📖 Ancient Restoration

#OnThisDay 1920 Eileen Quinn, a 23 year old mother of three (who was 7 months pregnant) from Gort, Galway was shot by passing Black and Tans while holding her 9 month old baby in her lap. Eileen was hit in the groin by a bullet & bled to death later that day.

#OnThisDay 1920 The Black and Tans unleash a fury of reprisals in Kerry for over a week after the capture (&execution) of two policemen. The Siege of Tralee would see them fire on people leaving church,burning down the town hall, killing civilians, curfews etc.

#OnThisDay 1798 United Irishmen rebels ambush & kill 70-80 British militia at Three Rocks in Wexford taking 20 prisoner & 2 howitzers. They then take Wexford Town. The garrison in Wexford town withdraw to Duncannon, looting & pillaging on their way. One instance of a series of rebellions nationwide in 1798.

#OnThisDay 1916 Thomas Ashe & his Volunteers from the Fingal Battalion attack the RIC barracks in Ashbourne. After a five hour firefight the police finally surrendered. Ashe lost 2 men while the RIC lost 8. Ashe took roughly 70 RIC men prisoner.

IRA Commandant General Tom Maguire was born #OnThisDay in 1892. He was the last surviving TD of the 2nd All-Ireland Dáil Éireann, who refused to recognise the two partition parliaments established in Ireland by Westminster to subvert the National Parliament.

#OnThisDay 1921 Six IRA Volunteers were executed in Victoria (Collins) Barracks, Cork. Five of whom had been captured at the Dripsey ambush. Cannon O'Sullivan said "they rose with absolute calmness, took leave of their companions & solemnly blessed each other’

#OnThisDay 1661 The dead body of Oliver Cromwell, whose actions in Ireland are infamous, was dragged through the streets & three years after his death ritually executed again in London. His head was placed on a 6 metre tall spike above Westminster Hall. Done on behalf of English Royalists it must be added.

#OnThisDay 1650 Owen Roe O'Neill died. O'Neill was a member of the great northern O'Neill family. O'Neill was a soldier in Spain but returned to Ireland during the War of the Three Kingdoms. O'Neill died just after Cromwell's arrival sparking rumours he was poisoned.

#OnThisDay 1917 George Hanna from Belfast, was shot for desertion. Hanna's defence was that he wasn't deserting as he'd already served three years & that he'd lost three brothers in the war & hadn't been on leave since 1914 during WW1.

Kevin Barry became the first Volunteer of the Irish Republican Army to be executed by the British after the Easter Rising #OnThisDay in 1920

The funeral of Easter Rising hero Thomas Ashe took place #OnThisDay in 1917. He died due to forced feeding while on hunger strike. He is buried in Glasnevin Cemetery, Dublin.

Robert Emmet led an armed insurrection against British rule #OnThisDay in 1803 to establish Ireland as an independent Republic.