11 March 1597:A Huge explosion rocked the quays of Dublin on this day. On a dry and breezy Friday afternoon over 400 years ago the city of Dublin was rocked by the greatest and most deadly explosion ever recorded in its history. At least 126 people were killed and many hundreds more injured by this devastating eruption on the Quays.

The source of the explosion was the many barrels of gunpowder that had been unloaded at the Wood Quay on the south side of the River Liffey. Stored in the open they were awaiting transportation to Dublin Castle where they were to be distributed to the English Army in Ireland. A dangerous situation had arisen due to a labour dispute with the carters and porters whose job it was to move them off the docks. Basically they instituted as 'go slow' that week and with such an accumulation of barrels of powder the potential for a devastating outcome was greatly increased.

The barrels had to be landed by a lighter making its way up the Liffey as the shallow draught of the river back then made it difficult for merchant ships to sail up it. The lighter moored itself adjacent to the City Crane mounted on the Crane House. This was situated more or less where Winetavern St meets the Liffey Quays at Wood Quay.

On that fateful day the craneman was one Stephan Sedgarve. Just as the clock over the Bridge Gate struck the hour of one in the afternoon and as Sedgarve was manoeuvring the very last four barrels on to the Quay the whole thing went up and blew asunder the hapless craneman, the Crane House and some 20 other dwellings in the vicinity of the eruption. At least 126 people were killed and many hundreds more injured - a casualty list that would have been higher except for the hour of day when many of the Port's officials had departed for lunch and by the fact that most of the carters and porters were some distance off as they were reluctant to move the cargo until their dispute was resolved.

An Official Enquiry under the Lord Mayor Michael Chamberlain was set up to establish what exactly had caused the explosion but no satisfactory explanation was ever reached. There were reports of children rolling a barrel of gunpowder either in play or in theft or that a horse's hoof had let a spark amongst the deadly cargo. But within the immediate area a gaping crater in the ground and all that stood near dead or missing nothing could be said for sure:

Richard Toben, mr porter of Dublin, of the age of 55 yeares or thereabouts likewise sworne and duly examined deposeth, that he this depont being at the Crane, the daie and yeare aforesaid helping to put out the powder, and leaving eche barrell at the Crane dore readie to be carried awaie by suche as the Q. officers had apointed, the children of the streete and other persons there standing idle and not hired, fell a rowling of the powder; but who the children or persons were that so rowld them this depont. did not well note or knowe them.

He further deposeth that Thadie Carroll servant to John Allen, clarke of the Storehouse, was there put taking the note of the barrells, and Patrick Carroll the said Thadies brother was loading the same upon carrs, the owner of one of the carrs his name is Derbie Ferrall, and the owner of the other he knowetil not.

OFFICIAL ENQUIRY

One hundred and forty-four barrels of powder were sent by the Queen to Dublin, to her people, in the month of March. When the powder was landed, it was drawn to Wine-street, and placed on both sides of the street, and a spark of fire got into the powder; but from whence that spark proceeded, whether from the heavens or from the earth beneath, is not known; howbeit, the barrels burst into one blazing flame and rapid conflagration which raised into the air, from their solid foundations and supporting posts, the stone mansions and wooden houses of the street, so that the long beam, the enormous stone, and the man in his corporal shape, were sent whirling into the air over the town by the explosion of this powerful powder; and it is impossible to enumerate, reckon, or describe the number of honourable persons, of tradesmen of every class, of women and maidens, and of the sons of gentlemen, who had come from all parts of Ireland to be educated in the city, that were destroyed. The quantity of gold, silver, or worldly property, that was destroyed, was no cause of lamentation, compared to the number of people who were injured and killed by that explosion. It was not Wine-street alone that was destroyed on this occasion, but the next quarter of the town to it.

Annals of the Four Masters

CELT: The online resource for Irish history, literature and politics

Dublin's Great Explosion 1597

Colm Lennon

History Ireland

 

10 March‭ ‬1653: Sir Phelim O'Neill was hanged, drawn and quartered at Dublin on this day. Sir Phelim was a wanted man from the day back in October 1641 when he led the Irish of Ulster out in revolt against the English Parliament. He was a most unlikely ‘Rebel’ for his family had sided with the English during the Nine Years War (1594-1603) and again during O’Doherty’s Rebellion in 1608 in which his own father was killed in the service of King James I. 

