#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 1983 – Long Kesh Prison Escape: Thirty-eight members of the IRA escaped from the maximum security Long Kesh prison near Lisburn.

25/09/2018.Reading time 4 minutes.

Two years after the epic 1981 H-Block Hunger Strike in which ten young republicans died, there was another epic event at Long Kesh that dealt a huge blow to the Thatcher regime in Ireland. This was the escape of thirty-eight IRA prisoners from H-Block 7 on Sunday 25 September 1983. At 2:15pm that day, three […]

#OTD in 1315 – Battle of Connor: Major victory for Edward the Bruce in his invasion of Ulster.

10/09/2018.Reading time 4 minutes.

The Battle of Connor was fought on 10 September 1315, in the townland of Tannybrake just over a mile north of what is now the modern village of Connor, Co Antrim. It was part of the Bruce campaign in Ireland. Edward Bruce landed in Larne, in modern-day Co Antrim, on 26 May 1315. In early […]

‘She Is Far From The Land’ by Thomas Moore

25/08/2018.Reading time 1 minute.

Robert Emmet’s love affair with Sarah Curran inspired Thomas Moore to write ‘She Is Far From The Land’. ‘She is Far from the Land’ By Thomas Moore She is far from the land, where her young hero sleeps, And lovers are round her, sighing; But coldly she turns from their gaze, and weeps, For her […]

Roger Casement’s Last Dying Wish

03/08/2018.Reading time 1 minute.

Roger Casement’s last dying wish to be buried at Murlough Bay, Co Antrim, would never happen due to Unionist opposition, however, a sod of turf was removed from Murlough (the resting place of St Maloge) and placed in his coffin when he was re-interred in Glasnevin Cemetery. A Celtic Cross memorial constructed in 1929 was […]

#OTD in 1916 – Roger Casement, Irish patriot, is hanged by the English in Pentonville Prison, London.

03/08/2018.Reading time 6 minutes.

Fuair siad bás ar son Saoirse na hÉireann. “Self government is our right, a thing born to us at birth. A thing no more to be doled out to us by another people than the right to life itself; than the right to feel the sun or smell the flowers or to love our kind.” […]

#OTD in 1981 – Death of Kieran Doherty, TD for Monaghan-Cavan, on the 73rd day of his hunger strike in Long Kesh prison.

02/08/2018.Reading time less than 1 minute.

Fuair siad bás ar son Saoirse na hÉireann. Kieran went on hunger-strike on Friday, 22nd May, having put his name forward for it long ago, as undaunted and full of fighting spirit as when he roamed free on the streets of Andersonstown. In June 1981, in the Free State general election, Kieran was elected a […]

Cave Hill, Belfast

25/07/2018.Reading time 1 minute.

Cave Hill, or Cavehill, is a basaltic hill overlooking the city of Belfast. It forms part of the southeastern border of the Antrim Plateau. It is distinguished by its famous ‘Napoleon’s Nose’, a basaltic outcrop which resembles the profile of the famous emperor Napoleon. Cavehill is also the name of an electoral ward in Belfast. […]

#OTD in Irish History – 17 July:

17/07/2018.Reading time 15 minutes.

1221 – Geoffrey de Marisco, justiciar of Ireland, is accused of financial irregularities and resigns: he is replaced by Archbishop Henry of London on this date. 1798 – Death of Henry Joy McCracken. He was a cotton manufacturer and industrialist, Presbyterian, radical Irish republican, and a founding member, along with Theobald Wolfe Tone, James Napper […]

#OTD in 1998 – The three Quinn brothers, Richard, 11, Mark, 10, and Jason 9, are burned to death by a Loyalist firebomb in Ballymoney, 40 miles northwest of Belfast.

12/07/2018.Reading time 9 minutes.

Ar dheis Dé go raibh a n-anamacha. Jason, Richard and Mark Quinn were three brothers killed by the Ulster Volunteer Force (UVF) in a firebomb attack on their home in Ballymoney, Co Antrim. Garfield Gilmour, was found guilty of murdering the three brothers 15 months later and sentenced to life imprisonment after admitting that he […]

Stair na hÉireann/History of Ireland

Tag: Co. Antrim