Posts tagged ‘jfk’

June 27,

Kennedy in Ireland Day II – Charles Stewart Parnell – Union General Robert Nugent

June 27: TODAY in Irish History:

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JFK image in For the Love of Being Irish

Image of JFK in For the Love of Being Irish: An A-Z of Ireland. 

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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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

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1824: Union General Robert Nugent

Birth of Robert Nugent in Kilkeel, Co. Down who would go on to become a decorated Brigadier General in the Union forces during the civil war.

Fighting 69th Officers. Nugent is sitting in center.

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Nugent died in 1901. His obituary in the Brooklyn Eagle read:

General Robery Nugent died at his home,
332 McDonough street, yesterday, as the
final result of a bullet wound in the stomach
received at the battle of Fredericksburg, De-
cember 13, 1862, while leading his command
up Marye’s Hill.  For seventeen years he
suffered from chronic dyspepsia. General
Nugent was born in Killkeel, County Down,
Ireland, July 24, 1824, and came to New York
when a young man. He joined the Seventh
Regiment as a private and afterward was a
captain in the Fourteenth Regiment. In 1853
he became a member of the Sixty-ninth
Regiment, New York State Militia, and rose
to the colonelcy before the beginning of the
Civil War.  At the firing on Fort Sumter he
led the regiment to Virginia. On it return
he helped organize the Sixty-ninth New York
Volunteers, which was the first in Meagher’s
Irish Brigade. He served as colonel of the
regiment until 1862, when, General Meagher
becoming incapacitated, he succeeded to the
command of the Irish Brigade.  It was while
leading this charge that he received the
wound that finally caused his death. He was
carried from the field and brevetted for his
bravery. During his convalescence in New
York he was appointed deputy provost mar-
shal of New York and Brooklyn, serving as
such from May to November, 1863. During
that time the draft riots took place. He
returned to the Army, reaching the rank of
brigadier general. At the close of the war
he became a captain in the regular Army
and commanded a company in many battles
in Montana, Dakota, and Wyoming, against
the Sioux and other Indians, being with Gen-
eral Miles in the battles against Sitting Bull.
In 1877 he was retired as major and returned
to Brooklyn to live. His wife, three daugh-
ters and a son survive him

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1846: Charles Stewart Parnell

  Charles Stewart Parnell is born the seventh child of a well to do Ascendancy land-owning family in Avondale Co. Wicklow. Parnell benefited from his family background with a good education which included some time at a girl’s school in England!

Once he got involved in Irish politics and the demand for Home Rule, he proved himself a master orator and debater  and a thorn in the side of an English parliament that refused to give any autonomy to Ireland. Elected MP for Ireland’s County Meath in 1875, he became leader of the Irish National Land League whose primary aim was to abolish the landlord-tenant farmer relationship that guaranteed a life of poverty for the Irish tenant.

Parnell soon became a beloved and influential politician who was an able and respected foe of Prime Minister William Gladstone as he  pushed harder for Home Rule for Ireland.

But the great politician had a great “secret,” known to many but not made public for many years. Parnell was in a relationship with Kitty O’Sea, wife of fellow politician and party member Captain William O’Shea whom she had been separated from for years. She bore Parnell two children. Captain O’Shea (partly for financial reasons) finally went public with the affair citing Parnell as a co-respondent in divorce proceedings. Parnell’s career was over.

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READ: Biography of Charles Stewart Parnell 

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1963: JFK Visits his Ancestral Home

File:JFK-New Ross 1963.jpg

Kennedy at New Ross, Co. Wexford                                                       Source: JFK Presidential Library

Day two of President Kennedy’s visit to Ireland where he is literally mobbed   every place he goes. In an action packed day, he speaks at New Ross and Wexford,  visits his ancestral home of Dunganstown, Co. Wexford where his great grand-father was born and who emigrated to the United States in 1848.

Kennedy had previously visited Dunganstown in 1947.

JFK absolutely sparkled in Ireland. His speeches were laced with good humor and little political weight. The video below shows Kennedy speak in New Ross. Note the lack of security.

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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 6,

Robert Kennedy Assassination – Reagan Pointe du Hoc Speech at Today in Irish History

June 6: TODAY in Irish History:

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bobby kennedy california election victory

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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1820: Death of Henry Grattan

Death of politician and opponent of the 1800 Act of Union, Henry Grattan (b. 1746). Born to Anglo Irish Protestant wealth, Grattan entered the Irish Parliament in 1775. A brilliant orator, he was one of the key players in winning legislative independence for Ireland in 1782.

This unfortunately was to last only until the Act of Union, to which he was bitterly opposed. Despite his opposition to the Act, he did later take his seat in the House of Commons in London.

Henry Grattan

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1940: Rugby International Willie John McBride

Willie John McBride, inspirational Irish and Lions rugby player is born in Ballymena, Co. Antrim. In a career spanning 1962-75, the big man played 63 times for Ireland and 17 times for the Lions. He captained the British and Irish Lions to the first ever test series victory against South Africa in a brutal and memorable set of games in 1974. The tour itself was marred by much controversy and opposition to playing in apartheid ridden South Africa.

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See also The Invincibles. Lions Tour of South Africa 1974

McBride leads Lions team out at start of this video and is seen being carried shoulder high by his delighted team mates.

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1966: Bobby Kennedy Assassination

Twenty six hours after being shot by disaffected Palestinian supporter Sirhan Sirhan, Robert Kennedy dies of his wounds. The younger and devoted brother of Jack Kennedy, he had been the trusted aide, counselor and Attorney General to the President’s assassination the previous November.

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bobby kennedy california election victory

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Following JFK’s assassination, he stayed in government under Lyndon Johnson, a man he despised as uncouth and unsuitable to follow his brother. The emotions were mutual. Kennedy resigned the AG office to run for Senator for New York in late 1964 – an election he won with ironically, strong support from Johnson.

Although originally elevated to the Attorney General role, that he was hardly qualified for by his presidential brother, Bobby proved an effective and tough AG and a maturing politician before his death.

His finest moment may have been when he announced the assassination of Martin Luther King to an audience in Indiana, news that he had only heard minutes previously. It is a beautiful, poignant speech.

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READ: Interesting speech by Robert Kennedy to Friendly Sons of St. Patrick

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1984: Ronald Reagan, Peggy Noonan and The Boys of Pointe du Hoc

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In Normandy, Ronald Reagan delivers his famed The Boys of Pointe du Hoc  speech at Ceremony Commemorating the 40th Anniversary of the Normandy Invasion, D-day. Reagan’s speech was crafted by a young Irish American Peggy Noonan whose grandmother was “a big, broad Irish peasant, a poor girl who came from a family where they sheared the lambs in the house. She was a plain and modest woman who loved her church and her faith.” Noonan states at her website that the grandmother “had this funny little habit of, um, reading tea leaves. And when the priests would come to call, she and her friends would run around hiding the teacups from which she was divining the future. But she was from mystical, spirit-filled Ireland, where as a child she actually saw fairies frolic in the glen. If you saw fairies, you’d read tea leaves too. “

In speech making, Noonan is no one hit wonder. She crafted Reagan’s memorable and poignant speech on the Challenger disaster, January 28 1986, a speech that was crafted by necessity in one afternoon.

Today, she is a Wall Street Journalist and continues to be an unabashed supporter of her Irish American brother Ronald Reagan. An author of a number of best sellers, her book on communication Simply Speaking is a concise masterpiece on getting your message across.

For Full Text of The Boys of Pointe du Hoc

Ronald Reagan and Peggy Noonan

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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)