May

• May 1 - Beltaine (Cetshamain) feast of Celtic god Belenos

• May 1, 1169 - First Normans land in Ireland.

• May 2, 1194 - King Richard I of England gives Portsmouth its first Royal Charter

• May 2, 1316 - Edward Bruce, brother of King Robert the Bruce, crowned High King of All Ireland.

• May 2, 1332 - Sir Anthony Lucys campaign in Munster, Ireland ends on this date

• May 2, 1424 - King James I crowned at Scone.

• May 2, 1568 - Mary Queen of Scots escaped from Loch Leven castle.

• May 2, 1656 - Birth of Sir Richard Levinge, Tory politician and Speaker of the House of Commons

• May 2, 1788 - An Act on this date repeals tests imposed on Protestant Dissenters

• May 2, 1794 - United Irishman Archibald Rowan escapes from custody and eventually makes his way to America

• May 2, 1806 - John Jones, sculptor, is born in Dublin

• May 2, 1858 - Birth of Edith Oenonne Somerville, novelist most famous for Some Experiences Of An Irish R.M written in collaboration with her cousin Violet Martin (also known as Martin Ross); in 1903, she becomes the first female Master of Foxhounds in Corfu

• May 2, 1882 - Charles Stewart Parnell is released under the terms of the Kilmainham Treaty; writing off the debts of tenants in arrears. A landmark in the land agitation movement (and Parnells career).

• May 2, 1884 - Birth of William Casey, dramatist and Times editor

• May 2, 1901 - Glasgow International Exhibition in Kelvingrove opened.

• May 2, 1921 - Lord FitzAlan of Derwent becomes the first Catholic lord lieutenant since the 17th century; he will be the last lord lieutenant

• May 2, 1929 - The story of the Loch Ness Monster first appeared in the press

• May 3, 1557 - John Knox began the Reformation in Scotland.

• May 3, 1714 - Sir Wentworth Harman, MP for Lanesborough, dies from the wounds he receives in a carriage accident on April 28

• May 3, 1785 - The Irish Academy, later to become the Royal Irish Academy, meets for the first time

• May 3, 1814 - Death of missionary Welsh Thomas Coke. A Methodist cleric and missionary, Thomas Coke was a close friend and associate of John Wesley, founder of Methodism. He was also the former superintendent of the Churchs missions to North America.

• May 3, 1903 - Bing Crosby, descendant of Irish immigrants, is born in Tacoma, Washington, as Harry Lillis Crosby

• May 3, 1915 - Birth in Galway of novelist Walter Macken

• May 3, 1916 - Patrick Pearse, Thomas Clarke and Thomas MacDonagh executed by firing squad in Kilmainham jail

• May 3, 1921 - IRA troops under Tom Maguire fight off 600 English troops in Tourmakeady, Co. Mayo

• May 3, 1926 - General Strike began at midnight, the first in British history. It lasted until 12 May.

• May 4, 1471 - Wars of the Roses - The Battle of Tewkesbury, Edward IV defeats a Lancastrian Army and kills Edward, Prince of Wales.

• May 4, 1645 - Marquis of Montrose victorious at Battle of Auldearn

• May 4, 1658 - General George Monk proclaimed the Protectorate at Mercat Cross.

• May 4, 1699 - According to Jonathan Swifts book, Gullivers Travels, it was on this day that Lemuel Gulliver sets sail on board the Antelope from Bristol

• May 4, 1715 - Joseph Deane, Justice of Assize for Munster and MP for Co. Dublin, dies of a fever resulting from a cold he caught (allegedly caused by a total eclipse of the sun) while returning from circuit on horseback

• May 4, 1773 - Art Ó Laoghaire, the subject of Eileen OLearys lament Caoineadh Airt Uí Laoghaire, is killed by soldiers near Millstreet, Co. Cork

• May 4, 1773 - The Dublin Journal of 4-6 May reports that Thomas Burton (former MP for Ennis) met with the melancholy accident of being overturned in his chaise, by which he was killed on the spot, in his return home, in company with a gentleman who was to have been ma

• May 4, 1782 - Second and third Catholic Relief Acts (4 May, 27 July) allow Catholics to own land outside parliamentary boroughs, to be teachers, and to act as guardians

• May 4, 1782 - Acts establish the Bank of Ireland, and validates marriages by Presbyterian ministers

• May 4, 1836 - The Ancient Order of Hibernians in America is founded in New York City

• May 4, 1838 - Charles Williams, war correspondent, is born in Coleraine, Co. Derry-Londonderry

• May 4, 1916 - Edward Daly, Michael OHanrahan, William Pearse (brother of Padraic Pearse) and Joseph Mary Plunkett are executed by firing squad in Kilmainham jail

• May 5, 1646 - King Charles I surrenders to Lord Leven and was later passed to the Parliamentary forces.

• May 5, 1758 - James Taylor who developed the steamboat was born.

• May 5, 1795 - House of Commons rejects Grattans Catholic relief bill

• May 5, 1864 - Birth in Edgeworthstown, Co. Longford of Sir Henry Wilson, soldier; chief of the Imperial General Staff from 1918 to 1922; establishes British Intelligence Cairo Gang in Dublin

• May 5, 1881 - Richard Downey (youngest ever Catholic archbishop in 1928, who reduces his weight from 18 stone to 9 stone in the 1930s) is born in Kilkenny

• May 5, 1916 - Irish patriot and a leader of the 1916 Easter Uprising, John MacBride, is executed by firing squad in Kilmainham Gaol

• May 5, 1977 - Bobby Sands dies at Long Kesh prison on the 66th day of his hunger strike

• May 06, 1074 - Donatus (or Dunan), the first Bishop of Dublin, dies

• May 6, 1074 - Donatus (or Dunan), the first Bishop of Dublin, dies on this date and is buried in Christ Church Cathedral. Patrick, his successor, is sent to Canterbury for consecration (records are unreliable, the date of his death is also recorded as November 23)

• May 6, 1249 - Reginald II assumes Manx throne.

