Today In Irish History

April 20: TODAY in Irish History:

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Bram Stoker

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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1608: Ireland’s First (Official) Distillery

King James I grants Sir Thomas Phillips a royal licence to distil ‘uisce beatha’ (whiskey.) in ‘the territory of the Rowte’ in Co. Antrim. The literal translation of uisce beatha is ‘water of life’. This is the first official recorded evidence of whiskey-making in the area that would become home to Bushmills.

Bushmills holds the oldest license for whiskey distillation in the world. Bushmills is the second biggest selling Irish Whiskey in the world.

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READ: About Bushmills at Whiskey Pages

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1912: Bram Stoker 1847-1912

Death of novelist Bram Stoker (b. 1847), author of Dracula which was first published in 1897. Born in Dublin, Stoker was bed-ridden for much of his childhood, but lived a relatively healthy life during his adulthood. Educated at Trinity College, he moved to London in 1878 and married actress Florence Balcombe. Dracula received some praise on its publication. (Sir Arthur Conan Doyle praised it highly) but it was not until the movie Dracula, starring Bela Lugosi opened in 1931 that vampire mania really took off.

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In 2012, An Post (Irish Post Office) issued stamps commemorating Bram Stoker

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1916:Double Congressional Medal of Honor Winner

Clare-born Henry Hogan, one of only nineteen people to win TWO Congressional Medals of Honor dies age 76.

He was cited for gallantry in 1876 against Sitting Bull’s Lakota warriors at the 1876 Battle of Cedar Creek, and in 1877 for action at Bear Paw Mountain, Montana in a further action in the “Indian Wars.” His second citation reads: 30 September 1877. Citation: Carried Lt. Romeyn, who was severely wounded, off the field of battle under heavy fire.

Another double recipients was also Irish John Cooper for gallantry during the Civil War. Coopers citations read:

“On board the U.S.S. Brooklyn during action against rebel forts and gunboats and with the ram Tennessee, in Mobile Bay, 5 August 1864. Despite severe damage to his ship and the loss of several men on board as enemy fire raked her decks from stem to stern, Cooper fought his gun with skill and courage throughout the furious battle which resulted in the surrender of the prize rebel ram Tennessee and in the damaging and destruction of batteries at Fort Morgan. SECOND AWARD Served as quartermaster on Acting Rear Admiral Thatcher’s staff. During the terrific fire at Mobile, on 26 April 1865, at the risk of being blown to pieces by exploding shells, Cooper advanced through the burning locality, rescued a wounded man from certain death, and bore him on his back to a place of safety. G.O. No.: 62, 29 June 1865.”

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1954: Ireland’s Last Execution

Twenty-five year old Michael Manning from Limerick is the last person to be executed in the Republic of Ireland, for the murder of a 65 year old nurse.  The execution by hanging was carried out in Mountjoy Prison, Dublin by the famous English hangman Albert Pierrepoint who travelled from London for the event. Coincidentally, the first execution Pierrepoint attended was also in Mountjoy in 1932 where he watched his uncle execute a man for murder.

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1991: Death of novelist and short story writer Seán Ó Faoláin.

Irish short story writer Seán Ó Faoláinwas born John Francis Whelan in Cork. In the 1950’s, he served as director of the Arts Council of Ireland. He made a major contribution to the development of Irish literature when he founded the literary periodical The Bell. This publication created quite a bit of controversy as it was outspoken in its attacks on censorship and conservative aspects of Irish nationalism and Catholicism.

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READ: More about at Irish Writers Online

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READ: Article on Seán Ó Faoláin at Cork Independent

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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.

Tags: Best Irish Gift, Creative Irish Gift, Unique Irish Gifts, Irish Books, Irish Authors, Today in Irish History TODAY IN IRISH HISTORY (published by IrishmanSpeaks)

April 19: 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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1912: Titanic Inquiry Opens – FOUR Days after Sinking

J. Bruce Ismay – Managing Director White Star Line

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The excellent Titanic Inquiry Project provides the following rationale for the promptness of the inquiry.

“On Thursday the 18th, the Department of the Navy contacted Senator Smith, advising him that they had intercepted several significant messages sent by J. Bruce Ismay. These telegrams intimated that Ismay was hoping to go directly back to England, along with the crew, without setting foot on American soil. Smith immediately decided to press the issue and arranged a noon meeting at the White House.

During the meeting, Smith asked about the legalities of subpoenaing British citizens. Taft, after checking with Attorney-General George Wickersham, said there was no question so long as they were in the United States.

That afternoon, the first meeting of the investigative subcommittee was held, during which the Ismay messages were discussed. Smith asked which of the other Senators would accompany him to New York to serve subpoenas and interrogate witnesses.”

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READ: Testimony of J. Bruce Ismay

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The Titanic Inquiry Project

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1972: Widgery Report into Bloody Sunday

Publication of  the Widgery Report into the events of Bloody Sunday brings an avalanche of criticism and incredulity amongst nationalist and independent commentators. The man who served as the Lord Chief Justice of England from 1971-80 found that British paratroopers were not responsible for the deaths of 13 civilians on the day and that “there would have been no deaths in Londonderry on 30 January if those who organised the illegal march had not thereby created a highly dangerous situation in which a clash between demonstrators and the security forces was almost inevitable.” Despite all evidence to the contrary, Widgery stated “There was nogeneral breakdown in discipline.”

Widgery’s finding would later be discredited by the Saville Tribunal and force Prime Minister David Cameron to issue an apology for the events of Bloody Sunday, stating the killings were “unjustified and unjustifiable.” Some of his report bordered on the sycophantic: “”Those accustomed to listening to witnesses could not fail to be impressed by the demeanour of the soldiers of 1 Para. They gave their evidence with confidence and without hesitation or prevarication and withstood a rigorous cross-examination without contradicting themselves or each other.” On the other hand, Saville would write in his report: “In the course of the report we have considered in detail the accounts of the soldiers whose firing caused the casualties, in the light of much other evidence. We have concluded, for the reasons we give, that apart from Private T many of these soldiers have knowingly put forward false accounts in order to seek to justify their firing.”

Widgery’s report violated any remaining trust (which was nominal at this stage) Irish nationalists had in British justice or impartiality. It provided one more effective recruiting arm for the IRA.

Tony Doherty who was 9 when his father was gunned down states:

” In some respects what actually happened after Bloody Sunday was a more embittering experience than the actual killings. There we were, under the full glare of the world’s media; people saw what happened, and attested before courts and tribunals as to what happened. But the final word was that everybody had got it wrong, the media had got it wrong, the people in the street had got it wrong, the relatives had got it wrong, and the only people who had got it right were the Brits. The most galling aspect of Bloody Sunday for me is the denial of truth.”

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READ: Events of Bloody Sunday

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READ: The Guardian newspaper provides excellent overview of the Widgery and Saville reports.

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READ:  Widgery Report

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READ: Saville Report

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1997: US Navy commissions The Sullivans

US Navy commissions The Sullivans, the second ship to be named after the five Sullivan brothers who perished on the USS Juneau, November 1942 during the Battle of Guadalcanal. The Sullivans were descendants of Irish immigrants.

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Want to learn more about Ireland? See these images and more in the acclaimed For the Love of Being Irish

___________________________________

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.

Tags: Best Irish Gift, Creative Irish Gift, Unique Irish Gifts, Irish Books, Irish Authors, Today in Irish History TODAY IN IRISH HISTORY (published by IrishmanSpeaks)