12‭ ‬January‭ ‬1729:‭ ‬Edmund Burke,‭ ‬one of the foremost political thinkers of‭ ‬18th century,‭ ‬was born in Dublin on this day.‭ ‬He was also‭ ‬Anglo-Irish statesman,‭ ‬author,‭ ‬orator,‭ ‬political theorist and philosopher who,‭ ‬after relocating to England,‭ ‬served for many years in the British House of Commons as a member of the Whig party.

Burke was born in Dublin to a prosperous,‭ ‬professional solicitor father‭ (‬Richard‭; ‬d.‭ ‬1761‭) ‬who was a member of the Church of Ireland.‭  ‬His mother Mary‭ (‬c.‭ ‬1702‭–‬1770‭)‬,‭ ‬whose maiden name was Nagle,‭ ‬belonged to the Catholic Church and came from an impoverished but genteel Cork family.‭ ‬Burke was raised in his father's faith and would remain throughout his life a practising Anglican,‭ ‬unlike his sister Juliana who was brought up as and remained a Roman Catholic.‭ ‬His political enemies would later repeatedly accuse him of harbouring secret Catholic sympathies at a time when membership of the Catholic church would have disqualified him from public office.‭ ‬Once an MP,‭ ‬Burke was required to take the oath of allegiance and abjuration,‭ ‬the oath of supremacy,‭ ‬and declare against transubstantiation.‭ ‬Although never denying his Irishness,‭ ‬Burke often described himself as‭ "‬an Englishman‭"‬.

He spent the bulk of his life in England and became active on Politics,‭ ‬opposing Britain’s policy on the Revolt of the American Colonies and at the end of life British policy towards Ireland.‭ ‬He never totally adopted any political philosophy however but overall he could be said to represent a conservative liberalism that eschewed extremes.‭ ‬His most famous work was‭ ‬Reflections on the Revolution in France‭ ‬which was a best seller,‭ ‬and in it warned against the dangers of excess in political affairs especially as events unfolded in France in the wake of the start of the French Revolution.

He basically wanted the role of the State to play but a limited role in the personal affairs of men and allow as much individual freedom of though and action that was commensurate with the Social Order.

‭‘‬That the State ought to confine itself to what regards the State,‭ ‬or the creatures of the State,‭ ‬namely,‭ ‬the exterior establishment of its religion‭; ‬its magistracy‭; ‬its revenue‭; ‬its military force by sea and land‭; ‬the corporations that owe their existence to its fiat‭; ‬in a word,‭ ‬to every thing that is truly and properly public,‭ ‬to the public peace,‭ ‬to the public safety,‭ ‬to the public order,‭ ‬to the public prosperity.‭’

"All government,‭ ‬indeed every human benefit and enjoyment,‭ ‬every virtue,‭ ‬and every prudent act,‭ ‬is founded on compromise and barter.‭"

And

‭'‬The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing.‭'

 ‭Edmund Burke

While hard to sum up such an active career over many decades a pithy summary of what he stood for might well be:

His soul revolted against tyranny,‭ ‬whether it appeared in the aspect of a domineering Monarch and a corrupt Court and Parliamentary system,‭ ‬or whether,‭ ‬mouthing the watch-words of a non-existent liberty,‭ ‬it towered up against him in the dictation of a brutal mob and wicked sect.‭

Winston Churchill

Burke died in Beaconsfield,‭ ‬Buckinghamshire,‭ ‬on‭ ‬9‭ ‬July‭ ‬1797,‭ ‬five days before the anniversary of the storming of the Bastille which marked the official start of the Revolution he so long predicted and fought against.‭ ‬He was buried in Beaconsfield alongside his son and brother.‭ ‬His wife survived him by nearly fifteen years.

11‭ ‬January‭ ‬1970:‭ ‬The foundation of‭ ‘‬Provisional‭’ ‬Sinn Fein on this day.‭ ‬The political organisation was activated after a formal split arose within Sinn Fein as to what was the best approach to take in regards to opposition to British Rule in the North and towards the‭ ‬26‭ ‬County Government.‭ ‬The more left wing members of the leadership like Cathal Goulding and Sean Garland wanted to operate a broad based‭ ‘‬National Liberation Front‭’ ‬that would include both Sinn Fein and the likes of the Communist party within its ranks.‭ ‬They also wanted to recognise the parliaments in Leinster House,‭ ‬Westminster and Stormont as legitimate.‭ ‬Political Action within the current political framework was their chosen method of approach.

