On September 17, 1860, units of the Irish Battalion of St. Patrick of the Papal army, commanded by CaptainMyles O’Reilly from County Louth, fights a Piedmontese force under General Brignone at Spoleto, Italy.
By 1860, the Papal States are under threat from King Victor Emmanuel II of Piedmont and Giuseppe Garibaldi’s “Redshirts” during the Wars of Italian Unification. Pope Pius IX has called for Catholic volunteers from Europe, and within weeks over 1,000 Irishmen have enlisted, forming the Irish Battalion. They are poorly equipped and inexperienced, but their morale is high.
The Irish are stationed at Spoleto, a walled city south of Florence with the fortress of Rocca on a hill. On September 16, Brignone’s forces arrive and demand surrender. O’Reilly refuses, and on the following day the Piedmontese launch an assault.
The Irish are tasked with defending the North Wall and the Gate House of the Castle Albornozian. The attackers endure prolonged artillery fire from the fortress walls. When the famed Bersaglieri advance, they are met with a withering musket and rifle fire from the Irish, halting the attack. The Irish hold their ground for fourteen hours under constant bombardment.
Despite their resistance, the bishop of Spoleto, alarmed by the destruction and loss of life, arranges a ceasefire. O’Reilly, nearly out of ammunition, sends a Papal representative to Brignone. Terms are agreed: the Irish can march out as prisoners, with officers retaining their swords.
Brignone praises O’Reilly as “both honourable and brave.” Each officer and enlisted man receives a Medaglia di Pro Petri Sede (“Medal for the Seat of Saint Peter”), and all are declared “meritorious of the Catholic Church, the Holy See and all human society.”
The battle is part of the short 1860 war in which the Papal army, including the Irish Battalion, fight at Ancona, Perugia, Spoleto, and Castelfidardo. Though ultimately defeated, the Irish earn high praise for their courage and discipline.
(Pictured: The Company of Saint Patrick in the Papal Army, 1860)
The Irish Civil War (June 28, 1922 – May 24, 1923) is fought between Pro-Treaty forces (led by Michael Collins and Arthur Griffith) who support the Anglo-Irish Treaty, creating the Irish Free State within the British Empire and Anti-Treaty IRA (led by Éamon de Valera and Liam Lynch) who reject the Treaty, seeing it as a betrayal of the 1919 Irish Republic.
By mid-1922, the Free State controls only Dublin and parts of the east, while anti-Treaty forces hold much of the south and west, including Cork, Limerick, and Waterford, forming the self-styled “Munster Republic.”
On September 15, 1922, Anti-Treaty IRA units in Dundalk attack Free State troops stationed in the area and seize control of the local power station, cutting off the town’s electricity supply.
This is a typical example of anti-Treaty tactics: using sabotage and localized attacks to disrupt Free State operations, weaken their hold on territory, and maintain control over key infrastructure. Such actions are part of a wider pattern of resistance in areas not yet recaptured by the National Army.
While Dundalk is not a major strategic city, the attack reflects the guerrilla and sabotage phase of the Civil War, which follows the Free State’s July–September 1922 offensive that retakes major towns in Munster and the west. The Free State’s victory in that offensive ends the conventional phase, but anti-Treaty forces continue to resist through hit-and-run raids, sabotage, and control of rural areas.
In summary, the Dundalk incident of September 15, 1922, is a localized but symbolic act of anti-Treaty resistance, illustrating the ongoing struggle to control infrastructure and disrupt Free State operations in the months after the decisive military phase of the Irish Civil War.
(Pictured: Dundalk, County Louth, in the early 20th century)
Foster serves as Chancellor of the Exchequer of Ireland three times — in 1784–1785, 1804–1806, and 1807–1811 — and is the last Speaker of the Irish House of Commons from 1785 until the Acts of Union 1800. He is a prominent figure in Irish politics, representing County Louth for most of his career, and is known for his opposition to the Union, which he sees as politically and personally damaging.
Foster’s tenure as Chancellor of the Exchequer and Speaker is marked by significant financial legislation, including measures that transform Ireland’s agricultural economy by promoting arable farming over pasture. His refusal to surrender the Speaker’s mace after the Union becomes a symbolic act of resistance.
