History and Culture

This Month in Scottish History

1 January 1854
The birth of classical scholar and anthropologist, Sir James George Frazer, in Glasgow. Educated in classical studies at Glasgow and Cambridge universities, he became a fellow at the latter in 1879. His interests were expanded by Sir Edward Tylor's Primitive Culture and he blended Tylor's comparative method with his own to study ancient customs by examining modern people living on the primitive level. However, this work has been criticized that it took customs out of their cultural context to compare with those that were only superficially similar. Frazer was also interested in comparative religion, especially in totemism. He did not do fieldwork but rather spent considerable time doing library research in obtaining ethnographic information from the accounts of travelers, missionaries, and officials. His great work, written in grand Victorian style and published in 1890, was The Golden Bough, a study of magic and religion that popularized anthropology. His basic argument was that there is an evolutionary process in which magic leads to religion that then leads to science. Magic uses erroneous assumptions to try to control nature, religion seeks to control nature by propitiating the gods, and finally, science uses experimental and objective techniques. Critics admit the validity of his distinction between magic and religion, but counter the idea of an evolutionary stage with the observation that religious sentiments have been noted among primitive people. His later works include Totemism and Exogamy (1910), Folklore in the Old Testament (1923), and Man, God and Immortality (1927). He was knighted in 1914, awarded the British Order of Merit in 1925, and died in Cambridge on May 7, 1941.

3 January 1888
The birth of playwright James Bridie, pseudonym for Osborne Henry Mavor, in Glasgow, to Henry Mavor and Janet Osborne. He showed an interest in literature from a young age but was educated as a physician. He studied medicine at the University of Glasgow, where he headed the Glasgow University Magazine and wrote student dramas, and received his medical degree in 1913. He had a successful medical career, working for the Glasgow Royal Infirmary, teaching at Anderson College, and serving as an officer in the Royal Army Medical Corps in both world wars. His enduring fame though is as a playwright and he is credited with spurring the revival of the Scottish Theater in the 20th century. His dozens of plays, written 1928-1951, were celebrated for their satire and moral soul searching. Among the most notable were The Switchback in 1929 and A Sleeping Clergyman in 1933. He founded the Glasgow Citizens' Theatre in 1943 and the Glasgow College of Drama in 1950. He was a member of the Royal Faculty of Physicians and Surgeons and the Royal Society of Literature. He married Rona Bremner in 1923 and had two sons. He died of vascular disease on 29 January 1951 in Edinburgh.

7 January 1451
The founding of Glasgow University, forty years after the creation of St. Andrew's University, that enabled Scotland, like England, to boast of two universities. King James II, reigned 1437-1460, persuaded Pope Nicholas V to grant a bull authorizing Bishop Turnbull of Glasgow to set up a university partially modeled on the University of Bologna. Turnbull was a graduate of St. Andrew's and created a curriculum based upon that of Paris and a constitution from the smaller French University of the Loire that had the local Bishop as Chancellor. Glasgow University originally operated from the Glasgow Cathedral and moved in the seventeenth century to a building on High Street known as the 'Old College' and referred to by contemporaries as 'the chief ornament of the city.' It played a notable part in the Scottish Enlightenment by association with notables such as Adam Smith and James Watt in fostering the type of inquiry that helped produce the Industrial Revolution. The university, which has continued in the grand European tradition, moved in 1870 to its present site in the former suburb of Gilmorehill where it celebrated its 550th anniversary in 2001.

8 January 1107
The death of King Edgar, fourth son of Malcolm Canmore (reigned 1057-1093) and Saint Margaret, after a short and obscure reign. Following his father's death, as his uncle, Donald Bane (reigned 1093-1097), and elder brothers fought for the throne, he and his younger siblings took shelter with William II (Rufus) in England. Four years later, with the support of William Rufus and supposedly inspired by visions of Saint Cuthbert, Edgar deposed and imprisoned his uncle, as well as his brother Edmund, and became king at age 23. Shortly thereafter, King Magnus Barelegs of Norway arrived with a large fleet and forced Edgar to cede several of the western isles, including Kintyre. It was observed that his father, Malcolm, would have fought Magnus but Edgar really was not a fighter. In fact, he was nicknamed Edgar the Peaceable. A virtual vassal of William II and Henry I of England, one of his sisters was married to the latter though he himself died unmarried and the kingdom passed peacefully to his next brother, Alexander I. The king with the Saxon name was buried at Dunfermline with his parents.

14 January, Every Year
The Feast Day of Saint Kentigern, first Bishop of Glasgow (some sources say 13 January). Kentigern, which means 'head chief,' was also known as Mungo, which means 'dear one.' He was born about A.D. 518 and died 603. It is thought he was a son of Thenew or Enoch, a daughter of the King of Lothian, and born at Culross, in Fife, where he was taught in a monastery by Saint Serf. He began his missionary work on the banks of the Clyde and was consecrated a bishop in 540. He labored in this district for many years, living an austere life in a cell and making many converts by his example and preaching. A large community grew up around him and became known as 'Clasgu' ('dear family') and ultimately grew into the city of Glasgow. Kentigern also preached around Hoddom in Galloway, in the kingdom of Strathclyde in Cumbria, and Clwyd in North Wales. In the last place, where he is known as Cynderyn, he founded the monastery of Llanelwy, now Saint Asaph. He eventually returned to Glasgow where he is supposed to have met with Saint Columba. It is also said that he is buried on the spot where the cathedral dedicated to his honor now stands.

17 January 1746
The Battle of Falkirk fought between nearly 8,000 Jacobite rebels led by 'Bonnie Prince Charlie' and Lord George Murray and about 7,000 British government troops commanded by General Henry Hawley. Retreating from their abortive invasion of England, the Jacobite army had crossed back into Scotland in December 1745 where it received reinforcements and undertook to lay siege to Stirling Castle. Hawley's relieving force had marched from Newcastle and reached the vicinity of Callendar House southeast of Falkirk by 16 January 1746. The next day, the two forces blundered into each other and a sharp fight ensued in mud and mist. The Highlanders, divided into two wings and including MacDonalds and Camerons, held the high ground and quickly decimated the rather disorganized and panic stricken government soldiers. Government forces suffered about 300 to 400 killed and 200 taken prisoners while Jacobite losses were under 100. Hawley returned to Linlithgow and the Jacobites returned to the siege of Stirling. Shortly thereafter, with news of the approach of another government force under William, Duke of Cumberland, the Jacobites lifted the siege and retreated north, to the their eventual destruction by Cumberland at Culloden in April 1746.

17 January 1761
The birth of geologist and chemist Sir James Hall at Dunglass, East Lothian. From an affluent background, he succeeded to his father's baronetcy in 1776 and was educated at Christ's College at Cambridge and Edinburgh University. When attending university, he was not much interested in chemistry until he traveled extensively throughout Italy examining volcanoes. After returning to Scotland, he began studying chemistry and geology as well after meeting James Hutton and reading his Theory of the Earth. Hutton argued that geological formation occur due to the Earth's internal heat, which clashed with the prevailing theory that all rocks were formed by water. He founded experimental geology by artificially producing various rock types in the laboratory. In 1798, Hall started conducting geological experiments that eventually proved many of Hutton's theories and convinced the scientific community to accept them. This was especially true for demonstrating that igneous rocks from Scotland were produced by intense heat. His further experiments reinforced many Vulcanists' ideas, including attempts to find out how rocks become deformed by the application of pressure. Today, Hall is considered to be the founder of experimental geology and geochemistry. He later served as President of the Royal Society of Edinburgh and died in that city on 23 June 1832.

19 January 1736
The birth of engineer and inventor, James Watt, at Greenock, a son of a shipwright and merchant. As a boy, he worked in his father's store, where he had his own tools, and was apprenticed to a London mathematical instrument maker. He became skilled at producing navigational and surveying instruments and was established in Glasgow by 1759 as an instrument maker for the university. He became a friend of Joseph Black, a trailblazer in both chemistry and the study of heat. Watt began his own studies on the steam engine, and using the Newcomen model, he produced a much more efficient one utilizing a separate condenser to avoid large heat losses. This invention, patented in 1769, became a universal power source and a critical part of the early Industrial Revolution. Early on, Black had lent money and John Roebuck of the Carron Ironworks in Stirlingshire was his partner. By 1773, Roebuck's financial collapse led Watt to a partnership with Matthew Bolton of Birmingham, England. In the 1780s, Watt worked to refine his steam engine, particularly for mine-pumping and factory power, and invented the practice, still in use, of measuring power on the value of horse power, equal to 33,000 pound lifted one foot high per minute. His other inventions include the letterpress copybook, chlorine bleach, and iron cement. He was a member of the Royal Society of London and the French Academy. In 1794, both Watt and Bolton turned the business over to their sons. Watt maintained a private workshop until his death at Heathsfield, England, on 25 August 1819. He was buried at Handsworth Church in Warwickshire and commemorated by a statue in Westminster Abbey.

