#OTD in 1951 – Birth of Volunteer Joe McDonnell, in Lenadoon, Belfast, who died in the 1981 Irish hunger strike.

14/09/2023.Reading time 6 minutes.

McDonnell was born on Slate Street in the Falls Road of west Belfast on 14 Sept 1951, and was the fifth of 10 children and went to a nearby Roman Catholic school. In 1970, he married Goretti, and moved into her sister’s house in Lenadoon. There were only two Catholic houses in this predominantly Ulster […]

#OTD in 1803 – James Napper Tandy, Irish patriot, dies in exile in France.

24/08/2023.Reading time 4 minutes.

James Napper Tandy was born in the Cornmarket area of Dublin in 1740; one of three children born to James Tandy, an iron works merchant, and Maria Bella Jenkins. Tandy received his education at the Quaker boarding school in Ballitore, Kildare, amongst its alumni Edmund Burke, a champion of Catholic emancipation and a supporter of […]

#OTD in 1981 – Death of Joe McDonnell, from Lenadoon, Belfast, after 61 days on hunger strike.

08/07/2023.Reading time 6 minutes.

Fuair siad bás ar son Saoirse na hÉireann. Joe McDonnell was a member of the Provisional Irish Republican Army (IRA), who died in the 1981 Irish hunger strike. McDonnell was born on Slate Street in the Falls Road of west Belfast on 14 Sept 1951, and was the fifth of 10 children and went to […]

#OTD in 1920 – On hearing of British atrocities in Ireland, soldiers of the Connaught Rangers mutiny in protest; three are shot dead; a fourth, Private James Daly, is court-martialled and executed by firing squad.

28/06/2023.Reading time 5 minutes.

The Connaught Rangers (The Devil’s Own) was an Irish line infantry regiment of the British Army originally raised in 1793 as the 88th Regiment of Foot (Connaught Rangers), which gained a reputation both for indiscipline and for its prowess as shock troops and streetfighters with the bayonet while serving under the Duke of Wellington during […]

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

05/06/2023.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 1981 – Joe McDonnell begins his hunger strike at the H Blocks in Long Kesh prison.

08/05/2023.Reading time 2 minutes.

Fuair siad bás ar son Saoirse na hÉireann. McDonnell was born on Slate Street in the Falls Road of west Belfast on 14 Sept 1951, and was the fifth of 10 children and went to a nearby Roman Catholic school. McDonnell was arrested in Operation Demetrius and interned on the prison ship HMS Maidstone. He […]

#OTD in 1801 – The trial of United Irishman, Napper Tandy, begins.

07/04/2023.Reading time 3 minutes.

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

20/01/2023.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 […]

#OTD in 1920 – Following a mutiny in India by soldiers of the Connaught Rangers in protest at events in Ireland, Private James Daly is court-martialled and executed by firing squad.

02/11/2022.Reading time 5 minutes.

The Connaught Rangers (‘The Devil’s Own’) was an Irish regiment of the British Army originally raised in 1793 as the 88th Regiment of Foot (Connaught Rangers), which gained a reputation both for indiscipline and for its prowess as shock troops and street fighters with the bayonet while serving under the Duke of Wellington during the […]

#OTD in 1973 – Mountjoy Prison Helicopter Escape | The IRA use a hijacked helicopter to free three of their members from the exercise yard of Mountjoy Prison, Dublin.

31/10/2022.Reading time 2 minutes.

Early that day, an IRA member had hijacked an Alouette II helicopter and forced the pilot to land at the D Wing of Mountjoy Prison where they picked up the three IRA prisoners: Séamus Twomey, Chief of Staff, JB O’Hagan, Quartermaster, and Kevin Mallon, activist. Irish prison guards were not armed. The helicopter had been […]

Stair na hÉireann | History of Ireland

Tag: The Wolfe Tones

#OTD in 1951 – Birth of Volunteer Joe McDonnell, in Lenadoon, Belfast, who died in the 1981 Irish hunger strike.

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#OTD in 1803 – James Napper Tandy, Irish patriot, dies in exile in France.

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#OTD in 1981 – Death of Joe McDonnell, from Lenadoon, Belfast, after 61 days on hunger strike.

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#OTD in 1920 – On hearing of British atrocities in Ireland, soldiers of the Connaught Rangers mutiny in protest; three are shot dead; a fourth, Private James Daly, is court-martialled and executed by firing squad.

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

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#OTD in 1981 – Joe McDonnell begins his hunger strike at the H Blocks in Long Kesh prison.

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#OTD in 1801 – The trial of United Irishman, Napper Tandy, begins.

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

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#OTD in 1920 – Following a mutiny in India by soldiers of the Connaught Rangers in protest at events in Ireland, Private James Daly is court-martialled and executed by firing squad.

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#OTD in 1973 – Mountjoy Prison Helicopter Escape | The IRA use a hijacked helicopter to free three of their members from the exercise yard of Mountjoy Prison, Dublin.

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