March 9: TODAY in Irish History:
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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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1918: Crime Writer Mickey Spillane born
Crime writer and novelist Mickey Spillane (d. 2006) is born in New York to an Irish father and Scottish mother. Spillane’s most famous character is the sometimes brutal crime fighter Mike Hammer. Spillane was astonishingly successful, selling 200 million books over his career. In 1980, seven of the top 15 all-time bestselling fiction titles in America were by Spillane.
Stacy Keach as Mike Hammer
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1946: Cardinal John Joseph Glennon
Death of Cardinal John Joseph Glennon, Archbishop of St. Louis 1903-1946.
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Glennon was born in Kinnegad, Co. Meath in 1862. During his seminary years he emmigrated to the US (1882) and was ordained in 1884. He became a Cardinal in 1845, but on his way back to the US from Rome, became ill and died in Ireland.
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READ: Bio of Cardinal Glennon at Archdiocese of St. Louis
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1973: Northern Ireland votes overwhelmingly to remain within the United Kingdom.
In a referendum on the future of the province, 57% of the electorate (591,280 people) voted to retain current links with the UK. The nationalist / Roman Catholic population boycotted what they considered to be a meaningless election which ensured only 6,463 voted in favor of a united Ireland. Estimates suggest that less than one percent of Catholics voted.
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1987: U2 release The Joshua Tree.
Produced by Daniel Lanois and Brian Eno, The Joshua Tree has sold close to 30 million copies worldwide. The album includes a host of what are now U2 staples such as “With or Without You”, “I Still Haven’t Found What I’m Looking For”, and “Where the Streets Have No Name”. Rolling Stone would name it the third best album of the 80s.
In the article, U2 guitarist Edge says “The Joshua Tree is “an album of contrasts,” says the Edge. “Bono had fairly strong ideas. He’d been taken with American literature and music. Lyrically, he wanted to follow the blues and get into America. I’d written off white blues in 1978. I was trying desperately to figure out ways to play without using white blues. I wanted to push the European atmospherics. But listening to Robert Johnson and other early blues, I could see what was there. I warmed to the idea.”
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READ: The Joshua Tree at Rolling Stone
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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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