1.
Geographic coordinate system
–
A geographic coordinate system is a coordinate system used in geography that enables every location on Earth to be specified by a set of numbers, letters or symbols. The coordinates are chosen such that one of the numbers represents a vertical position. A common choice of coordinates is latitude, longitude and elevation, to specify a location on a two-dimensional map requires a map projection. The invention of a coordinate system is generally credited to Eratosthenes of Cyrene. Ptolemy credited him with the adoption of longitude and latitude. Ptolemys 2nd-century Geography used the prime meridian but measured latitude from the equator instead. Mathematical cartography resumed in Europe following Maximus Planudes recovery of Ptolemys text a little before 1300, in 1884, the United States hosted the International Meridian Conference, attended by representatives from twenty-five nations. Twenty-two of them agreed to adopt the longitude of the Royal Observatory in Greenwich, the Dominican Republic voted against the motion, while France and Brazil abstained. France adopted Greenwich Mean Time in place of local determinations by the Paris Observatory in 1911, the latitude of a point on Earths surface is the angle between the equatorial plane and the straight line that passes through that point and through the center of the Earth. Lines joining points of the same latitude trace circles on the surface of Earth called parallels, as they are parallel to the equator, the north pole is 90° N, the south pole is 90° S. The 0° parallel of latitude is designated the equator, the plane of all geographic coordinate systems. The equator divides the globe into Northern and Southern Hemispheres, the longitude of a point on Earths surface is the angle east or west of a reference meridian to another meridian that passes through that point. All meridians are halves of great ellipses, which converge at the north and south poles, the prime meridian determines the proper Eastern and Western Hemispheres, although maps often divide these hemispheres further west in order to keep the Old World on a single side. The antipodal meridian of Greenwich is both 180°W and 180°E, the combination of these two components specifies the position of any location on the surface of Earth, without consideration of altitude or depth. The grid formed by lines of latitude and longitude is known as a graticule, the origin/zero point of this system is located in the Gulf of Guinea about 625 km south of Tema, Ghana. To completely specify a location of a feature on, in, or above Earth. Earth is not a sphere, but a shape approximating a biaxial ellipsoid. It is nearly spherical, but has an equatorial bulge making the radius at the equator about 0. 3% larger than the radius measured through the poles, the shorter axis approximately coincides with the axis of rotation
Geographic coordinate system
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Longitude lines are perpendicular and latitude lines are parallel to the equator.
2.
Drumcondra railway station
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Drumcondra is a railway station on the Dublin Connolly to Maynooth commuter service. A limited number of Sligo and Longford to Dublin services stop at Drumcondra and it serves Drumcondra, Dublin, Ireland and is the nearest railway station for Croke Park. It is elevated with just the entrance on the main Drumcondra road, the ticket office is open from 07,00 AM to 23,30 PM, Monday to Sunday. Part of the building was demolished in late 1918. It reopened on 2 March 1998 as a station on the Maynooth/Longford commuter line, Drumcondra was planned as an interchange stop on the proposed Metro North line of the Dublin Metro. List of railway stations in Ireland Rail transport in Ireland Irish Rail Drumcondra Station Website Eiretrains - Drumcondra Station
Drumcondra railway station
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Commuter 29000 Class at Drumcondra Station
3.
Gaelic Athletic Association
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The Association also promotes Irish music and dance, and the Irish language. It has more than 500,000 members worldwide, assets in excess of €2.6 billion, Gaelic football and hurling are the most popular activities promoted by the organisation, and the most popular sports in the Republic of Ireland in terms of attendances. Gaelic football is also the largest participation sport in Northern Ireland, GAA Handball is the Irish governing body for the sport of handball, while the other Gaelic sport, rounders, is managed by the GAA Rounders National Council. And so, the Gaelic Athletic Association was founded, the architects and founding members were Michael Cusack of County Clare, Maurice Davin, Joseph K. Bracken, Thomas St George McCarthy, P. J. Ryan of Tipperary, John Wise-Power, and John McKay. Up to the century most of the members were farm labourers, small farmers. But from 1900 onwards a new type of person – those who were now being influenced by the Gaelic League — joined the movement and they tended to be clerks, school teachers or civil servants. In 1922 it passed over the job of promoting athletics to the National Athletic, while some units of the Association outside Ireland participate in Irish competitions, the Association does not hold internationals played according to the rules of either Gaelic football or hurling. Compromise rules have been reached with two related sports, hurlers play an annual fixture against a national shinty team from Scotland. The venue alternates between Ireland and Australia, recently, the Irish welcomed the All Australian team at the headquarters of the GAA on 21 November 2015. It was single one-off test match, which led the Irish to reclaim the Cormac McAnallen cup by a score of 56-52, the association has had a long history of promoting Irish culture. Through a division of the known as Scór, the Association promotes Irish cultural activities, running competitions in music. Rule 4 of the GAAs Official Guide states, The Association shall actively support the Irish language, traditional Irish dancing, music, song, and other aspects of Irish culture. It shall foster an awareness and love of the ideals in the people of Ireland. The group was founded in 1969, and is promoted through various Association clubs throughout Ireland. The Association has many stadiums scattered throughout Ireland and beyond, every county, and nearly all clubs, have grounds on which to play their home games, with varying capacities and utilities. The hierarchical structure of the GAA is applied to the use of grounds, the provincial championship finals are usually played at the same venue every year. Croke Park is the Associations flagship venue and is colloquially as Croker or Headquarters. With a capacity of 82,300, it ranks among the top five stadiums in Europe by capacity, having undergone extensive renovations for most of the 1990s, every September, Croke Park hosts the All-Ireland inter-county Hurling and Football Finals as the conclusion to the summer championships
Gaelic Athletic Association
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Áras Mhic Eiteagáin clubhouse in
Gweedore,
County Donegal. These grounds resemble the typical clubhouses to be found in rural areas all over Ireland.
Gaelic Athletic Association
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"Nothing beats being there"
4.
Seating capacity
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Seating capacity is the number of people who can be seated in a specific space, in terms of both the physical space available, and limitations set by law. Seating capacity can be used in the description of anything ranging from an automobile that seats two to a stadium that seats hundreds of thousands of people. The International Fire Code, portions of which have adopted by many jurisdictions, is directed more towards the use of a facility than the construction. It specifies, For areas having fixed seating without dividing arms and it also requires that every public venue submit a detailed site plan to the local fire code official, including details of the means of egress, seating capacity, arrangement of the seating. Once safety considerations have been satisfied, determinations of seating capacity turn on the size of the venue. For sports venues, the decision on maximum seating capacity is determined by several factors, chief among these are the primary sports program and the size of the market area. Seating capacity of venues also plays a role in what media they are able to provide, in contracting to permit performers to use a theatre or other performing space, the seating capacity of the performance facility must be disclosed. Seating capacity may influence the kind of contract to be used, the seating capacity must also be disclosed to the copyright owner in seeking a license for the copyrighted work to be performed in that venue. Venues that may be leased for private functions such as ballrooms and auditoriums generally advertise their seating capacity, seating capacity is also an important consideration in the construction and use of sports venues such as stadiums and arenas. The seating capacity for restaurants is reported as covers, a restaurant that can seat 99 is said to have 99 covers, seating capacity differs from total capacity, which describes the total number of people who can fit in a venue or in a vehicle either sitting or standing. Use of the term public capacity indicates that a venue is allowed to more people than it can actually seat. Again, the total number of people can refer to either the physical space available or limitations set by law
Seating capacity
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The
Indianapolis Motor Speedway has the largest seating capacity of any venue in the world.
Seating capacity
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An aerial view of the
Melbourne Cricket Ground during the 1992
Cricket World Cup final packed with 90,000 people.
5.
