2001 - American ambassador Richard Egan is presented with a book of condolences compiled from IrishExaminer.com since the September 11 attack on the World Trade Center in NYC 2002 - Niall Quinn is chosen as Man of the Year at the 28th annual People of the Year awards. A special one-off award to mark the 75th anniversary of the ESB is made to Dr TK Whitaker who is named Greatest Living Irish Person for his role in transforming the Irish economy in the 1950s.
November 17 1814 - Joseph Finegan, a Confederate general in the American Civil War, is born in Clones, Co. Monaghhan 1922 - The Irish Free State begins the executions of seventy-seven anti-Treaty republican prisoners 1852 - Donegal-born Brigadier Michael Corcoran's Irish Legion is mustered into the Federal service; it is involved in the defense of Washington D.C. 1930 - The first Irish Hospital Sweepstakes draw takes place; three Belfast men share a prize of £208,792 1994 - Taoiseach Albert Reynolds is forced to resign 1999 - Christian churches reject idea of elections on the sabbath day as a means of trying to increase voter turnout 1999 - The owners of the first cars to be called for inspection under the new National Car Test receive notification in the post 2001 - An £8.5 million annual pay deal for local politicians is to be finalised before Christmas, giving them a salary for the first time.
November 18 1703 - On 18 November the Commons hears a petition from Sir Kildare Dixon Burrowes, John Allen, Robert Dixon, Francis Spring, Alexander Gradon (all MPs) and 'other inhabitants of the County of Kildare complaining, that the inhabitants of the said County have been under great oppressions and grievances by the exorbitant power of Maurice [another MP], John and Francis Annesley, Esqrs, Justices of the Peace'. Shortly before this, the burgesses and freemen of Naas have also complained about the activities of the Annesleys. The allegations against Maurice and Francis are found not to be proved, but John is found to have illegally extorted money under cover of warrants and fees and is removed as sheriff 1709 - Birth of Henry Loftus, Earl of Ely and 4th Viscount; politician and proprietor of several boroughs 1873 - A three-day conference begins in Dublin to establish the Home Rule League. It will supersede Isaac Butt's Home Government Association 1880 - An historic meeting takes place at Queens Hotel, Belfast which will have far reaching effects on the administration of football in Ireland. At what is, in effect, the inaugural meeting of the Irish Football Association, the IFA elects its first President, Major Spencer Chichester and agrees to stage an annual Challenge Cup Competition 1899 - Death of William Allingham, poet 1922 - Court martial of Erskine Childers begins 1926 George Bernard Shaw refuses to accept the Nobel Prize money of £7,000 awarded to him a year earlier. He said: "I can forgive Nobel for inventing dynamite, but only a fiend in human form could have invented the Nobel Prize." 1960 - The first Aer Lingus Boeing jet Padraig arrives at Dublin Airport 1999 - Former US senator George Mitchell makes his final report into the Good Friday Agreement; he urges the IRA to appoint its representative to discuss disarmament on the same day the new power-sharing government is set up 2000 - Ensign Marie Gleeson of Cashel becomes the first female cadet to capture the prestigious Fastnet Trophy. The award is given to the cadet who achieves first place in his or her class 2002 - The Belfast High Court is told that Sinn Féin's administration office manager at Stormont, Denis Donaldson, is an active member of the IRA's intelligence unit with connections to terrorist groups in Europe and in El Salvador.
November 19 1783 - The Volunteers' parliamentary reform bill is rejected by the Irish House of Commons, 157 to 77 1798 - Theobald Wolfe Tone dies from a stab wound to his neck which he inflicted upon himself on November 12; his attempted suicide is the result of being refused a soldier's execution by firing squad and being sentenced to death by hanging 1821 - 17 people are burned to death in a house in Tubber, Co. Tipperary, probably by 'Rockite' agitators 1871 - Margaret Emmeline Conway Dobbs, Irish historian, language activist and defender of Roger Casement, is born 1900 - Birth of Pamela Hinkson, daughter of Katharine Tynan; she's best known for her novel "The Ladies Road" which sold over 100,000 copies in the Penguin edition 1913 - Irish Citizen Army is formed 1924 - Death in Ara Coeli, Armagh, of Cardinal Michael Logue, Primate of All Ireland 1944 - Denis Brosnan, managing director of Kerry Group, is born in Tralee 1954 - First performance of Brendan Behan’s The Quare Fellow at the Pike Theatre in Dublin 1957 - Affectionately known as "Jacko", Jack O'Shea, Kerry Gaelic footballer, is born in Cahirciveen, Co. Kerry 1998 - UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Dr Mary Robinson, is elected as chancellor of Trinity College, Dublin. Dr Robinson is the first woman in the college's history to be appointed to the position, making her the head of the University of Dublin of which Trinity College is the sole constituent 1999 - The life of eighty-five year old Eamon Kelly is celebrated at a banquet in his honour held at the Listowel Arms Hotel in Co. Kerry. Among the 250 guests are John B. Keane, Barry McGovern, Niall Toibin and Frances Black 2001 - Taoiseach Bertie Ahern announces that low-cost airlines will have a dedicated wing at Dublin Airport in 18 months; Aer Rianta is told to drop airport charges to attract tourists into the country.
