1981 Taoiseach Garret Fitzgerald announced a ‘constitutional crusade’ to remove ‘sectarian elements’ in the law and constitution of the Republic.
1980 The first hunger strike in the Maze Prison began when seven prisoners refused to take food in support of their demand to wear their own clothing. In mid-December they were joined by 23 additional prisoners.
1914 Poet Dylan Thomas, son of a schoolteacher, born in Swansea.
1915 Ernest Shackleton abandons his ship Endurance, trapped in ice in the Antarctic since the previous January. Born in Kildare, Shackleton’s Imperial Trans-Antarctic Expedition was intended to explore the oceans around the southernmost continent. It failed, but the abandonment of the ship led to one of the most famous feats of navigation and exploration in history, culminating in an 800-mile voyage with a select group, including Kerryman Tom Crean, which landed on South Georgia in May 1916 and ensured the rescue of the rest of the crew of the Endurance, a journey detailed in his laconic memoir South.
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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
1920 Recruitment began, mainly from among demobilised British Army officers, into a new force—the ‘Auxiliary Division’—to augment the RIC.
1939 Michael Longley, poet, notable for ‘Gorse Fires’ (1991), ‘The Weather in Japan’ (2000) and ‘The Stairwell’ (2014), born in Belfast of English parents.
2004 Bob Tisdall (96), Olympic gold medal-winner in the 400m hurdles (Los Angeles, 1932) in a world record time of 51.7 seconds—which was not recognised under the rules at the time because he had hit a hurdle—died.
1866 The SS Great Eastern completed the laying of a transatlantic telegraph cable between Valentia Island, Co. Kerry, and Heart’s Content, Newfoundland.
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