21 January 1721
The birth of British General, James Murray, in Ballencrief, the fifth son of Alexander, Lord Elibank. He was appointed a second lieutenant in Wynyard's Marines in 1740 and subsequently served in the West Indies, Flanders, and Brittany. He participated in the Rochfort expedition of 1757 and, under James Wolfe the following year, commanded a brigade during the successful siege of Louisboug, Cape Breton Island. In 1759, he was in charge of the left wing of Wolfe's army that defeated the French at the Battle of the Plains of Abraham near old Quebec. Following Wolfe's death in that battle, Murray assumed command of the surviving 4,000 British troops and spent a hard winter in Quebec. In the spring of 1760, he resisted a besieging French force that was eventually forced to retire when a British naval squadron arrived. He then marched on Montreal where the French surrendered in September. A month later, he was appointed military governor and, with the signing of peace between Britain and France in 1763, he became the first civil governor of Quebec. He later served as governor of the island of Minorca off Spain where he was besieged by thousands of French and Spanish troops in 1781-1782. He had to surrender in the end but was acquitted at his court-martial of all but minor charges. He became a full General in 1783 and served briefly as governor of Hull in Yorkshire. He died at his residence, Beauport House, Sussex, on 18 June 1794.

25 January 1759
The birth of Scotland's greatest poet, Robert Burns, in Alloway, to William Burness and Agnes Broun. He followed his father as a tenant farmer, and despite his poverty, was well read. At fifteen, he wrote his first poem, My Handsome Nell, about the subjects that were to dominate his life, Scotch and women. He became more interested in the romantic nature of poetry than the hard work of ploughing and planned to emigrate from Scotland. However, his first collection, Poems Chiefly in the Scottish Dialect, was published to great critical success and helped induce him to remain. Unfortunately, fame did not bring wealth and he was forced to work as an exciseman to make a living. He continued to write, contributing songs to James Johnston's Scots' Musical Museum and George Thomson's Select Collection of Original Scottish Airs. His early death at age thirty-seven on 21 July 1796 was a great shock. Shortly thereafter, friends started a ritual Burns' Supper in tribute which is now held by Scots and Scottish descendants worldwide. The basic format has remained unchanged and begins when the chairman invites the guests to stand to receive the Haggis as a piper leads the chef carrying the Haggis to the top table. Someone then recites Burns' famous poem, To A Haggis, and then cuts it open. This is followed by a toast to the Haggis with a glass of Whisky. The menu typically includes Cock-a-leekie soup, Champit Tatties, Bashed Neeps, Tyspy Laird (sherry trifle), and Coffee. Someone then gives the Immortal Memory speech and there is also an address to the women, both to thank those that prepared the food and to the lasses in Burns' life. The evening continues with songs and poems, especially Tam O' Shanter and Holy Willie's Prayer, and ends with everyone joining hands and singing Auld Lang Syne.

28 January 1582
The birth of Scottish satirist and Latin poet, John Barclay, at Pont-a-Mousson in France. His Argenis, a long poem of romantic adventure published in 1621, was a major influence in the development of Romantic writing in the seventeenth century. He received his early education from the Jesuits and moved with his father, William Barclay, to London in 1603. He was a cosmopolitan man who married a Frenchwoman and traveled often between Paris and London. He remained in London from about 1606 to 1616 as a minor court official, then settled in Rome. His Euphormionis Lusinini Satyricon, published from 1603 to 1607, was a biting satire on the Jesuits, the medical profession, and contemporary scholarship, education, and literature. It was patterned on the style of the Roman satirist Gaius Petronius Arbiter, with a mixture of prose and verse. Filled with villains and unsavory characters, it was influential in the later development of the picaresque novel. His publication of his father's work, De Potestate Papae (1609), which denied the temporal jurisdiction of the pope, resulted in prolonged controversy while his Icon Animorum (1614) was a description of the character and manners of European nations that mentioned Scotland with special affection. At the invitation of Paul V, he went to Rome in 1616 where he was welcomed by Bellarmine and pensioned by the pope. Perhaps to prove his Catholic loyalty he published his Paraenesis ad Sectarios the following year. Barclay's most celebrated work, the aforementioned Argenis, was a wonderful example of modern Latin verse. Its political implications were so pronounced that many editions were supplied with an index to the characters and names. Its fame in Europe endured as it was reprinted many times during the seventeenth century, and literary figures such as William Cowper, Samuel Taylor Coleridge, Richard Crashaw, and Jean-Jacques Rousseau were familiar with it. Barclay died in Rome, Italy, on 15 August 1621. He was admired by contemporaries for his honesty, courtesy, and sense of irony.

By William John Shepherd

Note On Sources: Some dates are based upon concise chronologies published by Ronald McDonald Douglas in his Scottish Lore And Folklore (1982) and John Wilson McCoy in the pages of The Highlander magazine in 1997. Additional dates and information have been gleaned from my varied readings in Scottish history. These sources include but are not limited to the following: Brown, P. Hume. A Short History Of Scotland (1908, 1961); Donaldson, Gordon and Morpeth, Robert. A Dictionary of Scottish History (1996); Fisher, Andrew. A Traveller's History Of Scotland (1990); Gordon, Ian Fellowes. Famous Scots.(1988); Keay, John and Julia (eds.). Collins Encyclopedia Of Scotland (1994); Mackie, J.D. A History Of Scotland (1964, 1991); MacLean, Sir Fitzroy. A Concise History Of Scotland (1970, 1988); Prebble, John. The Lion In The North (1971, 1973); Sadler, John. Scottish Battles (1998); Smout, T.C. A History Of The Scottish People, 1560-1830 (1969, 1998); Warner, Philip. Famous Scottish Battles (1975, 1996).

