February 15: 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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1856: Steamship Queen Victoria founders off Bailey Lighthouse, Howth
The steamship Queen Victoria, on a voyage from Liverpool to Dublin, with 100 passengers and cargo on board hits the rocks near Howth, Co Dublin in the early hours of the morning. An estimated 60 lives are lost.
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1874: Polar explored Ernest Shackleton is born in Kilkea, Co. Kildare.
He is most famous for his failed expedition on the ship Endurance when he attempted to cross the Antarctic from sea to sea via the South Pole.
- Polar Explorer Ernest Shackleton
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Shackleton qualified as a master mariner in 1898. In 1901, Shackleton went with British naval officer Robert Falcon Scott on the ship ‘Discovery’ to the South Pole. In 1908, he led an expedition on the ship ‘Nimrod’ to the Antarctic. He was knighted on his return to Britain.
In 1914, Shackleton made his third trip to the Antarctic with the ship ‘Endurance’, planning to cross Antarctica via the South Pole. Early in 1915, ‘Endurance’ became trapped in the ice, and ten months later sank. Shackleton’s crew had already abandoned the ship to live on the floating ice. In April 1916, they set off in three small boats, eventually reaching Elephant Island. Taking five crew members, Shackleton went to find help. In a small boat, the six men spent 16 days crossing 1,300 km of ocean to reach South Georgia and then trekked across the island to a whaling station. The remaining men from the ‘Endurance’ were rescued in August 1916. Not one member of the expedition died. ‘South’, Shackleton’s account of the ‘Endurance’ expedition, was published in 1919.
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FREE Download: Read SOUTH by Ernest Shackleton
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Shackleton died of a heart attack on his fourth expedition to the Antarctic in 1922.
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Ernest Shackleton and The Endurance
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1921: Upton (Co. Cork) Train Ambush.
The IRA ambush a train at Upton believing it is transporting an estimated fifteen British soldiers. Unknown to them, at least fifty additional troops had joined the train. An undisciplined IRA attack resulted in the death of six civilians, three IRA volunteers and the wounding of a number of British troops. The leader of the botched ambush, Charlie Hurley would himself die the following month.
Sean Dunphy sings The Lonely Woods of Upton
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READ: Detailed Article on Upton Ambush
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1921: Coffey Brothers Execution
Just twelve miles away from Upton two IRA volunteers – the Coffey brothers – are executed in their beds. It has never been clarified if it was a local loyalist group or the Black and Tans who were responsible.
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1995: Ireland v England Soccer International Abondoned
A friendly international between the Republic of Ireland and England at Lansdowne Road Dublin is abandoned when a group of English Neo-Nazi supporters start a riot during the game.
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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.
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