Tralee Times
Selected Events in Irish History in the Month of
MAY
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May 1 Beltaine
1169 - A small party of Normans arrives at Baginbun and establishes a bridgehead for further invasions
1170 - Arrival of Normans in Co. Wexford. Arrival of Richard de Clare, Earl of Pembroke, subsequently known as
'Strongbow'.
1171 - Diarmaid MacMurrough, king of Leinster, dies in Ferns, Co. Wexford; Strongbow is his (disputed) successor
(MacMurrough's remaining legitimate son, Connor, has been executed while a hostage of Rory O'Connor)
1316 - Records indicate that around this date, Robert Bruce has himself crowned king of Ireland near Dundalk
1654 - Transplantable landowners are ordered to move to Connacht by this date; this deadline is then put back to 1
March 1655
1697 - The Bishops' Banishment Act passed on 25 September,1696, requires most Catholic clergy to leave the kingdom
by this date, and bans Catholic clergy from entering it - the Act will never be efficently enforced
1794 - Catholics are enabled by law to attend Trinity College
1854 - Songwriter, entertainer and painter, Percy French, is born in Cloonyquin, Co. Roscommon. One of his many
famous songs is "The Mountains of Mourne"
1975 - General election is held to a constitutional convention on Northern Ireland
2000 - Nobel Laureate and SDLP leader John Hume is awarded the freedom of Derry at a reception in the city’s Guildhall
2003 - The month of April goes into the record books as one of the warmest for the last 100 years. At Valentia
Observatory and Malin Head the temperatures recorded for the month were the highest since 1893.
May 2
1332 - Sir Anthony Lucy's campaign in Munster ends on this date
1788 - An Act on this date repeals tests imposed on Protestant Dissenters
1794 - United Irishman Archibald Rowan escapes from custody and eventually makes his way to America
1882 - Charles Stewart Parnell is released under the terms of the "Kilmainham Treaty"; writing off the debts of tenants in
arrears. A landmark in the land agitation movement (and Parnell's career).
1921 - Lord FitzAlan of Derwent becomes the first Catholic lord lieutenant since the 17th century; he will be the last lord
lieutenant
1923 - Birth in Milltown Malbay, Co. Clare of Patrick Hillery, surgeon, politician and former president from 1976 to 1990.
He negotiates Ireland's entry into the European Community in 1973 and is later E.C. vice president for three years
1929 - The Fianna Fáil proposes a motion to retain the Land Annuities. It is defeated in the Dail
1945 - Eamon de Valera offers his condolences to the German Ambassador, Edouard Hempel, on the death of Adolf
Hitler
1957 - Death of Fr. Aloysius Roche, Irish patriot. During the 1916 Easter Rebellion, he and Frs. Albert, Augustine and
Dominic bring spiritual aid to the Volunteers in the numerous garrisons and outposts throughout Dublin. Following
Padraig Pearse's surrender on 29 April, Fr. Aloysius spends the next day carrying the surrender order to the main
garrisons on the south side of the city. In the early hours of the morning of 3 May, Fr. Aloysius administers the last
sacraments to Pearse, MacDonagh and Thomas, the first three leaders of the Rising to be executed; on May 7, Fr
Aloysius accompanies James Connolly by ambulance from Dublin Castle to Kilmainham Jail for execution and stands
behind the firing squad as they fire the final volley
1982 -The Irish government affirms its neutrality in the Falklands conflict between the UK and Argentina, and opposes
EEC sanctions against Argentina
May 3
1714 - Sir Wentworth Harman, MP for Lanesborough, dies from the wounds he receives in a carriage accident on April
28
1785 - The Irish Academy, later to become the Royal Irish Academy, meets for the first time
1916 - Patrick Pearse, Thomas Clarke and Thomas MacDonagh executed by firing squad in Kilmainham jail
1924 - The world premiere of Sean O’Casey’s Juno And The Paycock took place at the Abbey Theatre
1928 - Fianna Fáil petition with 96,000 signatures, calling for referendum to abolish the Oath of Allegiance rejected by
Government which instead abolishes the plebiscite clause in the Constitution
1933 - Dáil passes an act removing the Oath of Allegiance from the constitution
1999 - Swimmer Michelle de Bruin's hopes of salvaging her reputation and career nosedive with new allegations that a
urine sample contains traces of a banned stimulant
1999 - RTÉ launches their 24-hour classical music station Lyric FM.