Irish language
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Irish, also referred to as Gaelic or Irish Gaelic, is a Goidelic language of the Indo-European language family originating in Ireland and historically spoken by the Irish people. Irish is spoken as a first language by a minority of Irish people. Irish enjoys constitutional status as the national and first official language of the Republic of Ireland and it is also among the official languages of the European Union. The public body Foras na Gaeilge is responsible for the promotion of the language throughout the island of Ireland and it has the oldest vernacular literature in Western Europe. The fate of the language was influenced by the power of the English state in Ireland. Elizabethan officials viewed the use of Irish unfavourably, as being a threat to all things English in Ireland and its decline began under English rule in the 17th century. In the latter part of the 19th century, there was a decrease in the number of speakers. Irish-speaking areas were hit especially hard, by the end of British rule, the language was spoken by less than 15% of the national population. Since then, Irish speakers have been in the minority, efforts have been made by the state, individuals and organisations to preserve, promote and revive the language, but with mixed results. Around the turn of the 21st century, estimates of native speakers ranged from 20,000 to 80,000 people. In the 2011 Census, these numbers had increased to 94,000 and 1.3 million, there are several thousand Irish speakers in Northern Ireland. It has been estimated that the active Irish-language scene probably comprises 5 to 10 per cent of Irelands population, there has been a significant increase in the number of urban Irish speakers, particularly in Dublin. In Gaeltacht areas, however, there has been a decline of the use of Irish. Údarás na Gaeltachta predicted that, by 2025, Irish will no longer be the language in any of the designated Gaeltacht areas. Survey data suggest that most Irish people think highly of Irish as a marker of identity. It has also argued that newer urban groups of Irish speakers are a disruptive force in this respect. In An Caighdeán Oifigiúil the name of the language is Gaeilge, before the spelling reform of 1948, this form was spelled Gaedhilge, originally this was the genitive of Gaedhealg, the form used in Classical Irish. Older spellings of this include Gaoidhealg in Classical Irish and Goídelc in Old Irish, the modern spelling results from the deletion of the silent dh in the middle of Gaedhilge, whereas Goidelic languages, used to refer to the language family including Irish, comes from Old Irish
Irish language
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"Caution Children"
Irish language
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Proportion of respondents who said they could speak Irish in the Ireland census 2011 or the Northern Ireland census 2011.
Irish language
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A sign for the Department of Culture, Arts and Leisure in Northern Ireland, in English, Irish and
Ulster Scots.
Irish language
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The Pale - According to Statute of 1488
6.
Dublin
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Dublin is the capital and largest city of Ireland. Dublin is in the province of Leinster on Irelands east coast, the city has an urban area population of 1,345,402. The population of the Greater Dublin Area, as of 2016, was 1,904,806 people, founded as a Viking settlement, the Kingdom of Dublin became Irelands principal city following the Norman invasion. The city expanded rapidly from the 17th century and was briefly the second largest city in the British Empire before the Acts of Union in 1800, following the partition of Ireland in 1922, Dublin became the capital of the Irish Free State, later renamed Ireland. Dublin is administered by a City Council, the city is listed by the Globalization and World Cities Research Network as a global city, with a ranking of Alpha-, which places it amongst the top thirty cities in the world. It is a historical and contemporary centre for education, the arts, administration, economy, the name Dublin comes from the Irish word Dubhlinn, early Classical Irish Dubhlind/Duibhlind, dubh /d̪uβ/, alt. /d̪uw/, alt /d̪u, / meaning black, dark, and lind /lʲiɲ pool and this tidal pool was located where the River Poddle entered the Liffey, on the site of the castle gardens at the rear of Dublin Castle. In Modern Irish the name is Duibhlinn, and Irish rhymes from Dublin County show that in Dublin Leinster Irish it was pronounced Duílinn /d̪ˠi, other localities in Ireland also bear the name Duibhlinn, variously anglicized as Devlin, Divlin and Difflin. Historically, scribes using the Gaelic script wrote bh with a dot over the b and those without knowledge of Irish omitted the dot, spelling the name as Dublin. Variations on the name are found in traditionally Irish-speaking areas of Scotland, such as An Linne Dhubh. It is now thought that the Viking settlement was preceded by a Christian ecclesiastical settlement known as Duibhlinn, beginning in the 9th and 10th century, there were two settlements where the modern city stands. Baile Átha Cliath, meaning town of the ford, is the common name for the city in modern Irish. Áth Cliath is a name referring to a fording point of the River Liffey near Father Mathew Bridge. Baile Átha Cliath was an early Christian monastery, believed to have been in the area of Aungier Street, there are other towns of the same name, such as Àth Cliath in East Ayrshire, Scotland, which is Anglicised as Hurlford. Although the area of Dublin Bay has been inhabited by humans since prehistoric times and he called the settlement Eblana polis. It is now thought that the Viking settlement was preceded by a Christian ecclesiastical settlement known as Duibhlinn, beginning in the 9th and 10th century, there were two settlements where the modern city stands. The subsequent Scandinavian settlement centred on the River Poddle, a tributary of the Liffey in an area now known as Wood Quay, the Dubhlinn was a small lake used to moor ships, the Poddle connected the lake with the Liffey. This lake was covered during the early 18th century as the city grew, the Dubhlinn lay where the Castle Garden is now located, opposite the Chester Beatty Library in Dublin Castle
Dublin
–
Clockwise from top:
Samuel Beckett Bridge,
Trinity College,
Custom House,
Dublin Castle,
O'Connell Bridge, and
Convention Centre Dublin.
Dublin
–
Father Mathew Bridge, formerly Dublin Bridge, is understood to be near the ancient "Ford of the Hurdles" (Baile Átha Cliath), the original crossing point on the River Liffey.
Dublin
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Dublin Castle was the fortified seat of
British rule in Ireland until 1922.
Dublin
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Henrietta Street, developed in the 1720s, is the earliest Georgian Street in Dublin.
7.
Thomas Croke
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Thomas William Croke D. D. was the second Catholic Bishop of Auckland, New Zealand and later Archbishop of Cashel and Emly in Ireland. He was important in the Irish nationalist movement especially as a Champion of the Irish National Land League in the 1880s, the main Gaelic Athletic Association stadium in Dublin is named Croke Park, in his honour. Thomas Croke was born in Castlecor, County Cork, in 1824, after William Croke died in 1834 his brother, the Reverend Thomas Croke, supervised the education and upbringing of the children. Two of Thomass brothers entered the priesthood, while two sisters became nuns and he was educated in Charleville, County Cork and at the Irish College in Paris and the Irish College in Rome, winning academic distinctions including a doctorate of divinity with honours. He was ordained in May 1847, returning to Ireland for a short time he was appointed a Professor in Carlow College. Crokes brother, James, was also a priest and served in the Pacific Northwest helping to found several churches including St. Josephs Catholic Church in Oregon Territory, the Irish radical William OBrien said that Thomas Croke fought on the barricades in Paris during the 1848 French Revolution. Croke returned to Ireland and spent the next 23 years working there, in 1858 he became the first president of St Colmans College, Fermoy, County Cork and then served as both parish priest of Doneraile and Vicar General of Cloyne diocese from 1866 to 1870. Thomas Croke attended the First Vatican Council as the theologian to the Bishop of Cloyne 1870, Croke gained the good opinion of the Irish ecclesiastical authorities and was rewarded in 1870 by his promotion to Bishop of Auckland in New Zealand. His former professor, Paul Cullen, by then Cardinal Archbishop of Dublin, was responsible for filling the Australasian Catholic church with fellow Irishmen. His strong recommendations led to Crokes appointment, Croke arrived at Auckland on 17 December 1870 on the City of Melbourne. During his three years as bishop he restored firm leadership to a left in disarray by his predecessor. He appointed Walter McDonald administrator of the Cathedral and he was intolerant of non-Irish Catholic traditions, represented in New Zealand by the Marists and Benedictines. Under him the energies of Auckland Catholicism were devoted to saving the souls of the Irish immigrant rather than to converting the Māori, however, generally, Crokes image was uncontroversial. There was also little sign of the strongly Irish nationalist line he would adopt during his subsequent career in Ireland. On 28 January 1874, after three years in office, Croke departed for Europe, on what was ostensibly a 12-month holiday. Croke became a member of the Irish hierarchy when he was translated to be Archbishop of Cashel, had a manifesto against paying taxes been issued al the tifne I should certainly have supported it on principle. I am precisely the same frame of mind just now and he also associated himself with the Temperance Movement of Fr. Mathew and Gaelic League from its foundation in 1893, within Catholicism he was a supporter of Gallicanism, as opposed to the Ultramontanism favoured by the Archbishop of Dublin, Cardinal Cullen
Thomas Croke
–
Croke Park, the headquarters of the GAA, named after Archbishop Croke.