O’Neill in turn had openly adapted to the new dispensation,‭ studied Law in London and on return had settled down to the life of a powerful if spendthrift landlord in Tyrone. But by the early 1640’s the situation both in Britain and Ireland was rapidly spinning out of control as King Charles personal rule fell apart and the Puritans rose in power. O’Neill amongst others recognised that these people sought to further colonise Ireland and suppress the Catholic Religion.

On the night of 22 October 1641 he opened the Revolt by seizing Charlemont Fort in Tyrone. Two days later, O'Neill issued a proclamation declaring that he and his associates had taken up arms only for the defence and liberty of themselves and the native Irish; the insurgency was not intended to harm either King Charles or any of his subjects in Ireland. In a brilliant move he had forged a commission early in November 1641, purporting to bear the King’s Seal and which authorised the Irish to rise in defence of their liberties against the Westminster Parliament.

Sir Phelim had mixed success in the years that followed,‭ ‬never quite getting the better of his enemies, and never quite securing command of the Irish of Ulster. His initial success was marred by an outbreak of vicious massacres and ‘ethnic cleansings’ of Protestant settlers that was greatly exaggerated but widely believed in Scotland and England. While O’Neill stood aloof he was blamed nonetheless by the Puritans and they were determined to execute him if he was ever taken alive. 

He commanded a Regiment at the great Irish Victory of Benburb in‭ 1646 but had to flee the field at Scariffhollis in 1650. He tried to defend Charlemont Fort against the English Parliamentary army in August 1650 but was forced to flee and go into hiding as the Cromwellians tightened their grip on Ireland. They put a price of £300 on his head and in February 1653 his hiding place on an island in Lough Roughan in County Tyrone was betrayed and he was captured. Brought to Dublin he was imprisoned to await Trial but he must have known he was doomed to the gallows.

He was tried by the Cromwellian‭ ‘High Court’ sitting in Dublin which was specifically charged with executing as many of the ringleaders of the 1641 Rising as they could. The trial was held at the Court of Chancery in Dublin. Here the Judges sat, and were directed what questions they should allow by a Committee, who placed themselves in an adjoining room, called the Chancery Chamber. A communication was kept up between this Committee and the Judges by means of a messenger, who went constantly between them, relating to the Committee all proceedings that passed in the Court, and bringing their instructions to the Judges on every occasion, speaking to them through a square hole in the wall. His examiners were most anxious to know whether his Great Seal from the King was genuine or a forgery. O’Neill would not pleasure them with an answer even though they insinuated that his life could be spared if he answered in the affirmative. ‬After a trial of just five days Sir Phelim O'Neill was found guilty and sentenced to be hung drawn and quartered. The execution was duly carried out and his head was fixed on the bridge at Dublin, and his quarters were scattered throughout different parts of Ireland. 

While not a commanding figure,‭ fate had placed Sir Phelim in a pivotal position in the Autumn of 1641 where his actions triggered a series of events that were to have profound effects across ‘the Three Kingdoms’ of these islands that still resonate down to the present day.

 

9‭ March 1932: Eamon de Valera was elected President of the Executive Council of the Irish Free State in Leinster House on this day. It is believed that that he and his fellow deputies in Fianna Fáil entered the House with revolvers in their pockets, such was their distrust of their ex Civil War opponents in Cosgrave’s defeated Government. They had deep suspicions that a coup d’etat would be attempted by disaffected elements in the Free State Army who would not allow a changeover to take place. But in the event everything went smoothly and parliamentary forms were observed to the letter by all sides.

Of the TDs assembled that day‭ 81 deputies voted in favour of his election and 68 against the motion. De Valera was five seats short of an overall majority but William Norton, leader of the Labour Party committed his seven parliamentary colleagues in ensuring that Dev was elected the President.

