#OnThisDay 1917 Fr. Willie Doyle from Dublin was killed at Passchendaele having run “all day hither and thither over the battlefield like an angel of mercy”. He was chaplain to the 16th Irish Division but was loved by men of all faiths.
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Charles Thomson, Continental Congress Secretary passed away 1824
#OnThisDay 1824 Charles Thomson, Secretary of the Continental Congress died. Thomson was born in Derry & arrived in America as an orphan &rose up through society in Philadelphia. His signature is on the first published version of the Declaration of Independence.
Sister Anthony/ Mary O’Connell ‘Angel of the Battlefield’
#OnThisDay 1814 Mary O’Connell/Sister Anthony, AKA the ‘Angel of the battlefield’ was born in Limerick. Sister Anthony invented battlefield triage during the American Civil War which saved countless lives during the conflict. Her method was “the first recognizably modern triage techniques in war zones, saved countless lives through faster hospital treatment and won her praise from President Lincoln”. Her medical skills often allowed her to intervene to save soldiers’ limbs from amputation. Her methods are still used today.
1649 Oliver Cromwell lands in Dublin
#OnThisDay 1649 Oliver Cromwell lands in Dublin at the head of a fleet of 35 ships & another 77 two days later. Historian John Morrill claims “it led on to the most ruthless process of ethnic cleansing that there has ever been in western European history”. #Ireland #History
1599 Battle of Curlew Pass
#OnThisDay 1599 Hugh O’Donnell’s men attack & rout an English army at the Battle of Curlew Pass outside Boyle. 160 Galloglas warriors charged “Like hounds slipped from the leash”. Three English leaders Radcliffe, Clifford & Cosby were killed.
The Irish at War 