1990 Captain Terence O’Neill, latterly Lord O’Neill of the Maine, prime minister of Northern Ireland (1963–9), died.
1959 Seán Lester, Antrim-born civil servant who was the last secretary-general of the League of Nations (1940–5), died.
1817 Richard Lovell Edgeworth (73), landlord, writer, inventor and father of the novelist Maria Edgeworth, died.
1798 Battle of Ballynahinch, marking the end of the rising in County Down.
Above: Miniature of Betsy Gray. (C.J. Robb)
The Battle of Ballynahinch, Co. Down, where the legendary Betsy Gray, mounted on a white horse and carrying a green flag, rallied the rebels. Betsy came to an inglorious end. In the pursuit by Crown cavalry of the fleeing rebels, she, her brother George and her lover Willie Boal were overtaken by the notorious Hillsborough Yeomanry in Ballycreen, some two miles from the town, and summarily executed, the beautiful Betsy in particularly cruel fashion. First they severed her gloved hand with a sabre and then shot her in the eye. In subsequent years she was much revered in local memory and featured prominently in poems, ballads and prints. Then, in 1886, her tragic story reached a wider audience with the publication of the hugely popular novel Betsy Gray or Hearts of Down by the journalist and entertainer W.G. Lyttle. In 1896, thanks to the generosity of an American who claimed to be her grand-nephew, a granite stone with railings was erected at her burial place in Ballycreen, but it would not stand for long. While the locals, by then solidly unionist, initially raised no objection, they subsequently became alarmed by the increasing popularity of the monument as a place of pilgrimage for nationalists, and were outraged when plans were announced for a ceremony there as part of the national celebrations marking the centenary of the 1798 Rebellion. On the eve of the ceremony they smashed the monument to pieces with sledgehammers. They meant no disrespect to Betsy’s memory, they declared, but would not tolerate an event there organised by ‘Catholics and other Home Rulers’.
'
That field of glory. The story of Clontarf, from battleground to garden suburb Read More
Darkest Dublin: The story of the Church Street disaster and a pictorial account of the slums of Dublin in 1913 Read More
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
1991 Operation Desert Storm, a military operation by a US-led coalition of two dozen nations to expel occupying Iraqi forces from Kuwait, began.
1920 Prohibition came into force in the USA following ratification of the 18th amendment to the constitution.
1969 A Czech student, Jan Palach (20), burned himself to death in Wenceslas Square, Prague, in protest against the continuing presence of Soviet and Warsaw Pact troops in Czechoslovakia.
1922 Michael Collins, as chairman of the Provisional Government of Southern Ireland, formally accepted the transfer of power from the British at Dublin Castle.
1816 Frances Browne, known as ‘the blind poetess of Donegal’, whose fairy-tale Granny’s wonderful chair and its tales of fairy times (1856) won international acclaim, born in Stranorlar, Co. Donegal.
1913 The Home Rule bill was carried in the House of Commons (367–257) but was defeated in the House of Lords (326–69) a fortnight later.
1809 The Battle of Corunna took place, in which the British, led by Sir John Moore, won a rearguard action against the French. The death of Moore in the Peninsular War was to inspire the classic poem On the Burial of Sir John Moore (1817) by Kildare-born Revd Charles Wolfe (1791–1823).
We use cookies to ensure that we give you the best experience on our website. If you continue to use this site we will assume that you are happy with it.Ok