This Month in Irish History

January 1
1710 - Charles O'Conor, writer, historian and editor, is born in Kilmactranny, Co. Sligo
1767 - Maria Edgeworth, author of Castle Rackrent and one of the few women literary figures of the late 18th and early 19th centuries, is born
1790 - James Wills, clergyman and writer, is born in Castlerea, Co. Roscommon
1801 - The Act of Union between Ireland and Great Britain goes into effect
1801 - George Benn, historian, is born in Tandragee, Co. Armagh
1862 - Edward Harland's Belfast shipyard assumes the name 'Harland & Wolff'
1871 - Gladstone's Irish Church Act which disestablishes the Church of Ireland takes effect
1880 - Gretta Bowen, artist, is born in Dublin
1889 - Patrick McGill, navvy, novelist and poet, is born in Maas, Co. Donegal
1892 - Ellis Island becomes reception center for new immigrants. The first immigrant through the gates is Annie Moore, 15, of Co. Cork
1941 - On this date and through January 3, German bombs fall on counties Carlow, Kildare, Louth, Meath, Wexford and Wicklow
1990 - Northern Ireland Fair Employment Act becomes law
1998 - Foreign Affairs Minister David Andrews urges all sides to show the "greatest possible restraint" in the wake of a sectarian bar-room gun attack which plunges Northern Ireland into an uncertain New Year
1999 - The world's oldest priest, the Venerable Archdeacon Patrick Lyons, passes away at Limerick Regional hospital, just two months before his 106th birthday
2001 - Retired garda sergeant John Fahy from Kinlough, Co Leitrim catches the first salmon of the season. The accomplished angler is also the first salmon fisherman to insert a blue bar coded tag into the gills and mouth of a freshly caught fish. For the first time, every salmon caught by commercial fishermen or leisure anglers will have to be tagged, as part of a new controls on salmon fishing which are in effect as of this date
2002 - Taoiseach Bertie Ahern helps write history by spending euros in his local news-agent.
January 2
1602 - The Spanish force under Aguila surrenders Kinsale to Mountjoy
1793 - A Catholic Committee petition is presented to the king
1880 - Parnell begins his tour of the United States on this date
1910 - James Joyce and Eileen Joyce leave Dublin for Trieste, Italy
1920 - Recruitment begins for the 'Black and Tans', Britain's unofficial auxiliary army
1962 - Margaret Emmeline Conway Dobbs, Irish historian, language activist, and defender of Roger Casement, dies
1998 - Troops are ordered back on to the streets of Belfast and police patrols are intensified in a bid to foil loyalist attacks on Catholics in Northern Ireland
2000 - Patrick O'Brian, born Richard Patrick Russ, 85-year-old author of maritime novels dies in a Dublin hotel
2000 - A bronze life size statue of Fungi, the Dingle dolphin is unveiled in a special millennium ceremony
2001 - Ireland's third largest greyhound coursing meeting, Corn na F�ile, is abandoned after saboteurs steal up to 30 hares.
2007 - Irish Becomes The 23rd Official Language Of the EU. It is accorded the status of a treaty language, which means it is regarded as an authentic text for treaties. As from 1 January, however, all key EU legislation are translated into Irish, with provisions put in place so that Irish can be spoken at council meetings. The move means the creation of 29 new posts in translation, revision and publication.
January 3
1663 - Thomas Crompton of Arklow, a clergyman, petitions the House of Lords that 'Constantine Neal of Wexford, merchant, refuseth to restore the bell belonging to the steepl (sic) of Arklow, which he saw in his possession'. An order is made for its restoration
1905 - P�draic Fallon, poet and playwright, is born in Athenry, Co. Galway
1940 - Emergency anti-IRA legislation is introduced in the Free State
1999 - Economic history is created with the much-heralded arrival of the euro on the international currency markets. Its first day of trading gets off to a smooth start in Australia, at 6.00pm Irish time.
2007 - Michael Yeats, the only son of the poet W. B. Yeats dies at age 86. A former Fianna F�il Senator, he served both as a Senator and as Cathaoirleach of the Seanad, and was also one of Ireland's first members of the European Parliament.
January 4
1581 - James Ussher, scholar and Archbishop of Armagh and Dublin is born
1792 - The Northern Star, newspaper of the Belfast United Irishmen, first appears on this date
1921 - Martial law is extended to counties Clare, Kilkenny, Waterford and Wexford from this date
1937 - Mick O'Connell, Kerry Gaelic footballer, is born on Beginish Island, Co. Kerry
1969 - On a march from Belfast to Derry, the civil rights group People's Democracy is attacked at Burntollet Bridge
1975 - Eleanor Krott, Irish language scholar and lexicographer, dies
1998 - The LVF appoints a new commanding officer to take over from murdered godfather Billy Wright and in a chilling warning vows it will do all in its power to wreck the teetering peace process
1998 - The governments of Austria and Finland offer their countries as potential neutral grounds for the next wave of Northern Ireland peace talks
1999 - Venerable Archdeacon Patrick Lyons, who, aged 105 years was the world's oldest priest and who died on New Year's Day, is laid to rest in the grounds of the Church of the Immaculate Conception in Ballingarry, Co. Limerick
2000 - Hundreds are evacuated as west and midland farmlands are flooded
Photo Credit: Kevin Clancy/Viewpoint
2000 - Top RT� broadcaster Maxi is set to win a host of new listeners in her new role as presenter/producer of Radio One�s Risin� Time
2002 - According to a new survey, two out of every three people in Northern Ireland aged between 18-25 say they have no meaningful contact with opposing communities while, generally, people feel more segregated than they did before the North's first ceasefire in 1994
2002 - Irishmen under 25 are the worst-hit by rising unemployment, according to the latest European Union figures
2003 - A group of women begin an anti-war protest at a roundabout close to Shannon Airport against US Air Force landings there.
January 5
1787 - John Burke, genealogist and compiler of Burke's Peerage, is born in Elm Hall, Co. Tipperary 1881 - The trial of the Land Leaguers begins
1871 - 33 Fenian prisoners, including Devoy, Rossa, O'Leary and Luby, are released by the British in a general amnesty
1885 - Hugh O'Brien is sworn in as Boston's first Irish mayor
1922 - Death of Kildareman Sir Ernest Shackleton, Antarctic explorer
1941 - Jennie Wyse Power, Irish patriot and women's rights activist dies
1944 - Louis Stewart, jazz guitarist, is born in Waterford
1976 - The Republican Action Force, a cover name for the IRA, admits to the brutal murder of ten Protestant workmen in what becomes known as the Kingsmill Massacre
2003 - A group of women maintains a vigil at Shannon Airport in protest at US Air Force landings there.
January 6
1562 - Shane O'Neill submits to Queen Elizabeth at Whitehall, but rebels again within months
1654 - Commissioners are appointed to allot the land of Oliver Cromwell's Connacht plantation to transplanted Irish
1794 - Frances Ball who, as Mother Mary Teresa founded the Sisters of Loretto, is born in Dublin
1800 - Author Anna Maria Hall, n�e Fielding, is born in Dublin
1839 - On this date, the Night Of The Big Wind or Oiche na Gaoithe Moire takes place; the most damaging storm in Irish history, some winds are estimated in excess of 130 m.p.h
1898 - Colonel James Fitzmaurice, Ireland's greatest aviator, is born in Dublin
1931 - Birth of novelist P.J. Kavanagh
1939 - First publication of the newspaper Irish Freedom
1940 - Johnny Giles, footballer and Republic of Ireland manager, is born in Dublin
1941 - Birth of Noel Pearson, theatre impresario and film producer
1998 - Embattled Northern Ireland Secretary of State Mo Mowlam receives the full backing of SDLP leader John Hume in her efforts to maintain the faltering peace process
2000 - Residents in counties in the west and midlands, coping with the effects of the most devastating floods to have hit the region in fifty years, brace themselves for another rainstorm
2000 - Families from all over Ireland join President Mary McAleese and her family in A�ras an Uachtar�in in Dublin to celebrate the feast of the Holy Family. Bay laurels from Bethlehem are planted to mark the 2000th anniversary since the birth of Christ
2003 - According to a study published today, the Irish language is on the brink of extinction unless radical measures are taken to arrest its decline
2003 - Farmers put 1,000 tractors on the country�s roads and head for Dublin at the start of the IFA�s five-day family farm survival campaign.
2003 - The campaign against the construction of a motorway near the ruins of Carrickmines Castle in South Dublin is stepped up as protesters re-erect a blockade to prevent large diggers moving onto the site.
In the liturgical calendar, today is Epiphany and the Feast of the Holy Family.
January 7
1878 - General John O'Neill, Fenian leader, dies
1899 - Elizabeth Bowen, novelist and short story writer, is born
1922 - D�il �ireann votes 64 to 57 to accept the Anglo-Irish Treaty, creating the Irish Free State
2000 - Experts underline the important heritage value of a 19th Century relic that stands on the site of a disused copper mine. A conservation appeal is to be launched to safeguard a unique engine house at a mountain mine in the Beara peninsula. A rare surviving symbol of Cornish type mining technology, the structure is the primary surviving embodiment of a once thriving coppermining industry in Allihies, Co. Cork
2001 - Irish soil is sprinkled over the casket of Sister Theresa Egan as more than 2,000 mourners attend her funeral in St Lucia. The nun was brutally murdered while attending Mass last week
2003 - Garda� adopt a zero tolerance-type approach to speeding after it emerges almost half of motorists in Dublin are still breaking the law in built-up areas.
January 8
1547 - Henry VIII suppresses the Chapter of St Patrick's Cathedral, Dublin; it will not be restored until 15 June 1555
1860 - The Church of St Andrew in Suffolk Street, Dublin, is destroyed by fire
1871 - James Craig, Ist Viscount Craigavon, Unionist politician and PM of Northern Ireland from 1921 to 1940, is born in Belfast
1873 - Home Rule Confederation of Great Britain is founded
1876 - Lucien Bul, inventor of the electrocardiograph, is born in Dublin
1916 - Evacuation of Gallipoli Peninsula in the Dardanelles is completed; there are100,000 casualties, mostly Australian, New Zealanders and Irish, in the eight-month campaign
1922 - Arthur Griffin is elected second president of Ireland by D�il �ireann
1979 - An oil tanker explodes at Whiddy Island oil terminal on Bantry Bay, Cork, killing at least 50 people
1998 - The first licensed drug to treat mild to moderately severe Alzheimer's disease is launched in Ireland
