#OTD in 1986 – Belfast-born Patrick Joseph Magee, is found guilty of planting the Brighton bomb which killed five people and nearly wiped out most of Margaret Thatcher’s cabinet.

Belfast born, Patrick Joseph Magee is found guilty of planting the bomb at the Grand Hotel Brighton which killed five people, but missed its primary target, Margaret Thatcher. The bombing was testament to the ingenuity of the IRA and its bomb makers. The 30 lb bomb had been planted behind a bath in a room […]

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#OTD in 1868 – Michael Barrett from Kesh, Co Fermanagh is executed for his part in the explosion at Clerkenwell Gaol.

The last man to be publicly hanged in England, Irishman Michael Barrett was executed for his part in the 1867 bombing of Clerkenwell Prison, an attack carried out by The Fenians as they tried to help a prisoner escape. The bombing — which killed 12 bystanders, seriously injured dozens more and destroyed a row of […]

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#OTD in 1966 – Nelson’s Pillar in Dublin is blown up.

Nelson’s Pillar was erected in O’Connell St, Dublin in 1809 to honour the exploits of the British naval hero and notorious adulterer Vice-Admiral Horatio Nelson who was killed at the Battle of Trafalgar in 1805. The 134ft high monument became an integral part of the city, central to the country’s historic and literary epics, as […]

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#OTD in 1978 – La Mon Restaurant Bombing | Twelve people, all Protestant civilians, were killed and 23 seriously injured when an incendiary bomb exploded at the restaurant of the La Mon House Hotel, Gransha, near Belfast.

The La Mon restaurant bombing was an incendiary bomb attack by the IRA on 17 February 1978 that is widely considered to have been one of the worst atrocities of the Troubles. It took place at the La Mon House hotel and restaurant near Belfast. The IRA left a large incendiary bomb, containing a napalm-like […]

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#OTD in 1867 – A bomb was planted at Clerkenwell gaol, in London, in an attempt to free Irish Fenian prisoners, notably Richard Burke.

The Fenians simply wheeled a barrel of gunpowder up to the wall of the facility when they expected the inmates to be at exercise in the adjacent yard. The explosion blasted a 60-foot gap in the wall; the inward-collapsing rubble might easily have been the death rather than the salvation of the prospective beneficiaries, except […]

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#OTD in 1984 – Brighton Hotel Bombing: The PIRA attempted to assassinate British Prime Minister, Margaret Thatcher, and her cabinet.

The IRA detonated a 100lb bomb at the Grand Hotel Brighton where the Conservative Party was holding its annual conference. Five people died while Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher narrowly escaped injury. Following the bombing, the IRA issued a statement, “Today we were unlucky, but remember, we only have to be lucky once; you will have […]

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#OTD in 1986 – Belfast-born Patrick Joseph Magee, is found guilty of planting the Brighton bomb which killed five people and nearly wiped out most of Margaret Thatcher’s cabinet.

Belfast born, Patrick Joseph Magee is found guilty of planting the bomb at the Grand Hotel Brighton which killed five people, but missed its primary target, Margaret Thatcher. The bombing was testament to the ingenuity of the IRA and its bomb makers. The 30 lb bomb had been planted behind a bath in a room […]

Read More

#OTD in 1868 – Michael Barrett from Kesh, Co Fermanagh is executed for his part in the explosion at Clerkenwell Gaol.

The last man to be publicly hanged in England, Irishman Michael Barrett was executed for his part in the 1867 bombing of Clerkenwell Prison, an attack carried out by The Fenians as they tried to help a prisoner escape. The bombing — which killed 12 bystanders, seriously injured dozens more and destroyed a row of […]

Read More

#OTD in 1966 – Nelson’s Pillar in Dublin is blown up.

Nelson’s Pillar was erected in O’Connell St, Dublin in 1809 to honour the exploits of the British naval hero and notorious adulterer Vice-Admiral Horatio Nelson who was killed at the Battle of Trafalgar in 1805. The 134ft high monument became an integral part of the city, central to the country’s historic and literary epics, as […]

Read More

#OTD in 1978 – La Mon Restaurant Bombing | Twelve people, all Protestant civilians, were killed and 23 seriously injured when an incendiary bomb exploded at the restaurant of the La Mon House Hotel, Gransha, near Belfast.

The La Mon restaurant bombing was an incendiary bomb attack by the IRA on 17 February 1978 that is widely considered to have been one of the worst atrocities of the Troubles. It took place at the La Mon House hotel and restaurant near Belfast. The IRA left a large incendiary bomb, containing a napalm-like […]

Read More