Today In Irish History

December 4: 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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1831: Birth of Robert Horatio George Minty

Robert Horatio George Minty 1831-1906

Westport born Minty would become a Civil War Brevet Major General in the Union army.His campaigns included Chickamauga and Atlanta.

Minty was in command of troops that captured fleeing Confederate President Jefferson F. Davis at Irwinsville, Georgia on May 9, 1865.

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READ: Profile of Robert Horatio George Minty

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1921: Treaty Negotiations

Arthur Griffith in London writes to De Valera updating him on the difficult negotiations.

“I … read out the counter proposals… I told them the Cabinet as a body was prepared to recommend the Dail to ratify a Treaty thus amended. They asked questions on some of the proposals, particularly on Trade, in which Lloyd George and Chamberlain engaged with Mr. Barton for some time. They then said they would retire for a few minutes to discuss them.

They returned in about ten minutes. Lloyd George made a long statement. He said the amendments were such a complete going back upon the discussions of the last week. They had offered us that we should come willingly inside the British Empire, like other Nations which had fought equally gallantly, like the Boer Republics and they felt that the Cabinet must confirm their impression that although they might have considered some change in the form of the oath, this was a refusal of the fundamental conditions……

The conversation came to a close, we undertaking to send them copies of our proposals tomorrow and they undertaking to send in a formal rejection tomorrow. They would, they said, inform Craig tomorrow that the negotiations were broken down. We then parted.”

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Treaty Negotiators Duiffy, Collins, Griffith, Barton

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READ: Arthur Griffith letter to De Valera

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1971: McGurk’s Bar Bomb Kills Fifteen

Fifteen people die following a bomb explosion at the predominantly Catholic frequented McGurk’s Bar in Belfast. Originally, thought to have been an IRA bomb which detonated by accident, the real perpetrators were loyalist paramilitaries, the Ulster Volunteer Force. Patrick McGurk who lost his wife and fourteen year old daughter in the bombings expressed an astonishing level of forgiveness. “It doesn’t matter who planted the bomb. What’s done can’t be undone. I’ve been trying to keep bitterness out of it.”

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2009: Liam Clancy – The Parting Glass

Liam Clancy, a member of the famous Clancy Brothers and long time singing partner with Tommy Makem raised a parting glass and left this world at the age of sixty-five.

The Clancy Brothers and Tommy Makem shot to fame after appearances  on  The Ed Sullivan Show in 1961. Scheduled to perform two songs, they were forced to extend their appearance when the show’s headliner canceled.

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CLANCY BROTHERS on THE ED SULLIVAN SHOW

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After the Clancy brothers stopped touring / broke up, Liam and Tommy Makem commenced touring as Makem and Clancy became a hugely successful duo winning world wide acclaim for their mixture of Irish and international folk songs.

Bob Dylan was a huge fan of the soft spoken Clancy, In a 1990’s interview he said, “I never heard a singer as good. He was just the best ballad singer I ever heard in my life. Still is, probably. I can’t think of anyone who is a better ballad singer.”
Maybe Liam Clancy’s finest song and one that highlights what Dylan speaks about is And the Band Played Waltzing Matilda, a beautiful poignant song by Scotsman Eric Bogle. Although the song is about the slaughter of Australians at Suvla Bay, the actual landing was done by the 10th (Irish) Division who suffered enormous casualties on August 7th 1915.

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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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