8.
Gaelic games
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Gaelic games are sports played in Ireland under the auspices of the Gaelic Athletic Association. Gaelic football and hurling are the two main games, other games organised by the GAA include Gaelic handball and rounders. Womens versions of hurling and football are played, camogie, organised by the Camogie Association of Ireland. While womens versions are not organised by the GAA, they are associated with it. Today, Gaelic games are the most popular games in Ireland in terms of supporter attendances at senior games, despite an economic downturn, attendances in 2009 were up 11% on 2008. Gaelic football is played by teams of 15 on a grass pitch with H-shaped goals at each end. The primary object is to score by driving the ball through the goals, which is known as a goal, or by kicking the ball over the bar, the team with the highest point score at the end of the match wins. The female version of the game is known as ladies Gaelic football and is similar to the game with a few minor rule changes. Hurling is a stick and ball game played by teams of 15 on a grass pitch with H-shaped goals at each end. The primary object is to score by driving the ball through the goals or putting the ball over the bar, three points is the equivalent of a goal. The team with the highest score at the end of the match wins and it is over three thousand years old, and is said to be the worlds fastest field game, combining skills from lacrosse, field hockey, and baseball in a hard-hitting, highly skilled game. The female version of the game is known as camogie and is similar to hurling with a few minor rule changes. Gaelic handball is a game in two players use their hands to return a ball against a wall. The game is similar to American handball, there are three codes of handball, 60x30, 40x20 and One Wall. One Wall handball is the most popular version of handball with it being played in over 30 countries. It is hoped that this version of handball will soon become an Olympic sport, the sport of handball is governed by GAA Handball in Ireland. Rounders is a bat and ball game which is played in Ireland, Rounders is the least popular of the GAA Gaelic games and is organised by a subdivision of the GAA known as the Rounders Council of Ireland. Other Gaelic games such as Gaelic athletics have nearly or completely died out, when founded the GAA organised a number of Gaelic athletics competitions but passed the responsibility to the National Athletic and Cycling Association in 1922
Gaelic games
–
Gaelic games are present across the world. This sign in
Sorrento, Italy, advertises that Gaelic games are "shown in the bar".
9.
2003 Special Olympics World Summer Games
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Events were held from 21–29 June 2003 at many venues including Morton Stadium, the Royal Dublin Society, the National Basketball Arena, all in Dublin. Croke Park served as the stadium for the opening and closing ceremonies. Belfast, Northern Ireland was the venue for roller skating events,177 towns, cities and villages and the Aran Islands hosted national delegations in the run up to the games. Each town ran programmes to educate the community about the customs of the country they would host. Newbridge, County Kildare, host to the Japan delegation won the award for best host town, approximately 1,300 members of both Scouting Ireland and Scouting Ireland SAI staffed the Awards Teams for all the disciplines throughout the games. 165 volunteers from the then 15 countries of the EU took part in a European Volunteer Project, the volunteers are commemorated by having their names on a series of plaques situated in Dublin Castle, just outside the Chester Beatty Library. The 2003 World Games were the first to be held outside of the United States, approximately 7000 athletes from 150 countries competed in the games in 18 official disciplines, and three exhibition sports. The participants from Kosovo were the regions first team at a sporting event. A 12-member team from Iraq received special permission to attend the games, the opening ceremony was held in Croke Park featured an array of stars and was hosted by Patrick Kielty. The band U2 were a feature, and Nelson Mandela officially opened the games. Other performances included The Corrs and the largest Riverdance troupe ever assembled on one stage,75,000 athletes and spectators were in attendance at the opening ceremonies. The Games Flame was lit at the culmination of the Law Enforcement Torch Run, which more than 2,000 members of the Garda Síochána and this was a series of relays carrying the Special Olympics Torch, the Flame of Hope, from Europe to the Games official opening. The ceremony was opened by President of Ireland Mary McAleese. There was also a television highlight programme. A daily newspaper, the Games Gazette was published for each day of the games, among the contributors to the Games was the Irish Prison Service. Prisoners in Mountjoy Prison, Midlands Prison, Wheatfield Prison and Arbour Hill Prison who constructed podiums and made flags, towels, signs, benches, the organising committee, which was formed in 1999 following the success of the bid, was chaired by entrepreneur Denis OBrien. The chief executive was Mary Davis,2003 World Games official website Host Town list Special Olympics 2003 Results Irish Prison Service release on their inmates work for the Special Olympics Special Olympics Ireland website
2003 Special Olympics World Summer Games
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The crowd at the 2003 Special Olympics World Games Opening Ceremonies in Croke Park, Dublin, Ireland as Team USA enters the stadium
2003 Special Olympics World Summer Games
–
2003 Special Olympics
commemorative coin issued by the Central Bank of Ireland
10.
Aviva Stadium
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The Aviva Stadium is a sports stadium located in Dublin, Ireland, with a capacity for 51,700 spectators. The decision to redevelop the stadium came after plans for both Stadium Ireland and Eircom Park fell through, Aviva Group Ireland signed a 10-year deal for the naming rights in 2009. The stadium, located adjacent to Lansdowne Road railway station, officially opened on 14 May 2010, the stadium is Irelands first, and only, UEFA Elite Stadium and in 2011, it hosted the Europa League Final. It also hosted the inaugural Nations Cup, as well as the home fixtures of the national rugby team, national football team. The joint venture has a 60-year lease on the stadium, on expiry the stadium will return to the ownership of the IRFU. The northern end of the stadium, due to its proximity to local housing, the North Stand is to be the away stand for football internationals. There is one basement level and seven storeys of floors including ground level, the premium level holds 10,000 spectators, while the box level holds 1,300. The remaining 38,700 seats are shared between the top and bottom tiers, the stadiums roof is designed to undulate in a wave-like manner so as to avoid blocking light to local residences. The stadium was opened on 14 May 2010 by then Taoiseach Brian Cowen. In 2011, the stadium won a British Construction Industry Award, Irelands first international game was on 6 November 2010 against South Africa, with the Springboks winning 23–21. The game drew a crowd of 35,515, mainly due to a backlash by Ireland supporters over the IRFUs controversial ticketing strategy for the November Test series, initially, the IRFU announced that tickets to the November Tests would only be sold as packages for all four matches. Single-game tickets were to be only for the Samoa and Argentina Tests. On 1 November, the IRFU backed away from this plan amid heavy criticism from clubs that had problems selling the packages in a difficult economy. The winner of the promotion, John Baker of Ennis, was successful, the first official points at the Aviva were scored by Ulsters Craig Gilroy with a try in the O2 Challenge. The stadium also hosts home games for Leinster when the RDS Arenas smaller capacity doesnt satisfy demand. Leinster won their home game in the Aviva against Munster 13-9, in the Magners League season. This league record was exceeded on 29 March 2014 when Leinster again beat Munster, 22-18, Leinster won their first Heineken Cup game in the Aviva 24–8, against Clermont Auvergne in a pool game during the 2010–11 season. During Leinsters successful run to the Heineken Cup title that season, they took their quarter-final and semi-final matches to the Aviva, defeating Leicester Tigers, ulster took their 2012 Heineken Cup semi-final to the Aviva as well, defeating Edinburgh
Aviva Stadium
–
UEFA Category 4 Stadium
Aviva Stadium
–
Aviva Stadium
Aviva Stadium
–
Inside the stadium
Aviva Stadium
–
Lansdowne Road was replaced by the Aviva Stadium, shown here during construction
11.
