1649 – Siege of Drogheda ends: The first siege occurred during the Irish Rebellion of 1641, when Phelim O’Neill and the insurgents failed to take the town. The second more famous siege happened in 1649 during the Cromwellian conquest of Ireland, when the New Model Army under Oliver Cromwell took the town by storm and massacred its garrison, and many civilians.

1714 – Siege of Barcelona: Barcelona, capital city of Catalonia, surrenders to Spanish and French Bourbon armies in the War of the Spanish Succession. The war’s end in 1714, with the surrender of the pro-Archduke forces to a Franco-Spanish army, marks a two century long period of greater suppression of Catalan autonomy that mirrored the greater centralisation of the various monarchies of the European continent. With the War of the Spanish Succession completed, Spain evolved from a de facto unified kingdom to a centralised de jure one. The defenders of the city were buried in a cemetery, now a plaza, Fossar de les Morris, where Catalans gather every 11 September, known as the National Day of Catalonia or la Diada. (In solidarity with our Catalonian friends)

1766 – John Bligh, former MP for Athboy, who suffers from the delusion that he is a teapot, marries suddenly and unexpectedly at nearly 50 years of age. Between now and his death in 1781 he will father at least seven children, ‘in spite of his initial alarm that his spout would come off in the night’.

1838 – Birth of John Ireland in Burnchurch, Co Kilkenny. He was the third bishop and first archbishop of Saint Paul, Minnesota (1888-1918). He became both a religious as well as civic leader in Saint Paul during the turn of the century. Ireland was known for his progressive stance on education, immigration and relations between church and state as well as his conservative stance towards drinking and political corruption. He is also remembered for his acrimonious relations with Greek Catholics. He created or helped to create many religious and educational institutions in Saint Paul and Washington, D.C.

1921 – De Valera received nationalist delegations from counties Down, Derry, Antrim and the city of Belfast who expressed anxiety at partition. Referring to the unionists, one Protestant member of the Belfast delegation said that “partition would place power in the hands of those responsible for the pogroms”.

1922 – Proportional representation for local elections is abolished in Northern Ireland.

1922 – A Free State column travelling from Macroom, Cork, towards Kerry, is attacked with a mine on a bridge at Carrigphooka, west Cork. National Army commandant Tom Keogh and eight other soldiers are killed in the blast. A Republican prisoner is shot dead in reprisal by Dublin Guard troops.

1983 – First Episode of Glenroe airs on RTÉ. You kind of had to be there. Glenroe was one of RTÉ’s most popular productions featuring a wonderful cast of character based in rural Ireland. The show would run for eighteen years. The following clip of the opening credits will bring back memories for many. It is worth noting the comments to show what Glenroe meant to so many: http://youtu.be/SePNWYpb-NQ

1998 – British troops are withdrawn from the streets of Belfast in response to the ongoing republican and loyalist cease-fires.

1998 – The Northern Ireland Office announces that more than 200 loyalist and republican prisoners will be freed from Long Kesh Prison before the end of the year.

1998 – The Northern Ireland Office announces that more than 200 loyalist and republican prisoners will be freed from the Maze Prison before the end of the year.

2000 – Gina Adair, the wife of jailed loyalist paramilitary boss Johnny Adair is thrown out of the public gallery after disrupting proceedings at the Northern Ireland Assembly.

2000 – Picturesque Kenmare completes a unique double by becoming the first town in the country to take the prize as both Ireland’s Tidiest Town and Ireland’s Best Kept Town.

2001 – President Mary McAleese goes on RTÉ Radio to express her shock and horror at the terrorist attacks in the US. In the wake of the attacks, the government immediately begins reviewing security arrangements.

2002 – In a gesture of support and solidarity, schools, shops and businesses come to a symbolic halt at 1.46pm – the precise moment, Irish time, that the first terrorist hijacked plane hit the North Tower of the World Trade Center in NYC in 2001.

2008 – The Irish government-owned training yacht Asgard sinks in the Bay of Biscay, off the coast of France. All crew and trainees are rescued by the French coastguard after managing to get onto life rafts. They are taken to a hotel on the nearby island of Belle Isle where they are recovering from their ordeal. Trainees pay up to 430 euros to spend a week on board the vessel, which has taken part in Tall Ships events.

Photo: Giant Causeway Coast, Co Antrim, Steven Hanna Photography

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