Phelim Roe O’Neill or Féilim Rua Ó Néill – was an Irish leader, from the famous O’Neill family, who led the Irish Rebellion of 1641 in Ulster on 23 October when the Irish rebels attacked Protestant plantation settlements and took garrison towns held by the Irish Army. The Plantation of Ulster was the organised colonisation […]
It was founded at the Imperial Hotel in Castlebar; Charles Stewart Parnell was elected president of the league. Andrew Kettle, Michael Davitt, and Thomas Brennan were appointed as honorary secretaries. This united practically all the different strands of land agitation and tenant rights movements under a single organisation. Michael Davitt – Mícheál Mac Dáibhéid […]
It is one of the lesser known of Germany’s monstrous crimes in World War Two, but today, nonetheless, is the 79th anniversary of the massacre at Kragujavac. Two thousand, seven hundred and seventy eight Serbian men and boys were shot, in cold blood, at point blank range by German soldiers, having first been made dig […]
After serving 15 years in prison, the “Guildford Four” – Gerard Conlon, Patrick Armstrong, Carole Richardson and Paul Hill – are released for the wrongful conviction of the Guildford pub bombings in 1974. It is considered to be one of the biggest-ever miscarriages of justice in Britain. During the trial of the “Balcombe Street […]
King Ferdinand II of Aragon married Queen Isabella I of Castille on this day, October 19th, 1469. The marriage unified the two Kingdoms into one, creating the Kingdom of Spain, which exists to this day. As you can see in the map above, at the time of the the marriage, modern Spain was divided in […]
ON THIS DAY: 18TH OCTOBER 1899: Death of Eoghan Ó Gramhnaigh (Fr. Eugene O’Growney) He was an Irish priest and scholar, and a key figure in the Gaelic revival of the late 19th century. As a young boy he was very interested in the Irish language and after being ordained a priest, became an editor […]
The Plan of Campaign was adopted in Ireland between 1886 and 1891, organised by John Dillon and others in the Irish National League, for the benefit of tenant farmers, against mainly absentee and rack-rent landlords and the tyrannical regime of enforced massive rents and evictions. Dillon was among those who organised a campaign whereby tenants […]
Margarethe Zelle, known to history as Mata Hari, was executed by firing squad by the French Government on this day, October 15th, 1917, after admitting to being a spy for the German Empire. She is one of history’s best known spies. An exotic dancer and courtesan, Zelle was born in the Netherlands in 1876. She […]
It was founded by the ‘Callan Curates’ Father Matt O’Keefe and Father Tom O’Shea from Cappahayden, near Callan.’ Fr Tom O’Shea’s importance is emphasised in Callan County Kilkenny: A Short Guide to its History, Monuments and People (Callan Heritage Society). In this volume, Joseph Kennedy writes: “The Callan Tenant Protection Society which was founded […]
The Battle of Hastings, which decided the fate of England, was fought on this day, October 14th, 1066, between the Anglo Saxon forces of the English King Harold Godwineson, and the Norman army of the Pretender, William the Bastard, Duke of Normandy. The battle ended with a decisive victory for William, and the death of […]
On 23 May,1923, the Irish Civil War officially ended, but many republican prisoners were kept in prison by the newly-established Free-State government, with some 12,000 men and women in prison in camps such as the Curragh and Gormanstown, and in Mountjoy and Cork Jail. Conditions were generally poor for the prisoners, and Senator W.B. Yeats […]
ON THIS DAY: 12 OCTOBER 1645: Archbishop Rinuccini arrives in Ireland to offer assistance to O’Neill and the Irish Confederate Catholics in their war against English Protestant rule He wrote this letter to his brother, describing the Irish he met: “The men are fine-looking and of incredible strength, swift runners, and ready to bear every […]