Tralee Times
Selected Events in Irish History in the Month of
MARCH
March 1
1794 - Statutes of Dublin University amended to allow Catholics to take degrees
1965 - Roger Casement's body is re-interred in Glasnevin cemetery, Dublin
1976 - "Special Category" status is removed from political prisoners in Northern Ireland
1999 - The heroic action of a pilot and the crew of a Channel Express cargo plane avert a major tragedy as they land the plane safely
at Shannon after two propellers on their ageing aircraft disintegrated, disabling two of their four engines and leaving a deep hole in the
aircraft's fuselage
2001 - Fears of a foot and mouth outbreak in Kerry are eased with confirmation from the Department of Agriculture that no animals
checked on two farms near Castleisland show symptoms of the disease
2003 - According to a new global survey, Dublin is one of the safest cities in the world.
March 2
1871 - Gladstone gives his first speech in the House of Commons on Home Rule
1979 - Death of hurler Christy Ring
1998 - The Kerry Bog Pony receives its "passport," from Weatherbys, which proves pedigree and opens up sales opportunities
worldwide. The passport contains height, breeding details and blood type
2001 - In measures adding to the effects of Ireland’s countrywide lock up, the United States bans Irish meat, and the Philippine
government returns 1,000 plus boxes of processed Irish beef just 24 hours after France bans Irish livestock
2001 - Three farms in Monaghan and one in Louth are sealed off in a bid to stop the spread of foot and mouth disease
2001 - The massive beef and lamb slaughtering facility at Kildare Chilling — capable of processing almost 2,000 animals a day is
closed as a precautionary measure against spreading foot and mouth disease.
March 3
1592 - A charter incorporates the College of the Holy and Undivided Trinity, near Dublin, later to become known as Trinity College
1766 - Four pirates are found guilty in Dublin of murdering on the high seas Captain Cochrane, Captain Glass and others, and of
plundering and scuttling the Lord Sandwich; they are executed in St Stephen's Green on this date and later hanged in chains near the
Liffey; complaints from the public lead to the removal of the corpses to Dalkey Island
1831 - In the 'tithe war', 120 police move in to Graiguenamanagh to seize cattle in payment of the tithe
2002 - The Government has again refused to bail out RTÉ after a new consultants' report concludes that the national broadcaster will
run out of cash by next year
2002 - It is anticipated that by 2035, total forestry production in Ireland will be €1.7 billion
2003 - According to a survey by the Dublin Institute of Technology's Tourism Research Centre, the US is the most desirable
destination for Irish tourists. In second place is South Africa, while Italy is the favourite continental destination
March 4
1704 - Penal law 'to prevent the further growth of popery' restricts landholding rights for Catholics; gavelkind is reimposed on
Catholics (unless the eldest son converts to Protestantism, in which case he inherits the whole); a 'sacramental test' for public office
is introduced, directed mainly at Ulster Presbyterians
1778 - Robert Emmet, one of Ireland's most famous revolutionaries, is born in Dublin
1867 - Fenian national uprising begins in Ireland
1978 - Death of General James Emmet Dalton, aged 80 (today is also his birthday). Dalton led the bombardment of the Four Courts
in what effectively is the start of the Civil War, and is with Michael Collins at Béal na mBlátha when they are ambushed and Collins is
assassinated
2001 - 300 sheep are destroyed and eight Irish farms are cordoned off as a precaution against foot and mouth disease. Despite 69
confirmed cases in Britain and one in the North, there is still no case of the disease in the Republic
2001 -The world’s largest car ferry arrives in Dublin Port. The £80 million Ulysses sailed from Finland following her construction
for Irish Ferries. Once she has completed final sea trials the vessel will go into service on the Dublin-Holyhead route
2001 - After being left to rot for the last 22 years, the boat made famous for smuggling arms to the Irish Volunteers in 1914, the
Asgard, is released from Kilmainham Gaol and moved to the Docklands where restoration, estimated to cost over £1 million, will take
place
2002 - Fears of chaos around the country's schools prove to be unfounded as 2,500 non-teachers begin supervision and substitution
duties in more than 600 schools
March 5
1716 - Martin Bladen, soldier, politician, civil servant, gambler and writer, is given leave in the British House of Commons to bring in
a bill to continue the privilege of exporting Irish linen cloth to British plantations without the duty payable by exporters in England and
Scotland. The bill eventually passes
1867 - Fenian Rising begins in Co. Dublin, Cork, Limerick, Clare and Tipperary
1999 - As a precautionary measure, eighteen workers at the Warner-Lambert plant in Ringaskiddy, Co. Cork are taken to hospital
following a chemical spillage. They are found to be unharmed and are released
2000 - The Government closes the book on the millennium bug after spending £40m preparing for a potential disaster that doesn't
happen
2003 - In Blarney, Co. Cork, pubs, restaurants and supermarkets enthusiastically embrace a no smoking day and the Blarney Stone
restaurant in the town square takes the lead by slapping a permanent ban on smoking.
