National Day of Commemoration (Lá Cuimhneacháin Náisiúnta) held on the nearest Sunday to this date commemorating all Irish people who died in past wars or United Nations peacekeeping missions.

1792 – A gathering of some ten Irish harpers and one Welsh begins in Belfast; the objective is to collect the remaining fragments of the tradition; melodies are transcribed by Edward Bunting and others See our article on the great harpist/composer O’Carolan.

1798 – United Irish Rebellion: Rebels attack Clonard, Co Meath.

1798 – Sir Joseph Larmor, mathematician, physicist and politician, is born in Magheragall, Co Antrim.

1839 – Birth of artist and engraver, William John Hennessy in Thomastown, Co Kilkenny. His father, John Hennessy, was forced to leave Ireland in 1848 as a result of his involvement in the Young Ireland movement. William, his mother Catherine, and brother joined their father in New York in 1849. Hennessy developed a skill in wood engraving and was hired to illustrate the works of renowned poets, including that of Tennyson, Longfellow and Whittier. He became the co-founder of the Artists’ Fund Society, and an honorary member of the American Society of Painters in Watercolours. In 1870 he moved to London where he became a member of the Royal Institute of Oil Painters in 1902.

1879 – Birth in Dublin of Hugh Kennedy, first Chief Justice of the Irish Free State.

1890 – Birth of William O’Dwyer, in Co Mayo. He was the 100th Mayor of New York City, holding that office from 1946 to 1950.

1920 – Alexander Will, from Forfar in Scotland, is the first Temporary Constable (Black and Tan) to die in the Irish War of Independence. He is killed during an IRA attack on the RIC barracks in Rathmore, Co Kerry.

1921 – The Truce: Actions commanded by IRA H.Q. ended in the south at midday under the Truce. Violence in the north of Ireland and unofficial violence in the south continue.

1922 – Fighting breaks out in Limerick between Pro and Anti-Treaty factions. National Army troops open fire on the Republicans holding the Ordnance Barracks.

1922 – Two Free State soldiers are killed and three wounded in an ambush at Drumkeen, Co Donegal.

1924 – Birth of footballer, Charlie Tully, in Belfast. Famous for playing with the Celtic Football Club.

1929 – Birth of David Kelly in Dublin. He was an Irish actor, who had regular roles in several film and television works from the 1950s onwards. One of the most recognisable voices and faces of Irish stage and screen, Kelly was known to Irish audiences for his role as Rashers Tierney in Strumpet City, to British audiences for his roles as Cousin Enda in Me Mammy and as the builder Mr. O’Reilly in Fawlty Towers, and to American audiences for his role as Grandpa Joe in the film Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. Another notable role was as Michael O’Sullivan in Waking Ned.

1929 – Restored General Post Office, Dublin, opened by President W. T. Cosgrave.

1932 – Extract from the minutes of a meeting of the Cabinet indicates that the Cabinet was beginning to think more globally. Development of Markets other than British: It was decided that the Acting Minister for Industry and Commerce should cause preliminary investigations to be made as to possibilities of developing markets other than British, and to report thereon in due course to the Cabinet.

1935 – Birth of Oliver Napier, politician and Alliance Party leader from 1972 to 1984.

1938 – British garrison which still controlled key Irish ports finally hands them over to the Irish army, seventeen years after the Treaty. Churchill’s view was that the ports were of strategic importance and should not have been handed over. The handover probably ensured Ireland was able to maintain neutrality during World War II, as had they stayed in British hands, it is almost certain they would have been bombed aggressively by Germany.

1962 – Birth of actress, comedienne and author, Pauline McLynn, in Co Sligo. Best known for playing Mrs Doyle in the Channel 4 sitcom Father Ted, and Libby Croker in the Channel 4 comedy drama Shameless.

1957 – Birth of Patsy O’Hara in Co Derry. He was an Irish republican hunger striker and member of the Irish National Liberation Army (INLA) who died on hunger strike on the H Blocks on 21 May 1981.

1967 – Censorship Act lifts the ban on certain books that had been banned for more than a decade.

1986 – U2 plays at the Half Moon Club in London; it’s the first time they sell out a venue in the U.K.

1999 – A immense security operation swings into action as tens of thousands of Orangemen prepare to parade into Ormeau Park in the flashpoint south Belfast area on the banks of the River Lagan.

1999 – Hundreds of train travellers are left stranded in Cork despite advance warnings by Ianroad Eireann management of an unofficial dispute by locomotive operators.

1999 – One hundred and fifty Irish war veterans gather for the annual commemoration ceremony at the Royal Kilmainham Hospital in honour of Irish soldiers killed on UN peace keeping duties and on foreign battlefields.

2000 – The world’s top golfers, including Tiger Woods and David Duval, begin play at the JP McManus Invitation Pro Am in Limerick.

2000 – A public health seafood scare leads to a temporary ban on the collection and harvesting of shellfish in Dungarvan, Co Waterford.

2000 – For the first time in its history, the Dáil elects to appoint a parliamentary law adviser. Miss Lia O’Hegarty is chosen to fill the position.

2001 – 11-13: The worst rioting for several years took place in Belfast.

2007 – Artist Patrick Scott was honoured by President Mary McAleese as Saoi in Aosdána at the Arts Council office, in Merrion Square, Dublin. The President presented Scott, a founder member of Aosdána, with a gold torc, the symbol of the office of Saoi. No more than five members may hold this honour at any one time. Born in Kilbrittain, Co Cork, in 1921, Scott worked on the mosaics in Busáras and had painted full-time since 1960. He passed away on 14 February 2014.

Photo: Kilmogue Portal Tomb and Dolmen (Leac an Scail), Co Kilkenny © Stair na hÉireann

#irish #history #Ireland