World Suicide Prevention Day – #WSPD

1315 – Battle of Connor: Major victory for Edward the Bruce in his invasion of Ulster.

1602 – “Red” Hugh O’Donnell dies in Simancas, Spain; evidence suggests he was poisoned by an English spy.

1649 – Oliver Cromwell seizes Drogheda.

1763 – The Freeman’s Journal is founded in Dublin by Charles Lucas.

1831 – Jeremiah O’Donovan Rossa is born in Rosscarbery, Co Cork.

1842 – Death of politician, William Hobson. Born in Co Waterford, he served as the first Governor of New Zealand. He was a co-author of the Treaty of Waitangi.

1850 – In Thurles, it is the final day of the first canonical synod of the Irish church, summoned by Paul Cullen.

1919 – Dáil Éireann is suppressed as a ‘dangerous association’ by the British government and membership is deemed to be a crime.

1923 – The Irish Free State is admitted into the League of Nations.

1842 – Death of Waterford born William Hobson, naval officer and the first Governor of New Zealand when it was designated a separate colony of Great Britain in 1840.

1942 – Birth of singer, Danny Hutton, in Buncrana, Co Donegal. Best known as one of the three lead vocalists in the band Three Dog Night, Hutton was a songwriter and singer for Hanna Barbera Records from 1965-66. Hutton had a modest national hit, “Roses and Rainbows,” during his tenure as a recording artist for Hanna-Barbera Records. Hutton is the father of Dash Hutton, the drummer in the American rock band Haim.

1956 – Birth of musician, Johnnie Fingers, in Dublin. He is a keyboardist and co founding member (along with Bob Geldof) of the new wave band, The Boomtown Rats. He was notable for his attire of striped pyjamas on stage as well as his melodic piano style.

1958 – Birth of Siobhan Fahey in Dunshaughlin, Co Meath. She was a founding member of the 1980s British girl group Bananarama, and later founded the musical outfit Shakespeare’s Sister.

1963 – Birth of Marian Keyes, an Irish novelist and non-fiction writer, best known for her work in women’s literature. She is an Irish Book Awards winner. Over 22 million copies of her novels have been sold worldwide and her books have been translated into 32 languages. She became known worldwide for the best-sellers, Watermelon, Lucy Sullivan is Getting Married, and This Charming Man, with themes including domestic violence and alcoholism.

1972 – Three British soldiers were killed in a land mine attack near Dungannon, Co Tyrone.

1973 – There were two bomb attacks at train stations in London; the attacks were carried out by the IRA. At 1.00pm a small bomb exploded at King’s Cross Railway Station, London. At 1.05pm the Press Association received a phone call warning of a bomb at Euston Railway Station. At 1.15pm another small bomb (estimated at 2-5 lbs of explosives) exploded outside the Rail Bar at Euston Station, London. There were no deaths but 12 people were injured in the blast.

1976 – Roy Mason succeeded Merlyn Rees as Secretary of Sate for Northern Ireland. Mason was to oversee a period involving a much more severe security regime in the region.

1984 – Douglas Hurd replaced James Prior as Secretary of State for Northern Ireland. Rhodes Boyson became the Minister of State at the Northern Ireland Office (NIO).

1985 – The first heart transplant takes place in Ireland.

1986 – There was a ministerial reshuffle at the Northern Ireland Office (NIO). Nicholas Scott was promoted to Minster of State and Deputy Secretary of State while Peter Viggers replaced Rhodes Boyson at Economic Development.

1987 – The third leg of the U2 Joshua Tree tour opens in New York’s Nassau Coliseum.

1993 – Three RUC detectives who had been involved in the original ‘UDR (Ulster Defence Regiment) Four’ case were themselves sent for trial.

1994 – Five IRA prisoners, together with a sixth prisoner, attempted to escape from Whitemoor jail in Cambridgeshire, England. On 22 September 1994 the prison authorities found plastic explosive and detonators at the prison.

1995 – There were disturbances involving GAA supporters and Orange Order members at a parade in the village of Dunloy, Co Antrim. Four RUC officers and several civilians were injured during the clashes.

1996 – The two governments, British and Irish, decided that the Progressive Unionist Party (PUP) and the Ulster Democratic Party (UDP) were not in breach of the ‘Mitchell Principles’ and therefore could remain in the talks at Stormont.

1997 – Mary McAleese, a Pro-Vice Chancellor at Queen’s University of Belfast, announced that she would enter the contest to become the Fianna Fáil nomination for President of Ireland. She was successful and went on to win the Presidential election.

1998 – Students queue for food at an emergency soup kitchen and advice centre, set up in a bid to ease the impact of the stress and strain caused by one of the greatest accommodation shortages ever experienced in Dublin.

1998 – Gerry Adams and David Trimble finally come face-to-face in a historic move aimed to bring to an end decades of mistrust between the two sides.

1998 – Chief Constable of the RUC, Ronnie Flanagan, announced that British army patrols in Belfast would cease from the weekend because of the reduced threat from paramilitaries.

2001 – Westport, Co Mayo wins the Tidy Towns competition.

2001 – The first part of the protest by Loyalists at the Holy Cross Girls’ Primary School passed off quietly as Catholic children and parents made their way into the school along a security cordon. However, as the parents returned from the school the protest turned noisy and more abusive. Protesters used air horns (klaxons), blew whistles, and banged metal bin lids, as the Catholic parents made their way back down the Ardoyne Road. Some of the Loyalist protesters shouted “Fenian scum” at the parents. This was day 6 of the most recent protest.

2001 – Richard Haass, a United States special envoy, held a meeting with Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, John Reid, in London about the political situation in Northern Ireland. The two men also discussed the protest at the Holy Cross Girls’ Primary School in north Belfast.

2001 – A senior member of Sinn Féin (SF), Gerry Kelly, introduced a private members’ motion in the Northern Ireland Assembly proposing that the “Assembly supports the right to education of children attending the Holy Cross Primary School in north Belfast”. Unionist members proposed an ammendment to the motion to make it apply to all schools in the area. The amended motion was passed by the Assembly.

2007 – Death of politician, Joe Sherlock. Born in Co Cork, he was a member of Sinn Féin, then of the Workers’ Party, later of Democratic Left and finally of the Labour Party, he was a Teachta Dála (TD) for Cork East from 1981 to 1982, 1987 to 1992 and 2002 to 2007.

Image | Muc Island, Islandmagee, Co Antrim | Hibernia Landscapes by Stephen Wallace

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