Foster dies on August 23, 1828, leaving behind a legacy as one of the most influential Anglo-Irish statesmen of his era.
(Pictured: The Right Honorable John Foster by Gilbert Stuart, c. 1790-1791 – Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art)
By mid-1922, the Irish Civil War begins after the Anglo-Irish Treaty splits the IRA into pro- and anti-Treaty factions. The 4th Northern Division, based in counties Armagh, Down, and Louth, is one of the most formidable Anti-Treaty units in the region. Frank Aiken, a veteran IRA commander, has rebuilt this division during the Truce period, using it for guerrilla operations and border raids.
The Free State Army, under the National Army, is consolidating control in southern and midland counties, while Anti-Treaty forces focus on border counties to prevent Free State expansion and to maintain resistance.
The August 16 assault on Dundalk is a border raid aimed at disrupting Free State supply lines and communications, isolating and weakening Free State positions in the Louth area and demonstrating Anti-Treaty strength to other IRA units and the wider population. They use two mines to breach the walls of the barracks and temporarily take over the town.
Seven Free State soldiers are killed and fifteen are wounded. Two republicans are killed, accidentally by one of their own mines, and thirty are wounded. About 240 republican prisoners are freed from the prison and 400 rifles are taken. Aiken, however, does not try to hold the town and, while in possession of it, calls for a truce in a meeting in the town square.
While the attack is significant in symbolic terms, it does not achieve a decisive strategic breakthrough. Free State forces are able to regroup and counterattack, and the operation highlights the challenges Anti-Treaty units face in sustaining large-scale offensives against a better-equipped and more mobile National Army.
The raid exemplifies the “war along the border” strategy, where Anti-Treaty forces target Free State-held border towns and infrastructure. Aiken’s leadership as commander of the 4th Northern Division underscores his reputation as a skilled guerrilla leader. The attack reflects the early Civil War pattern of small-scale, mobile raids by Anti-Treaty forces against Free State-held towns and garrisons.
In summary, the August 16, 1922, Dundalk attack is a notable Anti-Treaty IRA operation that showcases the 4th Northern Division’s capabilities but also the limitations of their conventional-style assaults against the Free State’s growing military presence.
(Pictured: Frank Aiken and the 4th Northern Division of the Irish Republican Army)
Burke is born into an influential Drogheda family, the Burkes of Duleek Street. His father, also named Christopher Patrick Burke, is a gas works secretary, and his mother is Mary McQuillan. The family lives initially on Coola Street before moving to Duleek Street after his father’s death in 1906.
Raised in a well-off household, Burke’s early years are shaped by the nationalist and cultural revival movements of the time, including the Gaelic League, which fosters physical resilience and republican ideals. His family connections, including to fellow revolutionary Thomas Burke, provide him with early exposure to Sinn Féin and Irish Volunteers activities.
Burke operates under the nom de guerre “Seán Jones” (also “Seaghan Mac Seaghan”) and is captured on at least one occasion by British forces, later released in a prisoner exchange.
During the Irish Civil War, Burke undertakes a 23-day hunger strike, reflecting his continued commitment to republican resistance against the Irish Free State.
In 1932, Burke is brought to court by his older brother, Michael, after assaulting him in the family home on Duleek Street, Drogheda. The house had been left to Michael in the will of their aunt Jane McQuillan, who died in 1919, leaving the premises to him, but requiring his mother and two sisters, Mary “Maise” and Christina Mary “Tena”, to be supported there. However, Burke insists on living there, along with his brother Joseph, leading to a family dispute. The Justice rules that the will gives Michael Burke the ownership of the house and the tenants subject to the charges set out in it. He fines Burke five shillings.
After this, Burke goes into the dairy business with his brother Joseph, and builds a house on the family farm in Bryanstown, County Meath. He dies from coronary occlusion at the age of 65 in his home on June 23, 1964. His sister, Christina Mary “Tena” Burke is present at his death. His requiem mass is celebrated at St. Mary’s Church in Drogheda. His republican comrades attend the funeral, and the Mayor of Drogheda and members of the Drogheda Corporation walk in the cortége wearing their robes of office.
Burke’s contributions to the IRA’s armament production and his steadfast republican stance cements his place in Irish revolutionary history. His life bridges the technical skills of a craftsman with the political resolve of a nationalist leader, making him a notable figure in the struggle for Irish independence.
