#OTD in 1921 – Eithne Coyle, May Burke, Linda Kearns and Aileen Keogh, escape from Mountjoy Prison.

30/10/2022.Reading time 5 minutes.

Eithne Ní Chumhaill (Coyle O’Donnell), from Killult, near Falcarragh, Co Donegal, became a member of Cumann na mBan in 1918. As head of the Co Donegal branch of Cumann na mBan Coyle played a leading role in mobilising her members to canvass on behalf of Sinn Féin for the 1918 general election. Between 1918 and […]

#OTD in 1868 – James Connolly is born to Irish parents in Edinburgh.

05/06/2022.Reading time 2 minutes.

1916 rebel leader and ardent socialist James Connolly is born to poverty-stricken Irish parents in Edinburgh, Scotland. At age 14, he joined the British Army (Royal Scots Regiment) falsifying his age. He was posted to Ireland, serving much of his time in the Cork area. Despite the fact he left school at age 11, Connolly […]

#OTD in 1920 – The first ‘Black and Tans’ (auxiliary policemen) officially arrived in Ireland.

25/03/2022.Reading time 5 minutes.

Although they would be operational for less than two years, the ‘Black and Tans’ would become one of the most reviled names in Irish history. The English recruits to the RIC were mainly the unemployed veterans of World War I. Their principal motivation: employment for ten shillings a day. When the first recruits arrived in […]

#OTD in 1902 – Birth of medical student and nationalist revolutionary, Kevin Barry, in Dublin.

20/01/2022.Reading time 3 minutes.

Kevin Barry was 18 years old when he was hanged in Mountjoy Jail on 1 November 1920. His death at such a young age is possibly the most poignant in Irish history. He is one of a group of IRA members executed in 1920-21 collectively known as ‘The Forgotten Ten’. Barry’s execution outraged nationalist public […]