The Easter Rising of 1916 began early in the morning of Monday, April 24 as close to 1,200 people - a combination of the Irish Volunteers and the Citizen Army - took over key points throughout Dublin, including the General Post Office (GPO), the headquarters of the uprising; the Four Courts, Dublin City Hall, St. Stephen's Green and the Jacob's Biscuit factory. Led by James … [Read more...] about April 24, 1916
February 26, 1916
On this day in 1916, comedian and actor Jackie Gleason was born in Brooklyn, NY to Mae and Herb Gleason, Irish immigrants from Farranree, Co. Cork. After a rough start, with his father abandoning the family when Gleason was 9 and his mother's death when he was 19, Gleason found early success, going from occasional MC, to comedian, to paid actor by age 24. He is best remembered … [Read more...] about February 26, 1916
June 29, 1915
Jeremiah O'Donovan Rossa, a prominent Fenian leader and member of the Irish Republican Brotherhood, passed away in New York on June 29, 1915. Born in Co. Cork, Rossa was arrested and in 1865. He was charged with planning a Fenian Rising. He served out his sentence in England and after realizing he could not return to Ireland in exile, Rossa moved to the U.S. where he joined … [Read more...] about June 29, 1915
May 7, 1915
The British ocean liner Lusitania was sunk by a German u-boat off the coast of Ireland, about 14 miles off the Old Head of Kinsale. The ship sank in 18 minutes and though there were enough lifeboats aboard, the severity prevented them from being launched. Of the 1,959 passengers on board, 1,198 drowned, 128 of them U.S. citizens. The death toll shocked the world and proved the … [Read more...] about May 7, 1915
September 13, 1914
On this day in 1914, Irish nationalist Sir Robert Casement met with German leader Franz von Papen in the U.S., in an effort to win support for Ireland's quest for independence from Britain. Born in Dublin in 1864 and founder of the Irish National Volunteers, Casement travelled to the U.S. to gain support for his organization. He failed to gain American support, so turned to Von … [Read more...] about September 13, 1914