1999 - French, Irish, English and Dutch relatives gather at the hilltop granite memorial sculpture in Bantry's Abbey Cemetery for a wreath-laying ceremony in memory of those who perished when the oil tanker Betelgeuse blew up at the Whiddy Island oil terminal
1999 - The British Government comes under pressure to stop the early release of prisoners in Northern Ireland after an upsurge in paramilitary shootings and beatings
2000 - Thousands of acres are still flooded, roads blocked and farmyards remain under water after the River Shannon bursts its banks
2001 - All schools are to receive a CD ROM of one of the masterpieces of Western art � the Book of Kells. On behalf of the schools, the Minister for Education and Science, Dr Michael Woods, accepts the CD ROMs from Trinity College Library in Dublin and leading internet company, X Communications
2002 - Thousands of commuters experience delays after fallen cables knock out DART services at some of Dublin's busiest stations
2002 - Former Soviet leader Gorbachev sinks a pint of Guinness with Dublin Lord Mayor Michael Mulcahy in the famous Doheny and Nesbitt pub in Baggot Street.
2007 - Northern ireland�s Progressive Unionist Party leader David Ervine dies at age 53 after suffering a heart attack and later a stroke and a brain haemorrhage. A former UVF prisoner and a key figure in brokering the loyalist paramilitary ceasefire of 1994, a party statement is quoted as saying: "Unionism has lost the most progressive voice of this generation. Politics has lost a statesman. Our peace process has lost its most optimistic advocate and Ulster has lost a devoted son.�
2008 - First Irish expedition arrives at South Pole. Team leader Pat Falvey and Clare O'Leary, Sean Menzies and Jonathan Bradshaw, journeyed for 58 days to reach their destination. Dr O'Leary is the first Irish woman to make the trip. She is also the first Irish woman to climb Mount Everest.
January 9
1642 - 30 Catholics are killed by the Scottish garrison and English settlers at Island Magee, Co. Antrim
1873 - John J. Flanagan, hammer-thrower and shot-putter, is born in Kilbreedy, Co. Limerick
1900 - Birth of Harry Kernoff in London, artist; resident of Dublin from the time he was 14 years old
1904 - George Buchanan, poet, novelist and journalist, is born in Kilwaughter, Co. Down
1922 - Arthur Griffith is elected Taoiseach of D�il �ireann after Eamon de Valera steps down
1929 - Brian Friel, playwright and author of Dancing at Lughnasa, is born near Omagh, Co. Tyrone
1951 - The Northern and Southern governments agree on the running of the Great Northern Railway
1952 - Birth of Danny Morrison, former publicity officer for Sinn F�in, and now a novelist
1962 - Birth of Ray Houghton, footballer
1998 - Mo Mowlam, risks her political future in talks with loyalist paramilitaries inside the Maze prison in a desperate bid to save the troubled Northern Ireland peace process
2000 - Boy band Westlife retains their place at the top of the charts to become the first act in more than a year to hang on at number one for longer than three weeks
2001 - For the first time ever, electric power comes to the tiny islands of Inishgort and Inishlyre in Clew Bay
2002 - Former soviet leader, Mikhail Gorbachev, accepts the honour of being named the 71st Freeman of Dublin, following in the footsteps of Pope John Paul II, Nelson Mandela and members of U2
2002 - Police are attacked with bricks and bombs by rioters from both sides of the sectarian divide, as bigotry and violence flare again at the Holy Cross Primary School in Ardoyne, north Belfast.
January 10
1751 - Cornelius Bolton, politician, Volunteer and improving landlord is born
1814 - Aubrey Thomas De Vere, a poet who adapted early Gaelic tales, is born
1922 - Arthur Griffith elected President of Irish Free State
1952 - An Aer Lingus aeroplane, the St Kevin, crashes in Wales with the loss of 23 lives. It is the airline's second fatal crash
1969 - Civil rights leaders in Northern Ireland defying police orders and refuse to abandon their planned march through Newry in Co. Down
2000 - The Lodge and Spa at Inchydoney Island, Clonakilty, County Cork, is the AA Hotel of the Year
2002 - A new chapter in Irish literary history is written with the publication of The Last Tango in Ibiza, which was penned by first-time authors who include a nun and several grannies
2003 - Farmers drive 300 tractors into the city and hold a two-hour rally in front of Government Buildings at Merrion Square
2003 - Feared loyalist paramilitary chief Johnny Mad Dog Adair is arrested and sent back to jail. Adair will not now be released from prison until January 2005
January 11
1836 - George Sigerson, physician, professor and writer, is born near Strabane, Co. Tyrone
1921 - The British government announces that any unauthorised person found in possession of arms, ammunition or explosives is liable to be executed
1925 - Birth of David Wylie Bleakley, writer and Northern Ireland Labour Party politician
1970 - IRA splits into Officials and Provisionals (Provos)
1972 - Padraic Colum, Longford poet and playwright, dies
1998 - The Government plays down reports of a rift between Taoiseach Bertie Ahern and British Prime Minister Tony Blair
1999 - The Democratic Unionist Party warns that it would mount a legal challenge if Northern Ireland Secretary Mo Mowlam moves to announce a power-sharing Executive without the Assembly approving the new government structures
2000 - Furious farmers block the entrances to all the main meat processing plants in protest against the imposition of increased veterinary inspection charges
2002 - The country's population is set for another dramatic increase after Ireland records the highest birth rate and lowest death rate of all 15 EU member states in 2001.
January 12
1709 - Birth of Benjamin Burton, politician and Revenue Commissioner
1729 - Edmund Burke, orator, statesman and philosopher, is born in Arran Quay, Dublin
1765 - The Kinsale by-election caused by the death of John Folliott on this date is contested by Agmondisham Vesey and Richard Meade. Vesey wins by 64 votes to 48, but pays a price for being elected: William Dennis, vintner, receives �80 for Mr Vesey's entertainment. Three other innkeepers receive a total of �76 3s 6d for providing 'drink for Mr Vesey's health' and a further �14 9s for beer to the populace. His election agent, James Dennis, spends �46 12s 2d to send a coach and post-chaise to Dublin to collect voters. Vesey spends a further �12 7s 10d on 'a notice to disqualify John O'Grady as a Papist from voting'. Ben Hayes, fiddler, is paid �5 13s 9d. Vesey's election breakages bill amounts to �7 8s, exclusive of fines for 'a crowd of broke heads and crakt limbs'. James Kearney (a future MP for Kinsale) spends �16 4s 3d to bring voters to Kinsale on Vesey's behalf: this includes a post-chaise and hospitality on the four-day journey
1885 - Thomas Ashe, patriot and nationalist revolutionary, is born in Lispole, Co. Kerry
1887 - Molly Allgood, actress (stage name M�ire O'Neill) and fianc�e of Synge, is born in Dublin
1930 - Birth of Jennifer Johnston, author of How Many Miles to Babylon and The Railway Station Man
1947 - Matt Molloy of the Chieftains is born
1947 - Micheal O'Siadhail, poet and linguist, is born in Dublin
1951 - Birth of Steve Travers, surviving member of the Miami Showband massacre, and managing director of CAT Entertainments
1993 - A Fianna F�il-Labour coalition government is formed, with Reynolds as Taoiseach
1998 - Political master strokes by Bertie Ahern and Tony Blair breath new life into the Northern peace process with a blueprint for peace which could replace the Anglo-Irish Agreement with a three-stranded government for the North
2000 - Despite the controversy over the book, Limerick people turnout in huge numbers to attend the sell out film premiere of Angela�s Ashes.
January 13
1695 - Jonathan Swift becomes Dean of St Patrick's Cathedral, Dublin
1800 - Daniel O'Connell makes his first public speech, opposing Union with England
1880 - Alexander Brenon, film director, is born in D�n Laoghaire, Co. Dublin
1931 - Mary Clarke, Maryknoll nun and martyr is born of Irish parents in NYC
1935 - Eibhin Nic Choill (Eleanor Hill) Irish Celtic scholar dies
1941 - James Joyce, considered by many to be one of the most important modern authors in English because of his revolutionary approach to the novel, dies in Zurich
1964 - Ulster golfer Ronan Rafferty is born
1998 - Northern Ireland takes another giant step towards peace after the political parties at Stormont accept the British and Irish governments blueprint as the basis for negotiation
2000 - A record-breaking 55 people are presented with the President�s Gold Awards at a special ceremony in A�ras an Uachtar�in
2000 - It is announced that a 1,000 year old treasure trove has been discovered by a tour guide cleaning up litter from a Co Kilkenny cave. The priceless Viking age silver and bronze jewellery is unique - nothing like them have been found in Ireland or elsewhere
2001 - One and a half copies of the most important piece of documentation of the 20th century in Ireland, the Declaration of Independence, is sold to a New York collector for �56,000
2003 - It is announced that the Government is to undertake a major review of Gaeltacht areas amid concerns of a dramatic fall-off in Irish language use in many areas.
2008 - After almost 60 years, Aer Lingus Service between Shannon and Heathrow comes to an end following a company decision in August 2007 to transfer its valuable Heathrow slots to Belfast.
January 14
1753 - Death of George Berkeley, Irish philosopher and Anglican
1775 - John Hely-Hutchinson, Provost of Trinity College, fights a duel with William Doyle over abusive newspaper articles. Doyle is ill and has to lean on a crutch at the duel; on being challenged he had initially complained of sore eyes, and 'objected to stand merely to be shot at, without the power of retaliation'. Neither party is injured. One of the Provost's sons wishes to fight a further duel with Doyle, but the authorities prevent this; they then go abroad and hold the duel, neither being injured
1871 - Alexander Sullivan, barrister and last King's Serjeant of Ireland, is born in Dublin
1937 - De Valera's new constitution, with its assertions of Ireland as a sovereign 32-county state, and its definition of Catholic morality and "women's place" is approved
1965 - Talks between Se�n Lemass, Taoiseach, and Terence O'Neill, Northern Ireland Prime Minister, take place in Belfast
2000 - Unemployment drops to its lowest level in 19 years
2000 - Unionist politicians are furious after Sinn F�in president Gerry Adams claims that there could be a united Ireland by the year 2016, the centenary of the Easter Rising
2000 - Eco Warriors and the Green Party meet with members of Wicklow County Council in a last ditch attempt to get the local authority to abandon its controversial road widening scheme in the Glen of the Downs.

