1790 – In an election for Speaker of the Irish parliament, John Foster defeats William Brabazon Ponsonby by 145 votes to 105.

1798 – United Irishmen Rebellion: Rebels defeat small force of Yeomanry at Ballraheen Hill; they move to camp at Croghan.

1798 – United Irishmen Rebellion: Execution of Father John Murphy.

1800 – The Act of Union is passed which united the Kingdom of Great Britain and the Kingdom of Ireland to create the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland. The act meant Ireland lost its own independent Parliament and was now to be ruled from England. It would not be until 1922 before Ireland regained legislative independence. The Irish state came into being in 1922 as the Irish Free State, a dominion of the British Commonwealth, having seceded from the United Kingdom under the Anglo-Irish Treaty. It comprises 26 of the island of Ireland’s 32 counties. The 1937 constitution renamed the state Ireland. In 1949 it explicitly became a republic, definitively ending its tenuous membership of the British Commonwealth. In 1973 it joined the European Communities.

1819 – Birth of barrister and writer, Edward Vaughan Kenealy, in Cork.

1863 – More than six hundred men of the Irish Brigade fight at Gettysburg, losing one-third of their number in The Wheatfield. The Irish Brigade suffered severe losses during the Civil War, initially starting with over 2,500 volunteers. The Brigade distinguished itself in numerous conflicts including Chancellorsville, Fair Oaks and Fredericksburg.

1869 – Birth of one of Ireland’s greatest ever tennis players, Joshua Prine, who won the Wimbledon singles in 1893 and 1894.

1874 – Isaac Butt’s Home Rule motion was defeated in the House of Commons 458-6.

1903 – One of the greatest motoring events is held in Ireland – the Gordon Bennett Race, sponsored by James Gordon Bennett, owner of the New York Herald. Under the rules, the races were hosted in the country of the previous year’s winner. As the races were between national teams, it led to the reorganisation and standardisation of national racing colours. Reputedly as a concession to Ireland where the 1903 race was run (racing was illegal on British public roads), the British adopted shamrock green which became known as British racing green, although the winning Napier of 1902 had already worn Olive Green. Britain had to choose a different colour to its usual national colours of red, white and blue, as these had already been taken by Italy, Germany and France respectively.

1920 – Newtown Cross Ambush in Co Tipperary: A four man RIC patrol was making its way back from Cashel to its Barracks at Ballinure when it was ambushed midway between Dualla village and the Barracks. Sergeant Robert Tobin was killed and Constable Brady was wounded. (He had volunteered for service early in the war and joined the Irish Guards and was wounded in action abroad. Michael Burke, who lived about three miles from the scene, was arrested on 9 August 1920 to await trial by court-martial for the incident. it was alleged that at the time of his arrest he had in his possession an automatic revolver which had been removed from constable Maloney, another member of the ambushed patrol.

1922 – In Dublin, the Republican garrison of thirty men in Moran’s hotel on the corner of Gardiner street and Talbot street surrender after being shelled at close range by artillery.

1922 – Fighting breaks out in Boyle, Co Roscommon, when Republicans attack Free State held buildings. Casualties include National Army officer Michael Dockery. Fighting continues in Boyle for three more days.

1922 – The Free State garrison in Ballyjamesduff barracks in Co Cavan is attacked with rifle fire and grenades. There are no casualties. Barracks are also attacked at Balyshannon and Cordonoagh and troops’ arms are taken by anti-Treaty fighters.

1954 – Birth of bassist, record producer and composer, Patrick Cusack, in Ballyjamesduff, Co Cavan. Known by the stage name Pete Briquette, he was a member of the Boomtown Rats and currently plays in Bob Geldof’s band.

1957 – Bridie Gallagher reaches no.1 in the Irish charts with “The Boys From The County Armagh”.

1958 – The Industrial Development Act is passed to encourage an influx of foreign capital.

1970 – Irish Catholic bishops announce that it is no longer obligatory to abstain from eating meat on Friday.

1970 – Neil Blaney was found not guilty of illegal arms importation by a Dublin jury. The ‘Arms Trial’ had begun on 28 May 1970. The case against Charles Haughey continued until 23 October 1970. The Prevention of Incitement to Hatred Act (Northern Ireland) was introduced. It proved difficult to secure convictions under the provisions of the Act and it was seldom enforced.

1972 – Two Catholic civilians were shot and killed by Loyalist paramilitaries, likely the Ulster Defence Association (UDA), in Belfast. Two Protestant civilians were killed by Republican paramilitaries.

1976 – Ramble Inn attack: the UVF killed six civilians (five Protestants, one Catholic) in a gun attack at a pub near Antrim. The pub was targeted because it was owned by Catholics.

1976 – Secretary of Sate for Northern Ireland, Merlyn Rees, announced the outcome of a review of security force response to violence in Northern Ireland. The review made a number of recommendations including: increasing the manpower level of the RUC; establishing specialised investigation teams; making greater use of the RUC reserve; and trying to encourage more support from the Catholic community.

