Today in History

After meeting in 1972 while both studying law at Yale University, Bill Clinton and Hillary Rodham married on this day in 1975 in Little Rock, Arkansas. Bill Clinton, who is a 2011 Irish America Hall of Fame inductee, was a huge supporter of the Irish peace process and played a very important role in the Good Friday Agreement. Hillary Clinton accompanied her husband on several … [Read more...] about October 11, 1975

The brief ceasefire in Northern Ireland, which occurred in the early half of 1975, comes to an end on September 22, 1975 after the provisional IRA sets off about 15 bomb blasts through out central Belfast. One bombing involved a hijacked train, which was blown up. The blast injured 12 people, two seriously, but there were no deaths. The ceasefire would officially come to an end … [Read more...] about September 22, 1975

Eamon de Valera died on this day in 1975. He passed away in Linden Convalescent Home in Blackrock, Dublin at the age of 92. He is buried at Glasnevin Cemetery in Dublin with his wife Sinead, who had died in January of 1975 and his son Brian, who was killed in 1936 in a horse-riding accident. De Valera was one of Ireland's most important political figures of the 20th century. He … [Read more...] about August 29, 1975

Sean MacBride, son of Major John MacBride and Yeats's muse Maud Gonne, was awarded with the Nobel Peace Prize on this day in 1974. He was recognized as a man who "mobilised the conscience of the world in the fight against injustice." MacBride had served as President of the International Peace Bureau in Geneva, Switzerland and served as President of the Commission of Namibia, … [Read more...] about October 8, 1974

June 19, 1972 marks the commission of the LE Deirdre, a naval offshore patrol ship. The L.E. Deirdre, which was the first ship purpose-built in Ireland to patrol Irish waters, and its launch on January 21, 1972, marks a significant milestone in the development of Ireland's Navy. … [Read more...] about June 19, 1972