After thanking the House de Valera proposed his Cabinet as follows:‭ 

The President himself,‭ in charge of the Department of External Affairs

Deputy Seán T.‭ O'Kelly, Vice-President, in charge of the Department of Local Government and Public Health

Deputy Patrick J.‭ Ruttledge, in charge of the Department of Lands and Fisheries

Deputy Seán F.‭ Lemass, in charge of the Department of Industry and Commerce

Deputy Seán MacEntee,‭ in charge of the Department of Finance

Deputy James Ryan,‭ in charge of the Department of Agriculture

Deputy Frank Aiken,‭ in charge of the Department of Defence

Deputy Thomas Derrig,‭ in charge of the Department of Education

Deputy James Geoghegan,‭ in charge of the Department of Justice

Senator Joseph Connolly,‭ in charge of the Department of Posts and Telegraphs

To avoid political embarrassment the Governor General James McNeill came in person to Leinster House to officially announce the result.‭ This was to avoid Dev himself having to make the trip out to the Vice Regal Lodge in the Phoenix Park – which was still seen as a symbol of the old Imperial Regime by his supporters.

Eamon de Valera was to remain in power for the next‭ 16 years until he was defeated in the 1948 General Election. It was and is the longest run of executive political Power by any one individual in the history of the State. 

 

8‭ March 1966: Dissident Irish Republicans blew up Nelson’s Pillar in Dublin on this day. The 121 foot high column to England’s greatest Naval Hero, Admiral Lord Nelson, was erected in 1808 to commemorate his victories at sea and his death at the Battle of Trafalgar in 1805. The subscription was raised from amongst the Loyal citizens of Dublin to fund the design and construction of the column and also the 13 foot high statue of Nelson that was placed on top of this imposing edifice.  

A number of attempts over the years,‭ some legal and others not so legal, were initiated to have it removed. Some were based on aesthetic and others on commercial grounds - that it was a block on traffic etc. But after 1922 a more political angle emerged as it was seen as an embarrassment that such an open symbol of British Imperial history dominated the main thoroughfare of Ireland’s Capital city. Notwithstanding this the open platform perched high above O’Connell Street remained a popular visit for both tourists and natives alike. It was also a well-known meeting place and landmark and the phrase ‘I’ll meet you at the Pillar’ was one that fell from many a Dubliners lips for generations. Quite a few of the city's Trams and later the Buses had the simple words ‘The Pillar’ on their frontage as the name of their destination with no further explanation necessary to the passengers.

However with the approach of the Commemoration of the‭ 50th anniversary of the Easter Rising in 1966 a small group of non-aligned republicans decided to remove the object by way of explosion. A plan, ‘Operation Humpty Dumpty’ was initiated to place within the pillar a device of such force that the structure would collapse. It was decided to plant a timebomb on the stairs set to go off in the early hours of a weekday so as to avoid civilian casualties. No warning was to be issued and the perpetrators took a huge risk in this endeavour but Dublin was a far less busy city back then than it is now and this played in their favour.

At around‭ 2 AM on the morning of 8th March a huge explosion rocked the City and awakened the more alert of the citizens situated near the city centre. The bomb destroyed the upper half of the pillar, throwing the statue of Nelson onto the street and causing large chunks of masonry to litter the surrounding area.  By sheer good Fortune no one was killed or injured. 

So long had the Admiral cast his eye over the City that at first many people did not believe the news on being told.‭ But disbelief soon turned into undisguised amusement that this political eyesore was gone at last and in such bizarre circumstances. More mirth was had some days later when the Irish Army was ordered to remove the remains of the column by detonation. While this was accomplished the resultant official bombing destroyed many of the shop front windows in O’Connell St – none of which were subject to damage in the initial explosion!

Within days the event was commemorated in a ballad called‭ ‘Up went Nelson in O’Connell Street’ by a group from Belfast called ‘The Go Lucky Four’ that reached Number 1 in the Irish Charts and stayed there for eight weeks. While Lord Nelson’s head from the statue survived damaged but intact it suffered further indignities as it was stolen from storage in a 'Student Prank' and used to raise funds. It appeared in a TV add and on stage with the ballad group The Dubliners. After many years on view in the Civic Museum it is now on display in the Dublin City Library (Gilbert Library) [above] in Pearse Street.

