July 7

  • 1981 Donal Foley (59), deputy editor of the Irish Times, best known for his satirical column ‘Man Bites Dog’, died.
  • 1980 Detective Garda John Morley (37) and Garda Henry Byrne (29) were killed in a shoot-out with three raiders who had stolen £35,000 from a bank in Ballaghadereen, Co. Roscommon.
  • 1816 Richard Brinsley Sheridan, theatre manager and playwright, notably of The rivals (1775) and The school for scandal (1777), died.
  • 1922 Cathal Brugha was killed in Dublin, fighting on the Republican side in the Civil War.
  • 1972 Secretary of State William Whitelaw met the IRA leadership, including Seán Mac Stiofáin, Martin McGuinness and Gerry Adams, for talks in London.
  • 1973 General Seán MacEoin (79), IRA commander during the War of Independence, chief-of-staff of the National Army (1923–9) and Cumann na nGaedheal/Fine Gael politician, died.