Tag: Connemara

#OTD in Irish History | 15 November:

15/11/2023.Reading time 8 minutes.

1777 – The Articles of Confederation, the first written constitution of the United States was adopted by the Continental Congress. A number of the Congress hailed from Ireland including Secretary of the Congress Charles Thomson who was born in Maghera, Co Derry in 1729. Thomson was the permanent Secretary of the Continental Congress for more […]

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The Connemara Giant | Recess, Co Galway

11/11/2023.Reading time 2 minutes.

Created by Joyce’s Craft Shop ‘for no apparent reason’, The Connemara Giant is Ireland’s only late 20th century antiquity. The name Connemara derives from ‘Conn Son of the Sea.’ An interesting feature of the monument is the local tale that states if you touch the giants hand (the one holding the stone), you will be blessed […]

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#OTD in Irish History | 19 August:

19/08/2023.Reading time 7 minutes.

1504 – Battle of Knockdoe/Battle of Axe Hill. After Ulick Burke of Clanricard seizes Galway city, Edward Fitzgerald, the Earl of Kildare, goes to Connacht and defeats Burke at Knockdoe. This is the largest battle ever fought between Irishmen, with 10,000 participants and 2,000 fatalities; however, most of the fighting is done by gall óglach […]

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#OTD in 1932 – Birth of actor, Peter O’Toole.

02/08/2023.Reading time 3 minutes.

Some sources give his birthplace as Connemara, Co Galway, while others cite St James University Hospital, Leeds, England. O’Toole claimed he was not certain of his birthplace or date, noting in his autobiography that, while he accepted 2 August as his birthdate, he had a birth certificate from each country, with the Irish one giving […]

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#OTD in Irish History | 7 July:

07/07/2023.Reading time 12 minutes.

1691 – Ginkel offers pardon and security of property to opponents. 1700 – MP for Co Sligo, Captain Hugh Morgan of Lord Dungannon’s Regiment, is summoned to appear before a board of general officers at the Curragh of Kildare to answer accusations of being ‘a rogue and rascal’ and several other complaints. (On 17 July, […]

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#OTD in Irish History | 14 April:

14/04/2023.Reading time 13 minutes.

1661 – Birth of scientist, archaeologist, physician and MP, Sir Thomas Molyneux, in Dublin. He was the first to assert that the Giant’s Causeway was a natural phenomenon. 1859 – Death of novelist, Sydney, Lady Morgan, née Owenson. Born in Dublin, she is best known as the author of The Wild Irish Girl. 1836 – […]

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#OTD in 1964 – Death of Brendan Behan, an Irish poet, short story writer, novelist, and playwright who wrote in both Irish and English.

20/03/2023.Reading time 4 minutes.

He was also a committed Irish Republican and a volunteer in the Irish Republican Army. He died in Meath hospital after reportedly telling a nun looking after him: ‘Ah, bless you, Sister, may all your sons be bishops’. Brendan Behan was born in Dublin into a republican family, and became a member of the IRA’s youth […]

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#OTD in Irish History | 19 February:

19/02/2023.Reading time 10 minutes.

1366 – Statutes of Kilkenny promulgated. 1887 – Ireland wins its first ever game in international soccer beating Wales 4-1 in Belfast. Prior to 1921 and the partition of the country, Ireland was represented by one national team. 1904 – Birth of writer, Muiris Ó Suilleabhain, on the Great Blasket Island, Co Kerry. Best known […]

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#OTD in Irish History | 23 January:

23/01/2023.Reading time 14 minutes.

1774 – Dudley Cosby (Baron Sydney), former MP for Carrick, commits suicide. 1803 – Death of brewer and the founder of the Guinness brewery, Arthur Guinness, in Dublin. He was also an entrepreneur and philanthropist. 1837 – Death of pianist, composer, and teacher, John Field. He was born in Dublin into a musical family, and […]

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#OTD in Irish History | 12 January:

12/01/2023.Reading time 9 minutes.

1709 – Birth of Benjamin Burton, politician and Revenue Commissioner. 1729 – Edmund Burke, orator, statesman and philosopher, is born in Arran Quay, Dublin. 1745 – Lord Lieutenant of Ireland, Earl of Chesterfield, is the first official to allow Dubliners to roam in the Phoenix Park, and installed the central “Phoenix Monument”, a phoenix bird on […]

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