Linen Hall Library Baron Godert de Ginkel, commander of the Williamite forces at Aughrim.

DOMHNAIGH -- On July 12, 1691, the Jacobite army in Ireland fought the forces of William of Orange at the battle of Aughrim. Although the battle of the Boyne fought a year earlier is seen by many today as decisive, the Jacobite army was still a grave threat to William's domination of Ireland. Far from beaten, the Jacobites controlled a large portion of Ireland in the southwest. William's forces that day were commanded by Dutchman Baron Godert de Ginkel, the Jacobites by Frenchman Marquis Saint-Ruth. After initially having his infantry stopped cold, Ginkel's cavalry battered the Jacobite's left flank. At this same moment, Saint-Ruth was decapitated by a cannon ball, and this added demoralization contributed to the rout that followed. Sarsfield's cavalrymen, held in reserve through most of the battle, did their best to cover the retreat, but they suffered massive casualties. As the Jacobites retreated toward Limerick, their cause in Ireland was in desperate trouble. After the defeat at the Boyne, the Jacobites had still been a threat to attack. After Aughrim, that threat was removed, and the Jacobites would spend the rest of the war under siege.

LUAIN to DEARDAOIN -- From July 13 to 16, 1863, one of the more regrettable incidents related to Irish-American history occurred --the New York City Draft Riots. The slogan, "rich man's war, poor man's fight," was the cry of many in the Northern states. Fueled by an understandable anger at a draft that allowed rich men to buy their way out, worried that the eventual emancipation of blacks would rob them of their jobs, and egged on by some politicians and Southern agents, many Irish participated in rioting that engulfed the city two days after the draft began. Through the years the story has been told as if only Irish rioted, but in fact many besides the Irish took part, and many Irish policemen, fireman, priests and trade unionists were among the most influential in quelling them. Still, it cannot be denied -- a large number of Irish did participate in the burning of a black orphanage and murder of blacks in the city. This unfortunate episode left a lasting stain on the reputation of New York's Irish community.

MÁIRT -- On July 14, 1798, brothers John and Henry Sheares, both lawyers and United Irishmen, are executed in Dublin. Sons of a wealthy banker and member of the Irish Parliament, the brothers visited France together in 1792 and there acquired their revolutionary republican principles. They joined the United Irishmen on their return to Dublin and John began to write articles for the Press, a nationalist paper. They were betrayed by an informer, Capt. John Armstrong, and arrested May 21. Found guilty of treason, they were publicly hung outside Newgate Prison in Dublin. Both are buried at Dublin's St. Michan's Church.

SATHAIRN -- On July 18, 1874, Irish revolutionary Cathal Brugha (right) 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 Volunteers in 1913. He would become one of the most uncompromising advocates of Irish republicanism among all the revolutionary leaders. Severely wounded during the Easter Rising, Brugha lived to become Chief of Staff of the IRA during the War of Independence. One of the fiercest opponents of the Anglo-Irish Treaty, Cathal Brugha fought on O'Connell Street against the Free Sate government at the start of the Civil War. On July 5, 1922, surrounded and hopelessly outnumbered in the Hamman Hotel, Brugha ordered the men under his command to surrender. But after they did, Brugha burst into the street with two pistols blazing. He was fatally wounded, dying two days later.

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VOICES

'Adieu, Julia, my light is out -- the approach of darkness is like that of death, since both alike require I should say farewell forever -- Oh my dear family, farewell forever.'
         -- From a letter written by John Sheares to his sister shortly before his execution.

‘Because of his sincerity, I would forgive him anything. At worst he was a fanatic though in what has been a noble cause. At best I number him among the very few who have given their all ...that this country should have its freedom.When many of us are forgotten, Cathal Brugha will be remembered’
         -- Michael Collins

BIRTHS

July -- Iúil

13, 1886 – Edward Flanagan (Priest, founder of “Boy’s Town” – Leabeg, Co. Roscommon.) 
14, 1830 - Richard Henry Jackson (Union General - Kennegad, Co. Westmeath)
15, 1899 - Sean Lemass (Politician - Ballybrack, Co. Dublin)
17, 1846 - John Mclure (Fenian) near Manhattan
18, 1874 - Cathal Brugha (Revolutionary - Dublin.)

SIGNIFICANT EVENTS

12, 1691 - Battle of Aughrim.
12, 1734 - James Fitzjames, the Marshal, Duke of Berwick, illegitimate son of James II and officer in the Irish Brigade of France, is killed at the siege of Philipsburg.
12, 1796 - First Orange parades in Lurgan, Waringstown, and Portadown.
12, 1813 - First recorded "Twelfth of July" sectarian riots in Belfast.
12, 1849 - 30 Catholics killed in rioting after Orange Order march through Dolly's Brae near Castlewellan.
12, 1862 - Medal of Honor authorized by Congress.
12, 1862 – Co. Laois  native Col. Thomas Cass dies of wounds suffered at the Battle of Malvern Hill.
12, 1922 - Michael Collins named head of Free State army with rank of general. 12, 1998 - In the early morning hours Quinn brothers Richard, 11, Mark, 10, and Jason 9, are burned to death by a Loyalist firebomb in Ballymoney, 40 miles northwest of Belfast.
13, 1825 - Catholic Association, dissolved by law on May 18th, is reconstituted. 
13-16, 1863 - Draft riots in New York City. 
13, 1981 - Martin Hurson dies on hunger strike. 
14, 1921 - De Valera meets with Lloyd George in London.
14, 1798 - United Irishmen John and Henry Sheares executed.
14, 1969 - First death of the troubles, a 70-year-old farmer is struck in a melee outside an Orange Hall in Dungiven, Co. Derry. He was probably just an onlooker.
15, 1580 - Fiach MacHugh O'Byrne rises in rebellion in Co. Wicklow.
15, 1729 - Count John Joseph Anton O'Dwyer, Lt. Field Marshal in the Austrian army, dies.
16, 1777 - Irish-born Gustavus Conyngham, "The Dunkirk Pirate," is given command of the USS Revenge.
17, 1690 - Williamite forces begin an unsuccessful siege of the town of Athlone, where Col. Richard Grace commands Irish forces.
17, 1798 - Henry Joy McCracken, United Irishman, executed in Belfast
17, 1951 - Dublin's Abbey Theatre is destroyed by fire.
18, 1561 - Battle of Red Sagums - Shane O'Neill defeats English.
18, 1618 – Donal O’Sullivan Beare killed in Madrid by John Bathe.
18, 1861 - Irish-born Col. Patrick Moore and his 1st Virginia fight at Blackburn's Ford.