However to the more traditionally minded SF members these policies were anathema.‭  ‬They wanted to pursue a policy of active opposition to British rule in the North that would include support for armed struggle to bring about a British withdrawal from Ireland.‭ ‬They did not want any recognition of the partitionist States here.‭ ‬In an acrimonious Ard Feis that took place in Dublin at the Intercontinental Hotel a split emerged into the open that had long being brewing.‭ ‬Despite the best efforts of MacStiofáin and Ruairí Ó Brádaigh,‭ ‬who eventually led the subsequent walkout,‭ ‬the changes were finally approved by the party membership but not,‭ ‬however,‭ ‬by the two thirds majority required for an alteration of the party’s constitution.‭ ‬In the wake of these decisions they organised a walkout by a minority of like minded delegates who reconvened a meeting at Kevin Barry Hall on Dublin’s Parnell Street and duly set up a‭ ‘‬caretaker‭’ ‬Sinn Féin Executive to liase with the previously elected Army Council.

Some days later the new group made its intent clear in a newly issued pamphlet:‭

We pledge our allegiance to the‭ ‬32‭ ‬county Irish Republic proclaimed at Easter‭ ‬1916,‭ ‬overthrown by force of arms in‭ ‬1922‭ ‬and suppressed to this day by the existing British imposed Six County and Twenty-Six County partition states‭’

Thus were born the‭ ‘‬Provos‭’!

10 January 1970: A major Anti Apartheid march and rally by some 6,000 people took place in Dublin to the Irish Rugby Union’s grounds in Lansdowne Road, Dublin on this day. They were protesting against the tour by the South African Rugby Team and that State’s discrimination against many of its people on racial grounds.

While generally peaceful a small section of the crowd arrived there to cause trouble. They attacked members of the Garda Siochana who responded in kind. A mini riot broke out and people were in danger of being crushed as things turned nasty. Eventually order was restored and a potentially tragic situation was averted.

Inside before a large crowd Ireland held the visitors to an 8-8 Draw. This was probably the first mass demonstration in Ireland against Apartheid and marked an upsurge in Irish support for the overthrow of White Rule in South Africa.

9‭ ‬January‭ ‬1980:‭ ‬Charlie Haughey made his infamous‭ '‬as a community,‭ ‬we are living away beyond our means‭' ‬speech on this day.‭ He started his address to the Nation by saying  ‬“I wish to talk to you this evening about the state of the nation’s affairs and the picture I have to paint is not, unfortunately, a very cheerful one.”

At the time the newly appointed Taoiseach was commended for his straight talking and his apparent determination to tackle the worsening Public Finances as the Economy started to go on the slide.‭ ‬But it was all an illusion as his Government failed to grasp the nettle and engaged in only token reform of the State’s Finances.‭ ‬In the subsequent Budget,‭ ‬the Minister of Finance,‭ ‬Michael O’Kennedy increased PAYE allowances and widened tax bands,‭ ‬but also increased indirect taxation.‭ ‬Taxes on cigarettes,‭ ‬alcohol and petrol all went up,‭ ‬while duties on cars,‭ ‬television sets and gramophone records were also raised.‭ But borrowing continued at unsustainable levels as Haughey fought to cling to power at any price by  spending more than the State could afford.

It was only in the late‭ ‬1990‭’‬s that it emerged that Charles J.‭ ‬Haughey,‭ ‬was also‭ ‘‬living beyond his means‭’ ‬with his extravagant Lifestyle as a Country Squire and a Yachtsman down in Kerry was being financed by figures known and unknown in the Irish Business World.‭ ‬In particular his penchant for expensive‭ ‬Charvet‭ ‬shirts from Paris at a time when he told people we had to‭ ‘‬tighten our belts‭’ ‬raised much anger - but not a little mirth at the mans audacity!

8‭ ‬January‭ ‬1915:‭ ‬Cork Corporation voted to remove the name of the great Celtic scholar from Germany,‭ ‬Kuno Meyer [above],‭ ‬from the role of Honourary Freemen of the city due to giving an anti British Empire speech in New York.‭ ‬In September‭ ‬1912‭ ‬he had been presented,‭ ‬on the feast day of St Finbarr,‭ ‬along with Canon O'Leary,‭ ‬with the Freedom of the City of Cork.‭ ‬Meyer's speech was reported in the English‭ ‬Morning Post,‭ ‬Manchester Guardian and other newspapers.

