Mitchel, a writer for The Nation and founder of his own journal, United Irishman, openly preaches rebellion against England. Convicted of treason in 1848, he is sentenced to fourteen years transportation in Van Diemen’s Land (Tasmania). In 1853, he escapes to the United States, where he publishes his Jail Journal. While in the United States, he is editor of the Richmond Examiner and a strong advocate of Confederate rights and champions slavery. He is imprisoned for several months following the end of the American Civil War.
Mitchel’s return visit to Ireland is prompted by political developments in the Irish Parliamentary Party (IPP), which has nominated him for seats in Cork City and Tipperary without informing him. His well-known skepticism toward constitutional “moral force” agitation makes it uncertain whether he will accept the nomination, but the nomination proceeds anyway.
Mitchel’s return is unexpected, yet is met with public acclaim. Upon arriving in Queenstown (now Cobh, County Cork), he is met by a large crowd, and when he reaches Cork, a procession of ten thousand people escorts him to his hotel. This demonstrates the respect and support he still commands among Irish nationalists, despite his exile in the United States since 1853.
Mitchel then goes to Newry, his native town, where he stays for a few months to recuperate his health and await any opportunity to be elected to Parliament. However, no parliamentary vacancy arises during his stay, and he eventually returns to New York City in October 1872.
Mitchel’s return is part of a pattern of political activity in his later years. In 1875, he is again nominated for Tipperary, elected without opposition, and declared an abstentionistMP — but his election is overturned by the British government on the grounds of his previous felony conviction. He dies in March 1875 in Dromolane, County Down, in the same house where he was born.
In summary, July 25, 1872, marks the beginning of a brief but politically charged visit to Ireland for John Mitchel, a figure remembered for his uncompromising republican stance and his role in the Young Ireland movement.
On July 14, 1910, the Irish Socialist Federation (ISF) in New York City hosts a farewell dinner for James Connolly, marking the end of his time as its leader. This event is a significant moment in his career, as he had been instrumental in founding the Federation on March 29, 1907, and has been its driving force in organizing Irish socialist and trade union activity in the United States.
By 1910, Connolly has been active in the socialist movement in the United States for several years. He initially joins the Socialist Labor Party of America but becomes a full-time organizer for the Industrial Workers of the World (IWW) from 1905 to 1910, aligning with its syndicalist approach. His work with the Irish Socialist Federation has been central to building a network of Irish workers in America, linking them to socialist principles and Irish nationalist aspirations.
The July 14, 1910, dinner is a public acknowledgment of Connolly’s contributions and a symbolic send-off as he prepares to return to Ireland. Upon his return, he takes on a major role in the Irish Transport and General Workers Union (ITGWU), first in Belfast and then in Dublin, and later becomes acting General Secretary and Commandant of the Irish Citizen Army (ICA).
The political and labor impact of the event underscores Connolly’s growing influence in both the Irish socialist movement abroad and the domestic labor struggle. It reflects the Federation’s commitment to supporting Irish socialist leaders and their work in the United States and Ireland. It is also remembers as a key moment in Connolly’s transition from U.S. organizer to a central figure in the Irish labor and republican movements.
In short, the July 14, 1910, farewell dinner is both a personal farewell and a political milestone, highlighting Connolly’s role as a bridge between Irish socialism in the United States and the emerging labor and republican movements in Ireland.
The Dublin Harp Society is founded on July 13, 1809, by John Bernard Trotter, a former secretary to Charles James Fox and a passionate supporter of Irish music, to revive and preserve the ancient Irish harp tradition, and it flourishes briefly with contributions from prominent patrons and musicians before closing in 1812 due to financial difficulties.
Inspired by the Belfast Irish Harp Society, Trotter aims to create a society that will extend the revival of the Irish harp to the capital and broaden its audience across Ireland. The society’s purpose is to rescue the old Irish harp from oblivion, teach blind and talented harpers, and promote Irish music through public events, publications, and performances.
Trotter gathers an influential list of subscribers, including Thomas Moore, the poet and songwriter, and Sir Walter Scott, the Scottish novelist. He brings to Dublin Patrick Quin (pictured), a blind harper from Portadown, County Armagh, as the society’s instructor. Quin is one of the last of the traditional blind harpers and performs extensively at society events, including Turlough O’Carolan commemorations, delighting patrons and audiences. The Bishop of Kildare, Charles Dalrymple Lindsay, also supports the society by providing a house in Glasnevin for the instruction of harpers.
