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#OnThisDay 1920 Edward Carson said to Orangemen warning the British Government’

“You are yourselves unable to protect us from the machinations of Sinn Féin  … we will take matters into our own hands” and states “We must proclaim today clearly that … we in Ulster will tolerate no Sinn Féin  – no Sinn Féin organisation, no Sinn Féin  methods … And these are not mere words.  I hate words without action.”

Many English newspapers, like the Times supported him.

#OnThisDay 1862 Colonel Thomas Cass, from Laois, died of wounds suffered at Malvern Hill (along with 166 of his men). Cass was the founder & commander of the 9th Regiment Massachusetts Volunteer Infantry, an Irish-American unit nicknamed ‘the Fightin Ninth’.

On June 26, 1862 the Ninth Regiment fought in the Battle of Mechanicsville, which was a Union victory and saw the death of 2000 Confederates. The Fightin Ninth also held the bridge at the Battle of Gaines’ Mills.

At the Battle of Malvern Hill on July 1st, Cass stood in the line when the Ninth repulsed several Confederate charges. He was hit in the face however and removed from the field. The second in command, Acting Lieutenant Colonel Hawley took over but was also wounded so command to the unit fell to Acting Captain O’Leary.

#OnThisDay 1862 US Congress authorised the creation of the Army version of the Medal of Honor. Of the 3,524 medals awarded, over 2000 have been awarded to Irish-Americans &  257 to Irish-born Americans which represents over half the foreign born recipients.

The first Irish American to receive the Medal was Michael Madden, who received it for his actions in the American Civil War. However, the earliest action for which the Medal of Honor was awarded was to Irish American U.S. Army Assistant Surgeon Bernard J.D. Irwin from Roscommon, for the engagement at Apache Pass, February 1861. Irwin received 30 years later before he retired from the Army.

Out of the 19 men to receive a second Medal of Honor, five were born in Ireland. They are, according to Concannon, “Henry Hogan from Clare, John Laverty from Tyrone, Dublin’s John Cooper, whose name at birth was John Laver Mather, John King and Patrick Mullen. Three double recipients were Irish-Americans: U.S. Marines Daniel Daly and John Joseph Kelly, and the U.S. Navy’s John McCloy.

#OnThisDay 1691 Williamite under Ginkel & Jacobite forces commanded by St Ruth met at the Battle of Aughrim, Ireland’s bloodiest battle. Initially the Jacobites fared well, locating themselves in a great defensive position that gave the Williamites little cover but the tide turned when the fire on the Jacobite left flank quietened, some Williamite cavalry and infantry crossed the bridge& St Ruth was decapitated by a cannonball (having just declared that “the day was Our’s“). The Williamites poured in on this flank and began rolling up the Jacobite infantry. Luttrell’s Horse on the Jacobite left flank fled, further worsening the situation and despite Sarsfield’s attempts to fight (who had crossed from the Jacobite right flank) a withdrawal, he could not save the day. Thousands of bodies littered the battlefield, so much so that it was said that they looked like sheep on the hill.

Listen to my podcast on the battle here: https://podcasts.apple.com/ie/podcast/the-battle-of-aughrim-1691-with-abbie-mcgowan/id1365677620?i=1000477110097

#OnThisDay 1929 The refurbished GPO reopens its doors thirteen years after it had been gutted during the Easter Rising, when it served as the Volunteers’ HQ. The building, much of Dublin’s inner city centre had been shelled by British artillery and the gunship, Helga during the week, bringing much ruin and devastation to the streets.

See video of WT Cosgrave speaking & the Army salute at the event:  https://ifiplayer.ie/the-gpo-after-13-years/…