In 1903 Meyer founded the School of Irish Learning in Dublin, and the next year created its journal Ériu, of which he was the editor. Also in 1904 he became Todd Professor in the Celtic Languages at the Royal Irish Academy. In October 1911 he followed Heinrich Zimmer as Professor of Celtic Philology at Friedrich Wilhelm University in Berlin; the following year a volume of Miscellany was presented to him by pupils and friends in honour of his election, and he was made a freeman of both Dublin and Cork. He also catalogued the various entries by different scribes in the Book of O'Donnell's Daughter, a 17th-century manuscript written in Leuven and preserved in the Bibliothèque Royale in Brussels.

The unfortunate gentleman fell foul of the illustrious members of the Corporation of Cork due to his vocal support for the Kaiser and Germany in the recently commenced Great War.‭ ‬Herr Meyer was one of,‭ ‬if not the greatest expert on Early Irish Literature in the years before the War.‭ ‬He was considered a great friend of Ireland but had sailed for America in November‭ ‬1914‭ ‬and became caught up in the excitement of the times‭! ‬In‭ ‬December he lectured to Clan na Gael in New York City details of which were published in the London‭ ‬Times.‭ ‬His speech caused a furore as it became clear that he supported Germany in war‭; he ‬resigned from his position of Honorary Chair of Celtic at the University of Liverpool.

Kuno Meyer returned to Germany in‭ ‬1917,‭ ‬after marrying an American Lady,‭ ‬but died alone in a Leipzig Nursing Home on‭ ‬11‭ ‬October‭ ‬1919.

‭ ‬In 1920, he was regranted the Freedom of the City of Cork, as follows: "Re-elected 14th May, 1920, and order of Council of the 8th January, 1915, expunging his name from the roll rescinded."

7‭ ‬January‭ ‬1922:‭ ‬The Treaty was passed by members of‭ ‬Dáil Éireann‭ ‬assembled at Earlsfort Terrace,‭ ‬Dublin [above] on a vote of‭ ‬64‭ ‬in favour and‭ ‬57‭ ‬against.‭ ‬President De Valera,‭ ‬after the vote was taken,‭ ‬indicated his intention of resigning his position.‭ ‬He said that:

‭
There is one thing I want to say---I want it to go to the country and to the world,‭ ‬and it is this:‭ ‬the Irish people established a Republic.‭ ‬This is simply approval of a certain resolution.‭ ‬The Republic can only be disestablished by the Irish people.‭ ‬Therefore,‭ ‬until such time as the Irish people in regular manner disestablish it,‭ ‬this Republic goes on.‭ ‬Whatever arrangements are made this is the supreme sovereign body in the nation‭; ‬this is the body to which the nation looks for its supreme Government,‭ ‬and it must remain that---no matter who is the Executive---it must remain that until the Irish people have disestablished it.

Michael Collins,‭ ‬who voted to accept the terms replied that:‭

I ask your permission to make a statement.‭ ‬I do not regard the passing of this thing as being any kind of triumph over the other side.‭ ‬I will do my best in the future,‭ ‬as I have done in the past,‭ ‬for the nation.‭ ‬What I have to say now is,‭ ‬whether there is something contentious about the Republic---about the Government in being---or not,‭ ‬that we should unite on this:‭ ‬that we will all do our best to preserve the public safety.

Soon after the meeting broke up but it was clear that after this things would never be the same again and an unbridgeable rift had opened between those who supported the Treaty and those who were against it.‭ The division of opinion that day was to have one outcome: Civil War.

6/7‭ ‬January‭ ‬1839:‭ ‬The Night of the Big Wind/‭ ‬Oiche na Gaoithe Mire.‭ ‬A storm of Hurricane Force swept across Ireland on this night.‭ ‬A Depression of unusual severity it caused much structural damage and considerable fright and distress,‭ ‬especially to those less well off inhabitants of this island whose dwellings were just plain thatched cabins of loose construction.‭ ‬However even more solidly built structures did not escape unscathed and in some ways were even more dangerous to those within as chimneys came crashing down upon at least some of the unfortunates inside.‭ ‬Overall though the numbers of deaths caused by this violent tempest were few and the loss of life was limited to just a few dozen at most.‭ ‬However there is no doubt that for a considerable proportion of the Irish population the events of this visitation remained in the popular imagination as a night never to be forgotten.‭