January 15

1775 - Thomas Dermody, classical scholar and poet is born

1798 - Thomas Crofton Croker, antiquarian and folklorist, is born in Cork

1800 - The last session of the Irish parliament begins on this date

1821 - Thomas Clarke Luby, Fenian, is born in Dublin

1825 - Thomas, 2nd Viscount Newcomen, commits suicide after the failure of Newcomen's Bank

1835 - Birth of Patrick Guiney, soldier and politician, in Parkstown, Co. Tipperary

1860 - Eleanor Hull, Irish Celtic Scholar is born

1861 - Young Irelander Terence MacManus dies in San Francisco, CA

1939 - IRA Army Council and Republican survivors of 2nd D�il �ireann declare war on England

1920 - Sinn F�in takes control of most borough and urban councils in local elections

1961 - Dave MacAuley, world flyweight boxing champion, IBF,1989-92, is born in Larne, Co. Antrim

1973 - Ireland joins the European Investment bank

1988 - Sean McBride, Irish patriot and human rights activist, dies.

2007 - Dublin-boorn actress Pauline Delaney, who is best known for her role in Circle of Friends and Into The West, passes away from complications caused by from Parkinson's disease.

In the liturgical calendar, today is the feast of St. Ita.

January 16

1700 - Richard Levinge, an Irish MP and later a prominent Tory, is committed by the English House of Commons to the Tower of London until 11 April for speaking ill of his fellow Commissioners of Forfeited Estates

1707 - Robert Allen, a future MP, elopes with the daughter of Robert Johnson MP: Johnson writes to Ormonde on 16 January that Allen 'has stolen a marriage with my daughter; no consent or acquainting of him with me. I fancy they will find they have two very difficult fathers to persuade to part with anything to either of them.' In 1730 Allen will be satirized viciously by Jonathan Swift

1816 - Frances Browne, writer, is born in Stranorlar, Co. Donegal

1822 - Thomas Clark Luby, co-founder of the Fenian Brotherhood, is born

1900 - Frank Devlin, badminton player, is born in Dublin

1904 - In reaction to attacks on Jews in Limerick, Michael Davitt, a leader of the Irish Land League, protests "as an Irishman and a Catholic against this spirit of barbarous malignity"

1913 - Home Rule bill passes in the House of Commons

1920 - Percy French gives his last concert in Glasgow. He dies in Liverpool eight days later

1922 - Michael Collins takes over control of Dublin Castle from the British authorities on behalf of the new Irish state

1935 - Gobnaitt NiBhruadair (Albinia Broderick), Irish republican activist, dies

1981 - Northern Ireland civil rights campaigner and former Westminster MP, Bernadette McAliskey, is shot by gunmen who burst into her home at Coalisland in County Tyrone

2000 - For his adaptations of the work of William Shakespeare, Belfast born actor and director Kenneth Branagh becomes the youngest winner of the Gielgud award

2001 - Hough�s Pub in Lorrha, Co Tipperary retains the title of "The Cheapest Pint" in Ireland. Earning the respect of drinkers everywhere, Pat Hough won�t be raising the price of a pint of plain above �1.50

Photo Credit: Fergal Shanahan

2002 - Richard Haass, US President George Bush's special adviser on Northern Ireland, urges Sinn F�in to drop its objections to the new Police Board

2002 - Joe White of Rathmire, Co. Kerry becomes one of the oldest people in the country to pass the driving test. He began driving in Ireland more than 60 years ago, went to the USA and returned last year to find his Irish license had long lapsed. It took two attempts, but the sprightly 84-year-old proved age, bad roads or fast drivers need not be a barrier to passing the test.

