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December 12

Published in On this Day listing

1971 John Barnhill (65), a Unionist senator in the Stormont parliament and businessman, was shot dead by the Official IRA at his home near Strabane, Co. Tyrone.
2000 With just five more weeks in office, US President Bill Clinton landed in Dublin on his third visit to Ireland. From there he proceeded to an open-air rally in Dundalk and then on to Belfast for talks with the political parties on the contentious issues of decommissioning and policing.
1964 The Republic of Kenya was declared, with Jomo Kenyatta as president.
1917 In the worst rail disaster in history, 543 French troops were killed when their train derailed near the entrance to the Mount Cenis tunnel in Modane, France

On this Day

1937 During the Spanish Civil War, the Basque town of Guernica, a bastion of Republican resistance, was pounded by the German Condor Legion with high-explosive bombs and at least 3,000 incendiary bombs. Over 1,600 people were killed in the subsequent firestorm.
1900 Queen Victoria concluded her final, three-week visit to Ireland, the purpose of which was to encourage Irishmen to join the British Army and fight in the Second Boer War. Nationalist opposition to her visit was led by Arthur Griffith and his newspaper, The United Irishman.
1974 Nineteen Old Masters paintings were stolen from the Blessington, Co. Wicklow, home of Sir Alfred and Lady Beit by a Provisional IRA gang which included Dr Rose Dugdale.