The Irish Civil War (June 1922–May 1923) pits pro-Treaty Free State forces against anti-Treaty IRA units who oppose the Treaty’s terms. Aiken is a key republican commander, and Dundalk is a stronghold for his forces. By mid-July 1922, Free State troops have taken several towns, and Dundalk is next in line for reoccupation.
General Hogan’s forces enter Dundalk, engaging republican snipers and irregulars. The attack targets the Gaol, where Aiken and many of his men are held. The Free State troops overpower the defenders, leading to Aiken’s arrest and the capture of a significant portion of the Fourth Northern Division.
Aiken and about 104 other prisoners escape on July 27, 1922, through a narrow gap in the jail wall, later dubbed the “Hole in the Wall.” This escape is a major republican success, temporarily reoccupying Dundalk. However, Free State forces retake the town on August 14, 1922, and the jail remains under military control until 1924.
The capture is significant as it marks a turning point in the Free State’s campaign in County Louth, weakening republican resistance in the area. Aiken’s arrest underscores the Free State’s determination to dismantle anti-Treaty leadership. The events in Dundalk become a symbol of republican resilience, as the escape through the “Hole in the Wall” is widely reported and commemorated.
In summary, the July 16, 1922, capture of Frank Aiken in Dundalk is a decisive Free State action in the Irish Civil War, leading to a notable republican escape and a prolonged military standoff in the town.
(Pictured: Frank Aiken and the 4th Northern Division)
O’Donnell is one of the few senior Catholic judges on the Northern Irish bench and he frequently comes under threat. In 1979, he tries the Shankill Butchers and gives out 42 life sentences, a record in British legal history.
O’Donnell is Chairman of the Northern Ireland Bar Council from 1970 to 1971 and of the Council of Legal Education (Northern Ireland) from 1980 to 1990.
O’Donnell marries Eileen McKinley (died 2008) in 1954. They have two sons and two daughters. Of his sons, Turlough O’Donnell SC is Chairman of the General Council of the Bar of Ireland from 2016 to 2018, and Donal O’Donnell is directly appointed from the Irish Bar to the Supreme Court of Ireland in 2010, before becoming Chief Justice of Ireland in 2021.
O’Donnell dies in Blackrock on April 21, 2017. He is buried at Blackrock/Haggardstown Old Cemetery in Dundalk, County Louth.
Katherine Wilmot, Irish traveler and diarist, dies in Paris, France, on March 28, 1824. She makes a Grand Tour from 1801 to 1803 and documents her experiences through letters, including encounters with notable figures like Napoleon Bonaparte. She later travels to Russia to join her sister Martha Wilmot and lives there from 1805 to 1807. She later moves to France and dies in Paris in 1824. Her writings, letters, and diaries provide insight into the Napoleonic era, on Russian society and on travel in the 19th century. Her works also include her sister’s transcript of the memoirs of Princess Yekaterina Vorontsova-Dashkova.
Wilmot is born around 1773 in Drogheda, County Louth, to Edward and Martha Wilmot (née Moore). She is the eldest daughter of six daughters and three sons. Her father is the port surveyor in Drogheda, having previously served as captain in the 40th Regiment of Foot. He is transferred to a similar post in County Cork in 1775, where Wilmot is raised. The family settles in Glanmire, near the seat of the Earl Mount Cashell in Moore Park. The earl’s family uses the surname Moore.
Wilmot is friendly with Lady Mountcashell, formerly Margaret King, an early and eager pupil of Mary Wollstonecraft. She is invited to accompany the party of Stephen Moore, 2nd Earl Mount Cashell, and his wife on a grand tour of the continent. Her letters from the time survive, in France from November 1801 to October 1802, and in Italy until July 1803. The Mount Cashells entertain lavishly, especially during the first nine months in Paris, and through them she meets Napoleon Bonaparte, and becomes friends with the Austrian painter Angelica Kauffman. She also meets the French diplomat and politician Charles Maurice de Talleyrand-Périgord, and the Irish republicanRobert Emmet fleetingly. She recounts her meeting in Rome with the English aristocrat Frederick Augustus Hervey, and her audience with Pope Pius VII. She returns to London from Italy in October 1803, via Germany and Denmark, after England and France resume hostilities.
