Today is Lúghnasa; in the old days this was the Feast of the god Lúgh, a thirty-day agrarian celebration with 1 August at the center. It is also the first day of Autumn in the Celtic Calendar.

August Bank Holiday

Celebration of the Slavery Abolition Act 1833 which ended slavery in the British Empire.

1166 – Dermot MacMurrough, King of Leinster and ally of Muirchertach Mac Lochlainn, is defeated in battle by Rory O’Connor and forced to flee from Ireland.

1535 – John Travers, Chancellor of St Patrick’s Cathedral, is executed for high treason at Oxmantown Green for conspiring with Lord Offaly.

1649 – Jones defeats Ormond at Rathmines, ending royalist hopes of taking Dublin.

1714 – Following the death of Queen Anne, George I accedes to the throne. The second Irish parliament of Anne’s reign is thereby dissolved.

1800 – The Act of Union dissolves the Irish parliament and transfers legislative powers to Westminster.

1822 – Irish Constabulary Act sets up county police forces and salaried magistracy.

1837 – Mary Harris “Mother” Jones, union activist is born in Cork. Jones who was once deemed “the most dangerous woman in America” because of her union activities. Loved by the labour movement, she suffered major tragedies in her own life losing her husband and four children to Yellow Fever and then some years later losing everything in the Chicago Fire. A lengthy biography at AFLCIO.org states “In June 1897, after Mary addressed the railway union convention, she began to be referred to as “Mother” by the men of the union. The name stuck. That summer, when the 9,000-member Mine Workers called a nationwide strike of bituminous (soft coal) miners and tens of thousands of miners laid down their tools, Mary arrived in Pittsburgh to assist them. She became “Mother Jones” to millions of working men and women across the country for her efforts on behalf of the miners. Mother Jones was so effective the Mine Workers sent her into the coalfields to sign up miners with the union. She agitated in the anthracite fields of eastern Pennsylvania, the company towns of West Virginia and the harsh coal camps of Colorado.”

1851 – The Ecclesiastical Titles Act forbids Catholic bishops to assume ecclesiastical titles taken from any place in the United Kingdom.

1872 – Gladstone’s first Land Act, decreeing that tenants who were evicted be compensated for improvements and that tenant who were evicted for any reason other than nonpayment of rent should also be compensated.

1908 – Irish Universities Act setting up the National University of Ireland passed.

1910 – Birth of Cathal Gannon in Dublin He was a harpsichord maker, a fortepiano restorer and an amateur horologist. Born into a craftsmen family of carpenters, many of whom worked in the famous Guinness Brewery. Trinity College Dublin gave Cathal an honorary MA degree for his contribution to the authentic performance of early music in Ireland.

1915 – Nationalist Jeremiah O’Donovan Rossa is buried in Glasnevin cemetery, Dublin.

1920 – On various dates in August, members of the IRA and the Volunteers swore allegiance to Dáil Éireann; previously they had sworn to obey their Executive Councils.

1931 – Seán Ó Riada, born John Reidy in Cork City, was a composer and bandleader, and perhaps the single most influential figure in the renaissance of traditional Irish music from the 1960s, through his participation in Ceoltóirí Chualann, his compositions, his writings and his broadcasts on the topic.

1938 – Birth of Paddy Moloney, one of the founders of the Irish musical group The Chieftains and has played on every one of their albums.

1980 – Buttevant Rail Disaster kills 18 and injures dozens of train passengers in Co Cork.

1981 – After 71 days on hunger strike, Kevin Lynch dies at Long Kesh prison.

1986 – Death of James Horan (b. Partry, Co Mayo), a late Parish Priest of Knock. He is most widely known for his successful campaign to bring an airport to Knock, his work on Knock Basilica, and is also credited for inviting Pope John Paul II to visit Knock Shrine in 1979.

2001 – One of Ireland’s best loved actors, Joe Lynch, dies after being taken ill at his holiday home in Spain. Joe Lynch, was an Irish actor who enjoyed a long career in both serious drama and light comedy. He also did voice work for children’s animated series, in particular Chorlton and the Wheelies for which he performed the theme tune. He had a fine singing voice and composed songs, such as for the movie Johnny Nobody (1961). He also recorded the work of other songwriters, including Leo Maguire’s “The Whistling Gypsy” and Dick Farrelly’s “Cottage by the Lee”, one of Joe’s biggest 1950s recordings.

2007 – Death of Tommy Makem, an internationally celebrated Irish folk musician, artist, poet and storyteller. He was best known as a member of The Clancy Brothers and Tommy Makem. He played the long-necked 5-string banjo, guitar, tin whistle, and bagpipes, and sang in a distinctive baritone. He was sometimes known as “The Bard of Armagh” (taken from a traditional song of the same name) and “The Godfather of Irish Music”.

Photo: Ross Bay, Co Clare, Peter Cox Photography

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