In the ecumenical calendar, today is the feastday of St. Cieran
March 6
1791 - John MacHale, Archbishop of Tuam; nationalist campaigner and writer, is born in Tirawley, Co. Mayo
1831 - Philip Sheridan, general on Federal side in American Civil War and Commander-in-Chief of the US army, is born in Killinkere,
Co. Cavan
1918 - Death of John Redmond, Chairman of the Irish Parliamentary Party
1921 - The Lord Mayor of Limerick, George Clancy, his predecessor, Michael O'Callaghan, and another prominent nationalist,
Joseph O'Donoghue, are killed by policemen in Limerick during curfew hours
1924 - A 'mutiny' in the Free State army begins on this date: dissident officers demand the suspension of demobilization, and
discussions on progress towards a republic. Following the 'unauthorized' arrest of dissidents, two Government ministers and three
senior officers resign and conservative elements take control of Cumann na nGaedheal. The 'army mutiny' signals the end of the Irish
Republican Brotherhood
1935 - Ronnie Delany, 1500 meter gold medallist in the 1956 Olympic Games, is born in Arklow, Co. Wicklow
1998 - The jobless trend continues downward and falls to its lowest numbers in seven years
2000 - An Bord Pleanála upholds Clare County Council’s decision to refuse planning permissions to proposals by the Minister for the
Arts and Heritage, Síle de Valera, to develop visitor facilities at Mullaghmore in the Burren National Park
2001 - The foot and mouth virus claims another Irish sporting casualty with the announcement that the world cross country
championships is to be switched to Brussels, bringing with it some 1,000 runners from 80 countries who were due to converge on
Dublin on March 24-25
2001 - Moves to provide nappies for Killarney’s famous jaunting car horses are dropped. Against the advice of the Town Manager,
the local urban council bows to the wishes of local jarveys who strongly oppose proposals to include “equine sanitary apparatus” in
the jarvey bylaws.
March 7
1864 - Archbishop Paul Cullen issues a pastoral for St. Patrick's Day denouncing Fenianism
1921 - Limerick Mayor George Clancy is shot and killed in his home by disguised members of the Black and Tans
1923 - Eight republican prisoners are executed by use of a mine at Ballyseedy, Co. Kerry
1988 - The IRA confirms that the three people shot dead by security forces in Gibraltar are members of an active service unit
1999 - A human chain is formed around the Central Bank in Dublin to highlight the campaign to cancel unpayable Third World debt
for the millennium. Over 400 people take part in the ceremony organised by Trocaire, Jubilee 2000 and the One World Network of
Students in Ireland. Similar events are held in as many as 50 other countries across the world.
2005 - Calling the story of the Irish in America "an important part of the history of our country," President George W. Bush
proclaims March as Irish-American Heritage Month.
March 8
1574 - Captain William Martin lays siege to Grace O'Malley in Rockfleet castle
1594 - English expedition sets out from Galway to kill pirate queen, Grace O'Malley
1702 - William III dies when his horse stumbles on a molehill; Anne accedes to the throne of Britain and Ireland
1742 - William Crotty, outlaw of the Comeragh mountains, is tried in Waterford on this date and later hanged, drawn and quartered
1903 - Charles Gavan Duffy, Young Irelander, is buried in Glasnevin Cemetery, Dublin
1966 - Nelson's Pillar in Dublin is blown up
1973 - IRA car bombs explode outside the Old Bailey courthouse and Scotland Yard police headquarters in London, killing one and
injuring 238
2002 - Car owners are to benefit from new regulations which will oblige insurers to give two-week's notice of any cost changes
when renewing policies.
2006 - 1916 Proclamation donated to National Museum
An original copy of the Proclamation of Independence picked up in O’Connell Street in 1916 has been donated to the National
Museum of Ireland. For more on this story, please click Irish Examiner.
March 9
1914 - Prime Minister Asquith offers a compromise on Home Rule - electors in the North could vote to be excluded from an
independent Ireland for six years
1932 - Éamon de Valera is elected President of the Executive Council of Ireland
1973 - The people of Northern Ireland vote overwhelmingly to remain within the United Kingdom. In a referendum on the future of
the province, 591,280 people or 57% of the electorate vote to retain links with the UK. A boycott by the Roman Catholic population
means only 6,463 vote in favour of a united Ireland
1982 - Charles Haughey becomes Taoiseach for the second time
1995 - U.S. President Bill Clinton approves a visa for Irish nationalist leader Gerry Adams to enter the United States
1998 - Justice Brian Walsh, judge on the European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg, dies suddenly of a stroke. On his
appointment in December of 1961, Justice Walsh becomes one of the youngest Irish Supreme Court judges. He serves for 29 years -
the longest by a member of the country's highest court
1999 - The European Parliament calls for the legalisation of abortion in Ireland. The opinion, passes in Strasbourg by 321 votes to
122; it carries no legislative weight but provokes a storm of political controversy
1999 - A record price for land in the South East is set in Waterford when leading city developer Noel Frisby pays £725,000 an acre
for land being sold off for Telecom Eireann.