November 20 1762 - Francis Andrews is appointed first professor of history at the University of Dublin 1719 - Spranger Barry, actor, is born in Skinner's Row (Christ Church Place) Dublin 1800 - Richard Rothwell, painter, is born in Athlone, Co. Westmeath 1830 - Birth of Patrick Henry Jones, Union General from Co. Meath 1840 - Birth of John Russell Young, journalist in American Civil War, from Co. Tyrone 1889 - Donn Byrne (real name Brian Donn-Byrne) novelist and short-story writer, is born in Brooklyn, New York of Irish parents 1908 - Birth of Alistair Cooke who describes himself as a "Lancastrian Irishman" - his mother was from Co. Sligo 1917 - The 16th Irish Division of the British army assaults an area of the German lines known as Tunnel Trench 1925 - Eoin MacNeill resigns from the Boundary Commission 1959 - Stephen Roche, champion cyclist, is born in Dublin 1998 - An historic union between Labour and Democratic Left is agreed. Unveiled by the two top negotiators, Labour's deputy leader Brendan Howlin and DL Deputy Eamon Gilmore, the merger proposal will go before Labour's General Council and DL's Executive for ratification 2000 - Three Galway pubs are prosecuted by the Director of Consumer Affairs for failing to display correct price lists, in the first ever such prosecutions brought under new Retail Price Display regulations 2001 - Cash-strapped Aer Lingus auctions its collection of paintings. Most money went on "By Merrion Strand" by Jack B. Yeats, an oil on canvas, which is sold for £290,000 2002 - The last surviving member of the recruits which founded the Garda Síochána is laid to rest. Galway-born Charlie Clarke, who spent most of his career in Dublin, celebrated his 100th birthday last summer.
November 21 1281 - Stephen de Fulbourne, bishop of Waterford and treasurer, replaces the infirm Robert de Ufford as justiciar and establishes a mint at Waterford 1759 - Henry Flood enters parliament and becomes leader of the opposition 1767 - United Irishman Thomas Russell is born in Kilshanick, Co. Cork. Although born in the Rebel County, he is now identified in the popular imagination of Co. Down and elsewhere as "The man from God-knows-where", from the ballad which recalls his charismatic but doomed efforts to raise the county in support of Robert Emmet’s rebellion of 1803 1887 - Joseph Mary Plunkett, Irish patriot and poet, is born in Dublin 1918 - The Parliament (Qualifications of Women) Act entitles women to sit and vote in the house of commons 1920 - On the morning of this date, 14 British intelligence officers are shot dead in Dublin by Michael Collins' men. In the afternoon, at a GAA match in Croke Park, Dublin, between Tipperary and Dublin, 12 civilians including one of the players die after Black & Tans open fire; auxiliaries kill three prisoners, including two IRA men, in Dublin that night; the date becomes infamously known as 'Bloody Sunday' 1929 - Birth in Cork of stage, television and film actor Niall Toibin 1952 - Birth in Dublin of middle distance runner and former World Champion Eamon Coghlan 1974 - Bombs believe planted by the Provisional IRA devastate two central Birmingham pubs, killing 19 people and injuring over 180 1999 - Victims of Birmingham IRA bombings are remembered in a 25th anniversary service at St. Philips Cathedral 1999 - President Mary McAleese pays a warm tribute to former President Dr Erskine Childers on the 25th anniversary of his death. Speaking at Derralossary Cemetery, Co. Wicklow, Mrs McAleese describes Dr Childers as a pivotal figure in politics for more than 35 years.
