May 6

  • 1970 Taoiseach Jack Lynch dismissed from cabinet Minister for Finance Charles J. Haughey and Minister for Agriculture Neil Blaney. Minister for Local Government Kevin Boland resigned in sympathy with his two colleagues.
  • 1882 Whilst strolling in Dublin’s Phoenix Park, Chief Secretary Lord Frederick Cavendish and his under-secretary, Thomas Burke, were set upon by a six-man gang wielding twelve-inch surgical knives—members of the Invincibles—and hacked to death.
  • 2008 On his last day in office, Taoiseach Bertie Ahern opened a new visitors’ centre on the site of the Battle of the Boyne in County Meath along with First Minister of Northern Ireland Revd Ian Paisley.