March 10
1653 - Sir Phelim O'Neill is executed by Parliament forces in Dublin, after refusing to state that Charles I authorized the 1641 rebellion
1883 - Pádraig Ó Siochfhradha, writer under the pseudonym 'An Seabhac' and promoter of the Irish language is born in Dingle, Co.
Kerry
1888 - Birth in Dublin of William Joseph Shields, aka Barry Fitzgerald, actor
1894 - Ireland collects its first ever Triple Crown, defeating Wales in Belfast
1932 - IRA prisoners in the Free State are released
2000 - Harland and Wolff’s last hope of saving the Belfast shipyard appear doomed after it is confirmed that Cunard’s £433 million
contract to build the Queen Mary 2 has gone to French rivals
2002 - Former Circuit of Ireland rally champion Frank Meagher is killed in a driving accident in Co. Tipperary, between Cloneen and
Mullinahone
2003 - The National Aquatic Centre opens in Abbotstown, Dublin. The water-park with its eight different fun rides and attractions is
one of the most hi-tech in Europe and the pool complex is one of the most advanced Olympic standard facilities in the world
March 11
1605 - A proclamation declares all persons in the realm to be free, natural and immediate subjects of the king and not subjects of any
lord or chief
1858 - Irish revolutionary Thomas James Clarke is born of Irish parents on the Isle of Wight
1880 - On the last day of his tour of the United States, Parnell launches the Irish National Land League of the USA
1926 - Eamon de Valera resigns as head of Sinn Féin
1929 - Erskine B. Childers, diplomat, is born in Dublin
1951 -Ian Paisley co-founds the Free Presbyterian Church of Ulster
1953 - Birth in Ballinasloe, Co. Galway of Mary Harney, politician, leader of the Progressive Democrats and Tánaiste
1974 - Brothers Kenneth and Keith Littlejohn break out of Mountjoy Prison. Jailed in 1973 for a £67,000 heist at a Dublin bank - the
biggest to date in Irish history - during their trial they claim they are M16 spies working for the British Government against the IRA
2000 - Emigrant Francis O’Neill, an American police chief who carried a Chicago gangster’s bullet to the grave is honoured at the
weekend in his native West Cork where Garda Commissioner Pat Byrne unveils a life-sized memorial sculpture
2002 - Customs officers smash the biggest illegal oil laundering operation ever discovered in the State.The plant, near Dundalk, Co
Louth, had the capacity to launder up to 300,000 litres of oil a week.
March 12
1295 - Richard de Burgh is released by the council in parliament at Kilkenny
1689 - James II lands at Kinsale and proceeds to Dublin
1832 - Birth of Capt. Charles Boycott, despised English estate manager in Ireland, from whose name the word 'boycott' is taken
1873 - Gladstone's Irish University Bill is defeated
1875 - After being barred as an undischarged felon from taking his seat as elected MP for Tipperary, John Mitchel is re-elected on
this date. He dies eight days later
1944 - Britain bans all travel to and from Ireland in an effort to prevent news of Allied preparations for the invasion of France
reaching the Germans
2000 - National Tree Week ends with a mass planting of 5,000 trees at Corkagh Park in Clondalkin
March 13
1784 - Reform Bill in Irish House of Commons
1865 - Birth of Patrick Nally in Balla, Co Mayo. An athlete, he was a major inspiration in the founding the GAA in 1884 by Michael
Cusack. The Nally stand in Croke Park is named after him
1922 - George Bernard Shaw's "Back to Methusaleh V" premieres in New York
1998 - Naval personnel question the crew of a British-registered flagship after a second day of intimidation of Irish trawlers off the
South West coast
1999 - Over 250,000 people pack the streets around the River Liffey in Dublin to witness the largest fireworks display ever seen in
Ireland
The event marks the start of a five-day festival to mark St Patrick's Day as well as the official launch of the Millennium celebrations
2001 - The Irish food industry is dealt a hammer blow as the United States and Canada ban Irish food imports, worth over £100
million a year, because of the foot and mouth scare
2003 - Taoiseach Bertie gives his strongest indication yet that the US will be able to use Shannon Airport regardless of UN backing
for war in Iraq.