May 4
1699 - According to Jonathan Swift's book, Gulliver's Travels, it was on this day that Lemuel Gulliver sets sail on board
the Antelope from Bristol
1773 - Art Ó Laoghaire, the subject of Eileen O'Leary's lament 'Caoineadh Airt Uí Laoghaire', is killed by soldiers near
Millstreet, Co. Cork
1782 - Second and third Catholic Relief Acts (4 May, 27 July) allow Catholics to own land outside parliamentary
boroughs, to be teachers, and to act as guardians
1782 - Acts establish the Bank of Ireland, and validates marriages by Presbyterian ministers
1836 - The Ancient Order of Hibernians in America is founded in New York City
1916 - Edward Daly, Michael O'Hanrahan, William Pearse (brother of Padraic Pearse) and Joseph Mary Plunkett are
executed by firing squad in Kilmainham jail
1999 - TV3 pulls off the biggest coup of its short existence by securing the broadcasting rights to the UEFA Champions
League for three years from the start of the 2000-01 season
2001 - The remains of St Therese of Lisieux arrive at Mountjoy Prison where they will remain overnight
May 5
1795 - House of Commons rejects Grattan's Catholic relief bill
1864 - Birth in Edgeworthstown, Co. Longford of Sir Henry Wilson, soldier; chief of the Imperial General Staff from 1918
to 1922; establishes British Intelligence 'Cairo Gang' in Dublin
1916 - Irish patriot and a leader of the 1916 Easter Uprising, John MacBride, is executed by firing squad in Kilmainham
Gaol
1939 - Death of Mick the Miller, the greatest greyhound in the history of the sport
1999 - The remains of celebrated British actor Oliver Reed arrive in Ireland and are taken by hearse to a funeral home
in the North Cork town of Buttevant, not far from his Castle McCarthy home in nearby Churchtown
1999 - Prince Charles visits Omagh and meets with relatives of those killed in the 1998 bombing and some of the young
people who were injured
1999 - A team of security personnel from the White House arrive in Galway to prepare the city's National University for
the visit of First Lady Hillary Clinton
2003 - It is announced that almost a year after his death, two unpublished plays by John B, Keane have been
discovered in his study and will be staged when his widow, Mary, decides the time is right.
May 6
1074 - Donatus (or Dunan), the first Bishop of Dublin, dies on this date and is buried in Christ Church Cathedral.
Patrick, his successor, is sent to Canterbury for consecration (records are unreliable - the date of his death is also
recorded as November 23)
1384 - Philip de Courtenay lands at Dalkey and campaigns in the midlands and the Leinster mountains
1728 - Act of Parliament removes the right to vote from Catholics
1882 - 'Phoenix Park murders' - The assassination of the British chief secretary of Ireland, Lord Frederick Cavendish,
and his under secretary, T.H. Burke. Both are stabbed to death as they walk in Dublin's Phoenix Park by members of a
nationalist secret society, the “Invincibles”. The attack is attributed to the Fenians. It is not actually connected with land
agitation
1916 -The U-20, a German U-boat commanded by Captain Schweiger, sinks the Centurion off the south-east Irish coast;
the next day, the U-20 sinks the Lusitania
1970 - Charles Haughey (Minister for Finance) and Neil Blaney (Minister for Agriculture) are dismissed by Taoiseach
Jack Lynch; later, the are arrested and charged with importing arms for the IRA. Blaney is discharged on 2 July;
Haughey is acquitted on 23 October
2000 - Large crowds turn out in bright summer sunshine in Fenit, Co. Kerry, where President Mary McAleese officially
christens the three-masted, famine ship replica, the Jeanie Johnston
May 7
1689 - James II arrives from exile in France and addresses the Irish Parliament. Thanking them for support, applauding
their courage and vowing to "venture my life...in defence of your liberties". Thus begins the events leading up to the
Battle of the Boyne
1689 - James II's predominantly Catholic Irish parliament which is in session from this date until 18 July, implements
various measures redressing Catholic grievances
1720 - James Cotter is executed for high treason in supporting the Jacobite cause: his son, Sir James Cotter, will later
be MP for Askeaton
1915 - The Lusitania is sunk by a German U-boat off the Old Head of Kinsale, Co. Cork with the loss of more than 1,100
lives
1931 - An Oige, Irish Youth Hostel Association is established. At the end of that year, it has just 215 members and 2
hostels. Today, An Óige has well over 30 youth hostels located throughout Ireland
1992 - Bishop of Galway, Dr. Eamonn Casey, resigns
2001 - Islanders off the coast of Cork rescue a 20ft pilot whale who became stranded at Hare Island with another dead
whale.
