#OTD in 1916 – Death of Thomas Michael “Tom” Kettle on the 71st day of the Battle of the Somme.

09/09/2019.Reading time 3 minutes.

Tom Kettle was a journalist, barrister, writer, poet, soldier, economist and Home Rule politician. As a member of the Irish Parliamentary Party, he was Member of Parliament (MP) for East Tyrone from 1906 to 1910 at Westminster. He joined the Irish Volunteers in 1913, then on the outbreak of World War I in 1914 enlisted […]

#OTD in 1880 – Birth of economist, journalist, barrister, writer, poet, soldier and Home Rule politician, Tom Kettle, in Artane, Co Dublin.

09/02/2019.Reading time 3 minutes.

#OTD in 1916 – Battle of the Somme Ends.

18/11/2018.Reading time 3 minutes.

This dreadful battle claimed more Irish lives in combat than any other battle in history. On the first day of battle, 1 July 1916, the 36th Ulster Division suffered an estimated 5,500 casualties almost all of whom were drawn from what is now Northern Ireland. Nearly 2,000 Irish soldiers were killed in the first few […]

#OTD in Irish History – 18 November:

18/11/2018.Reading time 10 minutes.

1657 – Death of Franciscan friar and historian, Luke Wadding, in Rome. Born in Co Waterford, Wadding founded the Pontifical Irish College for Irish secular clergy in Rome. In 1900, Wadding’s portrait and part of his library were in the Franciscan friary on Merchant’s Quay, Dublin. Through Wadding’s efforts, St Patrick’s Day became a feast […]