March 14
1705 - An English act permits direct export of Irish linen to American colonies
1902 - The Irish Association of Women Graduates and Candidate-Graduates, an organization open to those interested in promoting
women's education, is launched
1985 - Schoolchildren claim to have seen a 'moving' statue in Asdee, Co. Kerry. Other reports come from Ballinspittle, Co. Cork. The
faithful claim a miraculous event. Sceptics say it is an optical illusion
1991 -The Birmingham Six - Paddy Joe Hill, Hugh Callaghan, Richard McIlkenny, Gerry Hunter, Billy Power and Johnny Walker -
are released from jail after their convictions for the murder of 21 people in two pubs are quashed by the Court of Appeal
1998 - Former Defence and Marine Minister Hugh Coveney falls to his death from a headland near Roberts Cove, Co. Cork
2002 - Roundwood House, Mountrath, Co. Laois is the only Irish establishment to make the list of the world's top 50 restaurants
published by Restaurant magazine. It places at 42.
March 15
1672 - The first declaration of indulgence suspending penal laws against Catholics and dissenters is issued by Charles II
1976 - The IRA is linked to a bomb that explodes on a London Underground train; the driver of the train, Julius Stephen, is shot dead
while chasing a gunman who is believed to have detonated the bomb. Ten other people are injured
1999 - The Minister for Tourism, Sport and Recreation, Jim McDaid, unveils plans to commemorate the Year 2000. Commencing on
St. Patrick's Day, "The Party Starts Here," is the official title of a 21-month long series of events, which will link over 300 separate
festivals
2000 - The censor lifts a ban on more than two thirds, or 400, of prohibited books following an appeal by the Labour Party. Only
187 books and about 270 magazines and newspapers now remain on the banned list
2001 - John Gilligan is found not guilty of the murder of Veronica Guerin; however, he is sentenced to 28 years in prison on drug-
related crimes. The sentence is twice what most people expected and six years more than the previous longest sentence handed
down for a drugs offence
March 16
1640 - Charles I's second Irish parliament meets
1690 - French king Louis XIV sends troops to Ireland
1828 - Patrick Cleburne, American Civil War Confederate General, is born in Cobh, Co. Cork
1839 - John B. Yeats, painter and father of William Butler and Jack B. Yeats, is born in Tullylish, Co. Down
1865 - Irish-born Martin Murphy, one of the greatest pioneers of early California, dies
1995 - Sinn Féin leader Gerry Adams meets President Bill Clinton for the first time
1998 - In Washington, at the American/Ireland Fund dinner, Taoiseach Bertie Ahern bluntly tells Northern political leaders to display
the courage necessary to make far-reaching compromises over the next fortnight to rescue the peace process from the dangers of
failure
2000 - Hundreds of sprigs of shamrock are airlifted from Ireland by the RAF to Irish regiments of the British Army around the world
in accordance with a decree issued by Queen Victoria 100 years ago. It is exactly 100 years since the queen decrees that all Irish
regiments of the British Army wear a shamrock in their head dress on St Patrick’s Day to commemorate the bravery of Irish troops
during the Boer War
2001 - President Bush, Sinn Fein's President Gerry Adams, center, and Irish Prime Minister Bertie Ahern, right, watch Irish dancers
perform at the White House in Washington. Ahern meets with Bush and discusses the 1998 power-sharing deal that has brought a
tenuous peace in Northern Ireland. Standing behind Bush is National Security Advisor Condoleezza Rice.
March 17
1777 - Patrick Brontë, originally Brunty; clergyman and father of Charlotte, Emily and Anne, is born in Ballynaskeagh, Co. Down
1820 - Patrick Edward Connor, Union General, is born in Co. Kerry
1852 - Patrick Sheehan, 'Canon Sheehan', priest and writer, is born in Mallow, Co. Cork
1858 - James Stephens founds the Irish Republican Brotherhood in Dublin
1899 - First issue of Gaelic League's An Claidheamh Soluis is published
1903 - St Patrick's Day becomes a bank holiday
1997 - President Bill Clinton sharply increases the pressure on Northern political leaders to make concessions following a White
House declaration that they will throw away a chance in a lifetime if they fail to settle an agreement by May
1999 - From Malin Head to Mizen Head, up to a million people turn out for St Patrick’s Day parades.
2001 - For the first time, Queen Elizabeth II sends a special St. Patrick's Day greeting to President Mary McAleese
2001 - Publicans in Westport, Co. Mayo call time on hen and stag parties. Bar owners in Westport, Co Mayo say the revellers are no
longer welcome and will not be served in the town’s 44 pubs
2002 - In Dublin, an estimated 500,000 people line the parade route for the pinnacle of the €2.5 million St. Patrick's festival weekend
2003 - Snakes, sea monsters, Vikings and samba bands provide the sparkle in St Patrick’s Day celebrations around the country while
the saint himself supplies the weather - warm and sunny in most areas.