January 17
1649 - Marquis of Ormond James Butler and the confederates sign a peace treaty which grants toleration for Catholics in exchange for troops
1815 - Marie-Louise O'Morphi, famous courtesan, dies in Paris
1856 - Joseph Hayden, Irish journalist, dictionary compiler and author of Dictionary of Dates, dies
1860 - Birth in Castlerea, Co. Roscommon, of Douglas Hyde, playwright, folklorist, founder of The Gaelic League and the first president of �ire
1861 - Lola Montez (Marie Gilbert), dancer and courtesan dies in New York
1866 - Death of George Petrie, folk music collector who is credited with preserving many of Ireland�s irreplaceable harp tunes
1873 - T.C. Murray, playwright, is born in Macroom, Co. Cork
1964 - The Campaign for Social Justice (CSJ) is formed. It is the forerunner of the civil rights movement and begins a programme of publicising what it sees as widespread discrimination, in a number of areas of life, against Catholics in Northern Ireland
1992 - Seven Protestant constructions workers at a security base in Co. Tyrone are killed by an IRA bomb. The driver of their bus also dies
2000 - Galway city centre is brought to a standstill as hundreds of student nurses take to the streets to protest at plans to charge them to finish their nursing courses
Photo Credit: Andrew Downes/GreenGraph
2000 - A pair of King Billy�s gloves, worn during the battle of the Boyne, and the dress worn by Sin�ad de Valera at the second inauguration ceremony of her husband, President �amon de Valera, are unlikely companions in The Way We Wore, a permanent exhibition of the clothing and jewellery worn by Irish people from the1760s to the 1960s which opens at the National Museum, Collins Barracks.
January 18
1667 - Cattle exports to England are prohibited
1671 - Catholic gentry present petition to Charles II
1779 - Cement Patent No. 1207 is issued to Sligo-man Bryan Higgins
1811 - Charles Kean, actor, is born in Waterford
1831 - Daniel O�Connell is convicted of conspiracy
1913 - The Irish Transport and General Workers' Union strike ends
1928 - Birth of Daniel Bradley, physicist
1930 - Breand�n � hEithir, writer and broadcaster, is born in Cill R�n�in, Aran Islands
1934 - Joseph Devlin, Irish nationalist dies
1937 - Birth of John Hume, nationalist politician, in Derry/Londonderry
1997 - Death of Gerard Slevin, the Corkman who designed the EU flag
1998 - The fourth revenge killing of a Catholic by LVF murder squads since ruthless warlord Billy Wright was gunned down, is committed in Maghera, Co. Derry
2000 - The improvement in the hospitality scene in Ireland is proven by the addition of 54 hotels and 27 restaurants to the prestigious Michelin Guide
2001 - The right of Travellers to pursue their traditional lifestyle on their own land was yesterday rejected by the European Court of Human Rights
2002 - Taoiseach Bertie Ahern pays tribute to the former Fianna F�il TD, Jim Tunney, who died yesterday. Mr Tunney, was a former minister of state and deputy in Dublin North-West for two decades. He also served a term as Lord Mayor of Dublin and was co-chairman of the British-Irish inter-parliamentary body. A stylish dresser, he always wore a flower in his lapel and was called the Yellow Rose of Finglas by friends and colleagues. He was 78
2002 - Political history is made today as the Fianna F�il-Progressive Democrats coalition becomes the longest-serving government in the State. After taking office on June 26, 1997, Taoiseach Bertie Ahern's minority government is serving its 1,666th day in office.
2008 - After well over half a century, the Rev Dr Ian Paisley steps down as Moderator of the Free Presbyterian Church He is succeeded by the Rev Ron Johnston.
January 19
1739 - Birth of Arthur Wolfe, 1st Viscount Kilwarden and Lord Chief Justice in Forenaghts, Co. Kildare
1787 - Birth in Cork of Mary Aikenhead, founder of the Irish Sisters of Charity and St. Vincent�s Hospital Dublin
1793 - Hugh Cane, MP for Tallow, dies from a fall down stairs
1920 - IRA attacks Drombrane barracks, Co. Tipperary
1949 - Dennis Taylor, snooker player and world champion in 1985, is born in Coalisland, Co. Tyrone
1963 - Playwright Teresa Deevy dies
1964 - Birth of Richard Dunwoody, jockey, in Comber, Co. Down
1983 - The Minister for Justice, Michael Noonan, reveals that the previous Fianna F�il administration was involved in tapping the phones of Journalists Geraldine Kennedy and Bruce Arnold
1985 - Death of Dublin-born actor Wilfrid Brambell, aka Old man Steptoe
1988 - Dublin writer Christopher Nolan, who cannot move or speak because of an accident at birth, wins the Whitbread Book of the Year
1998 - The Northern peace process are close to collapse after a 52-year-old Catholic taxi driver is killed in an attack which bears all the hallmarks of the UDA/UFF
2003 - Disgraced celebrity chef Tim Allen moves to protect his multi-million euro family business, announcing he is ceasing all connection with the Ballymaloe Cookery School and hotel.
January 20
1621 - Patents are granted for plantations in parts of Leitrim, King's County, Queen's County and Westmeath
1841 - James Armour, Presbyterian minister and political activist is born in Ballymoney, Co. Antrim
1902 - Kevin Barry, medical student and nationalist revolutionary, is born in Dublin
1902 - In the House of Commons, John Redmond criticizes the use of concentration camps by the British in South Africa
1916 - Secret negotiations result in alliance of the Irish Citizen Army with the Irish Republican Brotherhood
1961 - John F. Kennedy is inaugurated as president of the United States of America, becoming the first Irish Catholic to be elected to that office
1968 - Birth of Charlie Swan, jockey
1973 - Whiskey In The Jar by Thin Lizzy enters the British charts
1998 - Hope remain high that the IRA ceasefire will hold despite escalating violence in the North and Sinn F�in's implacable opposition to the Anglo-Irish blueprint
1999 - The Loyalist Volunteer Force announces plans for a second round of arms decommissioning which could include the handover of explosives
1999 - One of the world's biggest software piracy investigations identifies over 6,000 Internet sites in Ireland copying and promoting illegal software
2000 - According to a major international survey, Ireland is one of the least corrupt countries in the industrial world
2002 - Rioting erupts on the streets of north Belfast as angry mobs throw petrol bombs and blast bombs at police.
January 21
1600 - Charles Blount, 8th Lord Mountjoy, becomes Lord Deputy of Ireland
1684 - Chidley Coote, future MP for Kilmallock, is granted �500 for the upkeep of six lighthouses
1793 - Louis XVI is executed in Paris; he is attended by an Irish priest, Fr. Edgeworth. Lord Edward FitzGerald is the only member of the Irish parliament not to appear in mourning following the execution
1861 - Katherine Tynan, poet, novelist and journalist, is born
1876 - James Larkin, organizer of Irish Transport and General Workers' Union and socialist politician, is born in Liverpool
1919- Da�l �ireann, chaired by Sean T. O�Kelly meets for the very first time at Mansion House in Dublin
1919 - Two members of Royal Irish Constabulary are shot dead by Irish Volunteers including Se�n Treacy and Dan Breen in an ambush at Soloheadbeg, Co. Tipperary: this is regarded as the first incident in the 'War of Independence' (Anglo-Irish War). Attacks on policemen continue for the rest of the year
1998 - A controversialL deal is agreed by the British and Irish governments to transfer the IRA gang which carried out the Guildford and Woolwich bombings to Portlaoise prison
1998 - The North is plunged into a new crisis after Benedict Hughes, a Catholic, is shot dead in south Belfast in the latest murder aimed at wrecking the peace process
1998 - The IRA dramatically rejects the Anglo-Irish Stormont settlement plan
2002 - Sinn F�in MPs will never sit in the British parliament, Gerry Adams vows as they move into Commons offices for the first time. Party policy is also changed to allow MPs to sit in the D�il.
January 22
1761 - Birth of Henry Welbore Agar (Ellis), 2nd Viscount Clifden, perhaps the only person to sit consecutively in four different Houses of Parliament - the two in Ireland and the two in England
1856 - Alfred Godley, classical scholar and writer, is born in Ashfield, Co. Cavan
1901 - Queen Victoria dies; Edward VII accedes to the throne
1913 - Cardinal William Conway, Primate of All Ireland from 1963-1977, is born
1925 - Raymond Crotty, radical economist, is born in Co. Kilkenny
1967 - Eleanor McEvoy, musician, singer and songwriter, is born in Dublin
1972 - �amon Broy, agent for Michael Collins, and later Commissioner of the Garda S�och�na, passes away
1972 - The Republic of Ireland signs a treaty of accession to the European Economic Community
1997 - Death of Lilly Kempson, aged 99, the last surviving participant in the Easter Rising
1998 - It is announced that up to 1 million ounces of high grade gold have been discovered in a mine in Co. Monaghan that will result in the country's biggest ever gold mine going into production in two years time
1999 - Pop concerts can be held at Lansdowne Road, Dublin, without the need for planning permission, the Supreme Court decides in a unanimous decision
2002 - It is announced that one of the British Army's main bases in Northern Ireland is to close and its 500 soldiers moved back to Britain. Ebrington barracks in the Waterside area of Londonderry is expected to be cleared by the end of next year
2003 - Amid much fanfare and brouhaha, quads Kelly, Katie, Shannon and Amy Murphy return to Cork�s Erinville Maternity Hospital for their first birthday celebration
January 23
1774 - Dudley Cosby (Baron Sydney), former MP for Carrick, commits suicide: 'Our domestic news is first the death of Lord Sydney occasioned by a dose of Danish poison. His lordship to render himself agreeable to his lady upon their marriage stopped two issues he had in his thighs but found no ill effects until the 13th inst. when, after a night of great exercise by dancing, his temper and reason as appears since, was in some sort affected; however, not so much as to make those about him immediately suspect it or the consequence. He complained of indisposition and sent for a physician. He republished his will leaving his estate to Capt. Cosby of the Navy and added a codicil leaving the jewels he bought for his wife (whom in his delirium he was jealous of) and the family china to his sister Lady Farnham, after which being disappointed in an attempt to shoot himself and one to poison himself, he took on (this date) the dose which was sufficiently strong to carry him off in a few hours'
1803 - Arthur Guinness, founder of the Dublin brewery, dies
1881 - William O'Brien, trade unionist and Labour politician, is born near Clonakilty, Co. Cork
1898 - The United Irish League, a nationalist electoral organization, is founded by William O'Brien
1999 - Two blast bomb attacks target Catholic homes in the seaport town of Larne, Co Antrim
2000 - A historic show of Christian unity takes place as the Bishop of Cork and Ross, Dr John Buckley, appeals to parishioners at Cork Masses to make contributions to a multi million pound restoration programme of a Protestant cathedral in Cork city centre
2000 - Five grey Seals are released into the sea at Cullenstown Strand, Co. Wexford. The seals had been kept in the seal sanctuary in Co. Dublin while recovering from injuries. This the largest amount of seals to be released at one time
Photo Credit: P.J. Brown
2000 - More than 20,000 people gather on the streets of West Belfast in memory of IRA teenager, Tom Williams, who was hanged in 1942 for his part in the murder of an RUC man
2001 - Irish airport charges are among the cheapest in the world, the latest independent study of the sector has found
2001 - It is announced that the State is in negotiation with a private landowner to purchase the internationally renowned Poulnabrone dolmen in the Burren, Co. Clare
2003 - The Irish and British governments agree to plans for an all-out push to restore the North�s power-sharing Executive.
January 24
1851 - Charles Plummer, Irish language scholar and editor of Lives of the Irish Saints, is born
1920 - Death of Percy French, writer of many popular Irish songs, including the Mountains of Mourne
1921 - Patrick Scott, artist, is born in Kilbrittain, Co. Cork
1933 - Fianna F�il wins a general election
1969 - Brian Faulkner resigns from his position as Prime Minister Terence O'Neill's minister of commerce, furthering the split in the Unionist party
1973 - Death of piper and folklorist, Willie Clancy
1974 - The official Unionist Party is founded
1978 - Eddie Gallagher and Dr. Rose Dugdale, both jailed for their part in the kidnap of Tiede Herrema, are married in Limerick prison
1998 - In west Belfast, Loyalists kill taxi driver, John McColgan by shooting him in the back of the head. It is the sixth sectarian murder in a week
1999 - After months of negotiations and two special delegate conferences, Democratic Left merges with the Labour Party
2000 - T�naiste Mary Harney warns the IRA to begin decommissioning or run the risk of derailing the Northern peace process
2001 - Government sources say the resignation of Northern Secretary Peter Mandelson is not a major setback to the peace process
2002 - Irish doctors are among the worst-paid in Europe and charge less than they need to run a viable business, according to the Irish Medical Organisation (IMO).
January 25
1356 - The 1st Earl of Desmond dies; Kildare is his replacement as justiciar
1627 - Robert Boyle, physicist, chemist and alchemist, is born in Lismore, Co. Waterford
1777 - The Earl of Buckinghamshire, who eventually conceded free trade and some relief from the Penal Laws to Catholics and Dissenters, is sworn in as lord lieutenant
1831 - Edmund Hogan, Jesuit and scholar, is born in Cork
1924 - Charles McCarthy, trade unionist, is born in Cork
1924 - Tom�s Mac Giolla, republican and socialist, and later, Workers' Party leader, is born near Nenagh, Co. Tipperary
1998 - The Irish Seaspray plant in Lettermore, Co. Galway is extensively damaged after two explosions rip through the facility and start a major fire
1999 - The Government descends into chaos over allegations that European Commissioner P�draig Flynn received a donation of �50,000 ten years ago and that the Taoiseach, Bertie Ahern, knew about it
1999 - Ireland's first day centre for refugees is opened in Dublin by Taoiseach Bertie Ahern
2001 - The new Northern Ireland Secretary, Dr. John Reid, pledges to carry forward the Good Friday Agreement
Photo Credit: Paul Faith
2001 - Thousands gather in Ballinamallard, Co. Fermanagh for the funerals of rally champion Bertie Fisher and two of his children, Emma, and Mark - also a renowned driver.
January 26
1316 - At the battle of Ardscull, Co. Kildare, Edward the Bruce defeats the army of Justiciar Edmund Butler. The Scottish dead are buried in the graveyard attached to the Dominican Priory in Athy which occupies the area on the east bank of the River Barrow. Among those buried are two Scottish chiefs, Lord Fergus Andressan and Lord Walter de Morrey
1699 - The second session of William III's second Irish parliament ends on this date
1716 - Birth of Lord George Sackville (-Germain), soldier, politician and MP for Portarlington
1799 - Thomas Charles Wright, officer in Bolivar's army and founder of the Ecuadorian naval school, is born in Drogheda, Co. Louth
1871 - Sir Arthur du Cros, pioneer of pneumatic tyre industry, is born in Dublin
1904 - Birth of Se�n MacBride, IRA leader, politician, head of Amnesty International, and recipient of Nobel and Lenin peace prizes
1907 - Synge's Playboy of the Western World is performed for the first time at the Abbey Theatre, Dublin; the audience riots because of the bad language and negative perspective on Irish peasant life
1998 - Fears of a backlash heighten in the North due to the removal from the peace talks of the Ulster Democratic Party because of the recent spate of sectarian murders
1998 - The trial of a Dublin man accused of the murder of journalist, Veronica Guerin, is adjourned until June by the Special Criminal Court
1999 - Irish swimming takes its first step towards a fresh beginning following a series of child sex abuse scandals with the creation of a new identity, Swim Ireland
2000 - T�naiste Mary Harney announces that the new minimum pay rate of �4.40 per hour will apply from April 1
2000 - Amid reports that Britain is drawing up emergency legislation to re-impose direct rule on Northern Ireland, the IRA faces renewed pressure to start decommissioning its arsenal
2000 - Supporters of ancient herbal remedies stage a wake in Dublin mourning the death of the free availability of the herb St John�s Wort, which can now only be obtained on prescription
2001 - Motorists crossing Dublin�s East and West Links will have to pay an extra 20p following a VAT hike
2001 - AN Bord Plean�la gives the go ahead for a �35 million leisure, residential and shopping development in Limerick.
January 27
1885 - Charles Stewart Parnell turns the first sod for the West Clare Railway
1944 - Birth of Mairead Corrigan-Maguire, founder of NI Peace Movement
1975 - Mother Mary Martin, founder of the Medical Missionaries of Mary, dies in Drogheda
1999 - The peace process and the IRA ceasefire are thrown into chaos following the mysterious death of ex-Provo killer turned supergrass Eamon Collins
2000 - Sinn F�in President Gerry Adams indicates that the IRA will not deliver arms ahead of the Ulster Unionists� February deadline.
January 28
1610 - The crown and the Irish Society of London, a consortium of city companies, agree to carry out the plantation of Derry (hence Londonderry), Coleraine and part of Tyrone
1635 - The City of London and the Irish Society of London are found guilty of mismanagement and neglect of Derry/Londonderry plantation; they are sentenced to a fine of �70,000 and forfeiture of Derry/Londonderry property
1742 - Clotworthy Skeffington, 2nd Earl of Massereene, is born in Co. Antrim
1786 - By charter, the Irish Academy becomes the Royal Irish Academy
1807 - Birth in Co. Wexford of Sir Robert McClure, polar explorer
and discoverer of the North-West Passage
1818 - The Iberno-Celtic Society is founded to preserve and publish the best ancient Irish literature
1852 - Louis Brennan, inventor, is born in Castlebar, Co. Mayo
1892 - Birth in Limerick of David Mary Tidmarsh , WWI Ace
1873 - Patrick Malley is killed by his son William Malley at Calla, a remote district of Errismore Co. Galway. J.M. Synge based his story The Playboy Of The Western World on the tragedy
1877 - George Fitzmaurice, Irish Renaissance playwright, is born
1939 - Death of William Butler Yeats
1941 - The Emergency Powers Act provides for the censorship of press messages to places outside the Free State
1941 - Birth of Fublin artist, George Potter
1967 - Helena Moloney, republican and trade unionist, dies in Dublin.
1981 - Daniel O�Donnell makes his first professional appearance, at a club in Thurles as part of his sister Margo�s band
1993 - The IRA bombs Harrods for the third time in 20 years. Four people are injured
2000 - Death of well known Irish actor, Tony Doyle, star of popular programmes such as Ballykissangel and The Riordans
2000 - Nobel Peace laureate, John Hume, issues a plea to the IRA for a last minute gesture on decommissioning to ensure the Northern Ireland peace process does not founder
2001 - Mighty Munster moves a step closer to Heineken European Cup rugby glory when they defeat Biarritz 38 29 in the quarter final Photo credit: Des Barry
2002 - Winds of up to 90mph leave 3,000 homes in the west and north-west without power supply for several hours
2003 - It is announced that actor Peter O�Toole, nominated seven times for an Oscar for his work in films as diverse as the historical epic Lawrence of Arabia and the nostalgic comedy My Favourite Year, will receive an honorary Academy Award at this year�s Oscar ceremonies.
2007 - Sinn F�in ardfheis votes overwhelmingly in favour of a leadership motion expressing support for the Police Service of Northern Ireland. Speaking moments after the vote is taken, party President Gerry Adams describes the decision as "truly historic" and says the potential had been created to change the political landscape of the island "forever."