1979 – The Irish National Liberation Army (INLA) was declared illegal across the United Kingdom. This followed the killing of Airey Neave on 30 March 1979.

1980 – The British government published a discussion document, The Government of Northern Ireland: Proposals for Further Discussion (Cmnd 7950), suggesting two possible options as potential solutions to the conflict. However, Unionists rejected the option which involved power-sharing and non-Unionists rejected the option of majority rule. By 27 November 1980 Humphrey Atkins, Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, told the House of Commons that there was still no consensus amongst the parties in Northern Ireland and little prospect for a devolved government in the region.

1980 – Death of Tom Barry, he died in a Cork hospital and was survived by his wife, Leslie de Barra (née Price), whom he married in 1921 and who was the director of organisation for Cumann na mBan and later President of the Irish Red Cross. She died in 1984.

1981 – Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, Humphrey Atkins, suggested the setting up of an advisory council to help govern Northern Ireland. It was envisaged that the council would be comprised of 50 elected representatives. The idea received little political support and was later dropped.

1984 – Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, James Prior, addressed the House of Commons and rejected the three main options proposed in the Report of the New Ireland Forum.

1986 – In Belfast four members of the Ulster Defence Regiment (UDR) were sentenced to life imprisonment for the murder of Adrian Carroll, a Catholic civilian, on 8 November 1983. Later a campaign was started to press for the release of the ‘UDR Four’ as the men became known. Three of the ‘UDR Four’ were released on 29 July 1992 when their convictions were quashed.

1987 – The Unionist Task Force published a report on an alternative to the Anglo-Irish Agreement. The reports main authors were Frank Millar, general secretary of the Ulster Unionist Party (UUP), and Peter Robinson, deputy leader of the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP). The failure of the two-party leaders to respond to the document led to the two main authors resigning their positions. Peter Robinson returned to his position later.

1989 – The IRA killed a British Army soldier in Hanover, West Germany when they planted a bomb on his car.

1990 – While on a visit to Dublin Nelson Mandela, Vice-President of the African National Congress (ANC), said that there should be talks between the British Government and the IRA.

1993 – There was serious rioting in Belfast, Bangor, and Lurgan, following the funeral of Brian McCallum (26), a member of the Ulster Volunteer Force (UVF). McCallum had been fatally wounded on 26 June 1993.

1997 – The Loyalist Volunteer Force (LVF) threatened to kill people living in the Republic of Ireland if the Drumcree parade planned for 6 July 1997 was not allowed to proceed through the Nationalist Garvaghy Road. The RUC announced that they were banning the planned festival on 6 July 1997 on the Garvaghy Road. Residents reacted by establishing a women’s peace camp beside the road.

1997 – Six members of the IRA were each given prison sentences of 35 years for conspiracy to cause explosions in London. No explosives were ever found in connection with this case and many people were shocked by the length of the sentences.

1997 – In a court decision in Belfast, Judge Girvin ruled that Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, Marjorie (Mo) Mowlam, could reconsider the early release of two British soldiers serving life sentences for the murder of Peter McBride on 4 September 1992. McBride’s father interrupted the court proceedings to protest at the decision. The two Scots Guards had stopped McBride in the street and searched him. McBride ran away from the soldiers and they shot him in the back.

1998 – Loyalists, believed to be the Loyalist Volunteer Force (LVF), carried out arson attacks on 10 Catholic churches in the east and the south in the north of Ireland. Some of the churches were destroyed while the rest were badly damaged.

1999 – After five days of discussions between the British and Irish Governments at Stormont, the two governments issued a document called The Way Forward outlining a way to establish an inclusive Executive, and also to decommission paramilitary arms.

1999 – As part of the process the Independent International Commission on Decommissioning (IICD) issued a report on decommissioning. Sinn Féin also issued a document that indicated that the IRA “could” start decommissioning its weapons. British Prime Minster, Tony Blair, also had talks with representatives of the Orange Order and the Garvaghy Road Residents’ Coalition (GRRC) in an unsuccessful attempt to find agreement ahead of the Drumcree parade on 4 July 1999.

2000 – Joey Dunlop, motorcycle racer and humanitarian worker, dies in an accident during a race in Estonia.

2000 – The 25th anniversary of St Oliver Plunkett’s canonisation is celebrated in Drogheda, Co Armagh.

2000 – Navan-born jockey, Johnny Murtagh, rides Sinndar to an easy victory at the Budweiser Irish Derby.

2000 – 2-12: Drumcree conflict – the annual Orange Order parade was banned from marching through the nationalist Garvaghy area of Portadown. The security forces erected large barricades to prevent loyalists from entering the area. About 2,000 British soldiers were deployed to keep order. During the standoff at Drumcree Church, loyalists continually launched missiles at the security forces.

2001 – John de Chastelain (Gen.), head of the Independent International Commission on Decommissioning (IICD), issued a brief statement to say that there had been no progress on IRA disarmament.

2001 – Ireland bids farewell to the relics of St Therese of Lisieux at the end of an 11-week tour which organisers claim drew three million onlookers.

Image | Glendalough, Co Wicklow

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