#OTD in 1778 – Robert Emmet, one of Ireland’s most famous revolutionaries, is born in Dublin.

O! BREATHE not his name! let it sleep in the shade, Where cold and unhonoured his relics are laid; Sad, silent, and dark be the tears that we shed, As the night dew that falls on the grave o’er his head. But the night dew that falls, though in silence it weeps, Shall brighten with […]

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#OTD in 1916 – James Connolly vanished for a three-day meeting with the IRB military council where they agreed upon joint plans for an insurrection on Easter Sunday.

A secret meeting between Pádraig Pearse and James Connolly held over three days from 19 January 1916, where the outcome is that Connolly commits the Irish Citizen Army to join with the Irish Republican Brotherhood (IRB) and the date for the Rising is agreed. In early January 1916, and in high anxiety that Dublin Castle would […]

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#OTD in 1922 – The last British troops leave the Free State.

They are the remnants of a 5,000 strong garrison maintained up to that point in Dublin, commanded by Nevil Macready. Last British troops leave the twenty-six counties of the Irish Free State. It appears to have been a friendly farewell, even while Ireland was embroiled in its own Civil War. The Union Jack was lowered […]

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#OTD in 1920 – IRA officer, Ernie O’Malley, was captured by British forces in Co Kilkenny with a notebook containing names of his IRA colleagues.

‘On the base of the Pillar was a white poster. Gathered around were groups of men and women. Some looked at it with serious faces, others laughed and sniggered. I began to read it with a smile, but my smile ceased as I read, ‘Poblacht na h-Eireann, the Provisional government of the Irish Republic – […]

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#OTD in 1920 – Irish War of Independence | In Dublin, 31 people are killed in what became known as ‘Bloody Sunday’.

A day of carnage in Dublin in an increasingly bitter and bloody Irish War of Independence; in total, 31 people were killed. Early in the day, Michael Collins ‘Squad’ and the Dublin Brigade wipes out much of British Intelligence in Dublin. Hours later, British troops take horrible revenge. In a superbly executed guerilla operation, Michael […]

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#OTD in 1920 – Catholic priest, Father Michael Griffin was killed.

Fr Griffin would have been known to the Crown Forces, as a known republican sympathiser. On the night of 8 September 1920, he was called out to attend Seamus Quirke, a First-Lieutenant in the local IRA after he was shot seven times at the docks. He also took part in the funeral mass of Michael […]

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Iustitia, Lady Justice, Dublin Castle

Iustitia, more commonly known as Lady Justice, situated over one of the gates that gives access to the central courtyard of Dublin Castle. The statue was erected by the British authorities in 1751 and was sculpted by Van Nost. Its design was a source of outrage and amusement for many in Dublin city, for it […]

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#OTD in 1763 – Birth of United Irish leader, Lord Edward Fitzgerald, at Carton House, Co Kildare.

FitzGerald was one of the leading instigators of the 1798 Rebellion. Like many of his rebel colleagues, he came from a privileged background. He was the son of the Duke of Leinster and fought with the British army in the American Revolutionary War. He was seriously wounded at the Battle of Eutaw Springs on 8 […]

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#OTD in 1920 – Sinn Féin County Councillor John Lynch of Kilmallock, Limerick was assassinated by British agents at the Exchange Hotel, Dublin.

At 1.15 am Captain Geoffrey Thomas Baggallay, a “one-legged” courts-martial officer had phoned Dublin Castle telling of John Lynch’s presence at the Exchange Hotel. A group of 12 soldiers entered the Exchange Hotel, wearing military caps and long black Burberry coats. They held the hotel porter, William Barrett, at gunpoint. After consulting the register they […]

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#OTD in 1851 – Death of Anne Devlin, in The Liberties, Dublin.

Born in Rathdrum, Co Wicklow. Her cousins, Michael Dwyer and Arthur Devlin, took part in the 1798 Rebellion. After the acquittal and release from Wicklow Gaol of her father in 1800, her family moved to Rathfarnham, Co Dublin, where she met Robert Emmet who was leasing a house in nearby Butterfield Lane from where he […]

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