#OTD in Irish History – 31 March:

31/03/2019.Reading time 10 minutes.

1711 – Seven women from Island Magee, Co Antrim were imprisoned and pilloried for ‘bewitching’ a woman named Mary Dunbar, who had experienced strange fits and visions. 1790 – A quarrel between John Philpot Curran (MP for Kilbeggan) and Robert Hobart (MP for Portarlington) resulted in a duel in which Hobart allowed Curran to fire […]

#OTD in Irish History – 14 December:

14/12/2018.Reading time 9 minutes.

1585 – Death of Nicholas Walsh, Bishop of Ossory. The son of Patrick Walsh, Bishop of Waterford, Nicholas Walsh was consecrated a priest in 1567. He introduced prayer-books and catechisms printed in Irish. He was appointed Chancellor of St. Patrick’s Cathedral in 1571. Starting in 1573, Walsh worked on translating the New Testament into Irish. […]

#OTD in Irish History – 25 November:

25/11/2018.Reading time 9 minutes.

1713 – The second Irish parliament of Queen Anne sits from this date to 24 December. The Whig Alan Brodrick is elected Speaker for the second time, in place of John Forster, after a stormy contest with the government’s Tory nominee, Sir Richard Levinge. 1764 – Birth of Dublin town head of police, Henry Sirr, […]

Ballynoe Stone Circle, Ballynoe, Co Down

26/09/2018.Reading time 1 minute.

The Ballynoe stone circle is a large circle of over 50 standing stones, some as large as 2 metres high and is located near the town of Ballynoe in Co Down. It is thought that the site dates back to around 2000BC and was begun in the Stone Age. The original site was modified during […]

#OTD in Irish History – 12 July:

12/07/2018.Reading time 19 minutes.

1660 – Sir Mark Rainsford was the 36th Lord Mayor of Dublin from 1700 to 1701. During this period the statue of King William of Orange on College Green was unveiled by him, a monument which would become a centre of protest and celebration for generations in the capital. Rainsford was also the original founder […]