The society engages in multiple avenues to revive Irish harp music. In addition to the previously mentioned Turlough O’Carolan commemorations, circulars and subscription notices are published to drum up public support and secure funding. The Society hosts concerts and gatherings at prominent Dublin locations, offering elaborate performances for subscribers. Tuition and mentorship to young Irish harpers is provided, particularly to blind musicians, as part of a broader cultural and philanthropic effort. Trotter also personally subsidizes the society, contributing £200 annually, which helps maintain performances and attract participants.
Despite early enthusiasm, the society struggles financially due to Trotter’s generous hospitality and personal funding of its activities. By the close of 1812, the Dublin Harp Society becomes defunct when Trotter goes bankrupt. The society attempts to publish rules and regulations in 1810 and conduct active recruitment of subscribers and pupils, but it cannot be sustained beyond three years.
Although short-lived, the Dublin Harp Society contributes significantly to the preservation and promotion of the Irish harp, inspiring subsequent societies and harp revival initiatives in Ireland. It highlights the importance of cultural patrimony, music education, and public patronage, acting as a bridge between the older harp traditions and the modern revival movements seen in later 19th-century Ireland.
In summary, the Dublin Harp Society represents an early 19th-century endeavor to revive Ireland’s venerable harp tradition through education, sponsorship, and celebration of master harpers, leaving a lasting mark on the cultural memory of Irish music.
Mathew’s family spends time abroad while his father manages business interests. He comes from a Roman Catholic family. His uncle is Theobald Mathew, the famous temperance campaigner. At the age of fifteen, he enters Trinity College Dublin (TCD), where he excels as a gold medalist and senior moderator, graduating in 1850. He then studies law at Lincoln’s Inn, London, and is called to the English Bar in 1851, building a strong foundation for a legal career despite a slow start at the junior bar.
Initially, Mathew’s legal career progresses slowly, though he is active in debating as a founding member of the Hardwicke Society. He handles numerous jury cases at the Guildhall sittings in London, where he gains experience in commercial law. He becomes treasury counsel during the Tichborne Claimant prosecution in 1873, noted for his composed handling of arguments without quarrel with opposing counsel. Despite opportunities, he refrains from applying for Queen’s Counsel due to a naturally weak voice, though his legal acumen and advocacy are highly respected.
In March 1881, Mathew is appointed to the Queen’s Bench Division of the High Court of Justice and is knighted. He becomes known for his keen judgment, practical approach to legal issues, and eventual standing as one of the best nisi prius judges of his time. In 1895, he persuades fellow judges to establish a Commercial List, the precursor to today’s Commercial Court, and serves as the first judge presiding over it. He advances efficiency in commercial law by minimizing procedural delays, focusing on substantive issues, and producing concise judgments that inspire confidence in the mercantile community.
Mathew also chairs a 1892 royal commission on the evicted tenants in Ireland, despite challenges and disputes with landlords and Edward Carson. His recommendations influence the Wyndham Land Purchase Act (1903). In 1901, he is appointed to the Court of Appeal and continues to emphasize clarity and practicality in legal proceedings until a stroke in 1905 forces his resignation.
Mathew marries Elizabeth Biron in December 1861, with whom he has two sons and three daughters. His family includes notable figures, such as his daughter Elizabeth, who marries Irish MPJohn Dillon, and his grandson, James Matthew Dillon, a later politician. He has a deep cultural appreciation, enjoying music and literature, and maintains friendships across religious and political divides.
Mathew dies on November 9, 1908, at his London home, aged 78. He is buried in St. Joseph’s Cemetery, Cork. His legacy is most strongly associated with founding the Commercial Court, reforming commercial law procedures, and demonstrating a balanced mixture of legal rigor and practical common sense that influenced generations of judges and barristers. His contributions remain a cornerstone in the evolution of modern English and Welsh commercial law.
Catherine O’Leary (née Donegan), was an Irish immigrant living in Chicago, Illinois, dies in Chicago on July 3, 1895. She becomes associated with the origin of the Great Chicago Fire in 1871. She is widely accused of starting the fire when a cow in her barn allegedly kicks over a lantern, though the story is later shown to be unfounded.
Donegan is born in Ireland in March 1827, with more specific accounts placing her birth near Cork, in the Munster province, later emigrating to the United States. She marries Patrick O’Leary, and the couple has three children. Their son, James Patrick O’Leary, later operates a saloon and gambling establishment in Chicago.
On the evening of October 8, 1871, a fire begins in the O’Leary family’s barn on DeKoven Street. Fueled by dry conditions and strong winds, the fire spreads rapidly and destroys a large portion of Chicago.