Ireland national rugby union team
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The Ireland national rugby union team represents the island of Ireland in rugby union. The team competes annually in the Six Nations Championship, which they have won twelve times outright, the team also competes every four years in the Rugby World Cup, where they reached the quarter-final stage in all but two competitions. Ireland is also one of the four unions that make up the British and Irish Lions – players eligible to play for Ireland are also eligible for the Lions, Irelands highest ever position in the World Rugby Rankings is second, which they reached for the first time in 2015. Dublin University was the first organised football club in Ireland. The club was organised by students who had learnt the game while at public schools in Great Britain, carlow, UCC, and Ballinasloe which amalgamated with Athlone to form Buccaneers. In 1874, the Irish Football Union was formed, Ireland lost their first test match against England 7–0 at the Oval on 15 February 1875. Both teams fielded 20 players in match, as was customary in the early years of rugby union. Irelands first home game was also against England in the year held at the Leinster Cricket Club in Rathmines as Lansdowne Road was deemed unsuitable. The first match at Lansdowne Road was held on 11 March 1878 and it was not until 1881 that Ireland first won a test, beating Scotland at Ormeau in Belfast. Ireland turned up two men short for their game in Cardiff in 1884 and had to borrow two Welsh players, the first victory Ireland had at Lansdowne Road took place on 5 February 1887. It was also their first win over England, by two goals to nil, on the third of March 1888, Ireland recorded their first win over Wales with a goal, a try and a drop goal to nil. In 1894, Ireland followed the Welsh model of using seven backs instead of six for the first time, after victory over England at Blackheath, Ireland won back-to-back matches for the first time when recording their first win over Scotland on 24 February 1894. Ireland went on to beat Wales in Belfast and win the Triple Crown for the first time, in the 1890s, Rugby was primarily a game for the Protestant middle class, the only Catholic in Edmund Forrests 1894 team was Tom Crean. Of the eighteen players used in the three games, thirteen were from three Dublin clubs – Wanderers, Dublin University and Bective Rangers – and the five were from Ulster. Such was the level of interest in the visit of the first All Blacks team to Dublin in November 1905 that the IRFU made the match the first all-ticket rugby international in history, Ireland played only seven forwards, copying the then New Zealand method of playing a rover. The game ended New Zealand 15 Ireland 0, on 20 March 1909, Ireland played France for the first time, beating them 19–8. This was Irelands biggest victory in international rugby at that time, their highest points tally,30 November 1912 was the first time the Springboks met Ireland at Lansdowne Road, the 1906 tour game having been played at Ravenhill. Ireland with seven new caps were overwhelmed by a margin of 38–0
Ireland national rugby union team
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First Ireland rugby team: played England on 19 February 1875 and lost by 2 goals and a try to nil
Ireland national rugby union team
–
Ireland
Ireland national rugby union team
–
1920 illustration of the Ireland versus Wales rugby match
Ireland national rugby union team
–
Ireland playing at
Croke Park.
12.
Republic of Ireland national football team
–
The Republic of Ireland national football team represents Ireland in association football. It is governed by the Football Association of Ireland and plays its home fixtures at the Aviva Stadium in Dublin, the team made their debut at the 1924 Summer Olympics, reaching the quarter-finals. Between 1924 and 1936, the team competed as the Irish Free State and from then until 1950, Northern Ireland was allowed to use the title Ireland by FIFA in the Home International Competition until it was discontinued in 1984. The Republic of Ireland was the first nation from outside the United Kingdom to defeat England at home at a fixture played at Goodison Park, Liverpool, the team also reached the quarter-final stage of the 1964 European Nations Cup, where they lost to the eventual winners Spain. Charltons successor Mick McCarthy lost out on the two major tournaments but ultimately qualified for the 2002 World Cup, making it to the last 16. Under Giovanni Trapattoni, the narrowly lost out on qualification for the 2010 World Cup during a controversial play-off. The team failed to qualify for the 2014 World Cup in Brazil, the Republic of Ireland also fell to a record low FIFA ranking of 59th, then a record low of 70th in June 2014. The Boys in Green reached the Round of 16 stage at that tournament and were knocked out by the hosts, between 1882 and 1924, Ireland was represented by a single national football team organised by the Belfast-based Irish Football Association. In 1923, the FAIFS was recognised by FIFA as the body of the Irish Free State and at the 1924 Summer Olympics. On 28 May, at the Stade Olympique, they beat Bulgaria 1–0, as a result, they qualified for the quarter-finals. On 14 June 1924, the Irish Free State made their debut against the United States. Ed Brookes scored a hat-trick in a 3–1 home win at Dalymount Park, the Irish Free State did not play their next game until 21 March 1926, an away game against Italy lost 3–0. In subsequent years, the status of the Olympic Games football competition was downgraded and as a result, on 25 February 1934, the Irish Free State made their FIFA World Cup debut, drawing 4–4 with Belgium at Dalymount Park in a 1934 FIFA World Cup qualifier. Paddy Moore scored all four of the Free States goals and became the first player ever to four goals in a World Cup game. After 1936, they reverted to the designation Football Association of Ireland, during this entire period, there were two Irish international football teams, chosen by two rival Associations. FIFA eventually intervened when both teams entered 1950 World Cup qualification, the first time they had entered the same competition, four players – Tom Aherne, Reg Ryan, Davy Walsh, Con Martin – actually played for the two different teams in the same FIFA World Cup tournament. All four players concerned had been born in the Irish Free State and this may have alarmed the FAI, since they subsequently lobbied FIFA to prevent the IFA from picking Southern-born players. e. Initially the FIFA World Cup and subsequently the European Nations Cup, FIFA decreed that the FAI team officially be called the Republic of Ireland while the IFA team was to be named Northern Ireland
Republic of Ireland national football team
–
Ireland playing
Netherlands at the
Citrus Bowl in
Orlando, Florida, USA where they lost 2–0 in the Round of 16 of the 1994 FIFA World Cup
Republic of Ireland national football team
Republic of Ireland national football team
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Irish celebrating qualification for UEFA Euro 2012
Republic of Ireland national football team
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Irish team in September 2013
13.
Eucharistic Congress
–
Congresses bring together people from a wide area, and typically involve large open-air Masses, Eucharistic adoration, and other devotional ceremonies held over several days. Congresses may both refer to National and International Eucharistic Congresses, Saint Paschal Baylon is considered the Patron Saint of such Eucharistic Congresses. The first International Eucharistic Congress owed its inspiration to Bishop Gaston de Ségur, the initial inspiration behind the idea came from a laywoman, Emilie-Marie Tamisier Marie-Marthe-Baptistine Tamisier who spent a decade lobbying clergy. The sixth congress met in Paris in 1888, and the great memorial Church of the Sacred Heart on Montmartre was the center of the proceedings. Bishop Doutreloux of Liège was then president of the Permanent Committee for the Organization of Eucharistic Congresses, of special importance also was the eighth congress, held in Jerusalem in 1893, as it was the first congress held outside Europe. In 1907, the congress was held in Metz, Lorraine, real presence of Christ in the Eucharist World Youth Day Chesterton, Gilbert Keith. The Collected Works of G. K. Chesterton, ISBN 0-89870-854-0. de Courcy, J. W. The 1926 Cardinals Train to the 28th International Eucharistic Congress in Chicago at ThemeTrains. com, Official Website for the 2016 International Eucharistic Congress Official site of the Pontifical Committee for the International Eucharistic Congresses
Eucharistic Congress
–
An aerial view of City Park Stadium, in
New Orleans, filled with worshippers at the National Eucharistic Congress of 1938
Eucharistic Congress
–
The 21st International Eucharistic Congress in
Montreal,
Quebec,
Canada in 1910
Eucharistic Congress
–
Monstrance
14.
