October

The Irish parliament orders the annual observance of Oct 23 as a day of thanksgiving for deliverance from the 1641 rising; for over a century, church services on this day will remind Protestants of Catholic disloyalty

October 23, 1662

First meeting of the Parliament of Great Britain.

October 23, 1707

Birth of John Claudius Beresford, banker, MP, and controversial figure in 1798 rebellion, during which he was alleged to have flogged suspects at his riding house in Marlborough Street, Dublin; the slogan Mangling done here gratis by Beresford and Co. w

October 23, 1766

Benjamin Franklin ends his visit to Ireland

October 23, 1771

Birth of Francis Jeffrey, first editor of the Edinburgh Review.

October 23, 1773

Death of John Boyd Dunlop who re-invented the pneumatic tyre from the design of Robert W Thomson.

October 23, 1921

The IRA and other organizations are declared illegal in the Free State and the Catholic Church

October 23, 1931

Poet and dramatist Tom McGrath born in Rutherglen.

October 23, 1940

Terence MacSwiney mayor of Cork died in an English prison on hunger strike.

October 232, 1923

Born in Cork and educated at North Monastery Christian Brothers’ School and the Royal University of Ireland, MacSwiney was a founder member of the Cork Celtic Literary Society in 1901 and, with Daniel …

Irish Confederate rebels establish government at Kilkenny

October 24, 1642

Work begins on the construction of the Royal Canal

October 24, 1789

Artist David Roberts born in Edinburgh.

October 24, 1796