Nick Maxwell

1919 IRA Lt. Martin Savage was killed during a failed attempt to assassinate the viceroy, Lord French, in Ashtown, Co. Dublin. 1974  Cearbhall Ó Dálaigh was inaugurated as the fifth president of Ireland. 1972 NASA’s Apollo program, which began in 1968, during which twelve men walked on the moon, concluded with the safe return of … Read more

1971 John Barnhill (65), a Unionist senator in the Stormont parliament and businessman, was shot dead by the Official IRA at his home near Strabane, Co. Tyrone. 2000 With just five more weeks in office, US President Bill Clinton landed in Dublin on his third visit to Ireland. From there he proceeded to an open-air … Read more

1920 Martial law was proclaimed in counties Cork, Kerry, Limerick and Tipperary. 1998 John Hume, leader of the SDLP, and David Trimble, leader of the Ulster Unionist Party, were awarded the Nobel Peace Prize. 1974  Four Protestant clergymen met with Provisional IRA leaders in Feakle, Co. Clare. Over a week later, the IRA declared a … Read more

1900 Above: Vere Foster, philanthropist and educationalist. Vere Foster (81), philanthropist, died. Appalled by the misery he encountered on his first visit to Ireland in 1847, the worst year of the Famine, Foster used his considerable wealth to devote himself for over 60 years to charitable causes. During the Famine (1845–9) he made three trips … Read more

2011 Michael D. Higgins (70) was inaugurated as the ninth president of Ireland. 1919 First edition of the Irish Bulletin launched by Dáil Éireann in response to a ban on all Republican newspapers and journals. Though obliged to change premises on twelve occasions, production—until the Truce (July 1921)—was not affected. 2011 Michael D. Higgins (70) was … Read more