March 16: 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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WATCH: A Short History of Ireland
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1865: Patsy Donovan – The Man who discovered Babe Ruth
Baseball player Patsy Donovan is born in Cobh (then Queenstown) Co. Cork. Donovan played major league baseball for a number of teams including the Pittsburgh Pirates and St. Louis Cardinals between 1892-1903 consistently hitting .300. He managed the Boston Red Sox seasons 1910 and 1911. Donovan persuaded the Red Sox to sign an up and coming player named George Ruth in 1914.
- Patsy Donovan Red Sox manager
Read bio of Donovan at Society of American Baseball Research.
1919: Robert Barton – Jail Escape
Sinn Fein member Robert Barton escapes from Mountjoy Jail, courtesy of some excellent planning by Michael Collins which involved smuggling a file into the prison. Barton had been a British (yes, British) army officer, stationed with the Dublin Fusiliers in Ireland during the 1916 Rising. Following the execution of the 1916 leaders, he resigned his post and joined the nationalist movement. Apparently, a man with a sense of humor, he left a note for the Mountjoy governor stating that the accommodation was not to his liking!
Barton accompanied Collins to London for the treaty negotiations.
- Arthur Griffith, Robert Barton, Michael Collins at Treaty Negotiations
1922: De Valera Threatens Civil War.
Speaking in Dungarvan, Co. Waterford, Eamonn De Valera states that if the Treaty is accepted, there will be civil war. Unfortunately he was right.
1988: Loyalist Attack at Funeral
Loyalist gunman Michael Stone kills three people at a funeral for IRA members ( Mairead Farrell, 31, Daniel McCann, 30, and Sean Savage, 23,) who were shot in Gibraltar by SAS undercover troops. Stone wanted to kill Sinn Fein leader Gerry Adams and others whom he believed to be members of the IRA. He claimed the attack was in retaliation for the IRA bomb in Enniskillen on Remembrance Day which killed 11. The events of this day would have horrible repercussions some days later.
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 