Today In Irish History

March 1: TODAY in Irish History (by IrishmanSpeaks)

1847: Lord Dufferin and the Hon G.G. Boyle publish a report on the famine in the Skibereen, Co. Cork area.

“The scenes we have witnessed during our short stay at Skibbereen, equal any thing that has been recorded by history, or could be conceived by the imagination. Famine, typhus fever, dysentery, and a disease hitherto unknown, are sweeping away the whole population.”

At one stage, they “sent out for an immense basket-full of loaves, intending to distribute them to the occasional starving beings we were sure to meet with by the way; but some of the people of the town had learnt our intention, and collected in a great crowd under the window to the number of 100 or 200, mostly women. It was a frightful sight to see those pale eager faces staring up at us, uttering all manner of entreaties. Of course there was no hope of carrying off the bread, indeed it would have been cruel to have made the attempt; the only question was, how to divide it. At first we sent it down to the door, but the rush was so great, that that scheme became impracticable; and it only remained, to throw it out of the window. One can never forget what followed; the fighting, the screaming, the swaying to and fro of the human mass, as it rushed in the direction of some morsel, the entreaties and gestures by which each one sought to attract our attention to herself, and above all the insatiable expression of the crowd as it remained unsatisfied and undiminished at the exhaustion of our loaves– for what were they among so many!”

For more, see Narrative of a Journey: From Oxford to Skibbereen.

1869:  Death of Limerick born Field Marshal Hugh Gough, 1st Viscount Gough. Gough fought in the French Revolutionary wars, the Penninsular wars and the first Anglo-Chinese War. 

Field Marshal Hugh Gough

1952: Martin O’Neill, soccer player and soccer manager is born in Co. Derry. O’Neill’s career includes playing with Nottingham Forest when it won the European Cup in 1980. Perceived as one of the most astute soccer managers in the British game, he has had generally successful spells managing clubs including Leicester, Glasgow Celtic, Sunderland. A sometimes fiery, articulate player, as a manager  he is recognized for exceptional man-management and motivational skills.

New Sunderland Manager Martin O’Neill Dec 3, 2011

1981: IRA volunteer Bobby Sands commences his hunger strike at the Maze prison which would see him die 66 days later ensuring an eternal legacy in IRA history. Sands won election as MP during his hunger strike. His funeral was attended by over 50,000 people. In total, 10 IRA hunger strikers starved to death in their efforts to achieve political prisoner status from the government of an intransigent Margaret Thatcher.

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

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For the Love of Being Irish written by Chicago based Corkman Conor Cunneen and illustrated by Mark Anderson which is an A-Z of all things Irish. A work that should reside in any list of Best Irish Gift Books, this lavishly illustrated book contains History, Horror, Humor, Passion, Pathos and Lyrical Limericks that will have you giving thanks (or wishing you were) For the Love of Being Irish

Watch For the Love of Being Irish author Conor Cunneen – IrishmanSpeaks on his Youtube channel IrishmanSpeaks. Laugh and Learn.

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This history is written by Irish author, business keynote speaker, humorous motivational 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 IrishmanSpeaksto Laugh and Learn. Tags: Best Irish Gift, Creative Irish Gift, Unique Irish Gifts, Irish Books, Irish Authors, Today in Irish History