• May 6, 1384 - Philip de Courtenay lands at Dalkey and campaigns in the midlands and the Leinster mountains

• May 6, 1728 - Act of Parliament removes the right to vote from Catholics

• May 6, 1763 - Mary Molesworth, widow of Richard Molesworth (3rd Viscount Molesworth, MP for Swords 1715-26), and her daughters Melosina and Mary die in a fire at their London house

• May 6, 1820 - Birth in St. Cleran’s, Co. Galway of Robert O’Hara Burke, explorer

• May 6, 1830 - Birth of Irish naturalist and librarian, William Archer in Magherahamlet, Co. Down. Archer did work on protozoa and was the first librarian of the National Library of Ireland

• May 6, 1870 - Sir James Young Simpson advocate of chloroform, died.

• May 6, 1882 - Phoenix Park murders, The assassination of the British chief secretary of Ireland, Lord Frederick Cavendish, and his under secretary, T.H. Burke. Both are stabbed to death as they walk in Dublins Phoenix Park by members of a nationalist secret society,

• May 6, 1884 - Birth of painter William Conor in Belfast

• May 6, 1916 - The U-20, a German U-boat commanded by Captain Schweiger, sinks the Centurion off the south-east Irish coast; the next day, the U-20 sinks the Lusitania

• May 6, 1925 - Máire de Paor (née McDermott) archaeologist and arts activist, is born in Buncrana, Co. Donegal

• May 6, 1941 - Last major bombing attack on the Clyde area by the Luftwaffe; Greenock was badly hit with 280 dead.

• May 6, 1959 - Icelandic gunboats fired live rounds at British fishing trawlers, many of them from Scottish ports, during the Cod War over fishing rights.

• May 6, 1999 - Election for the new Scottish Parliament. Results were Labour 56, SNP 35, Conservatives 18, Liberal Democrats 16, Greens 1, Scottish Socialists 1, and Independent 1.

• May 7, 1544 - Earl of Hereford invaded Scotland on behalf of Henry VIII in an attempt to force the Scots to agree to the marriage of Mary to Henrys son, Edward. This is known as the Rough Wooing.

• May 7, 1689 - James II arrives from exile in France and addresses the Irish Parliament. Thanking them for support, applauding their courage and vowing to venture my life...in defense of your liberties. Thus begins the events leading up to the Battle of the Boyne

• May 7, 1716 - John Medcalf, previously dismissed as Church of Ireland curate of Powerscourt for conducting clandestine marriages, is excommunicated for refusing to appear in the Consistory Court when cited by a woman for conjugal rights

• May 7, 1720 - James Cotter is executed for high treason in supporting the Jacobite cause - his son, Sir James Cotter, will later be MP for Askeaton

• May 7, 1741 - Anthony Tanner, perpetual curate for Holmpatrick, who has been married for less than six months, is murdered near Rush, Co. Dublin

• May 7, 1838 - Charles Owen OConor, politician, is born in Dublin

• May 7, 1865 - John MacBride, revolutionary, is born in Westport, Co. Mayo

• May 7, 1890 - James Naysmith, engineer and inventor of steam hammer, died

• May 7, 1906 - Historian Henry Gray Graham, author of Social Life of Scotland in the 18th Century died.

• May 7, 1915 - The Lusitania is sunk by a German U-boat off the Old Head of Kinsale, Co. Cork with the loss of more than 1,100 lives

• May 8, 1567 - Shane ONeills army crosses the Swilly estuary at Farsetmore, and is defeated in a pitched battle by Hugh ODonnell. Many drown while trying to escape; ONeill loses1,300 men

• May 8, 1597 - Execution of Fiach MacHugh O’Byrne

• May 8, 1701 - Scottish-born pirate Captain William Kidd - tried for piracy at Londons Old Bailey. He was hanged on 23 May.

• May 8, 1796 - John Pitt Kennedy, civil engineer; road and railway pioneer in India, is born in Carndonagh, Co. Donegal

• May 8, 1879 - Sir William Wheeler, surgeon, is born in Dublin

• May 8, 1899 - The first production of the Irish Literary Theatre, The Countess Cathleen is performed. Like many of Yeats plays, it is inspired by Irish folklore. In a time of famine, demons sent by Satan come to Ireland to buy the souls of the starving people. The sai

• May 8, 1916 - Irish patriots, Michael Mallin, Eamonn Ceannt, Cornelius Con Colbert and Sean Heuston are executed in Kilmainham gaol

• May 8, 1935 - Birth of Jack Charlton, footballer and manager

• May 8, 1945 - Victory-in-Europe Day, end of World War II in Europe.

• May 9, 1423 - Edmund Mortimer, 8th earl of Ulster, earl of March, the greatest Irish landowner and heir presumptive to the throne of England, is appointed lieutenant for nine years

• May 9, 1650 - The Battle of Clonmel begins with the first of two assaults. Cromwells forces are beaten back on this date by Black Hugh ONeill. Eventually, Cromwell loses up to 2,000 men, but ONeill, realizing he has a shortage of ammunition, secretly withdraws

• May 9, 1671 - Irish adventurer Colonel Thomas Blood dresses as a clergyman and attempts to steal the British crown jewels from the Tower of London. He is arrested in possession of the crown

• May 9, 1691 - Charles Chalmont (Marquis de Saint-Ruth; French general) is sent by Louis XIV to command the Irish army and arrives on this date

• May 9, 1709 - The Irish House of Lords expresses hope that union of Ireland and England will follow union of England and Scotland

• May 9, 1807 - Thomas Wyatt, architect, is born in Loughlin House, Co. Roscommon

• May 9, 1814 - Birth in Dublin of John Brougham, actor and dramatist

• May 9, 1828 - Charles Kickham, Fenian, novelist, and author of Knocknagow, is born in Mullinahone, Co. Tipperary

• May 9, 1828 - Charles Kickham, Fenian, novelist, and author of Knocknagow, is born in Mullinahone, Co. Tipperary

• May 9, 1860 - Sir James Matthew Barrie, Scottish playwright and novelist and author of Peter Pan born

• May 9, 1865 - The Dublin International Exhibition opens in Earlsfort Terrace

• May 9, 1896 - Austin Clarke, considered at his death to be the greatest poet of his generation after Yeats, is born

• May 9, 1916 - Irish Patriot, Thomas Kent, is executed at Cork Detention Barracks

• May 9, 1918 - John MacLean, socialist revolutionary, first Soviet Consul in Britain in, 1917, honorary president of the first Congress of Soviets, tried in the High Court for sedition.