January 29
1768 - Oliver Goldsmith's The Good-Natured Boy is first performed at London's Covent Garden
1794 - Archibald Hamilton Rowan, United Irishman, tried on charge of distributing seditious paper
1967 - The Northern Ireland Civil Rights Association (NICRA) is formed
1976 - Explosions rock London's West End. One person is injured. The IRA later takes responsibility
1998 - The British government bows to pressure and announces a new judicial inquiry into the killing of 14 unarmed civil rights marchers in Derry on January 30, 26 years ago
1998 - Former Taoiseach Jack Lynch is rushed to Accident and Emergency at the Meath Hospital, Dublin shortly before 10pm. His condition is described as not life-threatening
1999 - The future of the Apple computer plant in Cork is thrown into doubt with the news that up to 600 jobs are expected to be lost
1999 - One of the youngest members of the Church of Ireland, Rev. Canon William Paul Colton, is elected Bishop of Cork, Cloyne and Ross. He succeeds the Rt. Rev. Roy Warke
2001 - Ulster Unionist deputy leader John Taylor pulls out of the running for the next General Election
2002 - Rock superstars U2 battle to save their Dublin recording studios from being pulled to the ground. The millionaire musicians tell a hearing at the Gresham Hotel in Dublin that the musical heritage of their Hanover Quay site should be enough to save it from demolition.
January 30
1845 - Birth of Kitty O'Shea, mistress and later, the wife of Parnell
1859 - Edward Martyn, playwright, co-founder of Irish Literary Theatre, and Sinn F�in president, is born in Tulira, Co. Galway
1864 - The National Gallery of Ireland opens
1865 - Birth of John Hughes, sculptor, in Dublin
1900 - The Irish Party reunites ten years after it split
1920 - Tom�s MacCurtain is elected Lord Mayor of Cork for Sinn F�in
1947 - Jim Larkin, Irish labor leader dies
1972 - In what is to become known as Bloody Sunday, the British Army kills 13 civil rights demonstrators in the Bogside district of Londonderry. A 14th marcher later dies of his injuries
1984 - Death of Luke Kelly, lead vocalist and 5-string banjo member of the Dubliners
1990 - Haughey resigns as Taoiseach
1998 - Relatives of those killed during the Bloody Sunday massacre in Derry's Bogside, gather to remember their dead. It is a ritual observed every year, but this year it is given extra poignancy by the announcement of a new inquiry into the killing of 14 unarmed civilians by the Parachute Regiment
1998 - Thousands participate in a united peace rally to protest at recent sectarian killings
1998 - Buried in the sand at Lahinch for almost 100 years, the ship-wrecked Elizabeth McClean emerges to allow a salvage operation to take its valuable cargo. The 58-foot schooner, laden down with Liscannor stone, sank off the Clare coast in 1904, bound for Glasgow
2000 - Three RUC officers are injured and another man is in serious condition after mobs attack them in Derry and Belfast
2002 - Figures released by the Central Statistics Office show that Dubliners have more money to spend than everyone else in Ireland with people in Laois, Offaly and Kerry having the least
2002 - Publicans warn Health Minister Miche�l Martin not to proceed with a proposed ban on smoking in pubs after he announces changes to tough anti-tobacco laws, which will allow him to ban smoking in all or part of licensed premises
2003 - Vintners claim that next year's ban on smoking in pubs will be unworkable and accuse Health Minister Miche�l Martin of overreacting.
January 31
1800 - William Pitt, 'the younger', Prime Minister of Britain, advocates the union of Britain and Ireland
1864 - Birth of Matilda Knowles, botanist
1881 - Anna Parnell sets up the Committee of the Ladies' Land League in Dublin
1913 - The Ulster Volunteer Force is founded by the Unionist Council, posing a threat to the legitimate government
1953 - The Princess Victoria, a British Railways car ferry steamer, bound for Larne in Northern Ireland, sinks in the Irish Sea in one of the worst gales in living memory, claiming the lives of 128 passengers and crew. Among the passengers who perish are the Northern Ireland Finance Minister and Deputy Prime Minister Major J. M. Sinclair, and Sir Walter Smiles, the Ulster Unionist MP for North Down
1998 - Two men are arrested as they transfer cannabis resin with an estimated valued of �5 million into a vehicle in a wooded area near Cahir, Co Tipperary
1999 - The end of an era in maritime history is reached as the high-tech world takes over from the old, manually-operated morse code radio services. For over 100 years, the dot-dash-dot system operated by radio officers served shipping well, but is now superseded by a state-of-the-art communications network. Marine Minister Michael Woods marks the historic occasion at at Valentia Coast Radio Station, Co. Kerry, as the use of Morse ends in this country, Belgium, Denmark and Iceland
1999 - Irish American business tycoon, Jay Michael Cashman splashes out a reported �250,000 to tie the knot with his film producer sweetheart, Christy Jean Scott, in a glittering ceremony in the 15th-century ruined Franciscan Abbey. It is the first wedding in the abbey in 500 years
2000 - Seventeen fishermen from a blazing Spanish trawler off the Clare coast are rescued by the Irish Coast Guard
2000 - President Bill Clinton and Northern Ireland peace envoy George Mitchell are among those nominated for this year�s Nobel Peace Prize
2003 - The coast guard remains on standby off the north-west coast for a major pollution incident as damage to the Panamanian-registered Princess Eva tanker, carrying 55,000 tonnes of oil, is assessed.

