1592 – A charter incorporates the College of the Holy and Undivided Trinity, near Dublin, later to become known as Trinity College.

1766 – Four pirates were found guilty in Dublin of murdering on the high seas Captain Cochrane, Captain Glass and others, and of plundering and scuttling the Lord Sandwich; they were executed in St Stephen’s Green and later hanged in chains near the Liffey, as a warning to any other pirates; complaints from the public led to the removal of the corpses to Dalkey Island.

1831 – In the ‘tithe war’, 120 police move in to Graiguenamanagh to seize cattle in payment of the tithe from a Roman Catholic priest. The priest had taken ownership of the animals to enable the members of his parish to refuse to pay ‘tithes’. This incident is reported to be the first of many over the next few years, with more violent and brutal conflicts to follow.

1916 – Robert Monteith writes to Roger Casement in Munich Hospital begging him to return to Berlin (reason not specified). Casement responded asking Monteith to come to Munich.

1918 – Birth of ‘the voice of horse racing’, Sir Peter O’Sullevan, in Co Kerry.

1920 – Frank Shawe-Taylor, land agent, was shot dead near Athenry, Co Galway.

1922 – IRA shot dead two RIC constables in Co Tipperary.

1923 – The body of a National Army sergeant, Thomas McGrath, is found near, Clonmel, Tipperary. Killed by four gunshots. He is reported to the fourth soldier assassinated in the area within a month.

1924 – During the 19th century Sackville St began to be known as ‘O’Connell St’ though this was to be considered it’s ‘nationalist’ name. Thus, the Dublin Corporation was anxious as early as the 1880s to change the name, but faced considerable objections from local residents, who in 1885 secured a Court order that the Corporation lacked the powers to make the change. The necessary powers were granted in 1890, but presumably it was felt best to allow the new name to become popular. Over the years the name O’Connell St gradually gained popular acceptance, and the name was changed officially in on this date in 1924.

1952 – Birth of comedian, actor and former schoolteacher, Dermot Morgan, in Dublin. He achieved international renown as Father Ted Crilly in the Channel 4 sitcom Father Ted. A chair was erected in memory of Dermot Morgan in Merrion Square, Dublin.

1954 – Birth of Ollie Campbell, rugby player, in Dublin.

1957 – Birth of Volunteer, Mairéad Farrell, in Belfast.

1968 – Pat McGeegan, father of boxing great and featherweight world champion, Barry McGuigan, wins the national competition to represent Ireland in the Eurovision song contest. At the time, the Eurovision song contest was a social phenomenon guaranteeing the Irish representative fame and fortune in the Emerald Isle. ‘Chance of a Lifetime’: https://youtu.be/aNX-CJuC7SY

1969 – The Cameron commission was established to consider the reasons for the unrest in Derry.

1976 – ‘Maguire Seven’ Convicted The trial of members of the Maguire family, known as the ‘Maguire Seven’, ended at the Old Bailey in London. They had been arrested on 3 December 1974. All seven defendants were found guilty of possession of explosives (although none were found). Their case was linked to that of the ‘Guildford Four’ who were found guilty at the Old Bailey on 22 October 1975 of causing explosions on 5 October 1974.) Anne Maguire was sentenced to 14 years; Patrick (Paddy) Maguire 14 years; Sean Smyth 14 years; Giuseppe Conlon 14 years; Pat O’Neill 12 years; Vincent Maguire (aged 16) 5 years; and Patrick Jnr. (aged 13) 4 years.

1977 – Brian Faulkner died in a riding accident during a hunt. Faulkner had been Prime Minister of Northern Ireland in 1971 to 1972 and had been Chief Executive in the power-sharing Executive of 1974.

1977 – Birth of Ronan Keating of Boyzone, in Dublin.

1978 – A British soldier and a Protestant civilian searcher were both killed in an IRA gun attack on a British Army pedestrian checkpoint in Donegall Street, Belfast.

1981 – Minister for Post and Telegraphs, Albert Reynolds, demonstrates a new and secure telephone booth in Tallaght, Dublin. They take 5p, 10p and 50p coins on a slanted shoot which get automatically gobbled up as you speak. The phone box is made of toughened glass with an eye to combating vandalism. At a time were there is a long wait to have a telephone line installed allegations of corruption emerged as individuals attempt to skip waiting lists. Minister Albert Reynolds addresses allegations of bribery in the Department of Post and Telegraphs saying the problem is ‘small-scale’, but investigations continue.

