#OnThisDay 1803 Thomas Russell, one of the founders of the United Irishmen was hanged, then beheaded in Downpatrick Gaol for his support of the Emmet Rebellion. Russell had tried to organise a rebellion in Ulster to link with Emmet in Dublin but it failed.
#OnThisDay 1933 The Irish Government bought the copyright to Peadar Kearney’s Amhrán na bhFiann which would become the Irish National Anthem.
#OnThisDay 1920 Kevin Barry’s court-martial began. Barry refused to recognise the court. Barry was charged with the death of a British soldier, Pte Marshall Whitehead. The court-martial found 18 year old Barry guilty. Barry’s sentence was death by hanging.
#OnThisDay 1892 Eoin O’Duffy was born in Monaghan. O’Duffy joined the IRA in 1917 & was made Chief of Staff in 1922. In the 1930s O’Duffy lead the fascist Blueshirts for some time. He then organised a force to fight for Franco in the Spanish Civil War.
#OnThisDay 1943 The 2nd Bn London Irish Rifles, 38 Irish Brigade, attacked and took the village of Petacciato, Italy. One patrol ‘killed a couple of suspicious-looking “civilians” who were found to be German Panzer Grenadiers in disguise’.
The Irish at War 