May 15

  • 1971 Sir Tyrone Guthrie (71), theatre producer, died at his home, Annaghmakerrig House, Newbliss, Co. Monaghan, now a retreat for artists and writers.
  • 2007 Bertie Ahern became the first taoiseach to address the Westminster parliament.
  • 1948 The British mandate in Palestine expired. The state of Israel came into being.
  • 1910 The Association of United Irishwomen, renamed the Irish Countrywomen’s Association (ICA) in 1934, which sought to provide rural women with a social outlet and educational opportunities, was founded by Anita Lett in Ballindara, Co. Wexford.
  • 1847 Daniel O’Connell, ‘the Liberator’, died in Genoa.