Pope Benedict XVI
–
Pope Benedict XVI was Pope of the Catholic Church from 2005 to 2013. He was elected pope on 19 April 2005, was inaugurated on 24 April 2005, Benedicts election occurred in a papal conclave following the death of Pope John Paul II. Ordained as a priest in 1951 in his native Bavaria, Ratzinger established himself as a highly regarded university theologian by the late 1950s and was appointed a professor in 1958. In 1981, he was appointed Prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, from 2002 until his election as Pope, he was also Dean of the College of Cardinals. He was originally a liberal theologian, but adopted conservative views after 1968 and his prolific writings defend traditional Catholic doctrine and values. During his papacy, Benedict XVI advocated a return to fundamental Christian values to counter the increased secularisation of many Western countries and he views relativisms denial of objective truth, and the denial of moral truths in particular, as the central problem of the 21st century. He taught the importance of both the Catholic Church and an understanding of Gods redemptive love, Pope Benedict also revived a number of traditions, including elevating the Tridentine Mass to a more prominent position. He strengthened the relationship between the Catholic Church and art, promoted the use of Latin, and reintroduced traditional papal garments and he has been described as the main intellectual force in the Church since the mid-1980s. On 11 February 2013, Benedict announced his resignation in a speech in Latin before the cardinals, citing a lack of strength of mind and his resignation became effective on 28 February 2013. He is the first pope to resign since Pope Gregory XII in 1415, as pope emeritus, Benedict retains the style of His Holiness, and the title of Pope, and continues to dress in the papal colour of white. He was succeeded by Pope Francis on 13 March 2013, in his retirement, Benedict XVI has made occasional public appearances alongside Pope Francis. Joseph Aloisius Ratzinger was born on 16 April, Holy Saturday,1927, at Schulstraße 11, at 8,30 in the morning in his parents home in Marktl, Bavaria and he was baptised the same day. He was the third and youngest child of Joseph Ratzinger, Sr. a police officer and his mothers family was originally from South Tyrol. Pope Benedict XVIs brother, Georg Ratzinger, a priest and former director of the Regensburger Domspatzen choir, is still alive and his sister, Maria Ratzinger, who never married, managed Cardinal Ratzingers household until her death in 1991. Their grand-uncle was the German politician Georg Ratzinger, at the age of five, Ratzinger was in a group of children who welcomed the visiting Cardinal Archbishop of Munich with flowers. Struck by the distinctive garb, he later announced the very same day that he wanted to be a cardinal. He attended the school in Aschau am Inn, which was renamed in his honour in 2009. Ratzingers family, especially his father, bitterly resented the Nazis, in 1941, one of Ratzingers cousins, a 14-year-old boy with Down syndrome, was taken away by the Nazi regime and murdered during the Action T4 campaign of Nazi eugenics
Pope Benedict XVI
–
Benedict XVI in 2010
Pope Benedict XVI
–
The birth house of Joseph Aloisius Ratzinger in Marktl, Bavaria
Pope Benedict XVI
–
Palais Holnstein in Munich, the residence of Benedict as Archbishop of Munich and Freising
15.
List of European stadiums by capacity
–
The following is a list of the largest European stadiums. They are ordered by their capacity, i. e. the maximum number of spectators the stadium can normally accommodate. this means that if standings are allowed they are not counted. The capacity figures are for permanent total capacity, including seating and any standing areas. For the few stadiums that support both retractable and moveable seating a capacity number will be required for the deployed movable seating capacity. Such multi-capacity stadiums will be sorted in the list based on the largest of these capacity values, all stadiums with a capacity of 25,000 or more are included. An asterisk indicates that a team does not play all of its matches at that venue. The Category column indicates whether the stadium has been designated by UEFA as capable of hosting Champions League or Europa League matches, not having a category does not imply an inability or failure of the stadiums capabilities to host such games. The stadium owners may simply have never applied to host a UEFA fixture, the following is a list of all European stadiums which are currently under construction and will have a capacity of 25,000 or more
List of European stadiums by capacity
–
Camp Nou is the highest capacity stadium in Europe.
16.
Bohemian F.C.
–
Bohemian Football Club, more commonly referred to as Bohs, is a professional football club from Dublin, Ireland. Bohemians compete in the Premier Division of the League of Ireland, during that period they won the Irish Cup once and finished runners up 5 times. They share the record for most wins in European competition with archrivals Shamrock Rovers, Bohemians were founded on 6 September 1890 in the Phoenix Park Gate Lodge beside the North Circular Road entrance and played its first games in the Parks Polo Grounds. One of the members of the League of Ireland in 1921. Bohemians dropped their amateur ethos in 1969 and proceeded to win 2 League titles,2 FAI Cups and 2 League cups during the 1970s. They suffered a further decline throughout the 1980s and most of the 1990s before claiming League and Cup doubles in 2001 and 2008, alongside the 2003, Bohemians play their home matches at Dalymount Park in the Northside neighbourhood of Phibsborough. They are owned 100% by the members of the club and their club colours are red and black, which they adopted at the 4th AGM in October 1893. Bohemians supporters often refer to their club by a number of nicknames including Bohs and The Gypsies, seasons Bohemians were founded on 6 September 1890. They were members of the Irish Football League from 1902 to 1911, during this time the clubs greatest success was winning the Irish Cup in 1908. In its first season it finished second in the league, just two points behind St. James Gate, the club won its first league title in 1924. In 1928 the club won its league title and completed a double that season by winning its first FAI Cup also. The club was one of the forces in the early years of the league. The club went 34 seasons without winning a major trophy, in 1969 the club ended its amateur status, and the first player to sign professional terms was Tony OConnell, who signed on 11 March 1969. The club then went on to win two titles, two FAI Cups and two league cups in the 1970s, more trophies than any other club that decade. In 1970 the club entered European competition for the first time where it was beaten in the first qualifying round of the European Cup Winners Cup. The club went through another trophy-less spell after its 1979 league cup victory and it was not until 2001 that it regained the league title, also winning the FAI Cup that season to complete its second double. In September 2009, Bohemians claimed the League Cup for the time in the clubs history with a 3–1 win over Waterford United in the final. On 6 November 2009, Bohemians retained the title after a 1–1 draw against Bray Wanderers and they were already assured of the league title before the final round of matches as they held a three-point lead and 16-goal difference advantage over their nearest rivals Shamrock Rovers
Bohemian F.C.
–
Bohemians were founded on 6 September 1890 at the gate lodge leading onto the
North Circular Road in the
Phoenix Park. A commemorative plaque honours this.
Bohemian F.C.
–
Bohemians
Bohemian F.C.
–
One of the entrances to Dalymount Park, 2012
Bohemian F.C.
–
Panoramic view of inside Dalymount Park
17.
Cliftonville F.C.
