#OnThisDay 1537 Silken Thomas Fitzgerald, 10th Earl of Kildare & his five uncles were executed at Tyburn, London. in 1534 upon hearing rumours that his father had been executed by King Henry VIII, Thomas renounced allegiance to Henry, revolted & besieged Dublin. His rebellion eventually failed and he was taken prisoner under the guarantee that he would not be executed.
Silken was hanged & beheaded but his uncles were quartered. He was 24.
#OnThisDay 1921 Captain Cornelius ‘Con’ Murphy from Millstreet, Cork was executed for possession of a loaded revolver, the first official execution under Martial Law. The execution was carried out before the announcement of the sentence was given to the public.
#OnThisDay 1878 Thomas MacDonagh, poet, scholar, nationalist & one of the signatories of the Proclamation of Independence was born in Cloughjordan, Tipperary. He was stationed in Jacob’s during the Easter Rising. MacDonagh was the third leader to be executed.
#OnThisDay 1796 Theobald Wolfe Tone arrived in France from exile in America. He met with the future American President Monroe & various French diplomats. By the year’s end Tone & General Lazare Hoche will launch an (ill-fated) invasion to liberate Ireland. #Ireland #History
The Irish army is officially set up with its HQ in Beggarsbush Barracks, Dublin. As they march past City Hall, Michael Collins (2nd from the left) takes the salute. The Beggarsbush garrison is made up of ex-Squad members and trusted members of the Dublin brigade – they become the first regiment of the Free State army (Dublin Guards). Mulcahy and others work hard at giving all the appearances that this army was still the IRA.
The Irish at War 