Luke Kelly, musician and founder of The Dubliners was born on this day in Dublin in 1939. Kelly grew up in a working class family. At the age of thirteen he left school and went to England where he worked in building. He was fired and continued living in England while working various odd jobs. As the folk revival began to take form in England, Kelly began memorizing songs in … [Read more...] about November 16, 1939
Today In History
January 28, 1939
W.B. (William Butler) Yeats was among the most famous Irish poets and playwrights in history. He was born in June of 1865 in Dublin. He spent the majority of his young life in Sligo and as a young man traveled to London to pursue writing. He would later become to the first Irishman in history to be awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1923. Yeat’s was inspired in large part … [Read more...] about January 28, 1939
January 16, 1939
This day marks the anniversary of the start of the S-Plan. The S-Plan or the Sabotage Campaign (also known among some as the England campaign), conceived and developed by IRA members Seamus O'Donovan, Sean Russell and Joseph McGarrity was a bombing and sabotage campaign from 1939 to 1940. It targeted the civil, military and economic infrastructure in England and the UK. On … [Read more...] about January 16, 1939
October 5, 1938
"Ireland's Golden Tenor" Frank Patterson was born in Co. Tipperary on this day in 1938. Patterson started singing as a young boy with his local church choir. He moved to Dublin in 1961 to enroll at the National Academy of Theater and studied acting and received vocal training. While studying in Paris, he caught the attention of Philips Recording Company after a radio broadcast. … [Read more...] about October 5, 1938
May 12, 1937
On this day, George Carlin, one of America's best stand-up comedians, was born to an Irish father, Patrick Carlin and Irish American mother, Mary Bearey. He was raised on West 121st Street in Upper Manhattan. In a career spanning fifty years, Carlin pushed the envelope in terms of performance. His "Seven Dirty Sins" routine was central to a U.S. Supreme Court case on the … [Read more...] about May 12, 1937