Irish History, Culture, Heritage, Language, Mythology
The Knight of Glin (dormant 14 September 2011), also known as the Black Knight or Knight of the Valley, was a hereditary title in the FitzGerald families of Co Limerick since the early 14th century. The family was a branch of the FitzGerald dynasty, or Geraldines, related to the Earls of Desmond (extinct), who were […]
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1430 – A great council meets at Dublin on this date; it states that Irish enemies and English rebels have conquered almost all of Limerick, Tipperary, Kilkenny, Wexford, Carlow, Kildare, Meath and Louth, so that hardly anything but Dublin remains in the colony. 1598 – The English poet Edmund Spenser is appointed Sheriff of Cork. […]
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Ireland’s capital city gives us an interesting example of an Irish place name where the commonly used English form and the native Irish form bear no relationship to each other. Unlike many Irish place names, Dublin is not transliterated from or related to the Gaelic name for the area: Baile Átha Cliath and each name […]
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Old Michaelmas Day – Celtic holiday. According to an old legend, blackberries should not be picked after this date. This is because, so folklore goes, Satan was banished from Heaven on this day, fell into a blackberry bush and cursed the brambles as he fell into them. Michaelmas, the Feast of St Michael the Archangel […]
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Prior to the Anglo-Norman invasions Ireland was home to between 80-140 independent petty kingdoms called túatha. A person’s idea of nationhood was local to their home túath and kin-group (fine). Each túath had its king elected from among its noble grades, each had their own customs and traditions, styles of dress, particular songs and legends […]
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The Ulster Covenant, was signed by just under half a million Irishmen and women, mainly from Ulster, on and before 28 September 1912, in protest against the Third Home Rule Bill introduced by the British Government in the same year. Sir Edward Carson was the first person to sign the Covenant at Belfast City Hall […]
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1678 – ‘Popish plot’ is alleged in England. The Popish Plot was a fictitious conspiracy concocted by Titus Oates that gripped England in anti-Catholic hysteria between 1678 and 1681. Oates alleged that there existed an extensive Catholic conspiracy to assassinate Charles II, accusations that led to the execution of at least 15 men and precipitated […]
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The Irish werewolf is different from the Teutonic or European werewolf, as it is really not a “monster” at all. Unlike its continental cousins, this shapeshifter is the guardian and protector of children, wounded men and lost persons. According to some ancient sources, the Irish werewolves were even recruited by kings in time of war. […]
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“Why should Ireland be treated as a geographical fragment of England – Ireland is not a geographical fragment, but a nation.” –Charles Stewart Parnell Charles Stewart Parnell made his final public appearance speaking at Creggs, Co Galway in torrential rain. Already in poor health, the drenching rain effectively proved fatal. He returned to his home […]
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World Tourism Day 1662 – An “act for encouraging Protestant strangers and others to inhabit and plant in the kingdom of Ireland” is passed in the Irish Parliament under Charles II. 1725 – Patrick Darcy, scientist and soldier, is born in Kitulla, Co Galway. 1739 – Birth of Francis Russell, Marquess of Tavistock. He was […]
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