In the liturgical calendar, today is the feast day of St. Patrick, Ireland's patron saint.
March 18
1736 - The Irish House of Commons condemns tithe of agistment on pasturage for dry and barren cattle
1825 - In accordance with the Unlawful Societies Act, the Grand Orange Lodge advises its members that further meetings would be
in violation of the law
1932 - The order outlawing the IRA is allowed to lapse
1998 - Founder and executive director of the Chernobyl Children's Project charity, Adi Roche, is awarded the Frantsysk Skrayna
Order by Belarus's envoy to Britain and Ireland, Uladzimir Shchasny. It is the country's highest honour and the first time it has been
given to a foreigner
2000 - Geneva-based financier and professional gambler, JP McManus jumps almost 20 places to 13th in The Sunday Times Irish
rich list, with an estimated worth of more than £300 million.
March 19
1642 - Charles I's 'Adventurers' Act' offers confiscated Irish land in return for investment in the reconquest
1920 - Tomás MacCurtain, Lord Mayor of Cork for Sinn Féin and inventor of the famous "Flying Column, is killed by Black & Tans
disguised as policemen. The inquest into his death returns a verdict of wilful murder against the RIC, and indicts Lloyd George and
the British government
1921 - Tom Barry and the West Cork Flying Column routs a superior force from the Essex Regiment at Crossbarry
2000 - As many as 250,000 people line the streets of Dublin to watch a spectacular fireworks display which caps off four days of
celebration as the grand finale of St Patrick’s Festival
2000 - Thirty five bands from the United States, Japan, Northern Ireland and across the country take part in the Limerick
International Marching Band Competition, Ireland's biggest band parade
2001 - Former Taoiseach Charles Haughey is in critical condition in a Dublin hospital after collapsing at his home
In the liturgical calendar, today is the feast of St. Joseph.
March 20
1761 - Robert Simms, a founder of the United Irishmen and proprietor of the Northern Star, is born
1780 - Miles Byrne, United Irishman and officer in Napoleon's Irish Legion, is born in Monaseed, Co. Wexford
1884 - Tomás MacCurtain, revolutionary and Lord Mayor of Cork is born in Ballyknockane, Co. Cork
1914 - After 60 cavalry officers at the Curragh resign their commissions - an incident known as 'the Curragh mutiny' - the War
Secretary states that the army will not be used to coerce Ulster into Home Rule
1927 - Birth in Dublin Zoo of Cairbre, the lion used to introduce Metro-Goldwyn-Meyer films
1964 - Brendan Behan, writer/poet, dies at 41 in the Meath Hospital from complications caused by diabetes and alcohol
1971 - Brian Faulkner succeeds James Chichester-Clark as Prime Minister of Northern Ireland
1989 - Senior RUC men, Chief Superintendent Harry Breen and Superintendent Bob Buchanan, negotiating cross-border security co-
operation in south Armagh, are ambushed and shot dead by the IRA
2001 - Thousands of second level students across the country take to the picket lines to protest the nationwide strike by teachers
2006 - Eczema gene identified in study led by Irish doctors. The findings are regarded as hugely significant as the first steps towards
finding a cure. The study was led by Dr Alan Irvine, a consultant paediatric dermatologist at Our Lady's Hospital for Sick Children in
Crumlin, Dublin, and Prof Irwin McLean, a geneticist at the University of Dundee in Scotland. Dr Irvine is from Enniskillen and Prof
McLean is originally from Ballymoney, Co Antrim.
March 21
1181 - John Cumin (or Comyn) is elected archbishop of Dublin and consecrated by the pope at Velletri on this date. He is the first
Englishman to be appointed to an Irish see
1656 - Death of Bishop James Ussher. The Dublin-born cleric deduced from biblical studies the exact date of the Creation (October
23rd,4004 BCE), and the date of the end of the world: November 4, 1996. The Bishop had a cult following until then
1689 - Derry/Londonderry declares allegiance to William III
1881 - The Peace Preservation Act, controlling possession and importation of arms, is enacted
1886 - Oscar Traynor, revolutionary, Fianna Fáil politician and Minister; football administrator, is born in Dublin
1970 - Dana (Rosemary Brown) wins the Eurovision Song Contest for Ireland with 'All Kinds of Everything'
1998 - Sonia O'Sullivan wins a gold medal in the World Cross-Country championships
2001 - Tests for foot-and-mouth disease are carried out on samples from sheep on a farm in Louth
2001 - Taoiseach Bertie Ahern strongly urges the release of the remaining Government funding to help complete the famine ship
Jeanie Johnston
2001 - Hundreds of students gather outside Leinster House to protest the teacher's strike
2003 - The Government insists it is not a participant in the 50-member coalition of countries which the US says is providing support
for the war on Iraq. The United States has published a list of 35 countries which make up its "coalition of the willing", but says
another 15 members are providing back-up support and do not wish to be named.