Shortly after the fire, journalist Michael Ahern publishes a story claiming that the fire had started when a cow kicked over a lantern while it was being milked. Although he does not initially name Catherine O’Leary, she soon becomes associated with the incident because the fire began on her property. The story gains widespread attention and is reinforced by illustrations and caricatures.
In 1893, Ahern admits that he had fabricated the story. The official investigation into the fire concludes that its exact cause could not be determined. Anti-Irish sentiment at the time contributes to the O’Leary family being treated as scapegoats, and various unverified claims circulate about the circumstances of the fire.
O’Leary continues to live in Chicago after the fire. She dies of pneumonia on July 3, 1895, and is buried at Mount Olivet Cemetery.
The story of O’Leary’s cow becomes a widely repeated explanation for the Great Chicago Fire, despite its lack of evidence. In 1997, the Chicago City Council formally exonerates O’Leary of any responsibility for the fire, following research by historian Richard Bales.
During World War I, the Royal Dublin Fusiliers expand to six additional battalions and see action on the Western Front, the Mediterranean, and the Middle East. The regiment suffers heavy casualties at battles such as LeCateau and the Gallipoli landings at Helles, where only 11 of 1,100 men survive the landing. Members of the regiment are awarded three Victoria Crosses for acts of bravery during the war.
Following the establishment of the Irish Free State in 1922, the Royal Dublin Fusiliers, along with four other southern Irish regiments, is disbanded. The regiment’s history and the service of its soldiers are commemorated by the Royal Dublin Fusiliers Association, which maintains archives, exhibitions, and digitised collections of letters and records from World War I. These archives provide insight into the experiences of Irish soldiers and the conditions they face on the front lines.
The regiment is remembered for its courage and sacrifice, with dedicated websites and museum collections preserving its history, medals, and personal accounts of soldiers. The Royal Dublin Fusiliers remain a significant part of Irish military heritage, reflecting both the contributions of Irish soldiers to the British Army and the complex history of Ireland during the early 20th century.
O’Conor is an active member of parliament, an effective though not an eloquent speaker, and a leading exponent of Catholic opinion. He is deeply involved in the education question, being a critic of the queen’s colleges. In 1867 he introduces a measure to extend the industrial schools act to Ireland, which becomes law the following year. He opposes William Ewart Gladstone‘s university bill of 1873, is appointed to the intermediate education board in 1878, and in May 1879 proposes the transformation of St. Patrick’s College, Maynooth, into a chartered Catholic university. He withdraws this in July, following a government bill creating the Royal University of Ireland. He is on the senate of the university for many years, and is conferred with the honorary degree of LL.D. in 1892. A leading exponent of the Irish language, in 1878 he proposes that it be introduced into secondary schools.
O’Conor is a supporter of Isaac Butt and a keen advocate of land law reform, which leads to his proposing in 1870 the extension of Ulster tenant right to the rest of the country. His brother Denis, MP for County Sligo 1868–83, is a home ruler, but Charles is only ever described as a camp follower. The Nation (October 18, 1873) observes that he “achieved the feat of speaking for two hours at a home rule meeting in Roscommon without telling his audience if he was a home ruler.” He has concrete criticisms such as the hostility of the northern counties, and wants to be allowed to take an independent stance, but Butt strongly deprecates his ambiguity. He does stand on the home rule platform in 1874 and 1880, but his tentative sympathy does nothing to protect him from the drive by Charles Stewart Parnell to establish the Irish Parliamentary Party (IPP). In March 1880, Parnell goes to Roscommon to support his candidate James O’Kelly against O’Conor, who is a popular representative. Parnell calls him a “sample of West Britonism in Ireland . . . if you deprive him of the representation of Roscommon you strike the greatest blow that has been struck against English misgovernment in Ireland since Isaac Butt was elected for the city of Limerick,” which successfully leads to O’Conor’s being ousted. Ironically, he had briefly been Parnell’s landlord when in 1860 he rented a house near Kingstown (now Dún Laoghaire) to the recently widowed Delia Parnell and her family, including the 13-year-old Charles Stewart.