• May 9, 1927 - Birth of John McDermott, Lord Justice of Appeal for Northern Ireland

• May 9, 1932 - Éamon de Valera is elected Taoiseach

• May 9, 1943 - Viscount Cunningham, British admiral and C in C in the Mediterranean, issued his command Sink, burn and destroy; let nothing pass.

• May 9, 1957 - A spectacular blaze at Bells Brae, Edinburgh, destroyed the premises of one of Britains largest theatrical costumiers; around, 90,000 costumes were lost.

• May 10, 1307 - Battle of Loudon Hill, near Darvel. King Robert I comprehensively defeated English forces under de Valence.

• May 10, 1318 - Richard de Clare, while defending his protégé Mahon OBrien, is defeated and killed by Murrough OBrien at Dysert ODea. De Clares heir is a minor; Norman,Irish power in Thomond is thus undermined

• May 10, 1603 - In the revolt of the towns, or recusancy revolt, Catholic worship is re-established in Kilkenny and the main Munster towns between 11 April and this date, in the hope that James I will grant religious toleration; Mountjoy marches south and forces the town

• May 10, 1642 - A Catholic confederacy (the Confederation of Kilkenny) is instituted to administer Catholic-controlled parts of the country pending a final settlement

• May 10, 1739 - John Thomas Troy, Catholic Archbishop of Dublin and opponent of revolution, is born in Castleknock, Co. Dublin

• May 10, 1804 - After resigning as Prime Minister following a disagreement with George III over Catholic Emancipation, William Pitt returns to office

• May 10, 1809 - Andrew Bell, co-founder of Encyclopedia Britannica with Colin MacFarquhar, died.

• May 10, 1810 - Rev Henry Duncan opened the worlds first savings bank in Ruthwell, near Dumfries.

• May 10, 1838 - James Bryce, 1st Viscount Bryce of Dechmount; jurist, historian and Liberal politician, is born in Belfast

• May 10, 1850 - Sir Thomas Lipton, founder of the Liptons grocery chain, who became a millionaire by the age of, 30, was born in Glasgow.

• May 10, 1870 - Jem Mace defends his heavyweight crown against Irish champ Joe Coburn; it lasts 1 hr & 17 minutes; neither is struck by a punch

• May 10, 1873 - Leslie Montgomery, comic writer; pseudonym Lynn C. Doyle, is born in Downpatrick, Co. Down

• May 10, 1886 - Richard Mulcahy, pro-Treaty nationalist and Fine Gael politician, is born in Waterford

• May 10, 1941 - Rudolf Hess, Hitlers deputy, descended by parachute into Scotland at Eaglesham.

• May 10, 1967 - Breath tests for motorists suspected of drinking and driving introduced under the Road Safety Act.

• May 11, 1745 - At the battle of Fontenoy (30 April-11 May according to the two calendars), near Tournai in modern Belgium, the Irish Brigade of the French army under Lieutenant Charles OBrien repulses the British and wins the day. Those killed include (on the British s

• May 11, 1788 - Presbyterian minister, Henry Cooke, is born at Grillagh, near Maghera, Co Derry. Cooke is famous for leading Ulster Presbyterianism away from the free-thinking radicalism which had spawned the United Irishmens rising during his childhood

• May 11, 1894 - John Roberts - Welsh harpist known as Alaw Elwy Telynor Cymru, died.

• May 11, 1916 - During the House of Commons debate on the Irish crises, John Dillon urges the cessation of executions

• May 11, 1937 - Debate on new Constitution commences

• May 12, 1641 - Thomas Wentworth, English viceroy of Ireland and Earl of Stafford is beheaded

• May 12, 1725 - The Black Watch regiment was commissioned under General Wade to police the Highlands.

• May 12, 1751 - Archibald Hamilton Rowan, nationalist and United Irishman, is born in London

• May 12, 1784 - J.S. Knowles, dramatist and Baptist preacher, is born in Cork

• May 12, 1806 - James Shields, US army general and the only person to be elected a senator by three states, is born in Altmore, Co. Tyrone

• May 12, 1823 - Daniel OConnell founds the Catholic Association, an organization dedicated to obtaining the franchise for Catholics

• May 12, 1905 - Mary Browne from Roscommon becomes the first Ban Garda - woman police officer -

• May 12, 1916 - Irish Patriots, Seán MacDiarmada and James Connolly are executed at Kilmainham Gaol

• May 12, 1937 - Coronation of King George VI and Queen Elizabeth took place at Westminster Abbey.

• May 12, 1994 - Rt. Hon. John Smith, leader of the Labour Party died.

• May 12, 563 - Community in Iona founded in Scotland by Saint Colmcille and followers from Ireland

• May 12, 563 - St Columcille establishes a community on Iona

• May 12, 563 - Community of Iona founded by Colum Cille (St Columba) from Ireland.