November 22 1773 - Lord John Beresford, Archbishop of Armagh and Primate of all Ireland, is born in Dublin 1830 - Justin McCarthy, politician, novelist and historian, is born in Cork 1869 - Jeremiah O'Donovan Rossa, Fenian, contests and wins a Tipperary by-election in abstentia, but is declared ineligible as a convicted felon 1912 - Birth in Dublin of poet, dramatist and lawyer Donagh MacDonagh, son of Thomas MacDonagh 1919 - Birth of Máire Drumm, Irish Republican, in Newry, Co. Armagh 1963 - C. S. Lewis, Irish writer, dies 1963 - The first Roman Catholic president of the United States, John F. Kennedy, is assassinated in Dallas, Texas 1974 - Hugh Callaghan, Patrick Hill, Robert Hunter, Noel McIlkenny, William Power and John Walker, who become known as “The Birmingham Six” are charged in connection with pub bombings which took place earlier in the week. Nineteen people were killed. They are found guilty in August 1975 of carrying out the bombings and sentenced to life imprisonment. But they are released after 16 years in jail when their convictions are quashed by the Court of Appeal in May 1991. The real bombers are never prosecuted and no group has ever admitted planting devices. Three detectives are charged with perjury and conspiracy in connection with the investigation, but their trial is halted in 1993 on the grounds of prejudicial media coverage. The six men finally agree undisclosed compensation settlements in June 2002 - more than 10 years after they are freed. 1998 - Security forces in Northern Ireland brace themselves as fears grow over a new bomb-blitz alert, the first since the Omagh massacre 1999 - The North’s politicians are given an ultimatum when the British Government warns it will pull the plug on the planned Stormont institutions if the IRA fails to decommission its arms 1999 - A timetable for the transfer of power to an inclusive Northern Ireland executive is outlined to the House of Commons 2000 - Blockades by taxi drivers brings the threat of serious confrontation with gardaí, mainline train services are paralysed by strike, and secondary schools are again closed 2000 - Sinn Féin President Gerry Adams meets with Bertie Ahern on the forth coming Irish Budget
November 9 1711 - The first Irish parliament of Queen Anne is dissolved 1791 - Napper Tandy convenes the first meeting of Dublin's United Irishmen 1875 - Sir Hugh Lane, art collector and critic, is born in Ballybrack, Co. Cork 1926 - Birth in Dublin of Hugh Leonard, pseudonym of John Keyes Byrne, playwright 1935 - Nineteen Donegal islanders are drowned when their currach founders 1966 - Jack Lynch becomes leader of Fianna Fáil 1999 - Ireland’s most accomplished mountaineer, Pat Falvey, conquers Ama Dablam in the Himalayas 2000 - The largest prison outside Dublin, the Midlands Prison in Portlaoise, goes into operation. It was built at a cost of £43m and boasts the most advanced technology and the highest standards of prisoner accommodation in the State 2000 - Martin McGuinness accuses David Trimble and Ulster Unionist cabinet colleagues of jeopardising the Good Friday Agreement’s political institutions with their ban in a bid to force progress on IRA disarmament.
November 10 1728 - Birth in Pallas, Co. Longford of Oliver Goldsmith, playwright, novelist and poet 1783 - National Volunteer convention on parliamentary reform begins at the Rotunda in Dublin 1795 - Edward King, Viscount Kingsborough, student and promoter of Mexican antiquities, is born in Cork 1798 - Theobald Wolfe Tone tried and convicted of treason 1813 - Thomas Lloyd, son of John Lloyd, former MP for King's County and Innistiogue, is killed at the head of his regiment at the passage of Nivelle in south-west France 1832 - Charles Russell, 1st Baron Russell of Killowen; lawyer and Lord Chief Justice of England, is born in Newry, Co. Down 1841 - Death of Sister Catherine McAuley, founder of the order of the Sisters of Mercy 1861 - In Dublin, thousands turn out to view the coffin of Terence Bellew MacManus, Young Irelander who died in poverty in San Francisco 1879 - Padraig Pearse, Irish revolutionary and one of the leaders of the 1916 Easter Rebellion, is born 1896 - Lady Mary Heath, née Sophie Catherine Pierce, pioneer aviator and athlete, is born in Newcastlewest, Co. Limerick 1902 - Leon Ó Broin, writer and public servant, is born in Dublin 1966- Fianna Fáil's Jack Lynch replaces Seán Lemass as Taoiseach 2002 - Ireland and Sunderland soccer star Niall Quinn announces his retirement from club football.
