Tag: History

#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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Rathcroghan, Tulsk, Co Roscommon

11/01/2023.Reading time 3 minutes.

Rathcroghan, Cruachan Aí, is known as the Ancient Capital of Connacht, where the festival of Samhain (Halloween) is said to originate. This majestic landscape is the oldest and largest unexcavated Royal Site in Europe. The Rathcroghan landscape boasts over 240 identified archaeological sites, spanning a staggering period of over 5,500 years of human history. The […]

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#OTD in 1923 – Forty Republicans burn the railway station in Sligo town, destroying it and badly damaging seven engines and forty carriages.

11/01/2023.Reading time 2 minutes.

The Great Southern and Western Railway Company releases a report detailing the damage Anti-Treaty forces have caused to their property over the previous six months; 375 lines damaged, 42 engines derailed, 51 over-bridges and 207 under-bridges destroyed, 83 signal cabins and 13 other buildings destroyed. In the same month, Republicans destroy the railway stations at […]

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#OTD in Irish History | 11 January:

11/01/2023.Reading time 11 minutes.

1753 – Death of physician, naturalist, Hans Sloane, Killyleagh, in Co Down. He was a collector, notable for bequeathing his collection to the nation, thus providing the foundation of the British Museum. His name was later used for streets and places such as Hans Place, Hans Crescent and Sloane Square in London, and also to […]

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#OTD in Irish History | 10 January:

10/01/2023.Reading time 10 minutes.

1751 – Cornelius Bolton, politician, Volunteer and improving landlord is born. He was a very progressive landlord and was very interested in helping his tenants progress. 1814 – Aubrey Thomas De Vere, a poet who adapted early Gaelic tales, is born in Co Limerick. He helped the Celtic revival encouraging the study of Celtic legend […]

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#OTD in Irish History | 9 January:

09/01/2023.Reading time 12 minutes.

1642 – Thirty Catholics are killed by the Scottish garrison and English settlers at Island Magee, Co Antrim. 1794 – Birth of Frances Ball in Dublin. Known as Mother Mary Theresa, she was the foundress of the Irish Branch of the Institute of the Blessed Virgin Mary (IBVM). In 1822 she opened the first institution […]

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#OTD in Irish History | 8 January:

08/01/2023.Reading time 11 minutes.

1547 – Henry VIII suppresses the Chapter of St Patrick’s Cathedral, Dublin; it will not be restored until 15 June 1555. 1779 – Birth in Newry of actress Julia Glover. 1860 – The Church of St Andrew in Suffolk Street, Dublin, is destroyed by fire. 1871 – James Craig, Ist Viscount Craigavon, Unionist politician and […]

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#OTD in 1839 – The Night Of The Big Wind or Oíche na Gaoithe Moire takes place; the most damaging storm in Irish history, some winds are estimated in excess of 130 mph.

06/01/2023.Reading time 4 minutes.

One of the worst storms in Irish history took place on 5 January 1839, when heavy snow fell throughout Ireland. In Irish history it’s known as the ‘Night of the Big Wind’ or ‘Oíche na Gaoithe Móire.’ This storm developed in the mid-Atlantic region early on 6 January 1839, but really intensified as its associated […]

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