May 8
1567 - Shane O'Neill's army crosses the Swilly estuary at Farsetmore, and is defeated in a pitched battle by Hugh
O'Donnell. Many drown while trying to escape; O'Neill loses1,300 men
1916 - Irish patriots, Michael Mallin, Eamonn Ceannt, Cornelius "Con" Colbert and Sean Heuston are executed in
Kilmainham gaol
1945 - VE Day is marked in Dublin by small disturbances throughout the city which quickly turn into major disorder
1951 - The Arts Council is founded in the Republic
1990 - Primate of All Ireland, Cardinal Tomás Ó Fiach, dies in Lourdes
1999 - A freak mini-tornado hits Carraroe, near Williamstown in Co. Galway, leaving a trail of destruction in its path and
almost killing a couple who just manage to escape from their mobile home before it is picked up and torn apart
May 9
1423 - Edmund Mortimer, 8th earl of Ulster, earl of March, the greatest Irish landowner and heir presumptive to the
throne of England, is appointed lieutenant for nine years
1650 - The Battle of Clonmel begins with the first of two assaults. Cromwell's forces are beaten back on this date by
Black Hugh O'Neill. Eventually, Cromwell loses up to 2,000 men, but O'Neill, realizing he has a shortage of ammunition,
secretly withdraws
1671 - Irish adventurer Colonel Thomas Blood dresses as a clergyman and attempts to steal the British crown jewels
from the Tower of London. He is arrested in possession of the crown
1691 - Charles Chalmont (Marquis de Saint-Ruth; French general) is sent by Louis XIV to command the Irish army and
arrives on this date
1709 - The Irish House of Lords expresses hope that union of Ireland and England will follow union of England and
Scotland
1828 - Charles Kickham, Fenian, novelist, and author of Knocknagow, is born in Mullinahone, Co. Tipperary
1865 - The Dublin International Exhibition opens in Earlsfort Terrace
1916 - Irish Patriot, Thomas Kent, is executed at Cork Detention Barracks
1932 - Éamon de Valera is elected Taoiseach
1943 - Mystery still surrounds what happened when a mine washes up on a beach in Co. Donegal and explodes; 19
men and boys, aged between 14 and 33, who lived in Ballymanus near Kincasslagh, are killed by the blast
1982 - General Election results in Fianna Fáil victory winning 81 seats. Charles J. Haughey is elected as Taoiseach on
the 50th Anniversary of the first Fianna Fáil Government in 1932.
May 10
1318- Richard de Clare, while defending his protégé Mahon O'Brien, is defeated and killed by Murrough O'Brien at
Dysert O'Dea. De Clare's heir is a minor; Norman-Irish power in Thomond is thus undermined
1603 - In the revolt of the towns, or recusancy revolt, Catholic worship is re-established in Kilkenny and the main
Munster towns between 11 April and this date, in the hope that James I will grant religious toleration; Mountjoy marches
south and forces the towns to submit
1642 - A Catholic confederacy ('the Confederation of Kilkenny') is instituted to administer Catholic-controlled parts of the
country pending a final settlement
1804 - After resigning as Prime Minister following a disagreement with George III over Catholic Emancipation, William Pitt
returns to office
1886 - Richard Mulcahy, pro-Treaty nationalist and Fine Gael politician, is born in Waterford
1972 - In a referendum in the Republic, 83 per cent favour accession to the European Economic Community
May 11
1745 - At the battle of Fontenoy (30 April/11 May according to the two calendars), near Tournai in modern Belgium, the
Irish Brigade of the French army under Lieutenant Charles O'Brien repulses the British and wins the day. Those killed
include (on the British side) Henry Ponsonby, MP for Innistiogue and a brother of Brabazon Ponsonby, 1st Earl of
Bessborough
1916 - During the House of Commons debate on the Irish crises, John Dillon urges the cessation of executions
1937 - Debate on new Constitution commences
1967- The Republic of Ireland applies again to join the Common Market
2000 - Figures released on this date show that tourist visitors to Ireland in 1999 exceed six million for the first time
May 12
563 - St Columcille establishes a community on Iona
1641 - Thomas Wentworth, English viceroy of Ireland and Earl of Stafford is beheaded
1823 - Daniel O'Connell founds the Catholic Association, an organization dedicated to obtaining the franchise for
Catholics
1916 - Irish Patriots, Seán MacDiarmada and James Connolly are executed at Kilmainham Gaol
1944 - Cork-born Venerable Edel Quinn, one of the outstanding missionary figures of the 20th century, dies of TB in
Nairobi
1999 - US First Lady Hillary Rodham Clinton become the first woman to be granted the Freedom of Galway city,
following in the footsteps of her country's former presidents, John F. Kennedy and Ronald Reagan
May 13
1787 - On this date, which is a Sunday, Alderman Exshaw, accompanied by Archdeacon Hastings, is walking in Merrion
Square, Dublin, when he encounters 'a great number of people, leaping, wrestling, shouting, etc.'. The archdeacon
observes that this activity profanes the Sabbath and is a disgrace to Exshaw's district. The latter orders the police to
advance and disperse the crowd with fixed bayonets. The MPs Richard Griffith, Henry Hatton and Sir John Freke
intervene, and Griffith asks Exshaw 'to consider what he was about to do; that he had no right to order his men to fire
without reading the Riot Act, and that if they fired, they must kill many innocent persons'. These words, according to
Exshaw later, encourage the mob, and they immediately attack the police with stones. Exshaw will admit that there was
no riot before he ordered the police to disperse the crowd, 'that some of his men were drunk, but not so much so, he
said as to render them incapable of doing their duty; that it was with great difficulty he prevented them from firing on the
mob'. Griffith will be found guilty of instigating a riot, and considered lucky not to be hanged
1848 - The Irish Confederation splits; John Mitchel starts the militant United Irishman; he is arrested on this date and is
sentenced to 14 years transportation under the new Treason-Felony Act
1919 - Dan Breen and Seán Treacy rescue their comrade Seán Hogan from a Dublin-Cork train at Knocklong, Co.
