Nick Maxwell

1878 Murder of William Sydney Clements (72), 3rd earl of Leitrim. In 1854, after a career in the army in which he rose to the rank of lieutenant-colonel and a period in politics as MP for County Leitrim (1839–47), Clements inherited over 94,000 acres, including an estate of over 54,000 acres in Milford, north Donegal. … Read more

1922 In reprisal for the murder of a policeman in north Belfast some hours earlier, uniformed RIC officers broke into Catholic homes in the area and murdered six civilians, including an eight-month-old child. 1966 Brian O’Nolan (54), novelist and satirist who wrote under the names Myles na gCopaleen and Flann O’Brien, died. 1918 The Royal … Read more

1957 The trial of Antrim-born Dr John Bodkin Adams on a charge of murdering Edith Morell, one of his elderly patients, opened at the Old Bailey. A lifelong bachelor, Adams was for many years a popular and familiar figure driving around the more affluent areas of Eastbourne, East Sussex, in his Rolls Royce, attending a … Read more

1981 The ‘Friends of Ireland’ organisation, to support initiatives for peace and reconciliation in Northern Ireland, was launched by leading members of the US Congress.

2009 Two British soldiers were shot dead by the Real IRA outside Massereene Barracks in Antrim town. 1967 Minister of Home Affairs William Craig banned commemorations in Northern Ireland to mark the centenary of the Fenian Rising. He also banned Republican Clubs, which he described as a front for the IRA. 1936 German troops occupied … Read more