Irish History, Culture, Heritage, Language, Mythology
Fuar siad bás ar son Saoirse na hÉireann. Mickey Devine was the third INLA Volunteer to join the H-Block hunger strikers and he was the last of the group to give their lives in order to retain their status as political prisoners. Twenty-seven-year-old Mickey Devine, from the Creggan in Derry city, was the third INLA […]
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English troops defeat Irish rebels at the Battle of Vinegar Hill, effectively putting an end to the 1798 rebellion. With the rebels scattered in the north, attention shifted once again to those still ‘out’ in Wexford, and the army laid plans to attack their camp at Vinegar Hill. On 21st June, General Gerard Lake attempted […]
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1770 – James Smyth, MP for Dundalk, is killed in a riding accident. 1777 – Birth of Admiral William Brown (also known in Spanish as Guillermo Brown) was born in Foxford, Co Mayo and died in Buenos Aires, Argentina on 3 March 1857. 1798 – United Irishmen Rebellion: Rebel southern column marches through Sculloge Gap, […]
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Today is the summer solstice. At approximately 3.00 am Irish time the sun reaches the most northerly point of its oscillation and the longest day in Ireland results — just over 17 hours. 1650 – Cromwell’s New Model Army is victorious at Scarrifhollis, Co Donegal. 1691 – Godert de Ginkel, the commanding general of the […]
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“To unite the whole people of Ireland, to abolish the memory of all past dissections, and to substitute the common name of Irishman, in place of the denominations of Protestant, Catholic, and Dissenter—these were my means.” ―Theobald Wolfe Tone Theobald Wolfe Tone’s place in Irish history can scarcely be overstated as he is regarded as […]
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The Sack of Baltimore was attacked by Algerian pirates from the North African Barbary Coast. The attack was the biggest single attack by the Barbary pirates on Ireland or Britain. The attack was led by a Dutch captain turned pirate, Jan Janszoon van Haarlem, also known as Murad Reis the Younger. Murad’s force was led […]
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77 AD – Roman General, Gnaeus Julius Agricola, became governor of Britainnia. While there, he completed the conquest of what is now Wales and northern England, and led his army to the far north of Scotland, establishing forts across much of the Lowlands. In 81, Agricola “crossed in the first ship” and defeated peoples unknown to the Romans until […]
Read MoreThis year, the Summer Solstice falls on 21 June and is the longest day of the year, when there are approximately 17 hours of light and when the sun is at its highest point of the year in the northern hemisphere. The name comes from the Latin solstitium meaning “sun stands still”. It happens because […]
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Uraicecht Becc is an Old Irish legal tract on status. Of all status tracts, it has the greatest breadth in coverage, including not only commoners, kings, churchmen and poets, but also a variety of other professional groups, including judges. However, it does not go into as much detail for each group and level as do […]
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A force of 400 troops, with two pieces of artillery, was sent out from Trim on 18 June to locate and destroy the rebel army led by William Aylmer. When Alymer received news of the offensive, he decided to rally his forces and engage the approaching military head-on, choosing to fight at Ovidstown Hill, about […]
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