Kilkenny born Edmund Rice opened up his first school in Waterford on August 15th of 1803. Originally a makeshift school for poor boys held in a converted stable on New Street, Rice was forced to move to a more permanent location as the school began to grow. On August 15th, Mount Sion Primary School welcomed its first students. This would be the first school of many future … [Read more...] about August 15, 1803
Today In History
July 23, 1803
In opposition to the 1800 Acts of Union, Irish nationalist and rebel Robert Emmet returned to Ireland, after attempting to secure aid from the French, to plan a rebellion. On the evening of July 23, 1803, a rising erupted in Dublin. The rebels attempted to seize Dublin Castle, but failed, and the rising only amounted to a large-scale riot. The British military was able to stop … [Read more...] about July 23, 1803
January 23, 1803
Arthur Guinness, founder of the famous Guinness Brewery, died on January 23rd, 1803 at age 77. The exact date and place of Guinness' birth are unknown, but it has been established that he was born in either 1724 or early 1725, in Co. Kildare. In 1752, at age 27, Guinness was left 100 pounds in the will of Arthur Price, Church of Ireland Archbishop of Cashel. He invested it, and … [Read more...] about January 23, 1803
July 2, 1800
The Acts of Union are passed in the English parliament on this day in 1800, in an effort to unite the Kingdom of Ireland and the Kingdom of Great Britain under the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland. Drawn up in response to the Irish Rebellion of 1798 and the French Revolution of 1789, England felt the acts were necessary ways to subdue a Catholic Emancipation. Both … [Read more...] about July 2, 1800
June 22, 1866
Archbishop Paul Cullen of Dublin becomes the first Irish cardinal on this day in 1866. Born in Co. Kildare, Cullen went on to study at the Sacred Congregation for the Propagation of the Faith. Cullen was appointed rector of Irish College and helped secure the college's future. While rector from 1832-1850, he forged a close friendship with Pope Gregory XVI and Pope Pius IX and … [Read more...] about June 22, 1866