Tag: Rathmines

#OTD in 1919 – The first assassination authorised by Michael Collins – Detective Sergeant the Dog Smyth was shot by The Squad.

30/07/2023.Reading time 18 minutes.

“Our only way to carry on the fight was by organised and bold guerilla warfare. But this in itself was not enough. England could always reinforce her army. To paralyse the British machine it was necessary to strike at individuals outside the ranks of the military. Without her Secret Service working at the top of […]

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#OTD in 1923 – Birth of Joe ‘Spud’ Murphy, in The Liberties, Dublin. 

14/05/2023.Reading time 2 minutes.

In 1954, Murphy started his own crisp company, Tayto, in O’Rahilly’s Parade off Moore Street with one van and eight employees, some of whom were to work for him for more than 40 years. His great marketing coup was to invent the world’s first cheese and onion flavour and put paid to the dull crisps of […]

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#OTD in 1916 – Francis Sheehy-Skeffington was apprehended while trying to stop looting during the Easter Rising and was later murdered by the British without trial.

26/04/2023.Reading time 5 minutes.

Francis Skeffington, writer and pacifist, was born in Bailieborough, Co Cavan on the 23 December 1878 to Joseph Bartholomew Skeffington and his wife Rose née Magorian. The family moved to Co Down shortly after his birth. He was educated by his father, a schools inspector and enrolled in University College Dublin (UCD) in 1896. While […]

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#OTD in 1888 – Birth of patriot and artist, Grace Gifford Plunkett, in Rathmines, Co Dublin.

04/03/2023.Reading time 4 minutes.

Grace Plunkett, née Gifford was a cartoonist, caricaturist and illustrator who was active in the Republican movement. Her marriage to Joseph Plunkett, one of the leaders of the 1916 Rising, a few hours before he was executed, is the subject of a popular Republican song, ‘Grace’, written by Frank and Sean O’Meara in 1985. Ar […]

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#OTD in 1878 – Birth of writer and radical activist, Francis Sheehy Skeffington in Dublin.

23/12/2022.Reading time 4 minutes.

Francis Skeffington, writer and pacifist, was born in Bailieborough, Co Cavan on the 23 December 1878 to Joseph Bartholomew Skeffington and his wife Rose née Magorian. The family moved to Co Down shortly after his birth. He was educated by his father, a schools inspector and enrolled in University College Dublin (UCD) in 1896. While […]

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#OTD in 1955 – Death of Irish Patriot, Grace Gifford Plunkett, in her apartment in South Richmond Street, Portobello, Dublin.

13/12/2022.Reading time 4 minutes.

Grace Plunkett, née Gifford was a cartoonist, caricaturist and illustrator who was active in the Republican movement. Her marriage to Joseph Plunkett, one of the leaders of the 1916 Rising, a few hours before he was executed, is the subject of a popular Republican song, ‘Grace’, written by Frank and Sean O’Meara in 1985. Ar […]

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#OTD in 1920 – Countess Markievicz was court-martialed by the British administration.

02/12/2022.Reading time 2 minutes.

She had been held in Mountjoy since her arrest at Rathmines on 26th September. The proceedings took place at the Royal Barracks (now Collins Barracks). Her close friends Dr. Kathleen Lynn, Maud Gonne MacBride and Hanna Sheehy-Skeffington were permitted to attend but under strict conditions. Markievicz was charged with conspiring to ‘organise and promote’ Fianna […]

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#OTD in 1919 – The first assassination authorised by Michael Collins – Detective Sergeant the Dog Smyth was shot by The Squad.

30/07/2022.Reading time 18 minutes.

“Our only way to carry on the fight was by organised and bold guerilla warfare. But this in itself was not enough. England could always reinforce her army. To paralyse the British machine it was necessary to strike at individuals outside the ranks of the military. Without her Secret Service working at the top of […]

Read More

#OTD in 1923 – Birth of Joe ‘Spud’ Murphy, in The Liberties, Dublin. 

14/05/2022.Reading time 2 minutes.

In 1954, Murphy started his own crisp company, Tayto, in O’Rahilly’s Parade off Moore Street with one van and eight employees, some of whom were to work for him for more than 40 years. His great marketing coup was to invent the world’s first cheese and onion flavour and put paid to the dull crisps of […]

Read More