• May 13, 1568 - Mary, Queen of Scots, defeated at Battle of Langside

• May 13, 1787 - On this date, which is a Sunday, Alderman Exshaw, accompanied by Archdeacon Hastings, is walking in Merrion Square, Dublin, when he encounters a great number of people, leaping, wrestling, shouting, etc.. The archdeacon observes that this activity profa

• May 13, 1842 - Arthur Sullivan, the son of an Irish musician, is born. Along with William Gilbert he invented the English operetta. Sullivan’s last work is entitled The Emerald Isle

• May 13, 1848 - The Irish Confederation splits; John Mitchel starts the militant United Irishman; he is arrested on this date and is sentenced to 14 years transportation under the new Treason Felony Act

• May 13, 1852 - Anna Catherine Parnell, sister of Charles and Fanny, and co-founder of the Irish Ladies Land League, is born in Avondale, Co. Wicklow

• May 13, 1878 - Birth of Charles Vane-Tempest-Stewart, 7th Marquis Londonderry and unionist politician

• May 13, 1906 - According to his birth certificate, this is the day playwright and novelist, Samuel Beckett is born in Foxrock, Co. Dublin. Throughout his life, he insists his birth is on Good Friday , April 13, 1906

• May 13, 1919 - Dan Breen and Seán Treacy rescue their comrade Seán Hogan from a Dublin, Cork train at Knocklong, Co. Limerick; two policemen guarding him are killed

• May 13, 1945 - In a radio broadcast, Churchill accuses de Valeras government of frolicking with the Germans and Japanese

• May 13, 1995 - Alison Hargreave, a, 33-year-old mother of two from Spean Bridge became the first woman to climb Mount Everest solo and without oxygen. She died three years later while descending K2, the worlds second-highest mountain.

• May 13, 1999 - Donald Dewar elected as First Minister of the new Scottish Parliament.

• May 14, 1260 - Brian ONeill, during the assault on the Earldom of Ulster, is defeated and killed by the forces of Roger des Auters at the battle of Down (renamed by de Courcy as Downpatrick)

• May 14, 1660 - Charles II is proclaimed king in Dublin, six days after London, thus ending Cromwells reign as Lord Protector and beginning a brief and limited Catholic Restoration

• May 14, 1730 - Sir Edward Newenham, popular MP for County Dublin and strong advocate of the American colonists, is born. Newenham is introduced at the court of Louis XVI by the Marquis de Lafayette, even though Britain and France are at war

• May 14, 1752 - Colin Campbell of Glenure, known as the Red Fox, and a notorious persecutor of Jacobites after Culloden, was shot in Appin. Alan Breck (later made famous in Robert Louis Stevensons Kidnapped and Catriona) was accused (though no evidence was ever pu

• May 14, 1754 - St Andrews Society of Golfers constituted. In, 1834 it became the Royal and Ancient Golf Club.

• May 14, 1755 - George Barrington (real name Waldron), writer, adventurer and pickpocket is born in Maynooth, Co. Kildare. A well-dressed pickpocket who worked in Churches and the Houses of Parliament, he is arrested and transported to Australia. Later, he becomes Aust

• May 14, 1771 - Industrialist and social reformer Robert Owen born.

• May 14, 1784 - Fosters Corn Law regulates the corn trade

• May 14, 1784 - The Irish Post Office, distinct from English and Scottish services, is established by statute

• May 14, 1853 - Hall Caine, a Manx novelist is born.

• May 14, 1865 - The last surviving member of the Irish House of Commons, Sir Thomas Staples, who had risen in his profession to be Queens Advocate for Ireland, dies in Lissan, Co. Tyrone 11 weeks short of his 90th birthday

• May 14, 1893 - George McIrish McElroy is born in Donnybrook, Co. Dublin. He is Irelands highest World War One ace, with 47 victories within 40 weeks

• May 15, 1395 - Richard II returns to England on this date, confident that Gaelic Irish power has been checked

• May 15, 1567 - Mary, Queen of Scots, married Earl of Bothwell at, 4am.

• May 15, 1600 - Sent by Queen Elizabeth to quell the rumblings of discontent in Ulster, Sir Henry Docwra lands at Culmore with a force of 4000 foot and 200 horse soldiers; modern Derry is thereby founded

• May 15, 1621 - Sir Henry Docwra is created Baron Docwra of Culmore

• May 15, 1732 - Sir John Blaquiere, Chief Secretary and politician, is born

• May 15, 1753 - Isaac Corry, opposition politician, Volunteer, and Chancellor of the Exchequer is born in Newry, Co. Down

• May 15, 1800 - King George III escaped two assassination attempts in one day. In Hyde Park, London, a bullet intended for him hit a man standing alongside. Later, at the Drury Lane Theatre, two bullets missed him and hit the wooden panel behind him. His assailant was fo

• May 15, 1808 - Michael Balfe, operatic composer, is born in Dublin

• May 15, 1829 - Elected to the office of minister of Parliament for Co. Clare by recently enfranchised Catholics, OConnell presents himself at the bar of the House of Commons, but is asked to withdraw for refusing to take the Oath of Supremacy

• May 15, 1847 - Daniel OConnell, The Liberator, dies in Genoa. His body is returned to Ireland and buried in Glasnevin Cemetery

• May 15, 1867 - Eoin MacNeill, Irish nationalist, born

• May 15, 1887 - Poet and critic Edwin Muir born.

• May 15, 1940 - Proinsias de Rossa, politician and leader of Democratic Left, is born in Dublin

• May 16, 1568 - Mary Queen of Scots sailed from Port Mary across the Solway Firth to exile in England.

• May 16, 1763 - Biographer James Boswell met Samuel Johnson for the first time.

• May 16, 1907 - Birth of Robert Tisdall, gold medalist in the 400 meter hurdles at the 1932 Olympics

• May 16, 1920 - Soviets are proclaimed in 13 Co. Limerick creameries, including Knocklong

• May 16, 1926 - Eamon de Valera founds Fianna Fáil and holds its first public meeting

• May 16, 1927 - A Reserve established by Oglaigh na hÉireann, the Irish Defence Forces

• May 16, 1945 - Eamon de Valera responds to Churchills victory speech during which Churchill took one last jab at Irish neutrality. For Churchills speech and De Valeras response, please click World at War

• May 16, 1952 - Birth of Pierce Brosnan in Navan, Co. Meath

• May 16, 1975 - Local Government (Scotland) Act (1974) came into force and, 430 local authorities were replaced by nine regional,, 53 district and three islands councils.

• May 16, 1990 - British Steel announced the closure of the hot strip mill at Ravenscraig with the loss of, 770 jobs.