–
Cliftonville Football & Athletic Club is a Northern Irish semi-professional association football club playing in the NIFL Premiership. Founded on 20 September 1879 by John McCredy McAlery in the suburb of Cliftonville in north Belfast, it is the oldest football club in Ireland, since 1890, the club has played at Solitude. Cliftonville contests the North Belfast derby with nearest rivals Crusaders, and also has rivalries with Belfasts Big Two clubs, Glentoran. The club has won the Irish League championship four times outright and once shared, the Irish Cup eight times, the newly formed club, however, was beaten 2–1. In its first match against the Scottish club Caledonians, it fared worse, in 1880, it was again John McAlery who was the moving spirit in the formation of the Irish Football Association. He issued an invitation to interested parties in Belfast and district for a meeting to be called, the first meeting took place on 18 November 1880 at Queens Hotel, Belfast, presided over by John Sinclair, from which the Irish Football Association was formed. While Major Chichester was appointed president, McAlery became the secretary of the association. This meeting also paved the way for the Irish Cup, the first Irish Cup final, played at Cliftonville on 9 April 1881, saw a 1–0 defeat against Moyola Park, an opponent that was well known for rough and brutal play. In the following year Cliftonville lost again in the Irish Cup final, in 1883 Cliftonville won the cup for the first time with a 5–0 win over Ulster. During the 1880s Cliftonville also played in the English FA Cup, competing in the competition proper in 1886–87, in 1886–87 they finally lost in the third round 11–0 at home to Partick Thistle after beating Blackburn Park Road 7–2 in an earlier round. In 1887–88 they scratched their match with Church, the match lost to Linfield 7–0 in 1888 is the only FA Cup match to be played on Christmas Day. The inaugural meeting of the Irish Football League was held on 14 March 1890 in the Belfast Estate Office of the Marquess of Dufferin, eight clubs agreed to participate, Cliftonville, Clarence, Milford, Oldpark, Distillery, Glentoran, Ulster and Linfield. In the 1905–06 season Cliftonville won the League for the first time, in 1891 Cliftonville became the first Irish football club to use floodlights at games. Kick-off in each case was at 8 pm with lights suspended across the pitch and these were dismantled later with the announcement that spectators found it difficult to follow the action and that the player seemed to have all the fun in the middle. It had been an experience, but not a highly successful one with the public skeptical. In 1897 Cliftonville won the Irish Cup after a 3–1 win over Sherwood Foresters, a quite unusual protest was launched by Cliftonville after being beaten by Belfast Celtic in the 1900 Irish Cup competition. The Celtic goalposts were eventually measured and it was out that they were much too short. A replay took place, in which Cliftonville reversed the 4–0 defeat in the earlier match, subsequently they won the Cup that year, after beating Bohemians 2–1 in the Final
Cliftonville F.C.
–
Cliftonville Football Club
18.
Easter Rising
–
The Easter Rising, also known as the Easter Rebellion, was an armed insurrection in Ireland during Easter Week, April 1916. The Rising was launched by Irish republicans to end British rule in Ireland and it was the most significant uprising in Ireland since the rebellion of 1798, and the first armed action of the Irish revolutionary period. Organised by a seven-man Military Council of the Irish Republican Brotherhood, the Rising began on Easter Monday,24 April 1916, the British Army brought in thousands of reinforcements as well as artillery and a gunboat. There was fierce fighting on the routes into the city centre. Elsewhere in Dublin, the fighting consisted of sniping and long-range gun battles. The main rebel positions were surrounded and bombarded with artillery. Germany had sent a shipment of arms to the rebels, Volunteer leader Eoin MacNeill had then issued a countermand in a bid to halt the Rising, which greatly reduced the number of rebels who mobilised. With much greater numbers and heavier weapons, the British Army suppressed the Rising, Pearse agreed to an unconditional surrender on Saturday 29 April, although sporadic fighting continued until Sunday, when word reached the other rebel positions. After the surrender the country remained under martial law, about 3,500 people were taken prisoner by the British, many of whom had played no part in the Rising, and 1,800 of them were sent to internment camps or prisons in Britain. Most of the leaders of the Rising were executed following courts-martial, the Rising brought physical force republicanism back to the forefront of Irish politics, which for nearly 50 years had been dominated by constitutional nationalism. It, and the British reaction to it, led to increased support for Irish independence. In December 1918, republicans, represented by the reconstituted Sinn Féin party and they did not take their seats, but instead convened the First Dáil and declared the independence of the Irish Republic, which led to the War of Independence. 485 people were killed in the Easter Rising, about 54% were civilians, 30% were British military and police, and 16% were Irish rebels. Many of the civilians were killed as a result of the British using artillery and heavy machine guns, others were caught in the crossfire in a crowded city. The shelling and the fires it caused left parts of inner city Dublin in ruins, from early on, many Irish nationalists opposed the union and the ensuing exploitation and impoverishment of the island, which led to a high level of depopulation. Opposition took various forms, constitutional, social and revolutionary, the Irish Home Rule movement sought to achieve self-government for Ireland, within the United Kingdom. In 1886, the Irish Parliamentary Party under Charles Stewart Parnell succeeded in having the First Home Rule Bill introduced in the British parliament, the Second Home Rule Bill of 1893 was passed by the House of Commons but rejected by the House of Lords. After the fall of Parnell, younger and more radical nationalists became disillusioned with parliamentary politics, the Gaelic Athletic Association, the Gaelic League and the cultural revival under W. B
Easter Rising
–
Tom Clarke
Easter Rising
–
Proclamation of the Republic, Easter 1916
Easter Rising
–
General Post Office, Dublin. Centre of the Easter Rising
Easter Rising
–
A British armoured truck, hastily built from the
smokeboxes of several steam locomotives at
Inchicore railway works
19.
Michael Cusack
–
Michael Cusack was an Irish teacher and founder of the Gaelic Athletic Association. Cusack was born to Irish speaking parents, in the parish of Carran on the fringe of the Burren, County Clare, in 1847. Cusack became a school teacher, and after teaching in various parts of Ireland became a professor in 1874 in Blackrock College. In 1877, Cusack established his own Civil Service Academy, Cusacks Academy in Dublin which proved successful in preparing pupils for the civil service examinations, a romantic nationalist, Cusack was also reputed to have been associated with the Fenian movement. He was active in the Gaelic revival, a member of the Society for the Preservation of the Irish Language which was founded in 1876, also in 1879, Cusack met Pat Nally, who was a member of the Irish Republican Brotherhood and a leading nationalist and athlete. Cusack found that Nallys views on the influence of British landlordism on Irish athletics were the same as his, davin was elected president and Cusack became its first secretary. Later, Archbishop Thomas William Croke, Archbishop of Cashel & Emly, Michael Davitt, Cusack also became involved in the Irish language movement, founding The Celtic Times, a weekly newspaper which focused on native games and Irish culture. Cusack died in Dublin on 27 November 1906 at the age of 59, the bigoted character of The Citizen in James Joyces novel Ulysses is thought to have been at least in part based on what has been described as a jaundiced portrait of Michael Cusack. The Clare GAA pitch in Ennis, and the Westmeath GAA pitch in Mullingar, are both named Cusack Park in his honour, as is the Cusack Stand in Croke Park, the primary school Gaelscoil Mhíchíl Cíosóg in Ennis, County Clare, is also named after him. Michael Cusackss Sydney GAA Club was founded in 1988 by a group of Clare men and was named in honour of the man from Carran, Michael Cusacks Sydney is now the largest GAA club in New South Wales. Chicago Michael Cusack Hurling Club is a GAA club consisting entirely of American-born players founded in 2008, a small collection of family papers was donated to the James Hardiman Library, NUI Galway, by his grandniece, Patricia OConnell. Michael Cusack Visitor Centre Michael Cusacks Sydney GAA Chicago Michael Cusack Hurling Club Michael Cusacks London GAA NUIG Archives list P95
Michael Cusack
–
Statue of Cusack in
Croke Park, holding a
blackthorn stick.
