#OTD in 1803 – Birth of William Smith O’Brien in Dromoland, Newmarket on Fergus, Co Clare.

William Smith O’Brien was a Protestant Irish nationalist Member of Parliament (MP) and leader of the Young Ireland movement. He also encouraged the use of the Irish language. He was convicted of sedition for his part in the Young Irelander Rebellion of 1848, but his sentence of death was commuted to deportation to Van Diemen’s […]

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#OTD in 1846 – O’Connell and the Young Irelanders party split over use of physical force.

The name Young Ireland was originally used in a disparaging way to describe the group of young Repeal Association members who were associated with The Nation newspaper. At the time, the Repeal Association was campaigning for the repeal of the Act of Union 1800 between the kingdoms of Great Britain and Ireland. The term was […]

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#OTD in 1848 – A gunfight takes place between Young Ireland Rebels and police at Widow McCormack’s house in Ballingarry, Co Tipperary.

The Young Irelander Rebellion was a failed Irish nationalist uprising led by the Young Ireland movement, part of the wider Revolutions of 1848 that affected most of Europe. It took place on 29 July 1848 in the village of Ballingarry, South Tipperary. After being chased by a force of Young Irelanders and their supporters, an […]

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#OTD in 1854 – William Smith O’Brien, leader of the 1848 rebellion, is pardoned.

Patriot, William O’Brien, was born in Dromoland, Co Clare. His mother was Charlotte, née Smith, whose father owned a property called Cahirmoyle in Co Limerick. William inherited it and adopted the additional surname of Smith, thereafter he is known as William Smith O’Brien. In the 1820’s he took his seat in parliament as the Conservative […]

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#OTD in Irish History | 26 February:

1797 – The Bank of Ireland suspends gold payments. 1854 – William Smith O’Brien, leader of the 1848 rebellion, is pardoned. He was convicted of sedition for his part in the Young Irelander Rebellion of 1848, but his sentence of death was commuted to deportation to Van Diemen’s Land. In 1854, he was released on […]

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#OTD in 1848 – ‘Saturday Review’ Racist Anti-Irish Rant.

On this day in 1848, the ‘The Saturday Review’ responded to comments from Archbishop John McHale (The Lion of St. Jarlaths) as to how emigration was bleeding Ireland dry with an astonishingly racist rant. “(A)nd in a letter to Mr. Gladstone he sighs… over the departing demons of assassination and murder. Like his friend Mr. […]

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The Fenian Brotherhood

The Fenian Brotherhood, the Irish Republican Brotherhood’s US branch, was founded by John O’Mahony and Michael Doheny, both of whom had been “out” (participating in the Young Irelander’s rising) in 1848. Members were commonly known as “Fenians”. O’Mahony, who was a Celtic scholar, named his organisation after the Fianna, the legendary band of Irish warriors […]

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#OTD in 1803 – Birth of William Smith O’Brien in Dromoland, Newmarket on Fergus, Co Clare.

William Smith O’Brien was a Protestant Irish nationalist Member of Parliament (MP) and leader of the Young Ireland movement. He also encouraged the use of the Irish language. He was convicted of sedition for his part in the Young Irelander Rebellion of 1848, but his sentence of death was commuted to deportation to Van Diemen’s […]

Read More

#OTD in 1846 – O’Connell and the Young Irelanders party split over use of physical force.

The name Young Ireland was originally used in a disparaging way to describe the group of young Repeal Association members who were associated with The Nation newspaper. At the time, the Repeal Association was campaigning for the repeal of the Act of Union 1800 between the kingdoms of Great Britain and Ireland. The term was […]

Read More

#OTD in 1848 – A gunfight takes place between Young Ireland Rebels and police at Widow McCormack’s house in Ballingarry, Co Tipperary.

The Young Irelander Rebellion was a failed Irish nationalist uprising led by the Young Ireland movement, part of the wider Revolutions of 1848 that affected most of Europe. It took place on 29 July 1848 in the village of Ballingarry, South Tipperary. After being chased by a force of Young Irelanders and their supporters, an […]

Read More