June 13: TODAY in Irish History:
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W. B. Yeats illustration in For the Love of Being Irish
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: W. B. Yeats
Birth of William Butler Yeats in Dublin, the son of painter John Butler Yeats. He spent much of his childhood in County Sligo which was a huge source of inspiration for him, not least the beautiful Lake Isle of Inisfree.
In For the Love of Being Irish, author Conor Cunneen writes:
Illustration of W.B. Yeats in For the Love of Being Irish
YouTube has the following radio recording of Yeats presenting this great poem and explaining how he came up with idea for Inisfree.
Yeats was a major player in the Celtic Revival which endevored (successfully) to raise awareness of the culture of Ireland, much of which had been decimated by English rule. His personal and political life was as interesting as his poetry. The love of his life Irish revolutionary Maud Gonne rebuked his marriage proposals on a number of occasions although they were lovers.
Yeats is buried in Drumcliff, County Sligo.
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1951: Dev becomes Taoiseach
Eamonn De Valera becomes Taoiseach for the second time a position he had previously held between 1937-1948. De Valera was (is) a divisive figure in Irish politics. He fought in the 1916 rebellion, but spent much of the War of Independence in America garnering funds and support for an independent Ireland. He and his supporters voted against the Anglo-Irish Treaty precipitating a vicious civil war that saw the death of the other 20th century giant of Irish politics Michael Collins. A strong believer in the purity of Irish culture (even though he was New York born) and “maidens dancing at the crossroads,” his most infamous moment was when he offered condolences to Germany on the death of Adolf Hitler. His decision to maintain Ireland’s neutrality during World War II made him something of a pariah among the Allies. Whether his views on neutrality were purely philosophical or purely anti-British is difficult to discern. Politically, a vote to fight with Britain irrespective of the validity of the cause would have been hard for many Irish to bear less than a generation after the 1916 execution, the War of Independence and the the horror of the Black and Tans.
William Butler Yeats was one of those not totally convinced by De Valera “I was rather disappointed—A living argument rather than a living man, all propaganda, no human life, but not bitter hysterical or unjust…… He will fail through not having enough human life to judge the life of others.”
In For the Love of Being Irish, author Conor Cunneen quotes JFK’s humorous reference to De Valera and their respective ancestry when he spoke in Dail Eireann.
Illustration of JFK by Mark Anderson in For the Love of Being Irish
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2008: Death of TV and political journalist Tim Russert Russert. In 1950 he was born in Buffalo, New York to Irish American Catholic parents.
- Tim Russert 1950-2008
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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
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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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