Nick Maxwell

1972 Joe McCann (25), a prominent figure within the ranks of the Official IRA, was shot dead in disputed circumstances by members of the Parachute Regiment close to his home in the Markets area of Belfast. 1972 Joe McCann (24), legendary Official IRA leader, was shot dead by British paratroopers in Belfast. 1941 A week … Read more

2010 Volcanic eruptions at Eyjafjallajokull in Iceland covered large areas of northern Europe in ash, forcing some twenty countries to close their airspace. Some ten million travellers were affected. 1912 The White Star Line’s Titanic, on her maiden voyage from Southampton to New York with 2,201 passengers and crew on board, struck an iceberg some 400 … Read more

1922 Anti-Treaty IRA, under the command of Rory O’Connor, occupied the Four Courts. 1970 A potentially lethal oxygen tank failure on board Apollo 13 forced the cancellation of a planned moon landing. The three-man crew returned safely to earth four days later. 1919 The Amritsar (Punjab) massacre. Up to 1,000 were killed and over 1,000 injured when troops … Read more

1782 The Battle of the Saints, off Dominica. A British fleet under Admiral George Rodney routed a French fleet under the Comte de Grasse as it sailed to join the Spanish for an attack on British Jamaica. On board the Endeavour that day was Kerryman Eoghan Rua Ó Súilleabháin (‘Eoghan of the Sweet Mouth’), one of the … Read more

1971 At its annual congress in Belfast the GAA voted to abolish Rule 27, the ban that prohibited the playing of soccer, rugby, hockey and cricket by members of the association. 1770 George Canning, Tory statesman and prime minister for the final 118 days of his life, who described himself as ‘an Irishman born in London’, … Read more