November 11 1171 - Henry II holds his court in Dublin from this date to 2 February 1172 1718 - Birth of Thomas Waite , MP and Under Secretary for the Civil Department: pillar of the Irish administration 1747-80 1873 - Birth of Daniel Daly, double Medal of Honor winner in Glen Cove, NY 1880 - Ned Kelly, Australian bushranger and son of Tipperary transportee, is hanged in Melbourne 1887 - Birth of John M. Hayes in Murroe, Co. Limerick; priest and founder of Muintir na Tíre 1918 - World War I ends 1919 - The first edition of the Irish Bulletin is published 1923 - Birth of F.S.L. Lyons, historian and biographer 1941 - Birth of Eddie Keher, Kilkenny hurler and winner of six All-Ireland medals 1998 - Paddy Clancy, Irish folk musician dies 1999 - The peace process is on a knife edge after Ulster Unionist leader David Trimble fails to get his Assembly members to support the latest proposals for a route to devolution 1999 - Dublin confirms itself as Europe’s most vibrant music capital as an estimated 300 million people tune in to the sixth MTV Europe Music Awards live from The Point 2000 - A massive fault on an ESB 110kv powerline results in a nationwide power surge, triggering the automatic shutdown sequence at the State’s only oil refinery 2002 - IRA intelligence-gathering in Belfast is smashed open by one of the biggest police investigations in Northern Ireland in the last decade 2002 - A huge temple, once surrounded by about 300 huge posts made from an entire oak forest, is discovered directly beneath the Hill of Tara in Co. Meath.
November 12 1798 - In the early morning hours on the day he is due to be executed, it is discovered that Wolf Tone has inflicted a deep wound in his neck; a French emigrant surgeon is called in, closes the wound and reports that, "as the prisoner had missed the carotid artery, he might yet survive, but was in the extremest danger." Wolf Tone on hearing this prognosis is quoted as saying: "I am sorry I have been so bad an anatomist." 1934 - Birth of John McGahern, known primarily for his novel, The Dark 1971 - RTÉ bans several patriotic ballads including Dublin In The Green and The Patriot Game 1998 - The Loyalist Volunteer Force (LVF) announced it has made a commitment to an "act of decommissioning" within weeks. The announcement comes following the British Government decision to recognise the organisation's ceasefire 1998 - Prompted by the loss of more than £60m every year because of the negative impression created by the raucous vulgar nature of stag-hen parties in Temple Bar, the Dublin Chamber of Commerce announces plans to ban them 2000 - O´gra Fianna Fáil votes to support blanket ban on abortion
November 13 867 - Death of Pope Nicholas I 1643 - Charles I appoints James Butler, 1st Marquess of Ormond as Lord Lieutenant of Ireland 1726 - At Clonmel, Joseph Slattery, MP for Blessington, dies from wounds received in a duel with Stephen Moore, MP for Fethard 1923 - Leonard Boyle, priest and palaeographer, is born in Donegal 1998 - Paddy Clancy of the Clancy Brothers is laid to rest in Faugheen cemetary, Carrick-on-Suir 1999 - Environmentalists warn that Killarney’s picture postcard Lough Lein is in danger from pollution 2000 - A report on the status of the Irish language in Loughrea Co. Galway indicates there are Irish speakers in 362 of the 500 households who returned questionaires. The report also shows 91% of the town’s people want Irish language names for housing estates and 88% want more Irish used in signposts and public notices. All Irish education was also overwhelmingly accepted with 91% supporting the recently opened Gaelscoil Riabhach 2000 - Clamping of illegally parked vehicles goes into effect for the first time in Galway city centre 2000 - Former Secretary of State Dr Mo Mowlam is chosen Ireland’s International Person of the Year. She secures the accolade for her enormous contribution to the quest for peace 2001 - RTÉ announces it is to become the first broadcaster in Europe to provide an on-screen aid to warn viewers of programmes containing sex, violence or foul language 2001 - Irish troops walk out of the gates of Camp Shamrock - ending more than two decades of peacekeeping duty in Lebanon.The camp is handed over to a contingent of troops from Ghana 2002 - A major fire in a Dublin industrial complex continues to blaze more than 16 hours after flames are first spotted 2002 - The Irish and British governments invite the north's political parties to take part in talks at Stormont to try to ease the crisis in the peace process In the liturgical calendar, it is the Feast day of St. Kilian of Aubigny. In the 7th century, he becomes the only Irish person in the entire history of the Church to be offered the Papacy; he declines the honour.
