#OTD in 1887 – Birth of trade unionist and revolutionary, Winifred Carney, in Bangor, Co Down.

04/12/2018.Reading time 6 minutes.

Close to the entrance of Milltown Cemetery is a limestone monument which marks the grave of a remarkable woman – Maria Winifred Carney. Winnie was born in Bangor, Co Down, but moved to the Falls Road in Belfast at an early age. She was born into a fairly comfortable family, and was one of seven […]

#OTD in Irish History – 2 December:

02/12/2018.Reading time 8 minutes.

1649 – Oliver Cromwell abandoned the siege of Waterford. Marching west into the territory secured by Lord Broghill, Cromwell dispersed his army into winter quarters at Cork, Youghal and Dungarvan. 1738 – Birth of Richard Montgomery in Swords, Co Dublin. He was a soldier who first served in the British Army. He later became a […]

#OTD in 2005 – Death of football player, George Best.

25/11/2018.Reading time 2 minutes.

‘With feet as sensitive as a pickpocket’s hands, his control of the ball under the most violent pressure was hypnotic. The bewildering repertoire of feints and swerves… and balance that would have made Isaac Newton decide he might as well have eaten the apple.’ –Hugh McIlvanney, Observer sportswriter. The ‘Belfast Boy’ was undoubtedly the finest […]

#OTD in 1871 – Margaret Dobbs, Irish historian, language activist and defender of Roger Casement, is born in Dublin.

19/11/2018.Reading time 3 minutes.

‘Ireland is a closed book to those who do not know her language. No one can know Ireland properly until one knows the language. Her treasures are hidden as a book unopened. Open the book and learn to love your language’. –Margaret Dobbs Dobbs’ father was Justice of the Peace for Co Antrim, High Sheriff […]

#OTD in Irish History – 14 November:

14/11/2018.Reading time 7 minutes.

In the Liturgical calendar, it is the Feast day of Lorcán Ua Tuathail (St Laurence O’Toole), the first Archbishop of Dublin and the city’s patron saint. It is on this date in 1180 that he died at Eu in Normandy. 1669 – St. Oliver Plunkett becomes Archbishop of Armagh and Primate of All Ireland. 1832 […]

The Ghost of George ‘Bloody’ Hutchinson

29/10/2018.Reading time 4 minutes.

George Hutchinson is commonly remembered for his role in crushing the local United Irishmen during the 1798 Rebellion. In 1798, magistrates were encouraged to deal harshly with offenders. Those found guilty of insurrection risked being given a public lashing, transportation to the penal colonies or execution by hanging. Hutchinson is alleged to have ordered the […]

#OTD in Irish History – 28 October:

28/10/2018.Reading time 10 minutes.

1659 – Birth of Nicholas Brady, Anglican divine and poet, born in Bandon, Co Cork. He received his education at Westminster School and at Christ Church, Oxford; he graduated from Trinity College, Dublin. 1758 – Edward Moore, 5th Earl of Drogheda and former MP for Dunleer, drowns with his son Edward, chaplain to the House […]

#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 […]

Stair na hÉireann/History of Ireland

Tag: Co. Antrim