March 8: TODAY in Irish History:
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The Pirate Anne Bonny born in ireland
Snippets of Irish History by Conor Cunneen IrishmanSpeaks 
Conor is a Chicago based Motivational Humorous Business Speaker, Author and History buff.
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1702: The Pirate Anne Bonny
Anne Bonny who would go on to become a famous pirate operating in the Caribbean is born in County Cork. Bonny became mistress to the pirate Calico Jack Rackham bearing him at least one child. Daniel Defoe wrote what amounted to a biography of Anne Bonny in A General History of the Pirates which you can read at Project Gutenberg.
He writes of her early life: “Anne Bonny was born at a Town near Cork, in the Kingdom of Ireland, her Father an Attorney at Law, butAnne was not one of his legitimate Issue, which seems to cross an old Proverb, which says, that Bastards have the best Luck.”
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1702: Queen Anne of Ireland.
Anne (6 February 1665 – 1 August 1714) ascends the thrones of England, Scotland and Ireland.
Queen Anne with husband Prince George. She had 17 pregnancies!
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1959: Actor Aidan Quinn is born in Chicago to Irish parents. Quinn played anti-treaty politician Harry Boland in Neil Jordan’s movie Michael Collins.
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1966: Up Went Nelson in Old Dublin
Irish republicans blow up Nelson’s Pillar in O’Connell Street Dublin. The pillar was seen by many as an anachronistic monument to English occupation of Ireland, especially as 1966 was the 50th anniversary of the 1916 Rising.
Nelson’s Pillar – Before
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Nelson’s Pillar – After!
The bombing of Nelson’s Pillar became a humorous Cause Célèbre in popular culture as the following video clips featuring the Dubliners
The humorous song Up went Nelson sung by The Go Lucky Four was number one in the Irish charts for eight weeks in 1966!
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1973: IRA Bombs Old Bailey
The IRA explodes two car bombs outside the Old Bailey courthouse in London, killing one person and injuring almost two hundred. One of those convicted, nineteen year old Gerry Kelly escaped from the Maze Prison in 1983, but was recaptured in 1986. He went on to become a member of Sinn Fein’s negotiating team for the Good Friday Agreement, and also served as a Sinn Fein Assembly Member for North Belfast in the Northern Ireland Assembly.
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Want to learn more about Ireland? See these images and more in the acclaimed For the Love of Being Irish
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This history is written by Irish author, business keynote speaker and award winning humorist IrishmanSpeaks – Conor Cunneen. If you spot any inaccuracies or wish to make a comment, please don’t hesitate to contact us via the comment button.
Visit Conor’s YouTube channel IrishmanSpeaks to Laugh and Learn.
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Today In Irish History 