The Irish War of Independence begins. On January 21st, 1919, a group of IRA members acting independently shot and killed two Royal Irish Constabulary officers traveling with explosives through Soloheadbeg, Co. Tipperary. In response to the attack, the British Government declared the area a Special Military Area under its Defense of the Realm Act. Though the 21st is commonly … [Read more...] about January 21, 1919
Today In History
November 11, 1918
World War I famously came to an end on this day in 1918. Ireland's part in the First War was complex. Still part of the United Kingdom, the movement for Irish independence began before and during the war. Nationalists who joined the Irish Volunteers instead of the British Army during this period were somewhat aided by axis forces like the Germans. They staged the Easter … [Read more...] about November 11, 1918
February 5, 1918
The first U.S. ship carrying American troops to Europe during the First World War is torpedoed and sunk on February 5, 1918 near the coast of Ireland. The SS Tuscania, originally a luxury liner which was converted to a troopship for the war, was bombed by a German U-Boat off the Northern coast of Ireland. The ship intended to enter the Irish Sea from the north, after several … [Read more...] about February 5, 1918
December 12, 1917
On this day in 1917, Irish priest Father Edward J. Flanagan founded what would become known as "Boys Town" in Omaha, Nebraska. Beginning as a home for troubled and neglected children, only six boys entered the home upon its establishment. Flanagan, who had previously run the Workingman's Hotel, a haven for downtrodden workers, understood that neglected orphans were at a higher … [Read more...] about December 12, 1917
September 25, 1917
Thomas Ashe, member of the Gaelic League, the Irish Republican Brotherhood and one of the founders of the Irish Volunteers, died from a hunger strike on this day in 1917. Ashe, who was born in Co. Kerry, took part in the Easter Uprising of 1916 as a commander of the Fingal Battalion of the Irish Volunteers. On May 8, 1916, both Ashe and De Valera were court martialled by the … [Read more...] about September 25, 1917