Feast of Saint Brigid of Kildare – Naomh Bríd – (c. 450 – 525) one of Ireland’s patron saints. She was an early Irish Christian nun, abbess, and foundress of several monasteries of nuns, including that of Kildare, which was famous and revered. Her feast day is shared by Dar Lugdach, who tradition says was […]
ON THIS DAY: Bloody Sunday – 14 civilians were shot dead on the streets of Derry by the British Parachute Regiment on 30th January 1972. They had been taking part in a civil rights march against internment without trial. 26 civilians were shot; 13 were killed outright while the death of another man happened four […]
This Sunday sees the 50th anniversary of the murders of 14 innocent civilians who were shot dead by soldiers of the British Parachute regiment during a civil rights march in Derry on January 30, 1972. Thirteen died that day, with one man, John Johnston dying later from injuries. The killings sparked a wave of outrage […]
Today, the Cork Fenian Society will host a commemoration to mark the 200th anniversary of Cath Chéim an Fhia (Battle of Keimaneigh), a battle between Irish tenant farmers – organized in secret, agrarian reform societies known chiefly as The Whiteboys and The Rockites – against the British militia in 1822. On a frigid January 22 […]
ON THIS DAY: 22 January 1925: Birth of Raymond Crotty, Economist, writer, academic, political activist and farmer who advocated against Ireland’s membership of the EU Raymond Crotty was born in Kilkenny into a family of 5 brothers and 5 sisters. While a student in St. Kieran’s College he began breeding pigs in his spare time, […]
An encounter between eight young volunteers from the 1st Battallion IRA and a large body of the Black and Tans took place at Tolka Bridge in Drumcondra on 21 January 1921 during the War of Independence. The volunteers set out to ambush the Royal Irish Constabulary patrol which used that road to travel from their […]
The St Vincent de Paul Society who ran a Free Night Shelter in Dublin City centre released figures for the year to date. They indicated there were a total of 16,785 admissions the previous year year (1920), a 5,180 increase on the year previous to that. In addition the number of free meals supplied has […]
The mother of Bobby Sands MP died this day in 2018. She was 95. She was born in the Markets area of south Belfast in 1922 and her father died when she was just 12 years old. The young Rosaleen Kelly was set to emigrate to New Zealand, with a job lined up at the […]
Thomas Ashe trained as a teacher and worked as a school principal in Lusk, Co. Dublin. He was a poet, piper and talented singer and having being reared in the Gaeltacht in Kerry, was an avid supporter of the Irish language. This brought him to the governing body of the Gaelic League, he was also […]
William Higgins was born in Drumlish, the thirteenth and youngest child, of William and Elizabeth Higgins. Initially he was educated by his mother and that would form his early formation. The rising of 1798 was deeply impressed on the mind of the young boy. The Longford Leader’s article on the unveiling of a statue in […]
Clansmen and women of native Irish families were lured to discuss terms with the English at Mullaghmast, Co. Kildare. To the famous Rath at Mullaghmast which has figured in Irish history from as far back as 82AD. The site consists of a raised circular rampart breached at two sides allowing grazing cattle to wander through […]
Daniel Breen – Dónall Ó Braoin – was a volunteer in the Irish Republican Army during the Irish War of Independence and the Irish Civil War. He was born in Grange, Donohill parish, County Tipperary, his father died when Dan was six, leaving the family very poor. He was educated locally, before becoming a plasterer […]