Limerick; two policemen guarding him are killed
1945 - In a radio broadcast, Churchill accuses de Valera's government of frolicking with the Germans and Japanese
1981 - Pope John Paul II survives an assassination attempt in St Peter's Square, Rome
2003 - Ferocious winds force an Irish team hoping to scale Mount Everest to return to their base camp. Two members of
the team, Clare O’Leary, 31, from Cork and Hannah Shields, 37, from Derry, hope to become the first Irish women to
scale the world’s highest peak.
May 14
1260 - Brian O'Neill, during the assault on the Earldom of Ulster, is defeated and killed by the forces of Roger des
Auters at the battle of Down (renamed by de Courcy as Downpatrick)
1660 - Charles II is proclaimed king in Dublin, six days after London, thus ending Cromwell's reign as Lord Protector and
beginning a brief and limited Catholic Restoration
1784 - The Irish Post Office, distinct from English and Scottish services, is established by statute
2003 - A headless body is discovered by a Co. Offaly farmer while digging a drain close to his home. The skin is still
intact on the upper torso, the clothes are preserved and there is a bracelet on the upper arm. The National Museum's
head of collections, Raghnall O'Floinn, says: "it could be anywhere between 500-2000 years old.
May 15
1395 - Richard II returns to England on this date, confident that Gaelic Irish power has been checked
1600 - Sent by Queen Elizabeth to quell the rumblings of discontent in Ulster, Sir Henry Docwra lands at Culmore with a
force of 4000 foot and 200 horse soldiers; modern Derry is thereby founded
1829- Elected to the office of minister of Parliament for Co. Clare by recently enfranchised Catholics, O'Connell
presents himself at the bar of the House of Commons, but is asked to withdraw for refusing to take the Oath of
Supremacy
1847 - Daniel O'Connell, "The Liberator," dies in Genoa. His body is returned to Ireland and buried in Glasnevin
Cemetery
1867 - Eoin MacNeill, Gaelic scholar and co-founder of the Gaelic League, is born in Glenarm, Co. Antrim
2003 - The National Museum of Ireland says that a remarkably well-preserved headless body found by a farmer in a Co.
Offaly bog could be up to 2000 years old.
May 16
587 - St. Brendan the Navigator, early transatlantic voyager, dies. In the liturgical calendar, today is St. Brendan's Feast
Day
1920 - 'Soviets' are proclaimed in 13 Co. Limerick creameries, including Knocklong
1926 - Eamon de Valera founds Fianna Fáil and holds its first public meeting
1927 - 'A' Reserve established by Oglaigh na hÉireann - the Irish Defence Forces
1945 - Eamon de Valera responds to Churchill's victory speech during which Churchill took one last jab at Irish neutrality.
2001 - Proposals to locate the first wind farm off the country's west coast are unveiled. The £100 million project is to be
located off the north Kerry coast on the southern lip of the Shannon estuary and is to involve the construction of
between 20 and 30 wind turbines
2002 - Iarnród Eireann’s first female train driver, Teresa Carey from Kerry, begins her career driving the Cork-Heuston
train.