March 22
1686 - With the return of a Catholic monarchy - James II - payments to the Catholic hierarchy are authorized; Catholics are
appointed to government positions; replacement of Protestant by Catholic soldiers intensifies
1841 - The Irish Emigrant Society is founded in New York
1979 - Two members of the IRA assassinate Sir Richard Sykes, British ambassador to the Netherlands, outside his residence at The
Hague
1983 - Belfast-born and Dublin-educated Chaim Herzog is elected president of Israel.
1998 - Sonia O'Sullivan wins her second gold medal at the World Cross-Country Championships
2000 - Over 2,000 student nurses walk out of hospital wards and lecture halls in a protest over tuition fees
2001 - The Government declares a national emergency in a bid to contain the country’s first foot and mouth outbreak in 60 years
2002 - At the Four Courts, the conviction of Paul Ward for the murder of Veronica Guerin, is quashed.
March 23
1847 - Choctaw Indians collect money to donate to starving Irish Hunger victims
1893 - Birth in Dublin of Cedric Gibbons, designer of the coveted Oscar statuette and winner of eleven Academy Awards himself
1951 - On this date, Shannon Airport is the base for a rescue operation after a USAF C124 aircraft crashes into the sea - some
wreckage is found 450 miles off the west coast, but all 53 people on board are lost
1976 - The EEC rejects the Irish government's application for derogation from its directive for equal pay to men and women
1998 - History is made in Galway when all vehicles are banned from the city's main thoroughfare, Shop Street, and its adjoining
arteries. The streets are closed to traffic from 11am to 7.30pm as part of a pedestrianisation programme to tackle traffic problems in
the city's narrow streets
2001 - Gardaí arrest 12 protesting students as thousands of secondary school pupils take to the streets all over the country
demanding an end to the ASTI teachers strike
2002 - At high tide, thirty-nine whales are washed onto Aughcasla Strand, in the Dingle Peninsula.
March 24
1603 - James VI of Scotland comes to the throne of England, as James I, following the death of Elizabeth I on this date
1796 - The Insurrection Act imposes curfews, arms searches, and the death penalty for oath-taking
1866 - Birth in Co. Cork of light-heavyweight boxing champion, Jack McAuliffe
1953 - Queen Mary dies at 86
1968 - An Aer Lingus plane, the St. Phelim, crashes into the sea near Tuskar Rock, Co. Wexford, with the loss of all 61 passengers
and crew
1972 - Stormont parliament and government are suspended and direct rule from London is introduced; William Whitelaw becomes
Secretary of State for Northern Ireland
2000 - Dubliners face traffic chaos as the bus drivers’ dispute threatens to escalate into an all out strike
2002 - Twenty-one whales are rescued after stranding themselves on a Kerry beach; with the other whales forming a circle around
her, rescuers are thrilled to observe one of the whales giving birth minutes after being pulled back out to safety
2003 - Veteran actor Peter O’Toole is awarded an honorary Oscar for a career which has spanned more than 40 years.
March 25
1635 - A shower of hailstones, with stones as large as four inches in circumference, is reported in Castletown, Co. Offaly; a hen is
killed and a woman is injured
1831 - Arthur Kavanagh, politician and progressive landlord, is born in Borris, Co. Carlow
1840 - Birth of Myles Keogh in Leighlinbridge, Co. Carlow. Soldier in the US army, it is said by the Sioux that he is the last man
killed at the Battle of Little Big Horn, where his horse is the only US survivor
1846 - Michael Davitt, known universally as "The Father of the Land League", is born in Straid, Co. Mayo
1847 - Pope Pius IX issues an encyclical called "On aid for Ireland"
1920 - The first 'Black and Tans' (auxiliary policemen) officially arrive in Ireland
1946 - To mark the centenary of Michael Davitt's birth, a major celebration is held in Straide, Co. Mayo, primarily at the request of a
personal friend and executor of his will, Mr. Dennis O'Rourke of Dublin.
An attendance of over 12,000 includes Eamonn De Valera, Hugh Delargy, M.P. as well as surviving members of the Davitt family,
Dr. Robert Davitt and Miss Eileen Davitt. The occasion is covered live by the BBC
1963 - Captain Terence O'Neill becomes Northern Ireland Prime Minister after Lord Brookeborough resigns
2002 - An international report ranks Ireland 28th in the top 30 healthiest countries - behind Slovenia, Malta, the Czech Republic and
Portugal
2002 - At an international conference in Co. Antrim, Dr Andrew Cooper of the University of Ulster warns that Ireland is shrinking.
