In the old Celtic calendar, today is Sheelah’s Day.

1736 – The Irish House of Commons condemns tithe of adjustment on pasturage for dry and barren cattle.

1768 – Death of Laurence Sterne. He was an Anglo-Irish novelist and an Anglican clergyman, born in Clonmel, Co Tipperary . He is best known for his novels The Life and Opinions of Tristram Shandy, Gentleman and A Sentimental Journey Through France and Italy; but he also published many sermons, wrote memoirs, and was involved in local politics. Sterne died in London after years of fighting consumption.

1800 – Harriet Smithson, actress and wife of the composer Hector Berlioz, is born in Ennis, Co. Clare.

1801 – Ambrose O’Higgins, Viceroy of Peru, dies in Lima.

1825 – In accordance with the Unlawful Societies Act, the Grand Orange Lodge advises its members that further meetings would be in violation of the law.

1921 – (18–19) Burgery Ambush: West Waterford IRA under Pax Whelan, George Lennon and George Plunkett from Dublin HQ, ambushed a convoy of Black and Tans returning to Dungarvan via the Burgery. One Black and Tan, Redman, was killed along with 2 IRA Volunteers (Pat Keating and Sean Fitzgerald).

1921 – An IRA firing squad executed Dungarvan RIC Constable Michael Hickey. Affixed to his tunic was the notation “police spy”. He was later interred, upon the intercession of the parish priest, in an unmarked grave, belonging to his fiancee’s family, at St. Mary’s Roman Catholic Church, Dungarvan.

1922 – In Belfast, the RIC and USC raided the IRA’s headquarters, seizing weapons and names of IRA members. The Provisional Government in Dublin condemned this action as a breach of the truce. Meanwhile, four people were killed in the city.

1932 – The order outlawing the IRA is allowed to lapse.

1949 – Birth in Belfast of Alex ‘Hurricane’ Higgins, snooker player and two-time world-champion.

1952 – Pat Eddery, jockey, is born in Blackrock, Co Dublin.

1952 – Birth of Bernie Tormé (born Bernard Tormey) in Dublin. He is a rock guitarist, singer, songwriter, record label and recording studio owner. Tormé was influenced by Jimi Hendrix, Jeff Beck, Rory Gallagher, and Gary Moore of Thin Lizzy. His first paid performance came when Don Harris, a 14-year-old drummer he played alongside when he was 17, secured a gig at the local Girl Guides’ dance in Kilmainham in Dublin. The Bernie Tormé Band toured with The Boomtown Rats and Generation X among many others. Tormé has since revealed that he secured the supporting band slot with the Boomtown Rats by agreeing to go around London putting up posters advertising the tour.

1954 – Sr. Cindy Turner DCV is born.

1982 – Death of Patrick (Paddy) Smith. He was an Irish politician who served in a number of government positions under Éamon de Valera and Seán Lemass. He holds the distinction of being the longest-serving member of Dáil Éireann, having been a member for 53 years, 11 months. Born in Bailieborough, Co Cavan, Smith was involved in the 1916 Easter Rising and later in the Irish Republican Army, during the War of Independence.

1998 – The funeral of Hugh Coveney, politician and former Lord Mayor of Cork, takes place at St Michael’s Church in Blackrock.

1998 – Founder and executive director of the Chernobyl Children’s Project charity, Adi Roche, is awarded the Frantsysk Skrayna Order by Belarus’s envoy to Britain and Ireland, Uladzimir Shchasny. It is the country’s highest honour and the first time it has been given to a foreigner.

1999 – The funeral of murdered human rights lawyer, Rosemary Nelson, takes place at St. Peter’s Church in Lurgan.

2000 – The end of a 30 year ban fails to bring huge numbers of people out to see the controversial cult movie, A Clockwork Orange.

2000 – Geneva-based financier and professional gambler, JP McManus jumps almost 20 places to 13th in The Sunday Times Irish rich list, with an estimated worth of more than £300 million.

2016 – High Court declared that the area of Moore Street, where the 1916 heroes made their last stand, should be declared a National Monument. It is a blow to the Government which claimed the area of Moore Street in central Dublin was not a national monument.

Image | Mount Errigal, Co Donegal, viewed from a gap in the rocks on Gola Island, Anthony Murphy Photography @ Mythical Ireland

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