May 25

  • 1921 In an operation involving almost 200 IRA Volunteers, the Custom House in Dublin, the centre of local government, was occupied and burnt. Five Volunteers were killed and over 80 arrested.
  • 1315 The Bruce invasion of Ireland began when Edward, younger brother of Robert Bruce, king of Scotland, landed in Larne, Co. Antrim, with 6,000 battle-hardened troops.
  • 1914 The Home Rule bill was carried in the House of Commons for the third and final time.
  • 1921 The Custom House in Dublin, headquarters of the Local Government Board, was attacked and torched by the Dublin Brigade of the IRA. Crown forces, who surrounded the building before they could escape, killed five Volunteers and took a further 70 prisoner. It was the last major incident in the Anglo-Irish War.
  • 1967 Glasgow Celtic won the European Cup, defeating the favourites, Inter Milan, 2–1. All of their players were born within 30 miles of Glasgow.
  • 1974 Prime Minister Harold Wilson inadvertently rallied Protestant support for the Ulster Workers’ Strike by referring to the UWC strikers as ‘spongers’.