1366 – Statutes of Kilkenny promulgated.

1887 – Ireland wins its first ever game in international soccer beating Wales 4-1 in Belfast. Prior to 1921 and the partition of the country, Ireland was represented by one national team.

1904 – Birth on the Great Blasket Island of writer Muiris Ó Suilleabhain who is best known for his book, ‘Twenty Years A-Growing’.

1921 – Three British soldiers (privates) of the Oxford Regiment were found by IRA men, unarmed and wearing civilian clothes near Feakle, Co Clare. The soldiers said they were deserters but the IRA suspected they were spies, shot them and dumped their bodies near Woodford.

1923 – Anti-Treaty officer Thomas O’Sullivan, head of the local IRA battalion, is shot dead by Free State troops near Dingle.

1939 – De Valera states his intention to preserve Irish neutrality in the event of a second world war.

1942 – Birth of Phil Coulter in Co Derry. He is an artist with an international reputation as a successful songwriter, pianist, music producer, arranger and director. His success has spanned over four decades and he is one of the biggest record sellers in Ireland.

1987 – A general election in the Republic returns a Fianna Fáil government with Haughey as Taoiseach.

1992 – US government deports Joseph Doherty, volunteer Oglaigh na hÉireann.

1999 – Agriculture Minister Joe Walsh launches an ambitious bid to cushion the impact on Ireland of huge cuts in EU beef subsidies as the deadline for sweeping CAP reforms nears.

1999 – Families of missing IRA murder victims plead with Sinn Féin leaders to use their influence with the IRA to find out where the dead are buried.

1999 – The hearing of an application by Sinn Féin for an injunction restraining the party’s expulsion from the Northern Ireland negotiations resumes at the High Court.

2000 – Four peacekeepers killed in an automobile accident in Lebanon – Privates Declan Deere, Brendan Fitzpatrick, Jonathan Murphy and John Lawlor – are laid to rest in their native towns.

2001 – According to the latest price survey, taxes make price of Irish cars highest in the EU.

2001 – A 4ft limestone rock is unveiled at the entrance to Villierstown in west Waterford which is famous for the heroic exploits and achievements of John Treacy. Weighing a massive eight and a quarter tons, the stone, which came from the nearby quarry at Cappagh, bears the surnames of all 84 families living in the village and the immediate surrounding townlands as of 1 January 2000.

2003 – Taoiseach Bertie Ahern says a second United Nations resolution before any military action against Iraq is a political imperative. But Mr Ahern is still refusing to state whether the Government will halt the use of Shannon Airport by the US military if the Bush administration undertakes unilateral action against Saddam Hussein without UN backing.

2015 – Death of Former Limerick mayor Frank Prendergast. As a politician, trade unionist, historian, gaeilgeoir, sportsman and more besides Frank Prendergast’s expertise had been relied upon by the boards of dozens of state bodies, local and regional government organisations, sports clubs, educational institutions, community.

Photo: The Giants Causeway, Co Antrim, Captive Landscapes by Stephen Emerson

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