The sequence of events had begun the previous evening,‭ ‬Saturday‭ ‬5th January‭ ‬1839,‭ ‬when heavy snow fell throughout Ireland.‭ ‬The next morning,‭ ‬Sunday the‭ ‬6th,‭ ‬it was completely calm and the sky was covered with motionless,‭ ‬dense cloud.‭ ‬As the morning progressed,‭ ‬the temperature rose well above the January average.‭ ‬While children played in the snow outdoors,‭ ‬mothers and fathers were inside their homes preparing for the festivities of Little Christmas‭ ‬-‭ ‬the feast of the Epiphany.‭ ‬It became unnaturally still.‭ ‬So calm that voices floated between farmhouses more than a mile apart.‭ ‬Something strange was happening,‭ ‬but no one knew exactly what.‭

 Then the snow started to melt as the temperature rose to an unnatural degree for that time of year.‭ ‬However as the warm front which covered the country gradually moved eastwards,‭ ‬and rose in the atmosphere,‭ ‬it was replaced by a cold front which brought with it high winds and heavy rain.‭ ‬The rain commenced before noon in the west and spread very slowly eastwards.‭ ‬In Mayo,‭ ‬the late afternoon turned chilly while the east of the country still enjoyed the unseasonably high temperatures experienced in Mayo earlier that day.‭ ‬At dusk,‭ ‬wind speeds increased,‭ ‬conditions got colder and alternate showers of rain and hail began to fall.‭ ‬By nine o'clock at night the wind had reached gale force and continued to increase.‭ ‬By midnight it had reached hurricane force and remained at that level until five o'clock in the morning when it reduced again to gale force.‭ ‬During the hurricane the wind blew variously from the southwest,‭ ‬west and northwest.‭ ‬Gales continued until six o'clock on Monday evening.‭ ‬At nine o'clock on Monday morning air pressure was at‭ ‬972.6‭ ‬Millibars and the temperature was then‭ ‬4.4.‭ ‬Degrees Celsius in Dublin.

In Dublin the‭ ‬Freeman’s Journal afterwards reported that:
The storm with which this city was visited on Sunday night was one of the most violent which has blown from the face of Heaven within the memory of the oldest inhabitants.‭ ‬At an early hour on Sunday evening the wind freshened to a degree that seemed to promise a rough night,‭ ‬and about half-past ten it rose into a high gale,‭ ‬which continued to increase in fury until shortly after midnight,‭ ‬when it blew a most fearful and destructive tempest.‭ ‬Not a soul dare venture into the streets‭; ‬the lamps were,‭ ‬without almost any exception,‭ ‬extinguished‭; ‬and amidst the roaring of the hurricane,‭ ‬which threatened to sweep every obstacle before it from the surface of the earth,‭ ‬the pealing of fire-bells‭ ‬--‭ ‬the sounds of falling chimneys‭ ‬--‭ ‬windows breaking,‭ ‬and slates and tiles flying through the streets,‭ ‬were fearfully audible‭; ‬and sometimes the still more dreadful rocking walls and falling roofs threatened them momentarily with destruction.‭
In the streets,‭ ‬however,‭ ‬it was impossible to tell in what direction the storm was,‭ ‬for it came in sudden gusts,‭ ‬sweeping sometimes up,‭ ‬and sometimes down,‭ ‬the street,‭ ‬and occasionally two contrary blasts meeting and forming a whirlwind,‭ ‬which made the strongest houses tremble and rock to their foundations.‭ ‬At intervals dense clouds obscured the sky,‭ ‬and added to the horror of the scene by the gloomy darkness which they produced‭; ‬but when they were driven by,‭ ‬the heavens did not appear less ominous,‭ ‬for the Aurora Borealis burned brightly a great portion of the night,‭ ‬mantling the hemisphere with sheets of red,‭ ‬and corresponding well with the lurid gleams which ascended to the zenith from the flames of burning houses that the tempest threatened to fan into a general conflagration.‭
‬After four o'clock the storm sensibly diminished,‭ ‬but continued to rage with considerable fury until daybreak,‭ ‬when it sank back into a steady and heavy gale from the S.W.‭ ‬that continued throughout the remainder of the day.
THE FREEMAN'S JOURNAL Dublin:‭ ‬Tuesday,‭ ‬January‭ ‬8,1839

For decades afterwards the‭ ‘‬Night of the Big Wind‭’ ‬was used as a marker in the Irish People’s memories to recall events that happened before or after that date.‭ ‬Indeed as late as‭ ‬1909‭ ‬when Old age Pensions were introduced many claimed entitlement based on their ability to remember this most unusual and terrible Storm from the days of their youth.