DOMHNAIGH -- On Oct. 26, 1771, John (Juan) MacKenna, who would rise to fame in South America, was born in Clogher, County Tyrone. MacKenna was related to Gen. Alexander O'Reilly, of the Spanish army, and O'Reilly helped MacKenna get established in Spain. In 1787, MacKenna was appointed a…

DOMHNAIGH -- On October 19, 1751, Charles Edward (Jennings) Kilmaine, general in the French army, was born at Saul's Court, Dublin. His father was a physician from County Galway. Though the family name was Jennings, Charles became known as Kilmaine in France after the…

MÁIRT -- 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 from Trinity College and was called to the bar in 1838, but he never practiced.

(Left: Thomas…

LUAIN- On October 6, 1649, Owen Roe O'Neill (right), nephew of Hugh O'Neill and an officer in the Spanish army, died at Cloughoughter Castle on an island in Lough Oughter in County Cavan. Owen is thought to have been born in 1585, probably near Loughgall in County…

LUAIN -- On Sept. 29, 1972, Kathleen Clarke, wife of Easter Rising martyr Tom Clarke, died in Liverpool, England. Kathleen's uncle was Fenian John Daley, who spent…

LUAIN -- On September 8, 1798, Lord Cornwallis and General Gerard Lake cornered French General Joseph Humbert's small Franco-Irish army at Ballinamuck, County Longford. With the two British armies closing in, Humbert drew his men up into line of battle. Humbert had less than 2,000 men, and only…

DOMHNAIGH -- On August 31, 1767, Henry Joy McCracken, leader of the United Irish rising in Antrim, was born in Belfast. McCracken was running a cotton factory by the age of 22. He and Thomas Russell organized the first Society of United Irishmen in Belfast in 1791. He was imprisoned for…

DOMHNAIGH -- On August 24, 1968, the Northern Ireland Civil Rights Association marched from Coalisland to Dungannon in County…

DOMHNAIGH -- On August 17, 1778, Bernardo O'Higgins, the father of Chilean independence, was born in Chile. Bernardo's mother was…

LUAIN -- On August 11, 1744, during the War of Austrian Succession, the Irish Brigade of Spain fought at the battle of Velletri, in Italy, against an Austrian army commanded by Irishman Field Marshal Count Maximillian Ulysses Browne, of Limerick. The surprise attack of Browne's Austrians…

MÁIRT -- 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 Orange, their nemesis from the Battle of the Boyne. William had some 50,000 English, Dutch, German and Spanish troops against about 80,000 French troops under the…

MÁIRT -- On July 8, 1770, Mary Ann McCracken -- patriot, philanthropist and sister of United Irish martyr Henry Joy McCracken -- was born in Belfast. Mary Ann was the fiercely independent daughter of a Presbyterian sea captain. With her sister, Margaret, she started a small muslin business while only in…

MÁIRT -- On July 1, 1897, Gen. Tom Barry , one of the finest guerrilla…

DOMHNAIGH   -- On June 22, 1922, Field Marshal Sir Henry Wilson was shot and killed by two …

DOMHNAIGH -- On June 8, 1853, John Mitchel escaped from Australia, eventually making it to the United States. Mitchel, a member of the Young Ireland Party, was born in Comnish, Co. Derry. John was the son of a Presbyterian minister. He obtained…

DOMHNAIGH -- On June 1, 1866, the Fenian Brotherhoodundertook the most famous action of its history: the invasion of Canada. Mexican…

DOMHNAIGH -- On May 11, 1745, the Irish Brigade of France, whose soldiers are most identified in Irish history as …

The National Library of Ireland Willie Pearse

DOMHNAIGH -- On May 4, 1916, the British executed …

DOMHNAIGH -- On April 27, 1779 Irish-born (County Donegal) U.S. Navy Capt. Gustavus Conyngham ,…