1981 – Bobby Sands recorded his diary for the first seventeen days of his hunger strike in which he detailed his thoughts and feelings on the momentous task that lay ahead of him. In order to secure his status as Irish political prisoner he was willing to fast til death, an event that would earn him a place in the annals of Irish history and in the hearts and minds of Irish republicans world-wide. See Bobby Sands Trust for today’s recording: http://www.bobbysandstrust.com/writings/prison-diary

1981 – Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, Humphrey Atkins, made a statement in the House of Commons in which he said that there would be no political status for prisoners regardless of the hunger strike.

1986 – There was a widespread general strike, or ‘Day of Action’, in Northern Ireland in support of Unionist demands for the ending of the Anglo-Irish Agreement (AIA). Most aspects of life across the region were disrupted as factories and shops closed. Public transport including air travel was also affected.

1989 – Michael Stone, the Loyalist gunman responsible for killing three mourners at Milltown Cemetery on 16 March 1988, was sentenced to prison for 30 years. Stone was released in 2000 under the terms of the Good Friday Agreement.

1991 – Cappagh killings: three PIRA volunteers and a Catholic civilian were shot dead by the UVF at Boyle’s Bar in Cappagh, Co Tyrone. The volunteers arrived in a car as a UVF gang was about to attack the pub. The UVF fired at the car (killing the volunteers) then fired into the pub (killing the civilian). According to nationalist sources, UVF Mid-Ulster Brigade commander Billy Wright was involved.

1997 – A bomb was found outside the office of Sinn Féin in Co Monaghan. The bomb, which contained two and a half kilos of Powergel (a commercial explosive), was defused by members of the Irish Army. There was no claim of responsibility, but the Ulster Volunteer Force (UVF) was believed to be behind the attack.

1997 – There was a meeting of the British-Irish Parliamentary body held in Dublin. At the meeting Kevin McNamara, Labour Party spokesperson on Northern Ireland, said that Roisín McAliskey, being held in prison awaiting a decision about extradition, had been strip-searched 75 times between 20 November 1996 and 16 February 1997, despite being pregnant. McNamara called for her release on bail.

1998 – Jacques Santer, President of the European Commission, announced that there would be an extra £88 million of funding for urban and rural regeneration in Northern Ireland. The announcement was welcomed by most political parties with the exception of the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) who expressed concern at how the money would be spent.

1998 – Two lifelong friends Damian Traynor (26), a Catholic civilian, and Philip Allen (34), a Protestant civilian, were shot dead and two other men injured by Loyalist paramilitaries in the Railway Bar in Poyntzpass, Co Armagh.

1999 – Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, Marjorie (Mo) Mowlam, signalled her willingness to delay the triggering of devolution until the end of March, although she warned against excessive delay in creating an Executive. Her comments came as Deputy First Minister Designate, Séamus Mallon, called on the IRA to make a statement indicating that its campaign of violence was over. He suggested that this would help to break the logjam over the decommissioning of paramilitary weapons.

2000 – The hearing of the longest ever action in the High Court ends after a total of 281 days spread over a number of law terms since its 1997 opening.

2002 – The Government has again refused to bail out RTÉ after a new consultants’ report concludes that the national broadcaster will run out of cash by next year.

2002 – It is anticipated that by 2035, total forestry production in Ireland will be €1.7 billion.

2003 – According to a survey by the Dublin Institute of Technology’s Tourism Research Centre, the US is the most desirable destination for Irish tourists. In second place is South Africa, while Italy is the favourite continental destination.

2003 – Taoiseach Bertie Ahern and British Prime Minister Tony Blair conduct talks at Hillsborough Castle in the latest bid to restore devolution and secure the Provisionals’ disarmament.

2003 – Ambulance workers in Kilkenny abandon their fleets (responding to 999 calls only) in protest over changes in their working terms which they say are being enforced by their health board.

2013 – Death of triathlete and then bicyclist, Junior Heffernan. Heffernan represented Ireland in international competitions both at the World and European championship levels in the triathlon from 2007 until 2009 when a hip injury sent him in the direction of bicycling. Prior to his setback he was widely considered to have been Ireland’s most promising triathlete. As a bicyclist Heffernan competed for the Herbalife Leisure Lakes Team. Heffernan was fatally injured in a collision during the Seven Bridges Road race near Olveston in Gloucestershire, England.

2018 – Best selling author Emma Hannigan passed away, after an 11-year battle with cancer. The Wicklow mother of two, who had cancer 10 times throughout her life, revealed that she was losing her battle in an open letter to her fans on her official Facebook page two prior.

Image | ‘Lamagan Mood’ – The river in the Annalong Valley in full flow on a moody winter’s morning in the Mourne Mountains | Hibernia Landscapes by Stephen Wallace

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