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…

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 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…

DOMHNAIGH -- On October 21, 1879, Andrew Kettle, Michael Davitt, and Charles Stewart Parnell met in Dublin and founded one of the most important organizations in Irish history -- the Irish National Land League. The League's purpose was to reform the horrendous conditions faced by…

DOMHNAIGH -- On Oct. 14, 1814, Thomas Osborne Davis, the poet laureate of the Young Ireland party and one of its founders, was born in Mallow, Co. Cork. Like many other revolutionary Irish leaders, Davis was of an Anglo-Irish family; his father was a British army surgeon. He graduated…

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.…

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…

LUAIN -- On Sept. 17, 1860, units of the Irish Battalion of St. Patrick of the Papal army fought a Piedmontese army allied with Garibaldi at Spoleto.…

DOMHNAIGH -- About September 9, 1845, the first effects of the potato blight were reported around Ireland. No one was sure what caused the potato leafs and stalks to turn black and wither,…

LUAIN -- On September 3, 1842, John Devoy, (in a prison photo, left) one of the most devoted revolutionaries the world has ever seen, was born in Kill, County Kildare. John showed his commitment to Irish freedom early, refusing to sing 'God Save the…

LUAIN -- On August 27, 1798, the combined force of Gen. Humbert's small French invasion unit and western Irish rebels won one of the most famous battles ever fought in Ireland at Castlebar, County Mayo. Humbert had orders to wait for the…

DOMHNAIGH -- On August 19, 1504, the battle of Knockdoe was fought northeast of Galway by the forces of Gerald Fitzgerald, 'The Great Earl,' and his Anglo-Irish allies, against those of his son-in-law, Ulick de Burgh, or Burke of Clanrickard, husband of his daughter, Eustacia. Knockdoe would be…

LUAIN -- On August 6, 1775, Daniel O'Connell , 'The Liberator,' one of the most influential men in Irish history was born near Cahirciveen, County Kerry. Raised by his uncle, Daniel learned the Irish language and Irish lore in Kerry. O'Connell did part of his schooling in France…

DOMHNAIGH -- On July 29, 1693, units of the Irish Brigade of France fought at the battle of Landen (also known as Neerwinden) against the forces of William of…

DOMHNAIGH -- On July 22, 1864, the Irish 10th Tennessee of Hood's Confederate Army in Decatur, Georgia, was engaged…

CÉADAOIN -- On July 18, 1874, Irish revolutionary Cathal Brugha was born Charles William St. John Burgess on Richmond Avenue in Dublin. Cathal joined the Gaelic League in 1899 and became a lieutenant in the Irish…