LUAIN -- On February 18, 1817, Walter Paye Lane, Confederate general in the American Civil War, was born in County Cork. He emigrated to the United States with his parents when he was only 4 years old. Lane grew up in Ohio but traveled to Texas at 18. He fought with Sam Houston at…

As the brilliant rays of the morning sun began to flash off the whitewashed adobe wall in Santiago, Cuba, 30-year-old William Albert Charles Ryan reflected that it would be yet another beautiful day on the tropical island he had come to love. He could hear the sweet songs of a few…

 CÉADAOIN -- On February 13, 1782, Dillon's regiment of the Irish Brigade of France helped capture St. Kitts from the British during the American Revolution. Earlier, Dillon's regiment had helped France…

DOMHNAIGH -- On February 3, 1537, Lord "Silken" Thomas Fitzgerald and his five uncles were executed at Tyburn, England. In June 1534, believing the English had killed his father in London (he actually died in the Tower later, of disease), Fitzgerald led a revolt against the English. He gained the…

LUAIN -- On January 28, 1967 , Helena Moloney, republican and trade unionist, died in Dublin. Moloney was born in Dublin in 1884. While only at teen-ager Moloney heard Maud Gonne give a pro-nationalist speech near the Customs House. Inspired by Gonne, Helena began a…

DOMHNAIGH -- On January 20, 1771, Don Hugo O'Conor was named Commandant Inspector of New Spain (Mexico). O'Conor was born into a Jacobite family in Dublin in December 1734. The family…

LUAIN -- On Jan. 7, 1945 Major Thomas McGuire Jr., the second highest scoring US ace of WWII, and Medal of Honor recipient, crashed his plane and was killed…

Seán Moylan slowly moved his binoculars back and forth pointed to the west as he scanned the east Kerry countryside in the direction of Scartaglen. He was standing on some high ground in Thade Daly’s Glen in Tureengarriffe, along what is now the R-577 road. Moylan, commanding the Flying…

LUAIN -- On December 31, 1602, Dónall O'Sullivan Beare and his clan began their epic march to Ulster. O'Sullivan had supported Hugh…

LUAIN -- On December 24, 1601, Hugh O'Neill and his Spanish and Irish allies were defeated by the English at the Battle of Kinsale, one of the most important battles in Irish history. With the able assistance of his main ally,…

DOMHNAIGH -- On Dec. 16, 1971, soldier and politician General Richard Mulcahy (left) died in Dublin. Mulcahy was born in Waterford. After being educated in the Christian Brothers schools, Richard went to work for the postal service, like his father before him. He was a member of the Gaelic League and…

Fort Niagara - Betsy Doyle carries red hot cannon balls

Betsy Doyle married Andrew Doyle, a private in the First United States Artillery Regiment. "Private Doyle was with the U.S. forces when they invaded Upper Canada. He was captured in the Battle of Queenston and…

MÁIRT -- On December 4, 1887 Maria Winifred (Winnie) Carney (right), trade unionist and revolutionary was born at Fisher's Hill, Bangor, Co. Down. Her father, Alfred was a protestant and her mother, Sarah (Cassidy) was a catholic.…

MÁIRT -- On the night of November 26, 1781, units of Dillon’s and Walshes regiments of the Irish Brigade of France were among a force of about 400 commanded by Marquis de Bouille that landed on the British-held West Indies island of St. Eustache (now known as…

MÁIRT -- On the morning of Nov. 20, 1917, the 16th Irish Division of the British army assaulted an area of the German lines known as "Tunnel Trench," named for an elaborate tunnel system that ran along it. The attack was meant as a diversion for the main…

LUAIN -- On the morning of Nov. 5, 1688, William of Orange, King of the Netherlands and son-in-law of King James II of England, arrived in Brixham, England, with a large Dutch army. He had been invited by the Protestant noblemen of the country to come and usurp the English throne. Led by Lord Monmouth,…

MÁIRT -- On Oct. 30, 1892, Eoin O'Duffy, revolutionary and organizer of the infamous Blueshirts, was born in Castleblayney, County Monaghan.

(Right: O'Duffy's Blueshirts rally in a Dublin cemetery, 1934)

O'Duffy was apprenticed to an engineer in…

LUAIN -- On October 8, 1862, Irish-born Confederate General Patrick Cleburne commanded a brigade at the battle of Perryville, Kentucky. Cleburne's brigade was part of the army of General Braxton Bragg.…

In 1798, the new Oaths issued by the Wexford Council had good effect. As Crown forces gathered on Wexford’s borders for the showdown, Nicholas Gray, Secretary of the Council, wrote on 16 June to Fr. Philip Roche, the new commander‑in‑chief. Gray was desperate for reinforcements for his Southern Army, which had…

LUAIN -- On September 24, 1798, United Irishman Bartholomew Teeling was executed in Dublin. Teeling was the son of wealthy linen merchant in Lisburn, County Antrim. His father was involved in both the Defender and United Irish movement and Bartholomew and his brother joined him in the…