Wilmot then goes to Russia to bring home her sister Martha, and ends up spending two years there. Martha is in the country as a favourite of Princess Dashkova, one of the key figures of the Russian Enlightenment and a close friend of Catherine the Great. Martha is living at the Princess’s estate in Troitskoe on the Oka River, about 100 km from Moscow. Wilmot arrives on August 4, 1805, having set out from Cork on June 5. Her writings from this time record the Russian aristocracy‘s opulence and attitudes to the servile classes (the serfs). The sisters come to know the customs of the Russian elite, as well as the festivals and religious rites of the country people. She leaves Moscow on July 4, 1807, a combination of passport problems, wars and storms at sea, resulting in delays and in her reaching Yarmouth on September 7, 1807, and returning to Ireland in October 1807.
Wilmot moves to France to live in a warmer, drier climate than Ireland. Her health declines when she moves to Paris, and she dies there on March 28, 1824. Her nephew by Martha, Wilmot Henry Bradford, lives to be “Father of the Army.”
Wilmot had taken Martha’s transcript of the memoirs of the Princess Dashkova when she left Russia. These are published by Martha in 1840, as she had burned the original manuscript before her departure from Russia in 1808.
Wilmot’s letters are published a century later, and have been described as a unique portrayal of the Napoleonic period. They describe the social scene, as well as the experience of traveling by coach and ship at that time. The family makes transcriptions of the letters. The collection belonging to Martha is donated to the library of the Royal Irish Academy by Elisabeth van Dedem Lecky, the historian and writer. Among these Russian letters are a number written by Eleanor Cavanagh, who describes the lives of servants. Wilmot’s diaries are published in 1920 by Thomas Sadleir, and later by H. Montgomery Hyde and Edith Vane-Tempest-Stewart, Marchioness of Londonderry.
TheGrand Tours of Katherine Wilmot, France 1801-1803, and Russia 1805-07(Weidenfeld & Nicolson, 1992)
An Irish Peer on the Continent, 1801-03 (1920)
The Russian Journals of Martha and Catherine Wilmot (1934)
More letters from Martha Wilmot; Vienna 1819-29 (1935)
Holohan is chairman of the Association of Irish Composers from 1987 to 1989 and is later appointed chairman of the Droichead Arts Centre in Drogheda, County Louth, where he has lived since 1983.
Holohan is elected to Aosdána in 1999 and later serves as a member and chair of its Toscaireacht, its ten-member steering body.
Holohan’s music has been performed and broadcast in Ireland and internationally. Career highlights in Drogheda include performances of Cromwell (1994), The Mass of Fire (1995) and No Sanctuary (1997).
Holohan’s work has been reviewed in Irish music journalism. Writing in The Journal of Music following a National Concert Hall composers’ showcase, Benedict Schlepper-Connolly describes The Dream of Aengus as demonstrating Holohan’s “orchestrational control,” and characterises Portrait of the Artist as “captivating,” while noting the influence of Irish traditional music within his choral writing.
Regional press coverage has also documented performances and recordings of his work, including reports on the release of the piano album Fields of Blue and Whiteand concerts of his music in Drogheda.
Doyle is awarded the Military Cross for his bravery during the assault on the village of Ginchy during the Battle of the Somme in 1916. He is also posthumously recommended for both the Victoria Cross and the Distinguished Service Order, but is awarded neither. It is possible that anti-Catholicism played a role in the British Army’s decision not to grant him both awards.
General William Hickie, the commander-in-chief of the 16th (Irish) Division, describes Father Doyle as “one of the bravest men who fought or served out here.”
Irish folk singer Willie ‘Liam’ Clancy is named after Doyle due to his mother’s fondness for him, although they never meet.
In August 2022, the Father Willie Doyle Association is established to petition the Catholic Church to introduce a cause for canonisation for Doyle. In January 2022, the Supplex Libellus, the formal petition, is presented to Bishop Thomas Deenihan. Having consulted with the Irish Bishops’ Conference and the Dicastery for the Causes of Saints, Deenihan issues an edict on October 27, 2022, announcing the opening of a cause. The Opening Session takes place on November 20, 2022, at the Cathedral of Christ the King, Mullingar.