• May 16, 2005 - James Boswells Life of Johnson published.

• May 16, 578 - Brendan the Navigator - early Irish transatlantic voyager- died.

• May 16, 587 - St. Brendan the Navigator, early transatlantic voyager, dies. In the liturgical calendar, today is St. Brendans Feast Day

• May 17, 1532 - King James V established paid judges to sit as the Court of Session, the highest civil court in Scotland.

• May 17, 1650 - Cromwells army is defeated in the second assault on Clonmel, suffering its heaviest losses. The following day, the Mayor of Clonmel negotiates honourable terms for surrender with Cromwell, who did not realise that ONeill and his soldiers had left the to

• May 17, 1730 - Elizabeth, widow of William Molyneux, marries Nathaniel St Andre, a Swiss surgeon who wins an action for defamation on a charge of having killed Molyneux by administering opium to him in his last illness by her connivance

• May 17, 1810 - Robert Tannahill- Scottish song writer- died.

• May 17, 1855 - Birth in Bantry, Co. Cork of Timothy Michael Healy, one of the most brilliant and most controversial of Irish politicians. His career spans from Parnells leadership of the Irish Parliamentary Party in the 1880s to the foundation of the Irish Free State i

• May 17, 1865 - Shan Bullock, novelist, is born in Crom, Co. Fermanagh

• May 17, 1870 - David Octavius Hill, painter and pioneer photographer, died.

• May 17, 1880 - Charles Stewart Parnell is elected Chairman of the Irish Parliamentary Party

• May 17, 1908 - Birth of Vincent Barry, organic chemist, in Cork

• May 17, 1911 - Birth in Roscommon of actress Maureen OSullivan Boyle who is remembered for her role as Jane in a series of five movies opposite Johnny Weissmullers Tarzan

• May 17, 1917 - A new military viceroy, General French, acts on mistaken information that Sinn Féin is implicated in a pro-German plot and has most of the leaders arrested

• May 17, 1938 - The Marquess of Bute sold half of the city of Cardiff for £20 million, at that time the biggest-ever British property deal.

• May 17, 1949 - The British Government recognizes the Republic of Ireland

• May 18, 1313 - Robert the Bruce lands on Isle of Mann to wrest it from English Rule.

• May 18, 1313 - Robert the Bruce invades Isle of Man.

• May 18, 1401 - John de Stanley is told that he is to be replaced as lieutenant by Thomas of Lancaster (duke of Clarence and second son of Henry IV), who is 12 or 13 years old. Lancasters deputy, Sir Stephen le Scrope, will effectively govern Ireland for the next few ye

• May 18, 1613 - James Is Irish parliament opens in Dublin

• May 18, 1798 - The 2nd Earl of Kingston is tried amid great pomp by the Irish House of Lords for the murder of Colonel Henry FitzGerald. An executioner stands beside Kingston with an immense axe, painted black except for two inches of polished steel, and held at the lev

• May 18, 1825 - The House of Lords rejects the Catholic Emancipation Bill which would disenfranchise Irish forty-shilling free-holders and put clergy on state salaries

• May 18, 1843 - Break up of Church of Scotland and formation of Free Church of Scotland.

• May 18, 1873 - James Fagan, actor, producer and playwright, is born in Belfast

• May 18, 1896 - The City and Suburban Ground now known as Croke Park, hosts a soccer match for the first time. The teams are a combination of Irish and Scots women versus England. The combined team beats England 3-2

• May 18, 1897 - Oscar Wilde is released from prison; he goes to live in France, where he writes his famous poem, The Ballad of Reading Gaol

• May 18, 1897 - The first Irish Music Festival is held in Dublin

• May 18, 1928 - Death of writer Standish OGrady on the Isle of Wight. Under the influence of John ODonovan, he studies the Old Irish myths and legends, and his works, which influence the Irish literary revival of the 1890s, popularise the Irish sagas

• May 18, 1939 - The first aircraft lands at the newly opened Rineanna Airfield which is later to become Shannon International Airport

• May 18, 1939 - Cosmo cinema in Rose Street, Glasgow opened its doors for the first time. Now thr Glasgow Fil Theatre it is now the oldest active cinema in the city.

• May 18, 1960 - Real Madrid beat Eintracht-Frankfurt, 7-3 at Hampden Park, Glasgow, to win the European Cup for the, 5th year in succession.

• May 19, 1660 - An Act by the British Parliament forbids the export of Irish wool

• May 19, 1710 - John Forster is unanimously elected Speaker of the House of Commons, replacing Alan Brodrick

• May 19, 1795 - James Boswell, Scottish biographer of Samuel Johnson- died.

• May 19, 1795 - Death in Auchinleck of James Boswell, biographer of Dr Johnston.

• May 19, 1798 - Lord Edward Fitzgerald, a leader of the United Irishmen, is betrayed by Francis Magan; hes arrested and is shot while being apprehended; he dies of his wounds on June 4

• May 19, 1821 - Anna Maria Odell, the second wife of William Odell (former MP for Co. Limerick), gives birth to a stillborn child in the Marshalsea debtors prison, where she had accompanied her husband

• May 19, 1832 - Standish Hayes OGrady, scholar, is born in Castleconnell, Co. Limerick

• May 19, 1862 - Máire Ni Aodáin (Mary Hayden), Irish historian, is born

• May 19, 1869 - Birth of Henry Dixon, botanist

• May 19, 1870 - Sir Isaac Butt invents the term Home Rule. The first meeting of the Home Government Association (later to become the Home Rule League) is held in a Dublin hotel. A resolution is passed that the true remedy for the evils of Ireland is the establishm

• May 19, 1939 - John Sheahan, fiddle player with the Dubliners, is born

• May 20, 1303 - France and England make peace, releasing forces to attack Scotland.

