#OTD in Irish History | 3 September:

03/09/2023.Reading time 10 minutes.

In the Liturgical calendar, it is the Feast day of St McNisse, baptised by St Patrick, and later consecrated him the first abbot-bishop of Kells, which became the diocese of Connor. 1649 – The Siege of Drogheda begins. 1654 – The first Protectorate parliament meets; Ireland is represented by 30 members. 1658 – Nine years […]

#OTD in 1581 – The Wexford Martyrs were hanged, drawn and quartered.

05/07/2023.Reading time 4 minutes.

The Wexford Martyrs were Patrick Cavanagh, Matthew Lambert, Edward Cheevers, Robert Tyler and two others whose names are not known. They were found guilty of treason for aiding in the escape of James Eustace, Viscount Baltinglass. James Eustace, whose family had links with Clongowes Wood Castle, now a Jesuit boarding school near Dublin, joined the […]

#OTD in Irish History | 13 May:

13/05/2023.Reading time 13 minutes.

1842 – Arthur Sullivan, the son of an Irish musician, is born. Along with William Gilbert he invented the English operetta. Sullivan’s last work is entitled “The Emerald Isle”. 1848 – The Irish Confederation splits; John Mitchel starts the militant United Irishman; he is arrested on this date and is sentenced to 14 years transportation […]

#OTD in 1981 – The private secretary of Pope John Paul II paid a visit to Bobby Sands in Long Kesh Prison, however, was unable to persuade him to end his hunger strike.

28/04/2023.Reading time 7 minutes.

Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, Humphrey Atkins, stated that: ‘If Mr Sands persisted in his wish to commit suicide, that was his choice. The government would not force medical treatment upon him.’ In the United States, President Ronald Reagan, said that America would not intervene in the situation in Northern Ireland but he was […]

#OTD in Irish History | 1 October (Deireadh Fómhair):

01/10/2022.Reading time 10 minutes.

1600 – Robert Grave, Church of Ireland Bishop of Ferns and Leighlin, and his family drown in Dublin Bay on their way home to Wexford. 1796 – The Royal College of St Patrick, a Catholic seminary, is opened in Maynooth, Co Kildare. 1751 – Cornelius Bolton, politician, Volunteer and improving landlord is born. 1761 – […]