May 14

  • 1734 Richard Cantillon, Kerry-born economist regarded as the first major economic ‘theorist’ and acclaimed author of Essai sur la nature du commerce en général (c. 1730), was murdered in his London home by his cook.
  • 1974 In Northern Ireland, the Ulster Workers’ Strike, aimed at toppling the Northern Ireland Executive and destroying the Sunningdale Agreement, began. The Executive collapsed a fortnight later.
  • 1977 Robert Nairac (29), a military intelligence officer, was abducted from a public house in south Armagh and killed by the IRA.
  • 1974 The Ulster Workers’ Council, a loyalist umbrella group opposed to the Sunningdale Agreement and the Council of Ireland, began a general strike.