• May 20, 1311 - The war of the OBriens of Thomond escalates as the Norman-Irish become involved on both sides - the de Burghs support Dermot OBrien and Richard de Clare supports Donough OBrien. There is a pitched battle at Bunratty on this date, with heavy losses on bo

• May 20, 1648 - Truce between the confederates and Inchiquin; its adherents are excommunicated by Giovanni Rinuccini, papal nuncio to the confederates

• May 20, 1747 - James Lind began a controlled experiment which demonstrated that citrus fruits could prevent scurvy, a disease contracted by sailors on long voyages. The lime juice which eventually became standard issue to British sailors gave rise to the term limey as

• May 20, 1759 - Birth of Sir Eyre Coote, the younger; soldier, MP, and governor of Jamaica

• May 20, 1836 - An Act amalgamates the county constabulary and Peace Preservation Force into a centralized police force , the Irish Constabulary , which will later become the Royal Irish Constabulary

• May 20, 1922 - De Valera and Collins agree to a pact whereby a national coalition panel of candidates will represent the pro and anti Treaty wings of Sinn Féin throughout Ireland in the forthcoming general election

• May 20, 1927 - The opening hours of Irish public houses are restricted by the Intoxicating Liquor Act

• May 20, 1932 - Amelia Earhart takes off from Newfoundland for Ireland on the anniversary of Charles Lindberghs famous

• May 20, 685 - Battle of Nechtansmere. Northumbrian invasion of Scotland defeated by Pictish King Bruide.

• May 20, 685 - Battle of Dunnichen (also known as Nechtansmere), south of Forfar in Angus, as a result of which the Picts stopped the advance northwards of the Angles of Northumbria.

• May 21, 1639 - Lord Deputy Thomas Wentworth imposes the Black Oath of loyalty to Charles I on all Ulster Scots over the age of 16

• May 21, 1650 - James Graham, (Montrose), Scottish royalist commander- executed by Cromwellian government.

• May 21, 1650 - James Graham, Marquis of Montrose, executed at Mercat Cross, Edinburgh.

• May 21, 1745 - Count Daniel OConnell, a soldier in French and British services, is born in Derrynane, Co. Kerry

• May 21, 1916 - Clocks and watches go forward one hour as the Daylight Saving Act (Summer Time) is introduced

• May 21, 1917 - Birth of tenor and comedian, Dennis Day, to Irish parents in New York, NY

• May 21, 1920 - James Plunkett, pseudonym of James Plunkett Kelly; novelist, is born in Dublin

• May 21, 1983 - TSB Bank Scotland (now Lloyds TSB Scotland) formed.

• May 22, 1611 - King James VI introduced the title baronet for the first time. This is the lowest hereditary titled order.

• May 22, 1805 - Michael Doheny, poet and Young Irelander, is born near Fethard, Co. Tipperary

• May 22, 1849 - Novelist, Maria Edgeworth, dies in Mostrim, Co. Longford. She is laid to rest in a vault at Edgeworthstown Church. The Great Famine which decimates the people she loves mars her last years. Even though in her late seventies, she worked strenuously for the

• May 22, 1859 - Sir Conan Doyle, Scottish author - born

• May 22, 1859 - Birth in Edinburgh of Arthur Ignatius Conan Doyle, creator of Sherlock Holmes. Doyle was the eldest son of 10 siblings born to Irish parents Charles Doyle and Mary Foley

• May 22, 1859 - Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, author of Sherlock Holmes, born of Irish parents in Edinburgh.

• May 22, 1870 - Birth of Eva Gore-Booth, poet, trade unionist and feminist, on the Lissadell Estate in Co. Sligo

• May 22, 1915 - Britains worst train disaster at Quintinshill (near Gretna Green) in which three trains collided, with the loss of, 227 lives. A troop train carrying the Seventh Royal Scots Regiment hit a staionary train and the night express from London then hit the wr

• May 22, 1920 - Birth of Oliver J. Flanagan, Fine Gael politician

• May 22, 1932 - Death of Augusta Persse, better known as Lady Augusta Gregory, Irish dramatist, folklorist and theatre director; also a co-founder of the Abbey Theatre

• May 23, 1561 - The first court of High Commission, a group of officials and Protestant clergy, is set up to enforce the Reformation in Ireland

• May 23, 1754 - Birth of Dr. William Drennan in Belfast; physician, poet, educationalist political radical and one of the chief architects of the Society of United Irishmen. Drennans poetic output included some powerful and moving pieces. He is chiefly remembered today

• May 23, 1794 - As part of a crack-down on seditious activity during Britains war with France, the Dublin United Irishmen are supressed

• May 23, 1798 - United Irish Rebellion begins in Wexford

• May 23, 1798 - United Irish Rebellion begins in Leinster

• May 23, 1867 - Archibald Alison, historian, died.

• May 23, 1903 - Shelah Richards, actress and producer, is born in Dublin

• May 23, 1920 - Oliver Plunkett is beatified by Pope Benedict XV

• May 23, 1967 - Merched Y Wawr (Daughters of the Dawn) Welsh language womens organization, formed.

• May 24, 1153 - King David I died at Carlisle and Malcolm IV crowned at Scone.

• May 24, 1487 - Lambert Simnel (aged 10), the Yorkist pretender to the English throne, is brought to Ireland. It is claimed that he is Edward, Earl of Warwick (Clarences son), but in fact, he is a bakers son - the real Warwick is a prisoner in the Tower of London and w

• May 24, 1628 - 51 graces to Irish interest groups by Charles I are promised but various excuses are used not to grant these concessions

• May 24, 1798 - Start of 98 Rising in Ireland

• May 24, 1798 - Archibald Hamilton Jacob conducts the Enniscorthy Yeomen Cavalry to the village of Ballaghkeen where they flog a man to death

• May 24, 1813 - A Catholic Relief Bill is introduced by Grattan in the House of Commons, and is narrowly defeated 251 to 247

• May 24, 1818 - John Foley, sculptor, is born in Dublin

• May 24, 1819 - The future Queen Victoria was born.

