#OTD in 1946 – Birth of film and stage actor, Stephen Rea (born Graham Rea) in Belfast.

31/10/2018.Reading time 2 minutes.

Stephen Rea has appeared in films such as V for Vendetta, The Butcher Boy, This Is My Father, Evelyn, Michael Collins, Interview with the Vampire and Breakfast on Pluto. Rea was nominated for an Academy Award for his lead performance as Fergus in the 1992 film The Crying Game. He has had important roles in […]

#OTD in 1845 – Abolitionist Frederick Douglass speaks to a packed house in Cork on the subject of slavery.

23/10/2018.Reading time 1 minute.

Abolitionist Frederick Douglass speaks to a packed house in Cork on the subject of slavery. “Mr. President, Ladies and Gentlemen,—There is perhaps no argument more frequently resorted to by the Slaveholders in support of the slave system, than the inferiority of the slave. In the name of Christianity, I demand that people of these countries […]

#OTD in 1803 – Execution of Thomas Paliser Russell in Downpatrick for ‘high treason’.

21/10/2018.Reading time 8 minutes.

Born in Dromahane, Co Cork to an Anglican family, Thomas Russell joined the British army in 1783 and served in India. He returned to Ireland in 1786 and commenced studies in science, philosophy and politics. in July 1790 he met Theobald Wolfe Tone in the visitor’s gallery in the Irish House of Commons and they […]

#OTD in 1989 – After serving 15 years in prison, the “Guildford Four” are released in what is considered to be one of the biggest-ever miscarriages of justice in Britain.

19/10/2018.Reading time 3 minutes.

On 19 October 1989, Gerry Conlon stormed out of the Old Bailey in London, with his sisters Bridie and Ann, and delivered an extraordinary, impromptu speech that has become iconic in recent Irish history: “I’ve been in prison 15 years, for something I didn’t do. Something I didn’t know anything about. I’m a totally innocent […]

#OTD in 1949 – Death of Eoin MacNeill, Irish historian and founder of the Irish Volunteers.

15/10/2018.Reading time 2 minutes.

Eoin MacNeill was an Irish scholar, Irish language enthusiast, nationalist activist, and Sinn Féin politician. MacNeill has been described as “the father of the modern study of early Irish medieval history.” A key figure of the Gaelic revival, he was a co-founder with Douglas Hyde of the Gaelic League, to preserve Irish language and culture. […]

#OTD in 1948 – Birth of Gerry Adams in Belfast.

06/10/2018.Reading time 10 minutes.

Gerry Adams, born in Belfast, former president of Sinn Féin, was one of the chief architects of Sinn Féin’s shift to a policy of seeking a peaceful settlement to sectarian violence in Northern Ireland. He was elected several times to the British House of Commons for Belfast West, however, following party policy, did not take […]

#OTD in 1857 – Birth of Peadar Toner Mac Fhionnlaoich, known as Cú Bladh (The Hound of Ulster).

05/10/2018.Reading time 2 minutes.

He was an Irish language writer during the Gaelic Revival. He wrote stories based on Irish folklore, some of the first Irish language plays, and regularly wrote articles in most of the Irish language newspapers such as An Claidheamh Soluis. Cú Uladh was born in Allt an Iarainn, Co Donegal to Micheal McGinley and Susan […]

HMS Argenta – Republican Internment Prison Ship

14/09/2018.Reading time 5 minutes.

In an attempt to subvert the nationalist economic position, the Minister of Home Affairs, Dawson Bates, imposed martial law tactics to rend supremacy over both a rural and urban populous through violence, intimidation and economic sanctions. HMS Argenta (originally the American cargo ship S.S. Argenta) was a prison ship of the British Royal Navy. The […]

#OTD in Irish History – 5 September:

05/09/2018.Reading time 9 minutes.

1724 – In the guise of an Irish Patriot, M. B. Drapier, Jonathan Swift publishes ‘Drapier Letter III’ – one of a series of letters designed to incite the people against a new coinage. 1771 – Benjamin Franklin commences a visit to Ireland where he would later report he had ‘a good deal of Conversation […]

#OTD in 1945 – Birth of Van Morrison “Van the Man” in Belfast.

31/08/2018.Reading time 1 minute.

The Belfast Cowboy first achieved fame with a tight R&B band Them with whom he recorded Gloria, a song that still as fresh today as in 1964. A strong claim could be made that Van Morrison is the finest composer ever produced by the Emerald Isle. His body of work ranges from glorious pop like […]

Stair na hÉireann/History of Ireland

Tag: Belfast