This month in British History

January 1, 1660 - Samuel Pepys began his famous diary in which he chronicled life in London including the Great Plague of 1664-65 and the Great Fire of 1666.

January 1, 1801 - Ireland was added to Great Britain by an Act of Union thus creating the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland.

January 1, 1877 - Queen Victoria was proclaimed Empress of India.

January 1, 1958 - The EEC (European Economic Community) known as the Common Market was formed by Belgium, France, West Germany, Italy, Luxembourg and The Netherlands in order to remove trade barriers and coordinate trade policies.

January 1, 1973 - Britain, Ireland and Denmark became members of the Common Market (EEC).

January 10, 1863 - The world's first underground railway service opened in London, the Metropolitan line between Paddington and Farringdon.

January 13, 1893 - The British Independent Labor Party was founded with James Keir Hardie as its leader.

January 15, 1535 - Henry VIII became Supreme Head of the Church in England as a result of the Act of Supremacy following his break with Rome.

January 15, 1559 - Elizabeth Tudor, daughter of Henry VIII and Anne Boleyn, was crowned as Elizabeth I in Westminster Abbey.

January 20, 1649 - At the conclusion of the English Civil War, King Charles I was brought before a high court of justice at Westminster Hall on charges of treason. The Civil War had been fought over whether the King's power was absolute or was limited by the powers of Parliament. Oliver Cromwell had led the Parliamentary forces to victory over the Royals. In the trial that followed, Charles was found guilty and condemned as "a tyrant, traitor, murderer, and public enemy" and was beheaded several days later in front of Whitehall palace in London

January 20, 1936 - King George V of England died at age 71. The grandson of Queen Victoria, he had reigned since 1910. He renamed his line as the House of Windsor, breaking his association with the family's German line of descent. He was succeeded by his son King Edward VIII who abdicated in December and was succeeded by George VI.

January 22, 1901 - Queen Victoria of England died after reigning for 64 years, the longest reign in British history, during which England had become the most powerful empire in the world.

January 24, 1965 - Winston Churchill (1874-1965) died. He had been Britain's wartime prime minister whose courageous leadership and defiant rhetoric had fortified the English during their long struggle against Hitler's Germany. "I have nothing to offer but blood, toil, tears, and sweat," he stated upon becoming prime minister at the beginning of the war. He called Hitler's Reich a "monstrous tyranny, never surpassed in the dark, lamentable catalogue of human crime." Following the war, he coined the term "Iron Curtain" to describe the barrier between areas in Eastern Europe under Soviet control and the free West. Real Audio :18

January 25, 1533 - King Henry VIII married his second wife, Anne Boleyn, in defiance of Pope Clement who had refused to annul his first marriage. The King later broke all ties with Rome and became Supreme Head of the Church in England.

January 26, 1788 - The British established a settlement at Sydney Harbor in Australia as 11 ships with 778 convicts arrived, setting up a penal colony to relieve overcrowded prisons in England.

January 28, 1547 - King Henry VIII of England died and was succeeded by his son, Edward VI. Henry had ruled since 1509 and had broken all ties with the Roman Catholic church over the issue of divorce. He married a total of six times. Edward VI was the son of his third wife, Jane Seymour. Edward became king at the age of 10, but died of tuberculosis at age 16. He was followed by his half-sister, Mary.

January 30, 1649 - King Charles I of England was beheaded for treason by order of Parliament under the direction of Oliver Cromwell, leader of the Puritan Revolution.

January 30, 1972 - In Derry(Londonderry), Northern Ireland, 13 Roman Catholics were killed by British troops during a banned civil rights march. The event became known as Bloody Sunday.

The Isles