Events for May 05

May 5, 1864

Birth in Edgeworthstown, Co. Longford of Sir Henry Wilson, soldier; chief of the Imperial General Staff from 1918 to 1922; establishes British Intelligence Cairo Gang in Dublin

May 5, 1977

Bobby Sands dies at Long Kesh prison on the 66th day of his hunger strike

Robert Gerard Sands, commonly known as Bobby Sands (9 March 1954 – 5 May 1981) was an Irish republican and a former MP who died on hunger strike in the prison officially called HM Prison Maze but formerly known as Long Kesh (a name still used by Irish Republicans).

May 5, 1795

House of Commons rejects Grattans Catholic relief bill

May 5, 1916

Irish patriot and a leader of the 1916 Easter Uprising, John MacBride, is executed by firing squad in Kilmainham Gaol