May 17
1650 - Cromwell's army is defeated in the second assault on Clonmel, suffering its heaviest losses. The following day,
the Mayor of Clonmel negotiates honourable terms for surrender with Cromwell, who did not realise that O'Neill and his
soldiers had left the town. Annoyed at being outwitted, Cromwell nevertheless keeps to the terms
1855 - Birth in Bantry, Co. Cork of Timothy Michael Healy, one of the most brilliant and most controversial of Irish
politicians. His career spans from Parnell's leadership of the Irish Parliamentary Party in the 1880s to the foundation of
the Irish Free State in 1922; he becomes the Free State's first Governor-General
1880 - Charles Stewart Parnell is elected Chairman of the Irish Parliamentary Party
1949 - The British Government recognizes the Republic of Ireland
1969 - Dubliner Tom McClean crosses from Newfoundland to Blacksod Bay, Co. Mayo, completing the first transatlantic
solo crossing in a rowboat
May 18
1401 - John de Stanley is told that he is to be replaced as lieutenant by Thomas of Lancaster (duke of Clarence and
second son of Henry IV), who is 12 or 13 years old. Lancaster's deputy, Sir Stephen le Scrope, will effectively govern
Ireland for the next few years
1613 - James I's Irish parliament opens in Dublin
1825 - The House of Lords rejects the Catholic Emancipation Bill which would disenfranchise Irish forty-shilling free-
holders and put clergy on state salaries
1896 - The City and Suburban Ground now known as Croke Park, hosts a soccer match for the first time. The teams are
a combination of Irish and Scots women versus England. The combined team beats England 3-2
1939 - The first aircraft lands at the newly opened Rineanna Airfield which is later to become Shannon International
Airport
2004 - Clare O'Leary becomes the first Irishwoman to successfully climb Mount Everest. She is accompanied by veteran
mountaineer Pat Falvey who also sets a record by becoming the first Irishman to climb Everest from both sides.
May 19
1798 - Lord Edward Fitzgerald, a leader of the United Irishmen, is betrayed by Francis Magan; he's arrested and is shot
while being apprehended; he dies of his wounds on June 4
1870 - Sir Isaac Butt invents the term "Home Rule". The first meeting of the "Home Government Association" (later to
become the "Home Rule League") is held in a Dublin hotel. A resolution is passed "that the true remedy for the evils of
Ireland is the establishment of an Irish Parliament with full control over our domestic affairs"
1998 - Abortion is opposed in all circumstances by 58% of people as against 24% in favour, according to a Pro Life
Campaign opinion poll, carried out by Irish Marketing Surveys
1999 - A five-stone lump of butter, estimated to have been buried in a bog over 300 years ago, is discovered in the Poll
na gCapaill bog near Barnaderg in Co. Galway by turf cutters Tom Burke and Vincent Roche
2001 - Fleadh Ceoil celebrates its 50th anniversary as musicians throughout the country battle for their place in the
provincial finals of Galway, Meath, Tipperary, Antrim, Kildare, Kilkenny, Monaghan and Wexford
May 20
1311 - The war of the O'Briens of Thomond escalates as the Norman-Irish become involved on both sides: the de
Burghs support Dermot O'Brien and Richard de Clare supports Donough O'Brien. There is a pitched battle at Bunratty
on this date, with heavy losses on both sides; de Burgh and others are imprisoned
1648 - Truce between the confederates and Inchiquin; its adherents are excommunicated by Giovanni Rinuccini, papal
nuncio to the confederates
1836 - An Act amalgamates the county constabulary and Peace Preservation Force into a centralized police force - the
Irish Constabulary - which will later become the Royal Irish Constabulary
1922 - De Valera and Collins agree to a pact whereby a national coalition panel of candidates will represent the pro-
and anti-Treaty wings of Sinn Féin throughout Ireland in the forthcoming general election
1927 - The opening hours of Irish public houses are restricted by the Intoxicating Liquor Act
1932 - Amelia Earhart takes off from Newfoundland for Ireland on the anniversary of Charles Lindbergh's famous flight;
she lands near Londonderry/Derry and becomes the first woman to fly solo across the Atlantic
2001 - More than half a million people line the streets to watch the postponed St Patrick's Day Parade in Dublin
2001 - Former US president Bill Clinton begins a four-day trip to Ireland with a round of golf at Ballybunion
2003 - The Irish Government restricts alcohol adverts. The ads are banned from buses, trains, cinemas and sporting
events and not permitted before 10 p.m. on television
May 21
1639 - Lord Deputy Thomas Wentworth imposes the Black Oath of loyalty to Charles I on all Ulster Scots over the age of
16
1745 - Count Daniel O'Connell, a soldier in French and British services, is born in Derrynane, Co. Kerry
1916 - Clocks and watches go forward one hour as the Daylight Saving Act (Summer Time) is introduced
1999 - The Jack Lynch Tunnel, described as the most challenging civil engineering project in the history of the state, is
unveiled by Taoiseach Bertie Ahern at the entrance of the tunnel in Mahon, Co. Cork
2000 - Demonstrators picket Drogheda Heritage Centre as the death mask of Oliver Cromwell is put on display where he
is reputed to have massacred thousands of defenceless civilians
2000 - Thousands of Christians celebrate the jubilee year by coming together in parishes throughout the country for
National Pilgrimage Day
2001 - The EU blue flag quality mark is awarded to 111 beaches around the coast for the cleanliness of the water.
