DOMHNAIGH -- On Dec. 17, 1803, rebel leader Michael Dwyer, whose guerrilla attacks had maddened British colonial authorities since 1798, surrendered. Dwyer was born in County Wicklow and he participated in the 1798 Rising; however,…

DOMHNAIGH -- 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…

LUAIN -- On December 19, 1877, Land League organizer Michael Davitt was released from Dartmoor Prison. Davitt, revolutionary and agrarian agitator, was born in Straide, County Mayo. Davitt's family was evicted from their small farm when he was just a boy. After they emigrated to England, Davitt…

MÁIRT -- On November 29, 1895, Denny Lane (left), author and poet, and member of the revolutionary Young Ireland party, died in Cork. Lane was born in Riverstown, near Glanmire in County Cork, in 1818. Denny attended Trinity College, Dublin. While a student…

LUAIN -- On November 29, 1895, Denny Lane (left), author and poet, and member of the revolutionary Young Ireland party, died in Cork. Lane was born in Riverstown, near Glanmire in County Cork, in 1818. Denny attended Trinity College, Dublin. While a student…

DOMHNAIGH -- On Sept. 27, 1847, Civil War veteran and middleweight champion 'Professor' Mike Donovan was born in Chicago to Irish-born parents. The first of many memorable events in Donovan's life came when he fought for the Union Army, serving in Sherman's army in its march through Georgia. After the war, Mike began a boxing career that would associate him with some of the best-known people of…

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,…

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 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…

DOMHNAIGH -- 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…

DOMHNAIGH-- In the early morning hours of August 2, 1943, a small American torpedo boat was moving just west of New Georgia in the Solomon Islands. In command was a young Irish-American destined to one day be the first Catholic…

Check out our past quizzes here.

Patricia Horne is an Irish medical doctor who worked in Nigeria during in the 1950s at one of several medical missionary hospitals managed by Irish Catholic religious orders.

Horne came from a medical family. Her grandfather, Andrew Horne, was a founder and first…

** The contest period has now ended, but you may still feel free to tell us about your Irish heroine in the comments section!

Our winners…

On Thursday, March 5, 2015, Kate Cunningham from the Women's Museum of Ireland joined us for a LIVE interactive video discussion on the subject of Irish women's…

Much time has been devoted to analysing the Troubles in Northern Ireland. The politics, the violence and the impact this has had on the country as a whole has been extensively documented. But how often is a spotlight shone specifically on the lives of Republican women?…

Hanna Sheehy-Skefffington, (above, center) born 24 May 1877, was one of Ireland’s most ardent promoters of women’s rights. She was an influential figure during the suffragette movement, tirelessly campaigning for the equal status of men and…

It was a very determined and indignant Irish woman who stood before a clerk at the Los Angeles immigration court in 1946. Maureen FitzSimons (aka Maureen O’Hara) had passed the required exam for US citizenship when she was instructed to forswear allegiance to England. She replied,…

Mary Mallon, famously known as Typhoid Mary for the infection she carried and spread, was born in Cookstown, Co. Tyrone on 23 September 1869. Her story, and experience of the state’s early approaches to dealing with ‘healthy carriers’, continues to divide opinion.

Typhoid is…

By Dr. Laura Kelley

“No work was too menial, no venture too unprofitable, for her.”

Without question, among the Irish…