20.
Offaly GAA
–
For more details of Offaly GAA see Offaly Senior Football Championship or Offaly Senior Hurling Championship. The Offaly County Board of the Gaelic Athletic Association or Offaly GAA is one of the 32 county boards of the GAA in Ireland, separate county boards are also responsible for the Offaly inter-county teams. As a result, the county won six Leinster titles in the 1980s, the county has since gone on to win three other All-Irelands. Perhaps Offalys most famous win came in the All-Ireland Final of 1994 in what has come to be remembered as the five minute final. Limerick looked set to win their first All-Ireland title since 1973 until Offaly staged one of the greatest comebacks of all time and they defeated Limerick by 3-16 to 2-13. The Vocational Schools team has made it to 12 All-Ireland Vocational Schools Championship finals but have never won one. The match was a repeat of the years final, however, not only that. Kerry were winning by two points with two minutes to go when Séamus Darby came on as a substitute and scored one of the most famous goals in Gaelic football of all time. Kerry fumbled the counterattack which allowed Offaly to win by one point with a score of 1-15 to 0-17. Offaly won their first major titles in 2002 when they won the second division of the National Camogie League. Drumcullen reached the final of the All Ireland club junior championship in 2003, kinnity owon the Division 3 shield at Féile na nGael in 1997, Drumcullen won the Coiste Chontae an Chláir Shield in 1997. Notable players include soaring star award winners Karen Brady, Elaine Dermody, Audrey Kennedy, Michaela Morkan, Fiona Stephens, miriam O’Callaghan served as president of the Camogie Association). Under Camogie’s National Development Plan 2010-2015, “Our Game, Our Passion, ” five new camogie clubs are to be established in the county by 2015
Offaly GAA
–
Offaly GAA
21.
Down GAA
–
The Down County Board of the Gaelic Athletic Association or Down GAA is one of the 32 county boards of the GAA in Ireland, and is responsible for the administration of Gaelic games in County Down. The county board is responsible for preparing the Down inter-county teams in the various Gaelic sporting codes, Football, hurling, camogie. Down share with Cavan the Ulster record for most All-Ireland victories at 5, as such, Down is regarded historically as a strong footballing county, and football is widely regarded as the dominant Gaelic sport within the county. In 2013, victory in the Christy Ring Cup final entitled Down to elect, if they chose, the oldest registered club in Down is St Patricks Mayobridge which was affiliated into the GAA on the 30th April 1888. With just one loss in six appearances in All Ireland finals, kitted out in their distinctive red and black, their massive fan base has been responsible for some of the largest match attendances in GAA history. Down was not regarded as a Gaelic stronghold when Queens University won the 1958 Sigerson Cup and they took the 1959 Ulster title with six inter-changeable forwards who introduced off-the-ball running and oddities such as track-suits. In that three-year period their loyal supporters smashed every attendance record in the book, when Down played Offaly in 1961 they set a record attendance of 90,556 for a GAA game. Against Dublin in the 1964 National League final a record 70,125 showed up, the 71,573 who watched them play Kerry in 1961 still stands as a record for an All-Ireland semi-final. In 1968, Down beat Kerry with Sean ONeill and John Murphy goals, despite a famous prediction that Down would go on to win three in a row, the county took twenty years to regain its status. In 1991, they surprised favourites Meath, Barry Breen giving them the goal that sent them into a lead of points with 20 minutes to go. In 1994, Mickey Linden sent James McCartan, Junior in for a goal directly under Hill 16 which silenced Dublin, down teams through the years have played with great emphasis on attack often leading to the neglect of the defence. This system has cost Down teams in the past 10 years or so with the introduction of negative tactics to quell forward lines with a massive emphasis on blanket defence. In 2008, Down defeated Tyrone after a replay in the Ulster Senior Football Championship, down went on to play Offaly in the All-Ireland SFC qualifiers. After a convincing 5-19 to 2-10 victory over Offaly, Down faced Laois in round 2 of the qualifiers. Beating Laois by a point, and with Dan Gordon being sent off. Down had Dan Gordons suspension removed, but awful conditions and poor Down performance resulted in a defeat to Wexford by a 2-13 to 0-12 scoreline, in 2010, Down reached the All-Ireland Final after a narrow win over Kildare in the Semi-Finals. They lost to Cork at GAA Headquarters, the first time Down has tasted defeat in the All-Ireland Final, Cork were three points down at half-time but they upped the ante in the second half and ran out 0-16 to 0-15 winners in the end. Present manager of Down Senior team, in 2010 Dan played in defence
Down GAA
–
Down GAA
Down GAA
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Down and
Galway in action in the 1965
National League semi-final
Down GAA
–
Down (red) in action against
Queens University Belfast in the 2009
Dr. McKenna Cup
Down GAA
–
Entrance to sports ground,
Saul, County Down
22.
Bloody Sunday (1920)
–
Bloody Sunday was a day of violence in Dublin on 21 November 1920, during the Irish War of Independence. In total,32 people were killed, including thirteen British soldiers and police, sixteen Irish civilians and this includes people who were mortally wounded, but died later. The day began with an Irish Republican Army operation, organised by Michael Collins and that evening, three IRA suspects being held in Dublin Castle were beaten and killed by their captors, who claimed they were trying to escape. Bloody Sunday was one of the most significant events to place during the Irish War of Independence. Some members of the Gaelic Athletic Association which owned Croke Park were nationalists, in response to IRA actions, the British Government formed paramilitary forces to augment the RIC, the Black and Tans, and the Auxiliary Division. In Dublin, the war took the form of assassinations. The events on the morning of 21 November were an effort by the IRA in Dublin, under Michael Collins and Richard Mulcahy, by late 1920, British Intelligence in Dublin had established an extensive network of spies and informers around the city. Mulcahy, the IRA Chief of Staff, described it as, in November 1920, Collins ordered the assassination of British agents around the city, judging that if they did not do this, the IRAs organisation in the capital would be in grave danger. The IRA also believed that a policy of assassination of leading republicans was being implemented by British forces. Dick McKee was put in charge of planning the operation, on 20 November, the assassination teams, which included the Squad and members of the IRAs Dublin Brigade, were briefed on their targets, who included 20 agents at eight different locations in Dublin. Early on the morning of 21 November, the IRA teams mounted the operation, most of the killings occurred within a small middle-class area of south inner-city Dublin, with the exception of two shootings at the Gresham Hotel on Sackville Street. The most successful attack took place at 28 Upper Pembroke Street, another successful attack took place at 38 Upper Mount Street, where another two Intelligence officers were killed. One IRA volunteer, Frank Teeling, was wounded and captured, one of the IRA volunteers who took part in these attacks, Seán Lemass, would later become a prominent Irish politician, and serve as Taoiseach from 1959 to 1966. On the morning of Bloody Sunday, he took part in the killing of an officer, Captain G. T. Baggallay. There has been confusion and disagreement about the status of the IRAs victims on the morning of Bloody Sunday, at the time, the British government claimed that the men killed that morning were either court-martial officers or innocent civilians. Irish revolutionaries, by contrast, were convinced that the IRAs targets had been British intelligence agents, in a 1972 article, historian Tom Bowden concluded that the officers shot by the IRA were, in the main, involved in some aspect of British intelligence. One of the two men shot at the Gresham Hotel was probably on secret service, but the other was an innocent civilian, in all,14 men were killed, and a fifteenth was mortally wounded, while five were wounded but survived. Only one squad member was captured, Frank Teeling, and he managed to escape from gaol
Bloody Sunday (1920)
–
Bloody Sunday remembrance plaque at
Croke Park
Bloody Sunday (1920)
–
A photo purportedly of the Cairo Gang, but more probably the Igoe Gang (sometimes called the 'Murder Gang' by the IRA). These were RIC officers who were brought to Dublin to identify and target IRA men who had moved to the capital from their respective counties. There is no known photograph of the Cairo Gang.