Ireland, at 91.7%, ranks fourth overall in the EU when it comes to blue flag beaches. The Netherlands comes first with
96%, followed by Greece with 95% and Italy, 92%
2001 - Former US president, Bill Clinton, is rumored to have been paid £100,000 by the chairman of Independent News
and Media Sir Anthony O'Reilly to talk to a select gathering at Trinity College on this date
May 22
1859 - Birth in Edinburgh of Arthur Ignatius Conan Doyle, creator of Sherlock Holmes. Doyle was the eldest son of 10
siblings born to Irish parents Charles Doyle and Mary Foley
1932 - Death of Augusta Persse, better known as Lady Augusta Gregory, Irish dramatist, folklorist and theatre director;
also a co-founder of the Abbey Theatre
1997 - Pneumonia causes the quiet passing of Dr. Noel Browne in the University College Hospital Galway at the age of
81. As Minister of Health, Dr. Browne had lain the foundation stone of the same Hospital almost fifty years before
1998 - The Good Friday Agreement is overwhelmingly endorsed in referendums North (71%) and South (94%)
2003 - Hurling reaches its highest peak when Gerard McDonnell from Limerick brought the spirit of the GAA to Mount
Everest; he sent a ball flying above 29,000 feet
2003 - The Official Languages Bill 2002, introduced by the Minister for the Gaeltacht, Mr Ó Cuív, will give citizens the
right to conduct their business with any State agency or Government department, in Irish.
May 23
1561 - The first court of High Commission, a group of officials and Protestant clergy, is set up to enforce the
Reformation in Ireland
1798 - United Irish Rebellion begins in Wexford
1798 - United Irish rebellion begins in Leinster
1920 - Oliver Plunkett is beatified by Pope Benedict XV
1920 - Railway workers refuse to transport troops from this date
1999 - Rural post offices are thrown a life-line when the Government gives its strongest commitment yet to preserving
regional services
May 24
1487 - Lambert Simnel (aged 10), the Yorkist pretender to the English throne, is brought to Ireland. It is claimed that he
is Edward, Earl of Warwick (Clarence's son), but in fact, he is a baker's son - the real Warwick is a prisoner in the Tower
of London and will be executed in 1499. Most of the Anglo-Irish believe that Simnel's claim is genuine and support him
(exceptions are the Butlers, Waterford city and the Archbishop of Armagh, Octavian del Palatio); Simnel is crowned King
of England as Edward VI in Christ Church Cathedral, Dublin on this date. Walter FitzSimons, Archbishop of Dublin, is
present at the crowning; he will be imprisoned in the Tower because of this
1798 - Archibald Hamilton Jacob conducts the Enniscorthy Yeomen Cavalry to the village of Ballaghkeen where they flog
a man to death
1813 - A Catholic Relief Bill is introduced by Grattan in the House of Commons, and is narrowly defeated 251 to 247
1921 - 1st parliament for Northern Ireland is elected
1987 - A referendum in the Republic approves the Single European Act
2000 - According to a report published on this date, 1 in 10 homeless people in London are Irish
May 25
1315 - Edward Bruce (brother of Robert Bruce, king of Scots), having been invited by some Gaelic chiefs, leads an
expedition to Ireland with the aim of conquering it, creating a kingdom of Ireland and driving out the Norman-Irish
settlers. He lands at Larne on this date and is proclaimed king of Ireland
1910 to form the Non-subscribing Presbyterian Church of Ireland
1842 - Birth on Valentia Island, Co. Kerry, of Helen Blackburn, early leader of the movement for the emancipation of
women
1870 - Irish Fenians raid Eccles Hill, Québec
1912 - First issue of the weekly suffrage magazine, Irish Citizen, appears
1914 - British House of Commons passes Irish Home Rule for the third time
1921 - The Dublin brigade of the IRA attacks and sets fire to the Customs House; 120 of its men are captured and 11
are killed
1993 - Dawson Stelfox becomes the first Irishman to conquer Everest
May 26
1562 - Following his submission to Elizabeth at Whitehall in January, Shane O'Neill returns to Ireland on this date
1650 - Oliver Cromwell leaves Ireland on board the frigate President Bradshaw. His deputy and son-in-law, Henry Ireton
takes control of the Irish campaign and captures Birr Castle
1798 - The rebels are defeated at Tara Hill; this marks the end of the rebellion in Co. Meath. Rebellion begins in Co.