• May 24, 1830 - Anthony Durnford, soldier, is born in Manorhamilton, Co. Leitrim

• May 24, 1852 - Robert Cunningham Graham born. Son of a Scottish laird, he organised the Scottish Labour Party with Kier Hardie, wrote over, 30 travel books and was elected first president of the Scottish National Party.

• May 24, 1882 - Creighton Hale, actor, is born in Cork

• May 24, 1916 - Conscription to the armed forces began for the first time.

• May 24, 1921 - 1st parliament for Northern Ireland is elected

• May 24, 1923 - Actress, Siobhan McKenna is born

• May 24, 1928 - William Trevor (Cox), prolific short story-writer and novelist is born in Mitchelstown, Co. Cork. He has written over 30 works including The Story of Lucy Gault which was short-listed for the 2002 Booker Prize

• May 24, 1928 - Actor and comedian Stanley Baxter born.

• May 24, 1972 - Rangers win the European Cup Winners Cup in Barcelona.

• May 25, 1315 - Irish Ally, Edward Bruce of Scotland, arrives in Ireland.

• May 25, 1315 - Edward Bruce (brother of Robert Bruce, king of Scots), having been invited by some Gaelic chiefs, leads an expedition to Ireland with the aim of conquering it, creating a kingdom of Ireland and driving out the Norman-Irish settlers. He lands at Larne on t

• May 25, 1705 - On this date, May Eustace Sherlock, gentleman, petitions the Commons for relief from the great oppressions he lies under, by the undue practices and power of Maurice Annesley, a Justice of the Peace. Annesley is an MP. The ensuing complicated legal case

• May 25, 1713 - John Stuart, Earl of Bute, Britains first Scottish Prime Minister, born.

• May 25, 1726 - First circulating library opened in Edinburgh.

• May 25, 1745 - Lord John Allen (3rd Viscount Allen), former MP for Carysfort, dies of a fever caused from cuts to his fingers inflicted by the sword of a dragoon

• May 25, 1830 - As a result of growing Unitarianism the General Synod reinforces subscription. Henry Montgomery, the leading Unitarian protagonist, leads a secession of Non-subscribers from the General Synod which establishes the Remonstrant Synod of Ulster. The Remonstr

• May 25, 1842 - Birth on Valentia Island, Co. Kerry, of Helen Blackburn, early leader of the movement for the emancipation of women

• May 25, 1870 - Irish Fenians raid Eccles Hill, Québec

• May 25, 1885 - Gerald Boland, nationalist politician, is born in Manchester

• May 25, 1895 - Oscar Wilde is sentenced to two years imprisonment for offences “against public decency”

• May 25, 1900 - John Hunt, expert on mediaeval art, is born in Limerick

• May 25, 1903 - Ewart Milne, poet, is born in Dublin

• May 25, 1909 - Oscar Slater found guilty of murder.

• May 25, 1912 - First issue of the weekly suffrage magazine, Irish Citizen, appears

• May 25, 1914 - British House of Commons passes Irish Home Rule for the third time

• May 25, 1921 - The Dublin brigade of the IRA attacks and sets fire to the Customs House; 120 of its men are captured and 11 are killed

• May 25, 1967 - Celtic Football Club won European Cup.

• May 25, 1971 - Invergordon aluminium works starts production.

• May 26, 1063 - England invades Wales.

• May 26, 1424 - The parliament convened by King James I approved the arrest of a number of the Scottish nobility and also banned the playing of football.

• May 26, 1562 - Following his submission to Elizabeth at Whitehall in January, Shane ONeill returns to Ireland on this date

• May 26, 1650 - Oliver Cromwell leaves Ireland on board the frigate President Bradshaw. His deputy and son-in-law, Henry Ireton takes control of the Irish campaign and captures Birr Castle

• May 26, 1798 - The rebels are defeated at Tara Hill; this marks the end of the rebellion in Co. Meath. Rebellion begins in Co. Wexford. Fr. John Murphy and local people confront the Camolin yeomanry at The Harrow. Thomas Bookey, Lieutenant of the yeomanry, is killed

• May 26, 1867 - Michael Barrett from Kesh, Co. Fermanagh is executed for his part in the explosion at Clerkenwell Gaol. From all the evidence, it is likely he is not guilty. He is the last man to be publicly hanged in England.

• May 26, 1867 - Mary is crowned queen of Gt. Britain & Northern Ireland

• May 26, 1873 - Trinity College Dublin abolishes all remaining religious restrictions for entry, with the exception of the Faculty of Divinity

• May 26, 1897 - First publication of Dracula, written by Dublin man Abraham ‘Bram’ Stoker

• May 26, 1909 - Birth of football player, coach and manager Sir Matt Busby . He was manager of Manchester United Football Club, 1945-69, winner of European Cup, 1968.

• May 26, 1914 - Actor Archie Duncan (known for his portrayal of Sherlock Holmes) born Glasgow.

• May 26, 1950 - Petrol rationing, introduced during WW2, was ended.

• May 26, 1995 - In the opening game of their Rugby World Cup programme, Scotland defeated Ivory Coast, 89-0. Skipper Gavin Hastings scored a world record, 44 points.

• May 27, 1224 - Cathal Crovderg OConnor, king of Connacht and brother of Rory OConnor, dies at the age of 72. This finally opens the way for the Norman occupation of Connacht

• May 27, 1595 - Hugh ONeill, Earl of Tyrone, defeats the English forces of his brother-in-law, Sir Henry Bagenal, at the Battle of Clontibret, Co. Monaghan; he is proclaimed a traitor at Newry in June

• May 27, 1648 - Giovanni Rinuccini, papal nuncio to the confederates, excommunicates adherents of the truce between confederates and Inchiquin

• May 27, 1798 - Wexford rebels massacre Kingsboroughs militiamen and yeomanry at Oulart

• May 27, 1877 - Hanna Sheehy Skeffington is born in Co. Limerick. A committed suffragette, she is one of the founding members of the Irish Womens Franchise League; sexual equality remains a primary concern throughout her despite a slight shift in focus after the summary

• May 27, 1887 - Anti-Tithe Riot, Llangwm, Wales

• May 27, 1936 - Following the Free States provision for the formation of Aer Lingus as the national airline, Aer Lingus opens routes to Bristol and London, commencing with a flight from Baldonnell to Bristol on this date

• May 27, 1936 - Maiden voyage of liner Queen Mary.