Appointed to the Bessborough commission into the workings of the 1870 land act some months later, O’Conor answers Parnell by going even further than the commission’s proposal to reform land law on the basis of the “three Fs.” He supports outright peasant proprietorship as the only effective and lasting remedy. In 1883, he makes an attempt to return to parliament as a liberal candidate for Wexford Borough, but is defeated by the home ruler Willie Redmond. Always an inveterate committee member, he spends the last twenty-five years of his life on various committees, including the parliamentary committee of 1885 and the royal commission of 1894 on the financial relations between Great Britain and Ireland. He is elected to Roscommon County Council in 1899 and is Lord Lieutenant of Roscommon from 1888 until his death. In 1881 he is sworn to the Privy Council of Ireland.
An ancestor is Charles O’Conor, the noted antiquarian, and O’Conor has his own interest in this area. He is a member of the Royal Irish Academy (RIA) from 1867 and joins the Royal Society of Antiquaries of Ireland (RSAI) in 1869, is a fellow in 1888, and president 1897–9. His antiquarian research is largely confined to his own family. In 1891, he publishes The O’Conors of Connaught, an historical memoir compiled from the manuscripts of John O’Donovan. He first marries Georgina Mary, daughter of Thomas Perry of Warwickshire, England, on April 21, 1868. Secondly he marries Ellen, daughter of John Lewis More O’Ferrall of County Longford, on September 16, 1879. He has four sons by his first marriage.
O’Conor dies at Clonalis, Castlerea, County Roscommon, on June 30, 1906. He is buried in St. Joseph’s Cemetery in Castlerea.
(From: “O’Conor, Charles Owen” by Bridget Hourican, Dictionary of Irish Biography, http://www.dib.ie, October 2009)
Todd is born in Rathfarnham, on April 23, 1805. He is noted for his efforts to place religious disagreements on a rational historical footing, for his advocacy of a liberal form of Protestantism, and for his endeavours as an educator, librarian, and scholar in Irish history.
Todd is the son of Charles Hawkes Todd, a professor of surgery, and Eliza Bentley, and is the oldest of fifteen children. Noted physician Robert Bentley Todd is among his younger brothers. His father dies a year after he receives a BA from Trinity College Dublin (TCD) in 1825, diminishing his prospects for success. However, he is able to remain at the college by tutoring and editing a church periodical.
Todd obtains a premium in 1829, and two years later is elected Fellow, taking deacon’s orders in the same year. From that time until 1850, when he becomes a Senior Fellow, he is among the most popular tutors in TCD.
Todd takes priest’s orders in 1832. He begins publishing in earnest, including papers on John Wycliffe, church history, and the religious questions of his day. He is Donnellan Lecturer in 1838 and 1839, publishing works related to the Antichrist in which he opposes the views of the more extreme of his co-religionists who apply this term to the Roman Catholicism and the Pope. In 1840 he graduates Doctor of Divinity.
In 1837, Todd is installed Treasurer at St. Patrick’s Cathedral in Dublin and becomes Precentor in 1864. His style of preaching is described as simple and lucid, and his sermons interesting. He co-founds Saint Columba’s College in 1843, a school which promotes the Irish language for those who intend to take orders, as well as promoting the principles of the Church of Ireland.
In 1849, Todd is made Regius Professor of Hebrew at Trinity, and a Senior Fellow the following year. In 1852, he is appointed Librarian, and working alongside John O’Donovan and Eugene O’Curry, he classifies and arranges the collection of manuscripts. When his office receives money, he spends it on the acquisition of manuscripts and rare books, and he deserves much credit for the library’s high ranking as one of the chief libraries of Europe.
Todd’s secular achievements are no less remarkable. In 1840, he co-founds the Irish Archaeological Society and acts as its honorary secretary. He is elected a member of the Royal Irish Academy (RIA) and strives actively to acquire transcripts and accurate accounts of Irish manuscripts from foreign libraries. He is honorary secretary from 1847 to 1855, and president from 1856 to 1861. In 1860, he is given an ad eundem degree at the University of Oxford.
Todd is a notable person among notable people. His work is widely respected and cited. Among his friends and acquaintances are lawyer and poet Sir Samuel Ferguson, Conservative Member of Parliament (MP) and Roman Catholic convert Edwin Wyndham-Quin, fellow historian William Reeves, artist Sir George Petrie, and the Stokes family (physician father William, future lawyer and Celticist son Whitley, and future antiquarian daughter Margaret).
Todd dies at his home in Rathfarnham on June 28, 1869, and is buried in the churchyard of St. Patrick’s Cathedral.
Harrison’s brother, Henry, is a supporter of Charles Stewart Parnell and a Member of Parliament for Mid Tipperary. She herself becomes the first female city councillor for Dublin Corporation in 1912. She campaigns to have poor relief extended to the able-bodied unemployed and works to promote women’s rights. She is closely involved in Hugh Lane‘s efforts to establish a gallery of modern art in Dublin.