In September‭ 2000 Liam Sutcliffe, a resident of Dublin [deceased 2017] claimed during a radio interview that he was one of the people responsible for the attack on the monument. On being questioned by the Gardaí he refused to substantiate his claim and the matter was let drop. No one was ever charged or convicted for this attack in what was probably the most popular bombing ever to occur in Ireland.

 

7 March 1923: The Ballyseedy Massacre on this day. 9 IRA prisoners, many of whom had been beaten, were brought to Ballyseedy woods near Tralee Co Kerry where they were told that they were to remove an "irregular road block". However, it was clear to the men what was in store for them when they had been shown 9 coffins in the barracks. Each were offered a cigarette and told it be "the last you'll have". They were then tied together to the mined road block and blown up. Some of the men were still alive and were finished off by grenade and machine gun.

Unbeknownst to the Free State troops one man was blown clear and managed to escape. His name was Stephen Fuller (to become a FF TD in 1937). Because the bodies were so badly mangled all nine coffins were filled with the remains of the 8 who perished. This was to lead to a near riot in Tralee when the coffins were handed over the the families at the gates of Ballymullen barracks. The families broke open the coffins to try and identify the remains.

The catalyst for this massacre had been the deaths of Free State Officers & soldiers the previous day when 5 members of the Free State Army, including Captains Michael Dunne and Joseph Stapleton of Dublin Brigade, were killed in Knocknagoshel, Co Kerry, by a booby trap mine planted by the Kerry IRA. The target of the trap was a particular local fellow by the name of Paddy "Pats" O'Connor who, according to the IRA, was a notorious torturer of prisoners. O'Connor joined the Free State army because of the treatment of his father by the local IRA.

The Dublin Guards, who had been in Kerry since the previous August, were commanded by Paddy O'Daly. He was furious over the booby trap which had killed his friends & comrades in arms and it subsequently became clear that he was responsible for what took place following the Knocknagoshel incident.

Later on the same day as Ballyseedy a very similar incident took place at Countess Bridge in Killarney where 5 IRA prisoners where told to remove a mined road block which was also blown up. Three of the men who lay wounded were finished off by grenade. Again, amazingly, a fifth man named Tadhg Coffey, survived and escaped. Five days later, on March 12, another five men, this time from Kerry number three brigade were blown up at Cahirciveen, and this time, to avoid any more escapees, they were first shot in the legs.

The well known sculptured memorial at Ballyseedy  [above] was designed by Yann-Renard Goulet and erected in 1959 before a large crowd of around 20,000 people.

 

6 March 1152: The Synod of Kells/Ceannas Mór was concluded on this day.  This great gathering of the churchmen of Ireland was presided over by the Papal Legate Cardinal Paparoni, sent by Pope Eugene III to conduct the proceedings. On his first attempt to get to Ireland, in 1150, Paparoni was refused a safe conduct through England by King Stephen unless he pledged himself to do nothing in Ireland that would injure England’s interests there. The cardinal refused and returned indignantly to Rome. It would seem that this was an attempt by Stephen to prevent Paparoni from bringing papal confirmation for an arrangement in Ireland that would see Canterbury’s [the seat of the Church in England] claims in Ireland finally extinguished. The Irish though sent a fresh delegation to Rome and Paparoni was induced to return but this time via Scotland under the protection of King David.

He was accompanied by Gilla Crist Ua Connairche, first abbot of Mellifont, now bishop of Lismore and permanent papal legate in Ireland (he had been a fellow monk with the current pope, Eugenius III, at Clairvaux), who may have been one of the delegation who had been sent to Rome. The cardinal arrived in Ireland at some time in October of 1151. Apart from a week he spent in Armagh, very little is known about his activities before the convening of the synod in the following March; approximately four months of his time is, therefore, unaccounted for. It is probable that he visited church leaders and lay magnates in preparation for the synod; perhaps he needed to check that the general agreement claimed for the new diocesan arrangement existed.

