Birth of Irish Statesman, Kevin Christopher OHiggins in Stradbally, Co. Laois.

Kevin Christopher O’Higgins is born in Stradbally, County Laois, on June 7, 1892. A leading Irish statesman, he served as Vice-President of the Executive Council and Minister for Justice in the Free State government following the Anglo-Irish Treaty of 1921. O’Higgins was known for his intellectual rigor and pragmatic conservatism, but also for his harsh policies, including the execution of anti-Treaty IRA members during the Civil War — earning him lasting controversy.

He was instrumental in laying the foundations of the modern Irish state, including the establishment of An Garda Síochána, the national police force. O’Higgins was assassinated by republicans in 1927 while walking to Mass in Dublin, a stark symbol of the lingering divisions from the Civil War.