May 09
1916 Thomas Kent (50) executed in Cork.
Nick Maxwell
May 21
1972 Ranger William Best (19), a soldier serving with the Royal Irish Rangers in Germany, was shot dead by the Official IRA whilst home on leave visiting his family in Derry’s Creggan estate. The Official IRA called a ceasefire a week later. 1980 After the first of their two summits that year, Taoiseach Charles J. Haughey … Read more
On this Day
May 21/1932 Amelia Earhart (34) became the first woman to fly solo across the Atlantic, emulating Charles Lindbergh’s solo flight five years before, having set out from Harbor Grace, Newfoundland, some thirteen hours and fifteen minutes earlier. When she landed in Ballyarnett, north of Derry City, Amelia Earhart wasn’t sure what country she was in. … Read more
‘Shooting is too good for ye hoors’
A REPORT ON THE LATEST DIGITAL RESOURCE FROM ANCESTRY.IE By Joe Cully Great progress has been made in the last few years in the digitisation of historical material and making it available on-line for professional and amateur historians alike. Indeed, it could be said that the digitisation revolution has significantly blurred the line between the … Read more
1916—a legacy of violence?
In the ongoing controversy about Glasnevin Cemetery’s commemorative wall listing the names of all 488 who died in the 1916 Rising, parallels have been drawn with the Vietnam Veterans’ Memorial in Washington DC and the comfort derived by relatives from the explicit acknowledgement of their fallen kin. But amongst the 58,307 names you will find … Read more