The purpose of the Synod was to continue the Reform of the Irish Church begun at the Synod of Rathbrassill that was held in 1111 AD. These changes followed closely the reforms that were underway on the Continent. In Ireland the most visible aspect was the reorganisation of the Church along clearly set out strict Diocesan lines with a Bishop or Archbishop having a defined territory of jurisdiction. This synod approved the consecration of four archbishops, where before there had been two. Ireland was divided into thirty-six sees, and four metropolitan sees: Armagh, Cashel, Tuam, and Dublin. Armagh was granted Primacy. The diocese of Dublin, ruled by the Ostmen (Danes), seceded from Canterbury and was united with Glendalough.

Turlough O'Connor/Tairrdelbach Ua Conchobair, the High King of Ireland, approved the decrees, and the pallia (cloaks of office) were conferred by the Papal Legate Cardinal Giovanni Paparoni. This territorial structure of ecclesiastical governance has continued down to the present day and in its basic form is the template still used by both the Catholic and Anglican Churches in Ireland.

There has been some confusion as to the actual location of this synod. The Annals of the Four Masters say Drogheda, but the 17th Century Historian Geoffrey Keating, quoting an old book that is no longer extant, gave Kells as the location. It is probable that there were two separate sessions of this synod. The first was held at Kells and concluded by March 6; it then reconvened at Mellifont, near Drogheda, around Sunday, March 9, and concluded on Palm Sunday (March 23). It is not known how the business of the synod was divided between the two sessions, but it is likely that episcopal consecrations took place later at Mellifont and that the four pallia were then distributed to the archbishops at the last sitting on Palm Sunday.

 

6 March 1988: Three IRA Volunteers were shot dead by members of Britain’s SAS regiment in Gibraltar on this day. They were Mairéad Farrell, Sean Savage and Daniel McCann. Their deaths had all the hallmarks of politically sanctioned killings by the British State.

Somehow or other MI5 got wind of plans by the IRA to bomb the changing of the guard in Gibraltar that was carried out with some ceremony by members of the British Military. A plan was put in place - Operation Flavius - to intercept this attempt and kill or capture the members of the IRA involved. In the event no attempt was made to capture and all identified members of the team were cut down without warning.

When Savage, McCann and Farrell—known IRA members—travelled to Spain in preparation for the attack, they were tracked at the request of the British government. On the day of the shootings, Savage was seen parking a white Renault in the car park used as the assembly area for the parade; McCann and Farrell were seen crossing the border shortly afterwards.

After a military bomb-disposal officer reported that Savage's car should be treated as a suspected bomb, the police handed over control of the operation to the SAS. As soldiers were moving into position to intercept the trio, Savage split from McCann and Farrell and began running south. Two soldiers pursued Savage while two approached McCann and Farrell; as they did so, the pair were said to have made threatening movements, as a result of which the soldiers opened fire, shooting them multiple times. As soldiers caught up with Savage, he was alleged to have turned around to face them while reaching into his jacket; he was also shot multiple times.

All three were subsequently found to be unarmed, and Savage's car was found to contain no explosives; enquiries resulting from keys found on Farrell led authorities to a second car, containing a large quantity of explosives, in a car park in Spain. In all probability their presence in Gibraltar that day was a ‘test run’ and there was no immediate threat to anyone on the Rock that day.

Their deaths created huge controversy as it was hard to mask the fact that they had been killed in cold blood - a charge the British Government denied but without much success. When the bodies of the deceased were returned to Dublin they were met by thousands of well wishers in the pouring rain at Dublin Airport. The Corteges were escorted to the North by large numbers of vehicles and many more turned out to pay homage as the funeral cars made their way to the Border and back to Belfast.

Once the Border was crossed their was a different atmosphere as the Crown Forces clamped down on any open expressions of sympathy. Further deaths then followed in the aftermath of their assassinations that shocked the Nation and indeed abroad in one of the most dramatic and bloody weeks in recent Irish History.