Every year an estimated 750 acres of coastline is swallowed up by the sea and the situation is likely to get worse unless urgent action
is taken
In the liturgical calendar, today is the feast day of the Annunciation to Our Lady.
March 26
1787 - The Tumultuous Risings Act imposes penalties for rioting and for interference with the collection of tithes
1856 - William Massey, New Zealand statesman and Prime Minister from 1912 to 1925 is born in Limavady, Co. Derry/Londonderry
1922 - An IRA anti-treaty army convention announces it will no longer accept the authority of Free State Minister for Defense
Richard Mulcahy
1931 - Death of Tim Healy, former Home Rule politician and first Free State Governor-General
1999 - SDLP leader, John Hume reveals that he intends to donate all of his £280,000 Nobel Peace Prize money to charity and victims
of violence in Northern Ireland
2002 - Hillary Rodham Clinton makes her first official visit to Ireland as a US Senator. The trip is to promote trade between Dublin
and New York state
March 27
1599 - Robert Devereux becomes Lieutenant-General of Ireland
1625 - Charles 1 becomes king of England, Scotland and Ireland
1650 - Kilkenny surrenders to Cromwell
1725 - The first number of Faulkner's Dublin Journal is published
1839 - Birth in Glenavy, Co. Antrim, of John Ballance, Prime Minister of New Zealand. The eldest son of a tenant farmer, John is not
interested in farming and goes to Belfast to stay with his uncle. At eighteen, he goes to Birmingham and earns a living in the
ironmongery business. At twenty-four, he marries Fanny Taylor. Her poor health encourages the couple to leave for New Zealand in
the hope that the better climate would help her. John establishes the Evening Herald, later called the Wanganui Herald. During the
Maori Wars of the 1860s, his editorials in the Herald often challenge aspects of military policy relating to land disputes with the local
Maori. His activities as a journalist lead quickly and easily to a career in politics. He enters Parliament in 1875 and make his reputation
in the spheres of the economy and land use. He holds office as Colonial Treasurer (1878), as Minister of Lands, Native Affairs and
Defence(1884-7) and as Liberal Premier (1891-3). He has good relations with the Maori people and solves many of the land problems
they face. He is instrumental in giving women the vote making New Zealand the first country in the world to do so
1872 - Mary MacSwiney - Maire Nic Shuibhne - Irish patriot, is born. Educated in the Ursuline Convent, she later trains as a teacher
at Cambridge University. She teaches in Cork where she becomes a founding member of the Munster Women's Franchise League
and a member of the Gaelic League. In 1914, she helps found Cumann na mBan and becomes president of the Cork branch for
which she is interned after the 1916 Rising. As a result of her imprisonment, MacSwiney loses her job as a teacher and in 1917 she
and her sister Annie found St. Ita's School for girls in Cork City where all subjects are taught in Irish. In 1917, she joins Sinn Féin
and in 1918 she is elected to the First Dáil for Cork. MacSwiney is Vice-President of Cumann na mBan when that organisation votes
419 to 63 against supporting the 1921 Anglo-Irish Treaty. MacSwiney is appointed to the Cabinet of the Second Dáil in 1922 and is
twice imprisoned during the Civil War, undergoing a twenty-one day hunger-strike in Mountjoy Gaol and a twenty-four day hunger-
strike in Kilmainham Gaol
1999 - A major rail disaster is averted by the quick reactions of a train driver, when a 40ft articulated lorry ploughs through a bridge
and falls onto the railway tracks below — straight into the path of an on-coming train. The train driver manages to stop the train —
carrying an undisclosed number of passengers — just 200 yards from the crashed truck
2002 - A copy of the Cork Examiner, a golf club, flowers and national media awards are among gifts presented at the funeral of one
of Ireland's best known newsmen. More than 1,000 people pack the Church of the Immaculate Conception, The Lough, Cork, to pay
their last respects to Fergie O'Callaghan, editor of the Cork Examiner for 18 years before his retirement in November 1994.