• May 28, 1503 - Papal Bull signed by Pope Alexander VI confirming the marriage of King James IV and Margaret Tudor and the Treaty of Everlasting Peace between Scotland and England.

• May 28, 1590 - Hugh ONeill, Earl of Tyrone, agrees to abandon further attempts at extending his territory in the north, and undertakes to force his people to adopt English laws and customs

• May 28, 1666 - The Act of Uniformity confirms Guy Fawkes day (5 November) as an anniversary, and adds 30 January (execution of Charles I) and 29 May (the Restoration)

• May 28, 1713 - William Molyneux, the fourteen-year old son of Sir Thomas Molyneux, a former MP, is killed when a leaden image falls on him in a garden near Dublin

• May 28, 1722 - Birth of James Fitzgerald, 20th Earl of Kildare; Duke of Leinster; politician and Lord Justice

• May 28, 1779 - Thoams Moore, Irish poet and composer, born.

• May 28, 1779 - Poet and songwriter, Thomas Moore, is born in Dublin

• May 28, 1798 - In the first Battle of Enniscorthy, the rebels take the town

• May 28, 1798 - On this date, under the command of Father Murphy of Boolavogue, a priest who had been in dispute with his bishop and who had reluctantly stepped forward as leader, the Wexford insurgents, gaining strength as they advance, storm Enniscorthy. The defences o

• May 28, 1841 - Seven church ministers of the Presbytery of Strathbogie were removed from their posts by the General assembly of the Church of Scotland for obeying civil rather than ecclesiastical law.

• May 28, 1884 - Oscar Wilde and Constance Lloyd are married

• May 28, 1887 - 73 miners were killed in a firedamp explosion at Udston Colliery, Lanarkshire.

• May 28, 1905 - Construction of the Kings Theatre in Edinburgh commences.

• May 28, 1917 - Birth of John Fitzgerald Kennedy, the 35th US president, in Brookline, Mass

• May 28, 1937 - National Government formed under the leadership of Neville Chamberlain.

• May 29, 1205 - King John makes Hugh de Lacy Earl of Ulster

• May 29, 1630 - King Charles II born.

• May 29, 1660 - King Charles II returned to England. Royal Oak Day.

• May 29, 1687 - Order of the Thistle founded by King James VII.

• May 29, 1830 - Humphrey Davy, Cornish pioneer chemist, died.

• May 30, 1249 - Reginald II, King of Isle of Mann, assassinated.

• May 30, 1291 - Claimants to the Scottish throne met King Edward I of England at Norham on Tweed to resolve succession.

• May 30, 1546 - David Beaton, Archbishop of St Andrews, assassinated.

• May 30, 1630 - Birth of Charles Stuart who will become Charles II of Great Britain and Ireland

• May 30, 1784 - Belfasts first Catholic church, St. Marys, opens for public worship

• May 30, 1798 - Following the massacre of Kingsboroughs militiamen and yeomanry at Oulart on 27 May, rebels capture Enniscorthy and Wexford town

• May 30, 1807 - During the election for Co. Wexford, two of the candidates, William Congreve Alcock and John Colclough, fight a duel in front of the county sheriff, 16 magistrates and a large crowd of spectators. Alcock shoots Colclough dead; he is elected; he is also tr

• May 30, 1817 - Micheal William Balfe, one of Ireland’s greatest composers, gives his first public performance, aged nine

• May 30, 1844 - Daniel OConnell is fined and sentenced to 12 months in prison for conspiracy

• May 30, 1847 - Death of Thomas Chalmers, first Moderator of the Free Church of Scotland.

• May 30, 1906 - Death of Michael Davitt, Father of the Irish Land League. He was born at the height of the Great Famine. At four, his family was evicted and forced to emigrate to England. He joined the Fenians in 1865, became organizing secretary and was arrested in 18

• May 30, 1944 - Eamon de Valera is returned as Taoiseach

• May 31, 1257 - Welsh forces under Meredudd - ap Rhys and Meredudd - ab Owain ambush a force of English and Welsh collaborators killing 3,000 in battle lasting three days at Pontargotto

• May 31, 1367 - King Robert III married Annabel Drummond.

• May 31, 1430 - Charges are made against Thomas Foster, Archdeacon of Glendalough, that he has sold the lands of the dignity, has kept concubines, has had offspring, is ignorant of letters and does not know the language of the country

• May 31, 1727 - The Royal Bank of Scotland was formed from a company of debenture holders.

• May 31, 1744 - Birth of Richard Lovell Edgeworth, inventor, educationist and politician

• May 31, 1798 - Beauchamp Bagenal Harvey is appointed as Commander of the insurgent forces In Wexford town, a civilian government led by four Protestants and four Catholics is established

• May 31, 1847 - Birth of Alice Stopford Green in Kells, Co. Meath. Irish historian and patriot; she is noted for proving the Irish had a rich culture before English rule. A strong supporter of the Treaty of 1921, she is nominated to the first Seanad in December 1922

• May 31, 1848 - At Grosse Ile, Canada, 40 immigrant vessels wait to unload. For more on this story, please click The Wild Geese

• May 31, 1889 - Helen Waddell, Irish scholar, translator and novelist, is born in Tokyo

• May 31, 1900 - During the Boer War, Piet de Wet captures the thirteenth battalion of the Imperial Yeomanry at Lindley. To British eyes, this mounted Battalion is the social and political show-piece of the new Volunteer Army; a company of Irish M.F.H.s known as the Iris

• May 31, 1911 - The hull of the world’s most famous ship, the Titanic , is launched

• May 31, 1922 - The Royal Ulster Constabulary is established

• May 31, 1962 - Gaumont cinema in Edinburgh destroyed by fire.