March 26: TODAY in Irish History:
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- Ian Paisley and Gerry Adams March 26 2007
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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1922: At least 8 people die in Belfast in confrontations involving IRA/RIC/Army.
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1922: Civil War Looms
Further movement to Civil War. An IRA convention is held in the Mansion House in defiance of a March 15 Dail Eireann decree. Rory O’Connor days earlier had indicated open defiance against President Arthur Griffith. At this convention the convention passed a resolution saying that the IRA “shall be maintained as the Army of the Irish Republic under an Executive appointed by the Convention”. An Executive of 16 members was elected headed by Liam Lynch and including Rory O’Connor, Liam Mellows and Ernie O’Malley. Ireland was moving to a horribly divisive civil war between compatriots and friends who had fought the British for many years.
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1932: Death of Sir Horace Plunkett
- Sir Horace Plunkett 1854-1932
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Plunkett was an agrarian reformer, a founder of the Irish Cooperative movement and a leading light in encouraging better farm and agricultural practices., both in Ireland and internationally.
His efforts gained the attention of President Teddy Roosevelt who in his last public letter as President of the United States gave thanks to Plunkett for his great services to the organization of agriculture in the United States. Roosevelt, credits Sir. Horace Plunkett with helping formulate agricultural policy in the USA. Roosevelt adopted Plunkett’s slogan of “Better farming, better business, better living” for his conservation and agricultural policy.
“My Dear Sir Horace,
I wish you were an American and either in the Senate or my Cabinet! You take an interest in exactly the problems which I regard as vital, and you approach them in what seems to me to be the only sane and healthy way.”
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READ: Bio of Sir Horace Plunkett
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1963: Basil Brooke resigns as Prime Minister of Northern Ireland
- Northern Ireland Prime Minister Basil Brooke
Basil Brooke resigns as Prime Minister of Northern Ireland after being in office for twenty years. Brooke was an ardent Unionist who made little effort to bridge the gap between the Catholic and Protestant communities. He would be succeeded by Terence O’Neill.
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2007: Paisley and Adams Agree Devolved Government
Ian Paisley and Gerry Adams
In a scenario that few would have envisaged Unionist leader Ian Paisley and Sinn Fein leader Gerry Adams sign an historic agreement to ensure devolved government returns to Northern Ireland. Bitter enemies for decades, neither would have shed any tears had the other been killed in the conflict that had roiled Northern Ireland since the late 60s. Ten years previously, Paisley said of Sinn Fein, “They cannot expect unionists and democrats to share power with them. They are a terrorist organisation.”
The deal was brokered by Prime Minister Tony Blair who said “This is a very important day for the people of Northern Ireland, but also for the people and the history of these islands. In a sense, everything we have done over the last ten years has been a preparation for this moment, because the people of Northern Ireland have spoken through the election. They have said, ‘We want peace and powersharing’, and the political leadership has then come in behind that and said, ‘We will deliver what people want’.”
Press Coverage on the Historic Agreement
New York Times
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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.
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