For some 30 years Harrison is part of social reform and women’s rights in Ireland. In 1912 she is the first woman to be elected to the Dublin City Council. Here she works closely with Alderman Alfie Byrne. She is also recognised for her prominent place in the suffrage victory procession and escorting Anna Haslam to vote in the Williams Street Courthouse, Dublin, in the 1918 United Kingdom general election.
Following Hugh Lane’s death on the RMS Lusitania in 1915, Harrison claims that they had been engaged to be married. Her 1914 portrait of Lane is one of her best-known works. She never marries.
Harrison dies on July 23, 1941, in Drumcondra, Dublin. She is buried in Mount Jerome Cemetery, the inscription on her gravestone reads “Artist and Friend of the Poor.”
Rice joins the Irish Volunteers in 1913 but does not take part in the 1916 Easter Rising. For a time, he shares lodgings in Rock Street, Tralee, with Austin Stack, and like Stack he is a Gaelic Athletic Association (GAA) member, playing hurling with Kenmare. At the outbreak of the Irish War of Independence (1919-1921), he becomes Officer Commanding of the 5th Battalion of the Kerry No. 2 Brigade. He also holds the post of second in command of that brigade, under Humphrey Murphy. On April 26, 1921, he attends the meeting in Kippagh, County Tipperary, that sees the establishment of the First Southern Division. After the truce, Murphy is transferred to command Kerry No. 1 Brigade, and Rice becomes commanding officer of Kerry No. 2.
Rice opposes the Anglo-Irish Treaty and leads the brigade throughout the Irish Civil War (1922-1923). When Michael Collins comes to Killarney on April 22, 1922, to speak in favour of the agreement, he is met at the train station by a group of fifty men, led by Rice, who attempt to prevent him from speaking. The meeting goes ahead despite several attempts by the group to stop it. During the civil war he leads his men into Limerick, briefly seizing Rathkeale, but for the most part they are on the defensive. In September he commands a force of seventy republicans to take Kenmare. This is a rare and morale-boosting success. When the First Southern Division council meets on February 26-28, 1923, he is one of only two senior officers, among a group of eighteen, who feel that it is worth fighting on.
Shortly after the civil war, Rice marries Nora Aherne, a Cumann na mBan member; they have one son, George. After the war he continues to be active in the Irish Republican Army (IRA) and Sinn Féin. He attends IRA executive meetings in 1923 and is involved in attempts to reorganise the IRA in 1924. He is a delegate to the Sinn Féin ardfheis in 1926, opposing the proposal of Éamon de Valera that abstention be a matter of policy rather than principle. He is elected as a Sinn Féin TD for the Kerry South constituency at the 1957 Irish general election. He does not take his seat in the Dáil due to the Sinn Féin policy of abstentionism. He is one of four Sinn Féin TDs elected at the 1957 Irish general election, the others being Ruairí Ó Brádaigh, John Joe McGirl and Eighneachán Ó hAnnluain. During his time as a TD, he campaigns against the Special Powers Act, which grants the Irish state extra abilities to deal with and punish suspected members of the IRA. He is defeated at the 1961 Irish general election.
In 1966, Rice and fellow Kerry Republican John Joe Sheehy are expelled from Sinn Féin, as are many others, by the new Marxist-Leninist party leadership that had recently come into power. This move both foreshadows and fuels the split in 1969/1970 of both the IRA and Sinn Féin, which leads to the creation of the Marxist-Leninist Official IRA and the more traditional but still left-wing Provisional IRA, and in parallel Sinn Féin – The Workers’ Party and “Provisional” Sinn Féin. Rice gives his support to the Provisionals.
Rice drives an oil lorry for a time and then becomes manager of the Tralee branch of Messrs Nash, mineral water manufacturers and bottlers. He remains in this position until his retirement in 1965. He dies on July 24, 1970, at his son’s residence in Oakview, Tralee.
Rice’s sister, Rosalie, is a member of Cumann na mBan during the 1916 Easter Rising and is arrested for sending a telegram alerting the Irish Republican Brotherhood (IRB) in the United States to the rising. His cousins Eugene and Timothy Ring are members of the IRB and are also involved with the telegram. His grandfather, Timothy Ring, was a Fenian who fought in the uprising. Two of his cousins are members of the Royal Irish Constabulary (RIC) who both help the republican side during the Irish revolutionary period.
seamus dubhghaill 