Stair na hÉireann / History of Ireland

Stair na hÉireann / History of Ireland Stair na hÉireann / History of Ireland tells the story of Ireland — its history, culture, legends, and people. © Stair na hÉireann / History of Ireland.

All Rights Reserved. 2013 Stair na hÉireann is steeped in Ireland's turbulent history, as well as it's culture, music, and is populated in myth and characters. © Stair na hÉireann | History of Ireland 2013. All Rights Reserved.

in 1971 – Dolores O’Riordan was born in Ballybricken, Co. Limerick.Dolores O’Riordan became one of Ireland’s most dist...
06/09/2026

in 1971 – Dolores O’Riordan was born in Ballybricken, Co. Limerick.

Dolores O’Riordan became one of Ireland’s most distinctive and internationally recognised singers as the lead vocalist and principal songwriter of The Cranberries.

She joined the Limerick band in 1990, helping propel them to worldwide success with songs including Linger, Dreams and Zombie. After 13 years of recording and touring, The Cranberries announced a hiatus in 2003, eventually reuniting in 2009.

During the hiatus, O’Riordan released two solo albums: Are You Listening? in 2007 and No Baggage in 2009. She also served as a judge and coach on RTÉ’s The Voice of Ireland during the 2013–14 season.

In April 2014, she joined a musical project with former Smiths bassist Andy Rourke and Olé Koretsky, which became known as D.A.R.K.

O’Riordan was renowned for her distinctive lilting voice, signature yodel and unmistakable Limerick accent. Her voice became one of the defining sounds of alternative rock in the 1990s.

Dolores O’Riordan died unexpectedly in London on 15 January 2018, aged 46.

Her extraordinary voice and songwriting continue to resonate around the world. 🇮🇪

☘️ in 1593 – Gráinne Ní Mháille (Grace O’Malley) meets Elizabeth IOn this day in 1593, Gráinne Ní Mháille travelled to...
06/09/2026

☘️ in 1593 – Gráinne Ní Mháille (Grace O’Malley) meets Elizabeth I

On this day in 1593, Gráinne Ní Mháille travelled to Greenwich to make her case directly to Queen Elizabeth I.

The daughter of Eóghan Dubhdara Ó Máille, Gráinne became head of the powerful Ó Máille dynasty and a formidable political and maritime leader on Ireland’s western coast.

In 1593, her son Theobald (Tibbot) Bourke and her half-brother Dónal an Phíopa Ó Máille had been imprisoned by Sir Richard Bingham, the English governor of Connacht. Facing the threat that her son might be executed, Gráinne petitioned Elizabeth for their release.

She was summoned to Greenwich in early September and presented her case to the queen. On 6 September, Elizabeth ordered immediate inquiries into Bingham’s conduct. By the end of the year, Gráinne’s son and half-brother had been released.

Gráinne—known in Irish tradition as Gráinne Mhaol, and later anglicised as Granuaile—had spent decades navigating the turbulent politics of Gaelic Ireland, defending her family’s interests and maintaining a powerful maritime presence along the western coast.

Her meeting with Elizabeth I remains one of the most remarkable encounters in Tudor Irish history: two formidable women, accustomed to exercising authority in a world dominated by men, meeting face-to-face to negotiate power, loyalty and survival. ☘️

in 1607 — The Earls of Tyrone and Tyrconnell, Hugh O’Neill and Rory O’Donnell, departed Rathmullan on Lough Swilly wit...
04/09/2026

in 1607 — The Earls of Tyrone and Tyrconnell, Hugh O’Neill and Rory O’Donnell, departed Rathmullan on Lough Swilly with their families, followers and associates in an event that became known as the Flight of the Earls.

On 4 September 1607 (Old Style), Hugh O’Neill, Earl of Tyrone, Rory O’Donnell, Earl of Tyrconnell, and Cúchonnacht Maguire, Lord of Fermanagh, set sail from Portnamurry, near Rathmullan, aboard a ship bound for Spain. The traditional account records 99 people aboard, including members of the O’Neill and O’Donnell families and their wider circle. (Ask About Ireland)

Their journey was anything but straightforward. They intended to reach A Coruña (Corunna) in Spain, hoping to secure Spanish assistance, but after weeks at sea, severe storms forced the ship towards the French coast. On 4 October 1607, they landed at Quilleboeuf in Normandy, at the mouth of the Seine. (Scoilnet)

From France, the exiles travelled to Louvain in the Spanish Netherlands, where they spent the winter before continuing their journey south. They eventually reached Rome in April 1608, where they entered a life of exile. (Ask About Ireland)

Rory O’Donnell died in Rome in 1608. Hugh O’Neill survived until 1616, dying in Rome on 20 July.

