Events for March 24

March 24, 1866

Birth in Co. Cork of light-heavyweight boxing champion, Jack McAuliffe

Jack McAuliffe (March 24, 1866 – November 5, 1937) was an Irish boxer who fought mostly out of Williamsburg, Brooklyn. Nicknamed “The Napoleon of the Ring,” McAuliffe is one of only fifteen world boxing champions to retire without a loss.

March 24, 1909

John Millington Synge, poet, died

Edmund John Millington Synge (/sɪŋ/; 16 April 1871 – 24 March 1909) was an Irish playwright, poet, writer, collector of folklore, and a key figure in the Irish Literary Revival. His best known play The Playboy of the Western World was poorly received, due to its bleak ending, depiction of Irish peasants, and idealisation of parricide, leading to hostile audience reactions and riots in Dublin during its opening run at the Abbey Theatre, which he had co-founded with W. B. Yeats and Lady Gregory. His other major works include In the Shadow of the Glen (1903), Riders to the Sea (1904), The Well of the Saints (1905), and The Tinker’s Wedding (1909)

March 24, 1796

The Insurrection Act imposes curfews, arms searches, and the death penalty for oath-taking

The last decade of the 1700s was a most important time in Irish history. Republicanism and Loyalism both found real identity, the Orange Order and Maynooth College were both founded as the century ended with the rebellion in Ireland.

March 24, 1603

Union of the Crowns of England and Scotland on the death of Queen Elizabeth I

The Union of the Crowns (Scottish Gaelic: Aonadh nan Crùintean; Scots: Union o the Crouns) was the accession of James VI of Scotland to the throne of the Kingdom of England as James I and the practical unification of some functions (such as overseas diplomacy) of the two separate realms under a single individual on 24 March 1603. It followed the death of James’s cousin, Elizabeth I of England, the last monarch of the Tudor dynasty.