November 14 1669 - St. Oliver Plunkett becomes Archbishop of Armagh and Primate of All Ireland Image: Head in bronze by Peter Grant 1832 - Birth near Letterkenny, Co. Donegal of Stopford Brooke, chaplain-in-ordinary to Queen Victoria, writer and literary critic 1873 - Michael Healy, stained-glass artist, illustrator and painter, is born in Dublin 1907 - Sir Francis Leopold McClintock, Irish arctic explorer, dies 1913 - Official founding date of the Provisional Committee of the Irish Volunteers 1918 - Seumas O'Kelly, playwright, novelist , short story writer , and journalist, dies 1921 - Roy McFadden, poet, is born in Belfast 1923 - W.B. Yeats receives the Nobel Prize for Literature 2000 - Teachers begin the first of eight planned days of industrial action. More than 4,200 teachers take to the picket lines in Dublin in pursuit of their 30% pay claim. Over 620 secondary schools are closed as a result of the strike Image: Esther Griffin on picket line duty outside St. Marys Secondary School, Mallow, Co.Cork. 2000 - Irate business leaders renew calls for competition on the railways as up to 50,000 commuters are left stranded by the 24 hour strike involving 138 train signal staff 2002 - Restoration work on a fountain built near Dublin in memory of Queen Victoria is halted following threats made by suspected republican paramilitaries against men carrying out the job 2002 - Ireland's first cancer patient retreat and help centre opens outside Mullingar in Co. Westmeath In the liturgical calendar, it is the feast day of St. Laurence O’Toole, the first Archbishop of Dublin and the city’s patron saint. It is on this date in 1180 that he dies at Eu in Normandy.
November 15 1881 - William Pearse, brother of Patrick, is born in Dublin 1923 - Birth of Tom Clifford, rugby player, in Ballyporeen, Co. Tipperary 1945 - Petrol for private cars goes on sale in the State again for the first time since before the War 1968 - Córas Iompair Éireann (CIE) retires its last dray horse 1985 - Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher and Irish Taoiseach Garret FitzGerald sign the Anglo-Irish Agreement (AIA) at Hillsborough Castle. It it is considered to represent the most significant development in the relationships between Britain and Ireland since the partition settlement in 1920. The Agreement is an international treaty lodged at the United Nations and supported by the House of Commons and Dáil Éireann 1998 - Bridget Dirrane, who was imprisoned with Kevin Barry and who canvassed for John F. Kennedy in the United States, celebrates her 104th birthday with news that she is to be featured in the new edition of the Guinness Book of Records. Earlier this year, Bridget received an honorary Master of Arts degree from NUI Galway which makes her the oldest person in the world to be awarded a degree 1999 - Gardaí order the cancellation of a lecture by British revisionist historian David Irving after 600 anti-fascists stage a protest at the University of Cork 2000 - Taoiseach Bertie Ahern is placed in a political minefield on the abortion issue as a Dáil committee fails to agree on the way forward. He now faces demands from the four Independents to hold a referendum on the issue 2000 - The Northern peace process is plunged into crisis when Sinn Féin president Gerry Adams announces the party will mount a legal challenge to David Trimble’s ban on its ministers attending North South meetings 2001 - Jacob's Bakery celebrates its 150th anniversary with the launch of a book detailing its history, "Jacob's Bakery - Limited Twiglets." The author, Séamas O´ Maitiú, jokes that the working title was Quaker Bakers go Crackers. The famous bakery was founded in 1851 by two Quaker brothers from Waterford, William and Rober Jacob 2002 - The number of people on waiting lists for local authority houses is set to soar following government spending cutbacks. Fresh figures show the number of applicants waiting for social housing has reached 50,000 - a 25% increase in just three years 2005 - The only remaining medal from the first All-Ireland, one of the rarest pieces of GAA memorabilia goes up for auction at Sotheby's in London.