The departure of the Ulster earls is traditionally regarded as a watershed in Irish history, symbolising the collapse of the old Gaelic political order in Ulster and preceding the Plantation of Ulster.

Yet the precise motives behind their departure remain debated. Was it a flight from increasing English pressure, a temporary withdrawal, or an attempt to regroup abroad and return with foreign military assistance?

More than four centuries later, the departure from Rathmullan remains one of the most consequential and intriguing episodes in the history of Gaelic Ireland.

☘️ Imeacht na nIarlaí — The Departure of the Earls.

Mary Smith ⏰ The Knocker-UpperIn the early 20th century, a Knocker-upper's job was to rouse sleeping people so they coul...
03/09/2026

Mary Smith ⏰ The Knocker-Upper

In the early 20th century, a Knocker-upper's job was to rouse sleeping people so they could get to work on time, a profession that started in England and Ireland during the Industrial Revolution, before alarm clocks were affordable or reliable.

Mary Smith earned six pence a week shooting a pea into the windows of the sleeping workers. Knocker-uppers mostly used long bamboo sticks, batons, canes, but sometimes to rouse residents of the upper floors, had to shoot at the window with green peas.
Knocker-uppers were mostly elderly people, but sometimes, for an additional fee, this work was entrusted to the local Constable.

📸 Philip Davies' Lost London, 1870-1945

in 1935 – Birth of Liam Clancy, legendary Irish folk singer and member of The Clancy Brothers and Tommy Makem.Liam Cla...
02/09/2026

in 1935 – Birth of Liam Clancy, legendary Irish folk singer and member of The Clancy Brothers and Tommy Makem.

Liam Clancy was born on 2 September 1935 in Carrick-on-Suir, Co. Tipperary, the youngest of 11 children.

After emigrating to the United States in the 1950s, Liam joined his brothers Paddy and Tom, and Armagh-born Tommy Makem, in what would become one of the most influential groups of the Irish folk revival.

Their breakthrough came in 1961 when The Clancy Brothers and Tommy Makem appeared on The Ed Sullivan Show. Their performance on 12 March 1961 helped propel the quartet to international fame and brought Irish traditional song to millions of American television viewers.

With their distinctive Aran sweaters, powerful ballads and exuberant performances, the group became hugely popular in the United States and Ireland, performing to packed houses at major venues including Carnegie Hall.

Liam Clancy went on to enjoy a long and distinguished career as a singer and musician. Renowned for his distinctive, mellifluous voice, he became one of the most respected ballad singers of his generation.

He died in Cork on 4 December 2009, aged 74.

☘️ A towering figure in the Irish folk revival, Liam Clancy helped bring Irish song to audiences around the world.

in 1831 – Dublin Zoo opened its gates for the first time. 🦁🇮🇪On 1 September 1831, the Zoological Gardens Dublin opened...
01/09/2026

in 1831 – Dublin Zoo opened its gates for the first time. 🦁🇮🇪

On 1 September 1831, the Zoological Gardens Dublin opened in Phoenix Park, marking the beginning of what would become one of Ireland’s best-known institutions.

The Zoo grew out of the Zoological Society of Ireland, founded on 10 May 1830 at a meeting in Dublin’s Rotunda Hospital. The Society was established by physicians, anatomists, academics and other scientists interested in the study of zoology and in creating a collection of living animals along the lines of the Zoological Society of London.

When the Zoo opened, its collection consisted of 46 mammals and 72 birds, many of them donated by London Zoo. Admission initially cost sixpence, making it largely an attraction for the more affluent.

In 1840, however, the Society introduced one-penny admission on Sundays, opening the Zoo to a much wider section of Dublin society and beginning its transformation into what became known affectionately as the “People’s Zoo.”

Dublin Zoo remains in Phoenix Park today, nearly two centuries after it first opened its gates.

in 1945 – Van Morrison, “Van the Man,” is born in Belfast.Born George Ivan Morrison on 31 August 1945, the Belfast-bor...
31/08/2026

in 1945 – Van Morrison, “Van the Man,” is born in Belfast.

Born George Ivan Morrison on 31 August 1945, the Belfast-born singer, songwriter and musician would become one of Ireland’s most distinctive and enduring musical voices.

Morrison first made his mark as the lead singer of Belfast R&B band Them, recording his own composition “Gloria” in London in July 1964. Released later that year as the B-side of “Baby, Please Don’t Go,” the song would become a rock classic and one of the most widely covered songs of its era.

Then came an extraordinary solo career.

From the irresistible “Brown Eyed Girl” and the mystical beauty of “Into the Mystic”, to the poetic “Coney Island” and “I’m Tired Joey Boy,” Morrison’s music has travelled effortlessly between R&B, soul, jazz, folk, blues and spiritual music.