Wexford. Fr. John Murphy and local people confront the Camolin yeomanry at The Harrow. Thomas Bookey, Lieutenant
of the yeomanry, is killed
1867 - Michael Barrett from Kesh, Co. Fermanagh is executed for his part in the explosion at Clerkenwell Gaol. From all
the evidence, it is likely he is not guilty. He is the last man to be publicly hanged in England.
1873 - Trinity College Dublin abolishes all remaining religious restrictions for entry, with the exception of the Faculty of
Divinity
1897 - First publication of Dracula, written by Dublin man Abraham ‘Bram’ Stoker
May 27
1224 - Cathal Crovderg O'Connor, king of Connacht and brother of Rory O'Connor, dies at the age of 72. This finally
opens the way for the Norman occupation of Connacht
1595 - Hugh O'Neill, Earl of Tyrone, defeats the English forces of his brother-in-law, Sir Henry Bagenal, at the Battle of
Clontibret, Co. Monaghan; he is proclaimed a traitor at Newry in June
1648 - Giovanni Rinuccini, papal nuncio to the confederates, excommunicates adherents of the truce between
confederates and Inchiquin
1798 - Wexford rebels massacre Kingsborough's militiamen and yeomanry at Oulart
1877 - Hanna Sheehy Skeffington is born in Co. Limerick. A committed suffragette, she is one of the founding members
of the Irish Womens Franchise League; sexual equality remains a primary concern throughout her despite a slight shift
in focus after the summary execution of her husband in 1916
1936 - Following the Free State's provision for the formation of Aer Lingus as the national airline, Aer Lingus opens
routes to Bristol and London, commencing with a flight from Baldonnell to Bristol on this date
1960 - The last barge on the Grand Canal makes its final journey to Limerick with a cargo of Guinness
1993 - Mary Robinson, the first female president of Éire, becomes the first Irish head of state to meet with a British
monarch when she visits Queen Elizabeth II
May 28
1590 - Hugh O'Neill, Earl of Tyrone, agrees to abandon further attempts at extending his territory in the north, and
undertakes to force his people to adopt English laws and customs
1798 - In the first Battle of Enniscorthy, the rebels take the town
1970 - Charles Haughey, who will later be acquitted and become Taoiseach, is arrested with Niall Blaney for conspiracy
to import arms
2000 - A plaque to commemorate the first Irish meeting of the Orange Order is unveiled in Dublin - without a single
member of the hardline Protestant group in attendance. The Dublin and Wicklow Lodge boycott the event on Dawson St
in protest at its treatment over a march in the city, also planned for this date
May 29
1205 - King John makes Hugh de Lacy Earl of Ulster
1666 - The Act of Uniformity confirms Guy Fawkes' day (5 November) as an anniversary, and adds 30 January
(execution of Charles I) and 29 May (the Restoration)
1798 - On this date, under the command of Father Murphy of Boolavogue, a priest who had been in dispute with his
bishop and who had reluctantly stepped forward as leader, the Wexford insurgents, gaining strength as they advance,
storm Enniscorthy. The defences of the town are swept aside by means of a stampede of cattle. Elsewhere, General Sir
James Duff arrives in Monasterevin where he augments his forces before marching on to Kildare and the Gibbet Rath.
