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Thomas McElwee, Irish polictical prisoner, dies on hunger strike in Maze prison, Northern Ireland.
Thomas McElwee, Irish polictical prisoner, dies on hunger strike in Maze prison, Northern Ireland. Thomas McElwee (30 November 1957 – 8 August 1981) was a Provisional Irish Republican Army (IRA) volunteer who participated in the 1981 hunger strike. From Bellaghy, County Londonderry, Northern Ireland, he died at the age of 23 after 62 days on hunger strike. …

The Civic Guard is renamed the Garda Siochana
The Civic Guard is renamed the Garda Siochana The Civic Guard, the national police force of the Irish Free State, was renamed Garda Síochána na hÉireann (Guardians of the Peace of Ireland) in 1923. The name change was part of the broader efforts to establish a police force that reflected the ideals and identity of the newly independent Irish state. …

James Gandon moves from London to Dublin; the first stone of his Customs House is laid on this date
James Gandon moves from London to Dublin; the first stone of his Customs House is laid on this date James Gandon, one of the most renowned architects of his time, moved from London to Dublin in 1781. On August 9, 1781, the first stone of his most famous work, the Custom House in Dublin, was laid. This event marked the beginning of the construction of one of Dublin’s most iconic buildings and a significant moment in the city’s architectural history. …

Birth of Francis Hutcheson, Presbyterian philosopher, in Co. Down
Birth of Francis Hutcheson, Presbyterian philosopher, in Co. Down Francis Hutcheson, a significant figure in the history of philosophy and one of the founding figures of the Scottish Enlightenment, was born on August 8, 1694, in Drumalig, a townland near Saintfield, County Down, Ireland. Hutcheson is best known for his work in moral philosophy and his influence on later thinkers, including David Hume and Adam Smith. …

The Spanish Armada is defeated by the English, with some Spaniards slain upon reaching the coasts of Ireland and some survivors remaining The defeat of the Spanish Armada in 1588 by the English navy is one of the most famous events in European history. The Armada’s mission was to invade England and overthrow Queen Elizabeth I, but it ended in disaster for Spain. After their defeat, many ships from the Armada were wrecked on the coasts of Ireland as they attempted to return to Spain by sailing around the British Isles. Some of the Spanish sailors who reached the Irish coast were killed, while others survived and were integrated into Irish communities. …

King James IV married Margaret Tudor, daughter of King Henry VII of England. The marriage was known as the Union of the Thistle and the Rose.
King James IV married Margaret Tudor, daughter of King Henry VII of England. The marriage was known as the Union of the Thistle and the Rose. The marriage of King James IV of Scotland to Margaret Tudor, daughter of King Henry VII of England, took place on August 8, 1503. This union is famously referred to as the “Union of the Thistle and the Rose,” symbolizing the national emblems of Scotland and England—the thistle for Scotland and the rose for England. The marriage was a significant event in the history of both nations, with long-lasting implications for the future of the British Isles. …

King Edward I removed to England the Stone of Destiny on which generations of Scottish kings had been crowned.
King Edward I removed to England the Stone of Destiny on which generations of Scottish kings had been crowned. In 1296 the Stone was captured by Edward I as spoils of war and taken to Westminster Abbey, where it was placed under the Coronation Chair, known as St. Edwards Chair on which English sovereigns sat in order to symbolise their dominion over Scotland as well as England. However, there is some doubt whether Edward I captured the real stone — it has been suggested that monks at Scone Palace hid the real Stone in the River Tay or buried it on Dunsinane Hill. If so, it is possible that the English troops were fooled into taking the wrong stone, which could explain why historic descriptions of the ……