History

Birth in Dublin of Hugh Leonard, pseudonym of John Keyes Byrne, playwright
Birth in Dublin of Hugh Leonard, pseudonym of John Keyes Byrne, playwright Hugh Leonard (9 November 1926 – 12 February 2009) was an Irish dramatist, television writer, and essayist. In a career that spanned 50 years, Leonard wrote nearly 30 full-length plays, 10 one-act plays, three volumes of essay, two autobiographies, three novels, numerous screenplays and teleplays, and a regular newspaper column. …

Tim OKeeffe, publisher, is born in Kinsale, Co. Cork
Tim OKeeffe, publisher, is born in Kinsale, Co. Cork …

Eamon de Valera founds Fianna Fáil and holds its first public meeting
Eamon de Valera founds Fianna Fáil and holds its first public meeting …

General Strike began at midnight, the first in British history
General Strike began at midnight, the first in British history …

J.P. Donleavy, author of The Ginger Man, is born in New York
J.P. Donleavy, author of The Ginger Man, is born in New York James Patrick Donleavy (23 April 1926 – 11 September 2017) was an American-Irish novelist, short story writer and playwright. His best-known work is the novel The Ginger Man, which was initially banned for obscenity. …

The future Queen Elizabeth II born
The future Queen Elizabeth II born Elizabeth II (Elizabeth Alexandra Mary; 21 April 1926 – 8 September 2022) was Queen of the United Kingdom and other Commonwealth realms from 6 February 1952 until her death in 2022. She was queen regnant of 32 sovereign states over the course of her lifetime and remained the monarch of 15 realms by the time of her death. Her reign of over 70 years is the longest of any British monarch, the longest of any female monarch, and the second longest verified reign of any monarch of a sovereign state in history. …

Violet Albina Gibson attempted to assassinate Benito Mussolini
Violet Albina Gibson attempted to assassinate Benito Mussolini Violet Albina Gibson (31 August 1876 – 2 May 1956) was an Irish-born woman who attempted to assassinate Benito Mussolini in 1926. She was released without charge but spent the rest of her life in a psychiatric hospital in England. …

Birth in Armagh of Ian Paisley, clergyman and Unionist politician
Birth in Armagh of Ian Paisley, clergyman and Unionist politician Ian Richard Kyle Paisley, Baron Bannside (6 April 1926 – 12 September 2014) was a politician and church minister in Northern Ireland. He founded the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) in 1971 and was its leader until May 2008. …

Eamon de Valera resigns as head of Sinn Féin
Eamon de Valera resigns as head of Sinn Féin Éamon de Valera resigned as the head of Sinn Féin in January 1926. This resignation came after a significant split in the party over the issue of taking the Oath of Allegiance to the British Crown, which was a requirement for entering the Free State’s Dáil Éireann (the Irish Parliament) according to the Anglo-Irish Treaty of 1921. De Valera was opposed to the Treaty, which led to the Irish Civil War (1922-1923) because he and his followers believed it did not offer true independence for Ireland, as it kept Ireland as a dominion of the British Empire. …

Rioting greets the Abbey Theatre performance of Sean O'Caseys The Plough and the Stars
Rioting greets the Abbey Theatre performance of Sean O'Caseys The Plough and the Stars Rioting that greeted the Abbey Theatre performance of Sean O’Casey’s play “The Plough and the Stars” in Dublin, Ireland, on its premiere in 1926. The play, which is set during the Easter Rising of 1916, sparked controversy due to its depiction of Irish nationalism and its portrayal of the events of the Rising. …