Both “Coney Island” and “I’m Tired Joey Boy” appeared on his 1989 album Avalon Sunset.

A bold claim, perhaps, but there is certainly an argument to be made that Van Morrison is one of the finest songwriters and composers ever produced by Ireland.

And unmistakably Belfast.

Happy 81st birthday to Van the Man. 🎶☘️

in 1848 – Francis O’Neill, the Chicago police chief who became one of the most important collectors of Irish tradition...
28/08/2026

in 1848 – Francis O’Neill, the Chicago police chief who became one of the most important collectors of Irish traditional music, is born in Tralibane, near Bantry, Co. Cork.

Francis O’Neill was born on August 28, 1848, the youngest of seven children in a musical family in West Cork. Music, song and dance were an important part of life in his community, and O’Neill developed a lifelong love of traditional music from an early age. (ITMA)

At sixteen, he left Ireland and spent several years at sea before eventually settling in Chicago. In 1873, he joined the Chicago Police Department, where he steadily rose through the ranks. On April 30, 1901, he became General Superintendent of Police — commonly known as Chief O’Neill — a position he held until 1905. (Digital Chicago History)

But O’Neill’s greatest legacy would be outside the police force.

A passionate flute, fiddle and pipe player himself, he began an ambitious effort to collect and preserve Irish traditional music. Working with fellow musicians — including other members of the Chicago police — he gathered tunes remembered from Ireland as well as melodies circulating within Chicago’s large Irish immigrant community. (DIB)

His work resulted in some of the most influential collections of Irish traditional music ever published.

In 1903, he published O’Neill’s Music of Ireland, Eighteen Hundred and Fifty Melodies. In 1907, he followed it with The Dance Music of Ireland: 1001 Gems, which became so influential that musicians simply referred to it as “the book.” (Digital Chicago History)

O’Neill also began making Edison cylinder recordings of Irish traditional musicians in 1902, providing some of the earliest sound recordings of the tradition. (DIB)

Francis O’Neill died in Chicago in 1936, but his legacy lives on every time an Irish musician plays one of the thousands of melodies he helped preserve.

From West Cork to Chicago — a police chief who became one of the great chroniclers and champions of Irish traditional music. 🎶🇮🇪

This was the family home of the Kerins family in Ballymote, Sligo where Andrew Kerins was born in 1840, before the Great...
28/08/2026

This was the family home of the Kerins family in Ballymote, Sligo where Andrew Kerins was born in 1840, before the Great Hunger. He experienced the famine and left for Glasgow in 1855, where he would later join the Marist Brothers. He saw the struggles of the impoverished Irish in Glasgow's east end and was the founder of world famous Glasgow Celtic in 1887. He set up the soup kitchens and a sense of community for the Irish immigrants to Scotland. The Marist Fathers is a Catholic organisation whose members are referred to as Brothers. They were founded in France in 1816. Andrew Kerins joined the group after moving to Scotland in 1855 from county Sligo. His religious name was Brother Walfrid and there are statues of him in Ballymote Country Park and outside Glasgow Celtic Football Club. It was Brother Walfrid who founded Glasgow Celtic in 1887 as part of his mission to help the poor in Glasgow's east end. He is fondly remembered by thousands of people around the world because of his efforts in helping the poor, mainly Irish immigrants.

☘️ in 1913 — The Dublin Lockout beginsOn 26 August 1913, Dublin tram drivers and conductors walked off the job, markin...
26/08/2026

☘️ in 1913 — The Dublin Lockout begins

On 26 August 1913, Dublin tram drivers and conductors walked off the job, marking the beginning of what would become one of the most bitter and consequential labour disputes in Irish history.

Led by “Big” Jim Larkin, the dispute soon developed into the Dublin Lockout, as employers led by businessman William Martin Murphy sought to prevent workers from joining Larkin’s Irish Transport and General Workers’ Union (ITGWU).

Larkin had founded the ITGWU in January 1909, bringing together skilled and unskilled workers in an effort to improve wages and working conditions. James Connolly later became one of the union’s leading figures.

By September 1913, more than 20,000 workers and their families were caught up in the conflict. What followed was months of poverty, hardship and violence.

On 31 August, the infamous Bloody Sunday saw the Dublin Metropolitan Police and Royal Irish Constabulary baton-charge crowds on O’Connell Street, leaving hundreds injured. Two men died from injuries sustained during the violence.

The Lockout finally collapsed in February 1914. Exhausted and facing severe hardship, many workers returned to their jobs without securing recognition of the ITGWU. Yet the struggle helped transform Irish trade unionism and left a lasting mark on the political and social history of Ireland.

The Dublin Lockout of 1913–14 remains one of the defining chapters in the history of the Irish labour movement.

#1913

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