On this Day

Published in Issue 3 May/June2013, On this Day, Volume 21

May
3 1933
The Constitution (Removal of Oath) Act removed the oath of allegiance to the British Crown from the Constitution of the Irish Free State.

5 1953
Robert Lloyd Praeger (87), botanist, best remembered for The way that I went (1939), an account of his travels around Ireland, died.

8 1913
Sigerson Clifford, writer of short stories, poems and ballads mainly focused on the Iveragh Peninsula, Co. Kerry, born in Cork.

9 1933
In Northern Ireland, the Civil Authorities (Special Powers) Act, first introduced ten years earlier and directed almost exclusively against the Catholic minority, was made permanent.

10 1863
Thomas ‘Stonewall’ Jackson (39), Confederate general during the American Civil War and considered to be one of the most gifted tactical commanders in US history, died eight days after being shot by friendly fire at the Battle of Chancellorsville.

10 1943
Ballymanus Bay mine disaster, west Donegal. Nineteen young men were killed and four others seriously injured when a World War II mine exploded as they were towing it ashore.

22 1813
Richard Wagner, composer, theatre director, polemicist and conductor, best remembered for his operas, born in Leipzig.

22 1998
Referendum on the Good Friday/Belfast Agreement. In Northern Ireland, 71.1% voted in favour and 28.9% against. The turnout was 81%. In the Republic of Ireland, the referendum on the Agreement and on changes to Articles 2 and 3 of the Constitution resulted in 94.4% voting in favour with 5.6% against. The turnout there was 56%.

24 1923
The Irish Civil War ended when the new IRA chief-of-staff, Frank Aiken, supported by Eamon de Valera, issued an order to IRA volunteers to dump arms. Up to 1,000 died in the eleven-month conflict, including 78 Republicans summarily executed by the Free State government.

27 1993
Dawson Stelfox (34), a Belfast architect, became the first Irishman to reach the summit of Mount Everest. The Irish expedition was one of only eight to successfully conquer the mountain by the notorious North Ridge.

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