1732 – Birth in Castletown, Co Clare of Thomas O’Gorman, physician, wine trader and courtier in France; made a chevalier by Louis XV.

1798 – United Irishmen Rebellion: Small French force under James Napper Tandy makes brief landing on Rutland Island, Co Donegal.

1798 – Belfast United Irish leaders arrested.

1808 – William Trench, land agent and author, is born near Portarlington, Co Laois.

1830 – Birth in Leighlinbridge, Co Carlow of Patrick Moran, Archbishop of Sydney, first Australian cardinal, and church historian.

1845 – Death of Thomas Osborne Davis. He was a revolutionary Irish writer who was the chief organiser and poet of the Young Ireland movement. Thomas Davis was born in the town of Mallow in Co Cork. He studied in Trinity College, Dublin, and received an Arts degree, precursory to his being called to the Irish Bar in 1838.

1865 – Fenian newspaper, Irish People, ceases publication.

1870 – Birth in Dublin of John Pius Boland, nationalist politician and Ireland’s first Olympic gold medalist. He served as a Member of Parliament (MP) in the House of Commons of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland and as member of the Irish Parliamentary Party for South Kerry 1900–1918.

1903 – Irish author Frank O’Connor is born Michael Francis O’Connor O’Donovan in Co Cork.

1906 – Trevor G. McVeagh, cricket, hockey, squash and tennis player, is born in Athboy, Co Meath.

1920 – British double agent John Henry Gooding aka F. Digby Hardy offers to betray his superior Basil Thomson to the IRA. It is unknown if the offer was genuine or part of a trap for Michael Collins; exposed by Irish press as an ex-convict; forger and bigamist, Gooding admits his past and scores a propaganda victory for the IRA; he is allowed to flee Ireland unharmed and dies of natural causes in 1930.

1922 – Michael Kilroy’s Anti-Treaty IRA men attack Newport, Co Mayo, but fail to take it and withdraw after a day of fighting.

1922 – The IRA mounts three gun and grenade attacks in Dublin city, at Curzon Street, Capel Street and Drumcondra. Two Free Stare troops are wounded along with 5 civilians. One Civilian is killed.

1925 – Charles Haughty, Fianna Fáil leader and seventh Taoiseach of Ireland, is born in Castlebar, Co Mayo.

1934 – Singer, guitarist and founder of the Dubliners, Ronnie Drew, is born in Dublin.

1941 – Sixteen soldiers are killed in the Glen of Imaal, Co Wicklow, while testing mines.

1945 – World renowned Irish tenor, John McCormack, dies in Dublin.

1958 – Birth of Maura O’Connell. She is an Irish singer and actress. She is known for her contemporary interpretations of Irish folk songs, strongly influenced by American country music.

1961 – Hurricane Debbie hits Ireland.

1994 – The British government lifts the broadcasting ban imposed against members of Sinn Féin and Irish paramilitary groups in 1988.

1998 – Irish-owned Musgrave Group becomes the biggest food distribution company in the country after signing an historic franchise deal with supermarket chain Roches Stores.

1998 – Books of condolences opened in the aftermath of the Omagh tragedy are closed. More than 150,000 people from across Northern Ireland are estimated to have signed the books.

Photo: Dingle Peninsula, Co Kerry, George Karbus Photography

#irish #history #Ireland