Thomas Clarke was born in Hampshire in the UK to Irish parents. They moved back to Dungannon when Thomas was 7 years old and the family spent the rest of his youth there. When he was 20, he joined the IRB and quickly rose to prominence, becoming head of the local IRB circle. He was […]
On the 5th February 1981, republican prisoners in Long Kesh issued a statement to the British government that unless the prisoners were awarded special category status, there could be further hunger strikes. There had been several smaller strikes in the Maze and Armagh Women’s Prison previously following the tradition of Thomas Ashe, Terence MacSwiney, Frank […]
The European Parliament called for the legalisation of abortion in Ireland. The opinion, passed in Strasbourg by 321 votes to 122; it carried no legislative weight but provoked a storm of political controversy. It was not the first and wouldn’t be the last time institutions within the European Union would admonish Ireland for it’s pro-life […]
The Fenian Rising of 1867 nó Éirí Amach na bhFíníní was a rebellion against British rule in Ireland, organised by the Irish Republican Brotherhood. The Fenians were a transatlantic association consisting of the IRB, founded in Dublin by James Stephens in 1858, and the Fenian Brotherhood, founded in the United States by John O’Mahony and […]
The Spanish flu pandemic of 1918, the deadliest in history, infected an estimated 500 million people worldwide—about one-third of the planet’s population—and killed an estimated 20 million to 50 million victims, including some 675,000 Americans. Though the original origin of the virus is disputed, the first known case was reported at a military base in […]
Britain and France declare war on China; It is the second major war in the Opium Wars, fought over issues relating to the exportation of opium to China, and resulted in a second defeat for the Qing dynasty. The First Opium War began in 1839 and was fought over illegal opium trade, financial reparations and […]
Tithe Wars nó as Gaeilge Cogadh na nDeachúna. People were obliged by law to pay Tithes for the upkeep of the Church of Ireland, which was the official state sanctioned Church. What was ‘owed’ could be taken in the form of money, land, rent, produce or livestock. Struggling farmers did not want to be forced […]
Following on from our post on Friday night which discussed the vicious Shankill butchers (a loyalist gang connected with the UVF); a Catholic civilian Francis Rice, (24), was abducted, beaten, tortured and had his throat cut almost through to the spine. His torture and death was described as grotesque and obscene. His body was found […]
James Prior, Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, announced that a full public inquiry would take place into the matters surrounding the Kincora Scandal. The Kincora Boys’ Home was a boys’ home in Belfast, that was the scene of serious organised child sexual abuse, causing a scandal and attempted cover-up in 1980, with credible allegations […]
A writer from the Illustrated London News describes what he sees in Clonakilty ““I started from Cork, by the mail (says our informant), for Skibbereen and saw little until we came to Clonakilty, where the coach stopped for breakfast; and here, for the first time, the horrors of the poverty became visible, in the vast […]
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 […]
Thomas MacDonagh was born in Cloughjordan, Co Tipperary, to Joseph MacDonagh, a schoolmaster, and Mary Parker. He grew up in a household filled with music, poetry and learning and was instilled with a love of both English and Irish culture from a young age. A member of the Gaelic League, he was a teacher and […]