An IRA bomb kills the Queen’s cousin Lord Louis Mountbatten in Co Sligo. Mountbatten regularly holidayed in the West of Ireland. The bomb exploded on his boat some minutes after he and family friends had departed the little port of Mullaghmore. Mountbatten’s grandson Nicholas, 14, and fifteen year old local, Paul Maxwell, 15, employed as […]
Although O’Higgins was the second Supreme Director of Chile (1817–1823), he is considered one of Chile’s founding fathers, as he was the first holder of this title to head a fully independent Chilean state. O’Higgins was of Spanish and Irish ancestry. Bernardo O’Higgins, a member of the O’Higgins Family, was born in the Chilean city […]
Painted by the Artist Nik Purdy With poem “When You Are Old” by W.B. Yeats When you are old and grey and full of sleep, And nodding by the fire, take down this book, And slowly read, and dream of the soft look Your eyes had once, and of their shadows deep; How many loved […]
The man convicted of the murder of Lord Mountbatten in 1979 was released under the terms of the Belfast Agreement. Thomas McMahon (50) had been on daily parole from the Training Unit attached to Mountjoy prison since January 1996. Lord Mountbatten was the Queen’s second cousin and an uncle of Prince Philip. The murder of […]
General Michael Corcoran led the 69th New York Militia, Irish Brigade, into action at the First Battle of Bull Run and was taken prisoner. Corcoran was one of the founders of the Fenian Brotherhood in America. While in jail, Corcoran wrote, “One half of my heart is Erin’s, and the other half is America’s. God […]
Born in London, her father was a philanthropist, Henry Gore-Booth. He was an Arctic explorer and a landlord in the west of Ireland, who was married to Georgina May Hill, of Tickhill Castle, York, England. Constance was educated at the family estate in Lissadell, Co Sligo. She was noted as a fine horsewoman who had […]
St. John’s Eve / Bonfire Night / Oíche Fhéile Eoin. The evening of 23 June, St John’s Eve, is the eve of celebration before the Feast Day of St John the Baptist. This ancient custom has its roots in pre-Christian Irish society when the Celts honoured the Goddess Áine. 1704 – The Registration Act comes […]
William Butler Yeats was the son of painter John Butler Yeats. He spent much of his childhood in Co Sligo which was a huge source of inspiration for him, not least the beautiful ‘Lake Isle of Inisfree’. Yeats was a major player in the Celtic Revival which endeavored (successfully) to raise awareness of the culture […]
1630 – Birth of Charles Stuart who will become Charles II of Great Britain and Ireland. 1784 – Belfast’s first Catholic church, St. Mary’s, opens for public worship. 1798 – United Irishmen Rebellion: The Battle of Three Rocks – Rebels capture Enniscorthy and Wexford town. 1807 – During the election for Co Wexford, two of […]
An estimated crowd of 70,000 crammed into the Estádio Nacional near Lisbon, Portugal to witness the Glasgow side lift the greatest prize in club football, defeating Inter Milan 2–1. As the final whistle blew, euphoric Celtic fans poured onto the pitch to celebrate their team’s victory, many whooping with joy and waving banners. Jock Stein, […]
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