Archive for ‘Famous Irish People’

July 1,

Death of Thomas Francis Meagher – St. Oliver Plunkett Hanged, Drawn and Quartered at Today in Irish History

July 1: TODAY in Irish History:

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Thomas Francis Meagher

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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Product Details

SHEIFGAB! Staying Sane, Motivated and Productive in Job Search.

An insightful, realistic, yet humorous book on the job search process by Today in Irish History Curator Conor Cunneen

Special accessible price for job seekers on Kindle of $2.99

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1681: Execution of St. Oliver Plunkett

Oliver Plunkett, Archbishop of Armagh and Primate of All Ireland is hung, drawn and quartered at Tyburn, London for High Treason. The charge is generally accepted to have been a trumped up one. His main “crime” was he was an activist Catholic who refused to accept Protestant doctrine. Oliver Plunkett was the last Catholic martyr in England. Beatified in 1920, on October 12, 1975, he was canonized by the Catholic Church as a result of miracles associated with him. He was the first Irish saint in over 700 years.

Portrait of St Oliver hanging in the Irish College in Rome

READ: MORE ON: St. Oliver Plunkett

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READ: Pope Paul VI Canonization homily of Oliver Plunkett

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1867: Death of Thomas Francis Meagher

Death by drowning of Thomas Francis Meagher, Fenian, Irish nationalist and leader of the Young Irelanders in the Rebellion of 1848. Transported to Australia following the 1848 rebellion, he escaped to America in 1852.  When the Civil War started, he was instrumental in forming the Irish Brigade, which fought so valiantly in numerous conflicts including ChancellorsvilleFair Oaks and Fredericksburg. Meagher was a brave leader and loved by his men who ultimately fell foul of Ulysses S. Grant ironically because of his drinking. When the war ended, he was appointed Acting Governor of the (then) Territory of Nevada.

Thomas Francis Meagher 1823-1867

FOR MORE ON THOMAS FRANCIS MEAGHER

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1881: The Royal Dublin Fusiliers

The Royal Dublin Fusiliers is formally created by the amalgamation of two British Army regiments in India – the Royal Bombay Fusiliers and Royal Madras Fusiliers . The vast majority of the men who would fight with the Fusiliers came from a catchment area of Dublin and surrounding counties. The regiment was garrisoned in County Kildare. Nicknamed “The Dubs,” the regiment saw battle in many major conflicts including the Boer War and World War I where they fought at Ypres, Arras and Gallipoli. In total seven members of the Fusiliers were awarded the Victory Cross for gallantry. In one of the many ironies of Irish history, “The Dubs” were engaged in combat against fellow Irishmen during the 1916 Rising.

John Dillon, the Irish Party MP and Land League activist who was in Dublin during Easter week, told the House of Commons: I asked Sir John Maxwell himself, “Have you any cause of complaint of the Dublins [the Royal Dublin Fusiliers] who had to go down and fight their own people in the streets of Dublin? Did a single man turn back and betray the uniform he wears?” He told me, “Not a man.”

Following the end of the war and the commencement of the Irish War of Independence a number of disbanded Fusiliers joined the IRA. The regiment formally disbanded in 1922 on Irish Independence.

For Soldiers Stories of the Royal Dublin Fusiliers.

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WATCH: A Short History of Ireland

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

Irish gift ideas. Best selling Irish booksRonnie Drew and Luke Kelly - Musical Irish Gifts to the worldJoyce Image in For the Love of Being IrishMichael Collins: Image from 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)

   

June 30,

Garret Fitzgerald – Siege of Athlone – Four Courts Abandoned

June 30: TODAY in Irish History:

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Taoiseach Garret Fitzgerald

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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NEW                    NEW

Product Details

SHEIFGAB! Staying Sane, Motivated and Productive in Job Search.

An insightful, realistic, yet humorous book on the job search process by Today in Irish History Curator Conor Cunneen

Special accessible price for job seekers on Kindle of $2.99

.

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1691: Siege of Athlone

Another dark day in Irish military history as Athlone falls to the forces of Protestant King William of Orange who would eventually King of England, Scotland and Ireland. The siege of Athlone was a key conflict in what is known as The Williamite War which was a conflict between the last Catholic King of England, James II and Protestant forces of King William.

The Siege of Athlone

FOR MORE ON THE SIEGE OF ATHLONE

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1798: Death Throes of Rebellion

In what was a relatively small skirmish compared to the mayhem of previous weeks of the 1798 Rebellion, Irish rebels win a small victory against English troops at Ballyellis, Co. Wexford. It would be the last Irish victory in the most violent Irish rebellion in modern history. At least 10,000 died in a campaign that saw appalling atrocities inflicted by English and Irish.

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SEE: MORE ON 1798 REBELLION by Professor Thomas Bartlett, Professor of Modern Irish History at University College Dublin

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READ: The 1798 Rebellion and the Origins of Irish Republicanism.

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1922: Four Courts Abandoned and Destroyed

Anti-Treaty forces abandon The Four Courts in Dublin which was bombarded for two days under the orders of Michael Collins. Tragically, the Irish Public Records Office which housed official documents, archives and artifacts from almost 1,000 years of Irish history was destroyed during the bombing.

Four Courts Dublin on fire

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1981: Taoiseach Garret Fitzgerald

Garret Fitzgerald is elected Taoiseach and leader of a minority government composed of Fine Gael and Labour TDs (members of parliament.) Fitzgerald would be in power for only eight months before losing another general election to the charismatic, but crooked and profligate Charles Haughey. A third general election in an 18 month period (December 1982) would see Fitzgerald again in power, a position he held until 1987.

SEE MORE Irish Election Literature

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READ: Garret Fitzgerald biography at UCD.ie

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WATCH: A Short History of Ireland

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

Irish gift ideas. Best selling Irish booksRonnie Drew and Luke Kelly - Musical Irish Gifts to the worldJoyce Image in For the Love of Being IrishMichael Collins: Image from 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)