1645 – Edward Worcester, Earl of Glamorgan; aristocrat and inventor, is sent to Ireland to raise troops for the king, and makes two secret treaties with the confederates on this date and on 20 December.

1764 – Birth of James Hope. He was a United Irishmen leader who fought in the 1798 and 1803 rebellions against British rule in Ireland. He was born in Templepatrick, Co Antrim, to a Presbyterian family originally of Covenanter stock. He was apprenticed as a linen weaver but attended night school in his spare time. Influenced by the American Revolution, he joined the Irish Volunteers, but upon the demise of that organisation and further influenced by the French Revolution, he joined the Society of the United Irishmen in 1795.

1769 – Henry Flood, MP for Callan, kills James Agar, MP for Tulsk, in a duel. The Flood and Agar families had disputed the representation of Callan for many years.

1798 – Humbert takes Ballina after token resistance by Government forces.

1803 – The British capture Robert Emmet.

1863 – Eugene O’Growney, priest and Irish-language revivalist, is born in Ballyfallon, Co Meath.

1865 – Robert Lloyd Praeger, botanist and writer, is born in Holywood, Co Down.

1869 – Birth of athlete, Tom Kiely, in Carrick-on-Suir, Co Tipperary. He competed in the 1904 Summer Olympics held in St. Louis, Missouri, in the all-round, which consisted of 100 yd run, shot put, high jump, 880 yd walk, hammer throw, pole vault, 120 yd hurdles, 56 pounds weight throw, long jump and 1 mile run. He won the gold medal.

1882 – Birth of journalist and politician, Sean Ó Oceallaigh, Ireland’s second president.

1919 – IRA members start taking the oath and start using the name Irish Republican Army.

1921 – Birth in Belfast of Brian Moore who is best known for his novel “The Lonely Passion of Judith Hearne”.

1922 – A Free State CID Motor Driver is fatally wounded in an attack at Dean’s Grange, Dublin.

1922 – A Free State soldier is shot dead and a barracks burned at Shortcourse, Waterford.

1958 – The first Rose of Tralee festival is held.

1962 – Birth of guitarist, Vivian Campbell, in Belfast. He came to prominence in the early 1980s as a member of Dio, and has been a member of Def Leppard since 1992 (replacing the late Steve Clark). Campbell has also worked with Thin Lizzy, Whitesnake, Sweet Savage, Trinity, Riverdogs, and Shadow King.

1971 – A Protestant civilian, Henry Beggs (23), was killed when the IRA planted a bomb at the Northern Ireland Electricity Service office on the Malone Road in Belfast.

1971 – Gerry Fitt, Leader of the Social Democratic and Labour Party (SDLP), held a meeting with representatives of the United Nations at which he presented a number of allegations of brutality by the security.

1977 – The Social Democratic and Labour Party (SDLP) issued a policy document (Facing Reality) which called for greater emphasis on the ‘Irish dimension’. This was seen to be a response to the perceived adoption of a greater integrationist stance by the British government. Later, Paddy Devlin resigned as Chairman of the SDLP in response to the document.

1982 – The Social Democratic and Labour Party (SDLP) announced that it would contest the forthcoming Northern Ireland Assembly elections and those elected would not take their seats. Following this decision Sinn Féin (SF) confirmed that it would oppose the SDLP in a number of constituencies. SF made clear that its preference would have been to support a complete boycott of the poll by all shades of northern nationalism, however it stated that under no circumstances would any of its successful candidates sit in the new assembly. Instead the party’s decision to take part in the poll was “… to give the nationalist electorate (in Northern Ireland) an opportunity to reject the uncontested monopoly in leadership which the SDLP has had …”. In the end SF decided to field 12 candidates in 6 of the 12 Northern Ireland constituencies.

1983 – Elizabeth Kirkpatrick, who was the wife of a police informer, was released having been held captive by the Irish National Liberation Army (INLA) for two months.

1986 – ‘Hurricane Charlie’ hits Ireland and the heaviest rain-fall over a 24 hour period is recorded — 10.63 inches at Kippure Mountain, Co Wicklow.

1989 – Loughlin Maginn was shot and killed by the Ulster Freedom Fighters (UFF). Claims were made on 29 August 1989 that the UFF had received security force details on Loughlin Maginn.

1993 – The Red Hand Commando (RHC) announced that it would attack bars or hotels where Irish folk music is played. The RHC stated that the music was part of the “pan-nationalist front”. Following widespread criticism the RHC withdrew the threat on 26 August 1993.

1995 – The Combined Loyalist Military Command (CLMC) released a statement which said: “There will be no first strike by Loyalist paramilitaries provided the rights of the people of Northern Ireland are upheld”. The statement also ruled out decommissioning of Loyalist weapons.

1995 – Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, Patrick Mayhew, announced that the British government would produce a White Paper on reform of the RUC and an independent review of emergency legislation. He also announced that the remission of sentence for paramilitary prisoners would be returned to 50 per cent. The legislation to make the change to the remission rate obtained royal assent on 7 November 1995.

1998 – British Prime Minister, Tony Blair, arrives in the North to announce a security crackdown in the wake of the Omagh bombing.

1998 – An armada of tall ships from around the world sail away from Dublin, ending a five-day visit.

2001 – Sinn Féin held a press briefing at which the party’s response to the revised policing implementation plan was outlined. The party said that it would “campaign vigorously” against the plans.

2001 – The Irish News carried a report that the RUC had agreed to pay an out-of-court settlement of £100,000 to a Catholic teenager who had been beaten by police and later accused of possessing explosives.

2001 – U2 brought the Elevation Tour to Slane Castle, site of the annual Slane Festival since 1981. This was U2’s first performance at Slane since that first festival, when they were on the support bill for Thin Lizzy.

Image | An Port, Co Donegal | Fiachra Mangan Photography

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