#OTD in Irish History | 31 August:

31/08/2023.Reading time 11 minutes.

In the Liturgical calendar, it is the Feast day of St. Aidan of Lindisfarne, the Apostle of Northumbria. He was the founder and first bishop of the monastery on the island of Lindisfarne in England. A Christian missionary, he is credited with restoring Christianity to Northumbria. Aidan is the anglicized form of the original Old […]

#OTD in Irish History | 29 August:

29/08/2023.Reading time 9 minutes.

1170 – Richard de Clare (Strongbow) marries Aoife Ní MacMurrough and sets a precedent for Norman rule in Ireland. 1729 – Birth of David La Touche, banking magnate and MP. 1798 – Cornwallis reaches Tuam, Co Galway. 1803 – Samuel Neilson, one of the founder members of the Society of United Irishmen and the founder […]

Celtic Mythology | Devorgilla

17/08/2023.Reading time 3 minutes.

Dervorgilla came from Norway and was a stranger in Ireland. She had listened to so many tales about Cú Chulainn that she decided he would have to be her only love. She left Norway accompanied by her maid alone. To accomplish the journey the both changed into swans and flew to Lough Cuan in Ireland. […]

#OTD in 1975 – Miami Showband massacre | UVF volunteers (some of whom were also UDR soldiers) shot dead three members of an Irish showband at Buskhill, Co Down.

31/07/2023.Reading time 3 minutes.

Three members of the Miami Showband are killed by Ulster Volunteer Force members posing as members of the security forces when returning from a performance at The Castle Ballroom in Banbridge, Co Down. (Four of the killers were actually members of the Ulster Defence Regiment (UDR), an official reserve force for the British army). At […]

#OTD in 1872 – John Mitchel returns to Ireland from America.

25/07/2023.Reading time 3 minutes.

John Mitchel was born at Camnish, near Dungiven, Co Derry. The Irish nationalist, writer for The Nation and founder of The United Irishman newspaper openly preached rebellion against England. Convicted of treason in 1848, Mitchel was sentenced to fourteen years’ transportation in Van Diemen’s Land (Tasmania). In 1853, he escaped to America, where he published […]

#OTD in Irish History | 12 July:

12/07/2023.Reading time 19 minutes.

1660 – Sir Mark Rainsford was the 36th Lord Mayor of Dublin from 1700 to 1701. During this period the statue of King William of Orange on College Green was unveiled by him, a monument which would become a centre of protest and celebration for generations in the capital. Rainsford was also the original founder […]

#OTD in Irish History | 10 July:

10/07/2023.Reading time 9 minutes.

988 – The Norse King Glúniairn recognises Máel Sechnaill mac Domnaill, High King of Ireland, and agrees to pay taxes and accept Brehon Law; the event is considered to be the founding of the city of Dublin. 1614 – Arthur Annesley, 1st Earl of Anglesey, politician and author, is born in Dublin. 1794 – Birth […]

#OTD in 1994 – Loughinisland Massacre | The UVF shot dead six Catholic civilians and wounded five others during a gun attack on a pub in Loughinisland, Co Down.

18/06/2023.Reading time 4 minutes.

While the Republic of Ireland – Italy game is going on, two members of the Loyalist Ulster Volunteer Force walk into The Heights Bar in Loughinisland, Co Down with assault rifles and kill six Catholics who are watching the game. One of the dead was 87-year-old Barney Green, the oldest victim of the Troubles. No […]

#OTD in 1798 – United Irishmen Rebellion | Battle of Ballynahinch.

12/06/2023.Reading time 3 minutes.

The Battle of Ballynahinch was fought outside Ballynahinch, Co Down, between British forces led by Major-General George Nugent and the local United Irishmen led by Henry Munro. Munro was a Lisburn linen merchant and Presbyterian United Irishman who had no military experience but had taken over command of the Down organisation following the arrest of […]

#OTD in 597 – Death of St. Colomcille (meaning “Dove of the Church”), also known as St Columba.

09/06/2023.Reading time 5 minutes.

St Colomcille was a missionary monk who, some of his advocates claim, introduced Christianity to the Picts during the Early Medieval Period. He was one of the Twelve Apostles of Ireland. St Colomcille was born on 7 December ca. 521 A.D. to Fedhlimidh and Eithne of the Ui Neill clan in Gartan near Lough Gartan, […]

Stair na hÉireann | History of Ireland

Tag: Co. Down

#OTD in Irish History | 31 August:

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#OTD in Irish History | 29 August:

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Celtic Mythology | Devorgilla

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#OTD in 1975 – Miami Showband massacre | UVF volunteers (some of whom were also UDR soldiers) shot dead three members of an Irish showband at Buskhill, Co Down.

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#OTD in 1872 – John Mitchel returns to Ireland from America.

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#OTD in Irish History | 12 July:

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#OTD in Irish History | 10 July:

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#OTD in 1994 – Loughinisland Massacre | The UVF shot dead six Catholic civilians and wounded five others during a gun attack on a pub in Loughinisland, Co Down.

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#OTD in 1798 – United Irishmen Rebellion | Battle of Ballynahinch.

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#OTD in 597 – Death of St. Colomcille (meaning “Dove of the Church”), also known as St Columba.

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