November 2014
History Selection |
![]() Theobald Wolfe Tonecommitted suicide
November 1798 |
![]() Oscar Wildedied
November 1900 |
![]() Kevin Barryhanged
November 1920 |
![]() R. E. Childersexecuted
November 1922 |
![]() George Bernard Shawdied
November 1950 |
![]() W.T. Cosgravedied
November 1965 |
Ireland in 1999 |
January 2nd: The Orange Order organised two rallies in Portadown to support Orange demonstrators at Drumcree. January 3rd: It was reported that RUC members claimed to know who was responsible for the Omagh bombing, but didn't have enough evidence to press charges. January 3rd: Boyzone held a concert in Omagh in support of the victims of the bombing. January 13th: Derek Hill became the eleventh honorary citizen of Ireland. January 27th: Former IRA Eamon Collins, who had written about his experiences, was violently killed. February 5th: The Revenue and Social Insurance Number (RSI No) became the Personal Public Service Number (PPS No). February 8th: Death of novelist Iris Murdoch. | ![]() Eamon Collins |
![]() Aftermath of the bomb that killed Rosemary Nelson |
March 8th: The British and Irish governments signed four international treaties aimed at establishing the institutions of the devolved government in Northern Ireland. March 15th: Rosemary Nelson, a Lurgan solicitor, was killed by loyalists. March 29th: Talks took place at Hillsborough Castle. March 31st: The Irish Land Commission was dissolved. April 1st: The Hillsborough Declaration set out a framework for establishing the Executive. April 10th: Sligo band Westlife released their first single, Swear It Again, which would the first UK number one. |
April 12th: A UN report on the RUC criticised them for harassing solicitors. It also called for an independent inquiry into the killing of Pat Finucane. April 13th: Political Talks resumed at Stormont. April 27th: The States of Fear television series about historical institutional child abuse began broadcasting. May 21st: Gay Byrne hosted his last Late Late Show. May 22nd: The electorate of both the Republic and the North went to the polls to vote on the Good Friday Agreement. May 23rd: The Good Friday Agreement was unanimously approved by the electorate. May 28th: The body of Eamon Molloy, one of the 'Disappeared', was recovered. |
![]() Scene from States of Fear |
![]() Drumcree, 1999 |
June 5th: Elizabeth O'Neill, a Protestant married to a Catholic, was killed by Loyalists who bombed her home in Portadown. June 17th: UEFA hit the Football Association of Ireland with a fine of £25,000. July 4th: 'Drumcree V' - the fifth year in a row of trouble at the Orange Order parade at Drumcree, Portadown. July 15th: An attempt to form the Executive of the Northern Ireland Assembly collapsed when David Trimble and other UUP Assembly members failed to attend the sitting. July 30th: The IRA killed Charles Bennett, a taxi-driver from New Lodge. The murder caused some to question the IRA ceasefire. August 8th: The INLA issued a statement confirming that its war was over. |
August 28th: 80,000 fans turned up to a Robbie Williams concert at Slane Castle. September 6th: George Mitchell began his Review of the Good Friday Agreement. September 9th: The Patten Report on policing in Northern Ireland was released. October 12th: Peter Mandelson arrived in Belfast as the new Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, replacing Mo Mowlam. October 20th: Death of former Taoiseach Jack Lynch. November 18th: George Mitchell issued his final statement concluding the Review of the Agreement. He said the basis existed for devolution to occur. |
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![]() Text of the constitution, 1999 |
November 23rd: The RUC was awarded the George Cross for gallantry. November 28th: A meteorite passed over Leighlinbridge in Co. Carlow. November 29th: Ten designated ministers were appointed to the power-sharing Northern Ireland Assembly. December 2nd: The Irish Government ratified changes to Articles 2 and 3 of the Constitution, and direct rule from Westminster in Northern Ireland ended. December 2nd: Foras na Gaeilge was established under the GFA to promote the Irish language throughout the island of Ireland. December 13th: The first meeting of the North/South Ministerial Council took place in Armagh. |
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De Valera in America: The Rebel President's 1919 Campaign Publisher: The O'Brien Press Ltd Date published: 2008 ![]() In June 1919, as conflict loomed in Ireland, a tall, bespectacled man arrived in the United States, smuggled abroad the SS Lapland. This same man had escaped from an English jail three months earlier. He was Éamon de Valera, and he had come to America as the President of the Irish Republic. After a secret reunion with the mother he had barely seen since early childhood, de Valera stepped out into the public gaze. His initial meetings with Irish-American leaders, including the famous John Devoy, were amicable. Following a punishing schedule, de Valera travelled between cities where he was greeted by rapturous crowds. The Chippewa tribe honoured him with the title Nenaa'angebi or 'Dressing feather'. De Valera's aim was to gain American backing for Irish independence and admittance into the League of Nations. With war flaring at home, he tried to raise bonds in the future Republic. However, all did not go smoothly. Cracks between the Irish and the Irish-American leadership developed into chasms. Particularly controversial was a remark de Valera made to the effect that he would support a relationship between Britain and Ireland mirroring that between American and Cuba. In reality, Cuba was a vassal state. De Valera's later rallies, in the south, ran into opposition from anti-Catholic forces. Returning to Ireland after more than a year away, he left behind a mixed legacy. While he had brought the issue of Irish freedom into American consciousness, he had failed to obtain anything more than 'sympathy' from their politicians and had arguably split the Irish nationalist movement. |
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