Nick Maxwell

1854 Harriet Smithson (53), actress and the first Madame Berlioz, died in Montmartre, Paris. In 1827, after regular appearances in Dublin’s Crow Street Theatre and London’s Drury Lane, Smithson, from Ennis, Co. Clare, took Paris by storm on her début in the role of a passionate Ophelia in Shakespeare’s Hamlet. Notables in the audience such … Read more

2001 The first case of foot-and-mouth disease in the Republic of Ireland in 60 years was confirmed in a flock of sheep on a farm in Jenkinstown, Co. Louth. 1947 In a speech to Congress, President Harry S. Truman enunciated what became known as the ‘Truman Doctrine’—US support for nations threatened by Soviet expansionism. 1917 … Read more

1921 Crown forces ambushed an IRA flying column at Selton Hill, Co. Leitrim, killing six, including Seán Connolly, their commander and GHQ staff officer. 2004 Groups inspired by al-Qaeda planted bombs on four morning rush-hour commuter trains in Madrid, killing 191 people and injuring 1,800. 1812 William Wallace, violinist and composer, born in Waterford, the … Read more

1920 The Government of Ireland Bill, offering a six-county ‘Northern Ireland’, was accepted by a two to one majority by the Ulster Unionist Council. Six IRA prisoners were executed in Dublin, four of whom were convicted of high treason for levying war. 1968 Donagh O’Malley (47), minister for education, collapsed and died in Sixmilebridge, Co. … Read more

1982 The 23rd Dáil Éireann assembled. Charles Haughey was elected taoiseach by a majority of seven, including independent TD Tony Gregory. Gregory’s support had been secured after Haughey signed an agreement with him, pledging development worth £91m for inner-city Dublin. 1972 Four members of the IRA were killed when a bomb they had prepared exploded … Read more