On this same date, the insurgents camp on Vinegar Hill, outside Enniscorthy town. In the north, the Ulster Directory of
the United Irishmen meets to plan rebellion in counties Antrim and Down
1917 - Birth of John Fitzgerald Kennedy, the 35th US president, in Brookline, Mass
1936 - The Free State Senate (upper house of parliament) is abolished
1942 - Bing Crosby records Irving Berlin's "White Christmas"
1974 - Northern Ireland is brought under direct rule from Westminster
2003 - According to the Eurydice report, Ireland has the largest number of children per class in Europe and our
teachers have to work longer than most to earn the top salary
May 30
1630 - Birth of Charles Stuart who will become Charles II of Great Britain and Ireland
1784 - Belfast's first Catholic church, St. Mary's, opens for public worship
1798 - Following the massacre of Kingsborough's militiamen and yeomanry at Oulart on 27 May, rebels capture
Enniscorthy and Wexford town
1807 - During the election for Co. Wexford, two of the candidates, William Congreve Alcock and John Colclough, fight a
duel in front of the county sheriff, 16 magistrates and a large crowd of spectators. Alcock shoots Colclough dead; he is
elected; he is also tried and acquitted for killing Colclough, but his mind is badly affected; two years later, he will be
confined in an asylum for the insane
1844 - Daniel O'Connell is fined and sentenced to 12 months in prison for 'conspiracy'
1906 - Death of Michael Davitt, "Father" of the Irish Land League. He was born at the height of the Great Famine. At
four, his family was evicted and forced to emigrate to England. He joined the Fenians in 1865, became organizing
secretary and was arrested in 1870 for arms smuggling. Released after seven years, he returned to County Mayo as a
national hero. His travels in Connaught showed conditions had not improved. Realising that, if the power of the tenant
farmers could be organised, it would be possible to bring about improvement, he arranged a convention in August of
1879. The result was a body called the National Land League of Mayo. Thus began the land agitation movement.
1944 - Eamon de Valera is returned as Taoiseach
1951 - Fianna Fáil regains power in a general election
1973 - In a political upset, Erskine Childers defeats Tom O'Higgins by a very narrow margin and is elected President of
Ireland
2001 - Bord Fáilte launches a major marketing campaign aimed at domestic holiday-makers in an effort to combat
losses of £500m caused by the foot-and-mouth crisis
2002 - Writer John B. Keane dies at his home in Listowel
2003 - A collection of previously unpublished works by John B. Keane is launched on the first anniversary of his death at
Writers’ Week, the annual literary festival in his native Listowel, Co. Kerry
May 31
1798 - Beauchamp Bagenal Harvey is appointed as Commander of the insurgent forces In Wexford town, a civilian
government led by four Protestants and four Catholics is established
1847 - Birth of Alice Stopford Green in Kells, Co. Meath. Irish historian and patriot; she is noted for proving the Irish had
a rich culture before English rule. A strong supporter of the Treaty of 1921, she is nominated to the first Seanad in
December 1922
1900 - During the Boer War, Piet de Wet captures the thirteenth battalion of the Imperial Yeomanry at Lindley. To British
eyes, this mounted Battalion is the social and political show-piece of the new Volunteer Army; a company of Irish M.F.
H.'s known as the Irish Hunt Contingent, including the Earl of Longford and Viscount Ennismore; two companies of Ulster
Protestant Unionists, including the Earl of Leitrim, a whiskey Baronet (Sir John Power) and the future Lord Craigavon;
and a company of English and Irish men-about-town raised by Lord Donoughmore, who had insisted on paying their own
passage to South Africa. This patriotic band is commanded by a British regular, Lieutenant Colonel Basil Spragge. The
surrender of Spragge's Irish Yeomanry is the cause of a ripple of mirth in nationalist circles in Ireland. In fact, there is a
gallant Last Stand made by the Irish Hunt Company. Lord Longford, with blood streaming from wounds at the neck, face,
and wrists, orders his men to fight to the end. "I knew it to be madness," said one of the gentlemen troopers, (son of the
Irish Lord Chancellor) "and so did everyone else, I think, but not a man refused". In general, raw Irish Yeomen fought no
worse than British regulars had fought in similar situations. A respectable total of 80 were killed or wounded before the
White Flag went up. Piet de Wet's bag totalled about 530 men, including Spragge, Lord Longford (seriously wounded),
Lords Ennismore, Leitrim, and Donoughmore (and the future Lord Craigavon), all captured, and the whiskey Baronet
Power killed
1911 - The hull of the world’s most famous ship - the Titanic - is launched
1922 - The Royal Ulster Constabulary is established
1941 - German bombs fall on North Strand, Dublin; 34 people are killed and 90 are injured
1962 - General Election is held in Northern Ireland; Unionists win 34 of the 51 seats
1970 - Death of Arkle, the greatest Irish steeplechaser of all time. Arkle had broken a pedal bone during a race in 1968.
Stiffness caused by the injury becomes worse and in spite of his great courage, he can hardly stand. On this date, his
vet, James Kavanagh, gives him his final injection; Arkle lies down in his box and goes to sleep forever
1979 - RTÉ 2 (now 2FM) makes its debut
1998 - The Protestant community in a Wexford village receives an apology from Bishop Brendan Comiskey over a
boycott more than 40 years ago.
He asks for forgiveness for a controversial incident in Fethard-on-Sea when local Catholics boycott Protestant shops
and classes over a six-month period during 1957
2002 - The people of North Kerry turn out in their thousands to pay their last respects to playwright John B. Keane.