1970 Dr Patrick Hillery, Minister for External Affairs, visited the Falls Road, Belfast. The visit was criticised by the British Foreign Secretary, Sir Alec Douglas-Home, as ‘an error of judgment and a serious diplomatic discourtesy’.
1988 An explosion and resulting oil and gas fires destroyed Piper Alpha, an oil production platform in the North Sea c. 120 miles north-east of Aberdeen; 167 were killed and 61 survived in what was the worst oil-rig accident in history.
1968 An archaeological team discovered a passage and burial chamber at Knowth, Co. Meath.
1946 George W.(Walker) Bush, 43rd president of the United States (2001–9), born, eldest son of Barbara and George H.W. (Herbert Walker) Bush, 41st president (1989–93).
1939 Mary Peters, Olympic gold medal-winner in the pentathlon (Munich, 1972), born in Halewood, Lancashire.
1917 The Battle of Aquaba resulted in the capture of the Red Sea port from the Turks by rebels advised by T.E. Lawrence (‘Lawrence of Arabia’).
1914 Eight days after the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand and his wife in Sarajevo, Austria-Hungary was assured by Germany that it would support any action it took against Serbia. This commitment became known as the ‘blank cheque’ by which Germany pledged unconditional support for any action taken by Austria-Hungary.
1997 Citing the threat to Catholic civilians by loyalist paramilitaries, the RUC Chief Constable permitted c. 1,200 Orangemen to march along the Garvaghy Road in Portadown, the last time they were allowed to do so.
'
Personal Histories
Personal Histories is an initiative by History Ireland,
which aims to capture the individual histories of Irish
people both in Ireland and around the world. It is hoped
to build an extensive database reflecting Irish lives,
giving them a chance to be heard, remembered and to
add their voice to the historical record.
Click Here to go to the Personal Histories page
1521 Columba/Colmcille, Irish abbot and missionary to Scotland, where he founded the monastery of Iona (AD 563), born in Gartan, Co. Donegal.
1979 Charles J. Haughey defeated George Colley (44 votes to 38) to become leader of Fianna Fáil; he was elected Taoiseach on 11 December.
1985 Robert Graves, poet, novelist, critic and classicist whose autobiographical Good-bye to all that (1929) was one of the most influential and best-selling books about the First World War, died.
1979 Charles J. Haughey defeated George Colley (44 votes to 38) for the leadership of the Fianna Fáil Party. He was elected taoiseach four days later.
1941 A Japanese task force of over 350 planes launched a massive surprise attack on the US naval base at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, wrecking or sinking four US battleships and over a dozen other ships, destroying almost 200 aircraft and inflicting over 3,000 casualties.
1922 Seán Hales TD was shot dead in Dublin and Padraic Ó Maille, leas ceann comhairle of Dail Éireann, was wounded. The following morning, in retaliation, the government executed Rory O’Connor, Liam Mellows, Joseph McKelvey and Richard Barrett, all of whom had been imprisoned since the fall of the Four Courts in June that year.
1916 David Lloyd George replaced H.W. Asquith as prime minister in Britain’s coalition government.
1867 ‘Song’ by T.D. O’Sullivan, which soon became known as ‘God Save Ireland’, the anthem of Irish nationalists until 1916, was published in The Nation.
1817 William Keogh, Conservative and Independent Irish Party MP and judge who was a special commissioner at the trials of the Fenians (1865), born in Galway.
1817 William Bligh (63), Royal Navy officer and colonial administrator, best remembered for his role in the mutiny on the Bounty (1789), died.
1972 A referendum—with a 50.7% poll—lowered the minimum age for voting from 21 years to 18 and deleted the reference to the special position of the Catholic Church in the Constitution.
1972 Jean McConville (37), a widow with ten children, was abducted from her home in the Lower Falls area of Belfast and murdered by the IRA.