March 28
1646 - Peace between the confederates and James Butler, the Marquis of Ormond and Lord Lieutenant of Ireland, leads to a split
within the confederation, i.e. between confederates and royalists
1879 - Terence MacSwiney, Irish patriot and Lord Mayor of Cork, is born
1881 - Birth of Martin Sheridan, "the world’s greatest athlete", in Bohola, Co. Mayo. Although largely unpublicised, Sheridan’s
achievements in field athletics undoubtedly put him amongst the greats: in three successive Olympics he wins 5 gold medals, 3 silver
and 1 bronze, and sets up 16 world records
1957 - Death of Patrick "Jack" B. Yeats, Ireland's leading painter of the 20th century
1970 - Easter rising commemorations lead to rioting and the first fighting between the British army and Provisional IRA
2000 - Wildcat action by certain SIPTU rail workers in support of their National Bus and Rail Union colleagues quickly exacerbates
the dispute; as the strike appears to worsen, commuters can expect another day of chaos in getting to work. On a lighter note, sales
of bicycles in Dublin have soared
March 29
1613 - A charter incorporates Derry as the city of Londonderry and creates the new county of Londonderry
1859 - First publication of The Irish Times
1869 - James MacNeill, Governor-General of the Irish Free State from 1928 to 1932, in Glenarm, Co. Antrim(May have been March
27)
1873 - Peig Sayers, Blasket Island storyteller, is born in Dunquin, Co. Kerry
1898 - The Registration Act allows women and peers to vote in local government elections
1901 - James Stephens, Fenian leader, dies
1999 -The IRA agrees to identify the graves of nine of the 20 disappeared persons, murdered and buried in secret since 1970; but
their leadership holds out on decommissioning
1999 - Fishing skippers sign contracts for 17 new ultra modern fishing vessels valued at almost £30 million under the Government's
whitefish fleet renewal programme
2000 - A live grenade, dating back to either the First World War or the War of Independence, is found in a ditch just yards from the
entrance gate to a secondary school in Cork. The Mills 36 grenade is rendered harmless in a controlled explosion by army bomb
disposal experts from Collins Barracks
2001 - A new survey, carried out by the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development shows that out of 22 Western
countries, Ireland lies third behind the US and Poland for illiteracy rates
2002 - During a simple, poignant service in Dublin's Unitarian Church, 3,600 victims of the Northern Ireland conflict are remembered
March 30
1493 - Kildare, who has been suspected of supporting Perkin Warbeck, is given a general pardon
1603 - After a long battle against English rule, Hugh O'Neill, the Earl of Tyrone, submits to Lord Mountjoy at Mellifont. O'Neill is
pardoned; the Treaty of Mellifont ends the Nine Years War
1798 - Privy Council proclaims Ireland in state of rebellion and imposes martial law
1851 - A census shows the population of Ireland to be 6,552,385: it has declined by one-fifth since 1845. The number of Irish in
England and Wales has increased by 79% in the past decade. Nearly a quarter of Liverpool is now 'Irish'. Over 18% of the people of
Glasgow and Dundee are Irish-born - 6.7% of Scotland as a whole
1880 - Birth of playwright Sean O'Casey in Dublin
1896 - An Irishman wins an Olympic gold medal for the first time, when John Pius Boland triumphs in tennis
1922 - Craig-Collins Pact is signed in London. Irish Free State formally recognizes Northern Ireland government
1972 - The Northern Ireland (Temporary Provisions) Act comes into force decreeing direct rule from London. Brian Faulkner, prime
minister of Northern Ireland, resigns
1979 - Airey Neave, shadow Northern Ireland Secretary and opposition Conservative spokesman on Northern Ireland, dies when a
bomb explodes in his car as he is driving out of the House of Commons car park. Two groups, the Provisional IRA and the Irish
National Liberation Army, claim responsibility
1998 - According to a major report published on this date, almost 9,000 jobs will be lost with the abolition of duty free next year; it
also indicates that travel costs from Ireland to Britain will increase by £16•70 while travel into Ireland will increase £14•30
2001 - Aer Lingus workers stage a one-day strike over pay at Dublin Airport. The 3,000 striking staff, members of the SIPTU trade
union, are protesting against their rates of pay in comparison with other Aer Lingus workers
March 31
1711 - Seven women from Island Magee, Co. Antrim are imprisoned and pilloried for 'bewitching' a woman named Mary Dunbar,
who has experienced strange fits and visions
1855: Charlotte Bronte, daughter of an Irish-born father (Patrick) and eldest of the Bronte sisters, dies during pregnancy
1859 - The independent Irish party splits and the Tenant League breaks up
1871 - Birth in Dublin of Arthur Griffith, founder of Sinn Féin and co-signatory of Anglo-Irish treaty
1896 - Women become qualified for election as poor law guardians (welfare administrators) under the Poor Law Guardians Act
1901 - A census on this date shows the population of Ireland to be 4,458,775; this is the last census to be taken on the basis of
baronies
1903 - Jack Doyle, boxer and singer, is born in Cóbh, Co. Cork
1920 - British parliament accepts Irish "Home Rule"-law
1926 - Jeremiah Newman, Bishop of Limerick and writer, is born in Dromcolliher, Co. Limerick
1999 - Ireland is selected as the location for the 2003 Special Olympics World Summer Games. It will be the first time the event has
been staged outside the US.
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