Events for December 12

December 12, 1803

Gerald Griffin, the Irish novelist, poet, and playwright, was born

Gerald Griffin (Irish: Gearóid Ó Gríofa; 12 December 1803 – 12 June 1840) was an Irish-born novelist, poet and playwright. His novel The Collegians was the basis of Dion Boucicault’s play The Colleen Bawn. Feeling he was “wasting his time” writing fiction, he joined the Christian Brothers, a Catholic religious congregation founded by Edmund Ignatius Rice to teach the children of the poor.

December 12, 1939

HMS Duchess, accidentally rammed by a battleship in thick fog, sunk with heavy loss of life

HMS Duchess was a D-class destroyer built for the Royal Navy in the early 1930s. The ship was initially assigned to the Mediterranean Fleet before she was transferred to the China Station in early 1935.

December 12, 1883

Peadar Kearney, composer of lyrics to Ireland National Anthem, A Soldier's Song, is born

Peadar Kearney, 12 December 1883 – 24 November 1942) was an Irish republican and composer of numerous rebel songs. In 1907 he wrote the lyrics to “A Soldier’s Song” (Irish: “Amhrán na bhFiann”), now the Irish national anthem. He was the uncle of Irish writers Brendan Behan, Brian Behan, and Dominic Behan. He was born on December 12, 1883, in Dublin, Ireland.

December 12, 1939

The Cork Opera House is destroyed by fire

Cork Opera House is a theatre and opera house in Cork in Ireland. The first venue opened in 1855 on Emmet Place (then known as Nelson’s Place) to the rear of the Crawford Art Gallery. This original building was destroyed by fire in 1955, and a replacement opened in 1965. With a number of additions in the early 21st century, the 1000-seat venue hosted over 100 theatre, music, opera, and comedy events in 2015.