Bloody Sunday (1920)
–
Plaque in memory of the three volunteers at
Dublin Castle
23.
Irish War of Independence
–
The Irish War of Independence or Anglo-Irish War or the Tan War was a guerrilla war fought from 1919 to 1921 between the Irish Republican Army and the British security forces in Ireland. It was an escalation of the Irish revolutionary period into armed conflict, in the December 1918 election, the Irish republican party Sinn Féin won a landslide victory in Ireland. On 21 January 1919 they formed a government and declared independence from Britain. Later that day, two members of the British-organized armed police force, the Royal Irish Constabulary, were dead in County Tipperary by IRA members acting on their own initiative. This is often seen as the beginning of the conflict, for much of 1919, IRA activity primarily involved capturing weapons and freeing republican prisoners. In September that year the British government outlawed the Dáil and Sinn Féin, the IRA began ambushing RIC and British Army patrols, attacking their barracks and forcing isolated barracks to be abandoned. The British government bolstered the RIC with recruits from Britain—the Black and Tans and Auxiliaries—who became notorious for ill-discipline, the conflict as a result is often referred to as the Black and Tan War or simply the Tan War. While around 300 people had killed in the conflict up to late 1920. A week later, seventeen Auxiliaries were killed by the IRA in an ambush at Kilmichael in County Cork, the British government declared martial law in much of southern Ireland. The centre of Cork City was burnt out by British forces in December 1920, violence continued to escalate over the next seven months, when 1,000 people were killed and 4,500 republicans were interned. The fighting was concentrated in Munster, Dublin and Belfast. These three locations saw over 75% of the conflicts fatalities, violence in Ulster, especially Belfast, was notable for its sectarian character and its high number of Catholic civilian victims. Both sides agreed to a truce on 11 July 1921, the post-ceasefire talks led to the signing of the Anglo-Irish Treaty on 6 December 1921. However, six counties remained within the United Kingdom. After the ceasefire, political and sectarian violence between republicans and loyalists continued in Northern Ireland for many months, in June 1922, disagreement among republicans over the Anglo-Irish Treaty led to an eleven-month civil war. The Irish Free State awarded 62,868 medals for service during the War of Independence, since the 1880s, Irish nationalists in the Irish Parliamentary Party had been demanding Home Rule, or self-government, from Britain. Fringe organisations, such as Arthur Griffiths Sinn Féin instead argued for some form of Irish independence, in turn, nationalists formed their own paramilitary organisation, the Irish Volunteers. But a significant minority of the Irish Volunteers opposed Irelands involvement in the war, the Volunteer movement split, a majority leaving to form the National Volunteers under Redmond
Irish War of Independence
–
The Birth of the Irish Republic; painting by Walter Paget
Irish War of Independence
–
Volunteers of the IRA
3rd Tipperary Brigade during the war
Irish War of Independence
–
Police wanted poster for
Dan Breen, one of those involved in the
Soloheadbeg Ambush in 1919.
Irish War of Independence
–
Wall plaque in Great Denmark Street, Dublin where the Dublin IRA Active Service Unit was founded.
24.
Royal Irish Constabulary
–
The Royal Irish Constabulary was the armed police force of the United Kingdom in Ireland from the early nineteenth century until 1922. About seventy-five percent of the RIC were Roman Catholic and about twenty-five percent were of various Protestant denominations, the Catholics mainly constables and the Protestants officers. In consequence of the Anglo-Irish Treaty, the RIC was disbanded in 1922 and was replaced by the Garda Síochána in the Irish Free State and the Royal Ulster Constabulary in Northern Ireland. The 1822 Act established a force in each province with chief constables, by 1841 this force numbered over 8,600 men. The original force had been reorganised under The Act of 1836, the discipline was strict and the pay low. The police faced civil unrest among the Irish rural poor, and was involved in bloody confrontations during the period of the Tithe War, other deployments were against organisations like the Ribbonmen, which attacked landlords, their property and stock. This was followed by a period of relative calm, the advent of the Irish Republican Brotherhood, founded in 1858, brought a plan for an armed uprising. Direct action began with the Fenian Rising of 1867, Fenians attacked on the more isolated police barracks and smaller stations. This rebellion was put down with ruthless efficiency, the police had infiltrated the Fenians with informers. The RIC presided over a decline in general crime around the country. The unstable rural unrest of the nineteenth century characterised by secret organisations. Policing generally became a routine of controlling misdemeanours such as moonshine distilling, public drunkenness, minor theft, a Land War broke out in the 1879–82 Depression period, causing some general unrest. In Belfast, with its boom, the working population mushroomed. Much of the increase arose from Catholic migration and there were serious riots in 1857,1864,1872 and 1886. As a result, the small Belfast Town Police civic force was disbanded, likewise in 1870, the RIC took over the duties of the Londonderry Borough Police. About 70% of the force in Belfast declared their support of the strikers and were encouraged by Larkin to carry out their own strike for higher wages. It never came to fruition, however, as dissident policemen were transferred out of Belfast four days before the strike was to begin, barrett and six other constables were dismissed and extra British Army troops were deployed to Belfast. The dock strike ended on 28 August 1907, the RICs existence was, increasingly troubled by the rise of the Home Rule campaign in the early twentieth century period prior to World War I
Royal Irish Constabulary
–
Tack badge from the RIC Mounted Division
Royal Irish Constabulary
Royal Irish Constabulary
–
Webley Royal Irish Constabulary Revolver
Royal Irish Constabulary
–
Lee–Enfield Royal Irish Constabulary Carbine
25.
United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland
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The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland was established as a sovereign state on 1 January 1801 by the Acts of Union 1800, which merged the kingdoms of Great Britain and Ireland. The growing desire for an Irish Republic led to the Irish War of Independence, Northern Ireland remained part of the United Kingdom, and the state was consequently renamed the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland. Britain financed the European coalition that defeated France in 1815 in the Napoleonic Wars, the British Empire thereby became the foremost world power for the next century. The Crimean War with Russia and the Boer wars were relatively small operations in a largely peaceful century, rapid industrialisation that began in the decades prior to the states formation continued up until the mid-19th century. A devastating famine, exacerbated by government inaction in the century, led to demographic collapse in much of Ireland. It was an era of economic modernization and growth of industry, trade and finance. Outward migration was heavy to the colonies and to the United States. Britain also built up a large British Empire in Africa and Asia, India, by far the most important possession, saw a short-lived revolt in 1857. In foreign policy Britain favoured free trade, which enabled its financiers and merchants to operate successfully in many otherwise independent countries, as in South America. Britain formed no permanent military alliances until the early 20th century, when it began to cooperate with Japan, France and Russia, and moved closer to the United States. A brief period of limited independence for Ireland came to an end following the Irish Rebellion of 1798, the British governments fear of an independent Ireland siding against them with the French resulted in the decision to unite the two countries. This was brought about by legislation in the parliaments of both kingdoms and came into effect on 1 January 1801, however, King George III was bitterly opposed to any such Emancipation and succeeded in defeating his governments attempts to introduce it. When the Treaty of Amiens ended the war, Britain agreed to return most of the territories it had seized, in May 1803, war was declared again. In 1806, Napoleon issued the series of Berlin Decrees, which brought into effect the Continental System and this policy aimed to eliminate the threat from the British by closing French-controlled territory to foreign trade. Frances population and agricultural capacity far outstripped that of the British Isles, Napoleon expected that cutting Britain off from the European mainland would end its economic hegemony. The Spanish uprising in 1808 at last permitted Britain to gain a foothold on the Continent, after Napoleons surrender and exile to the island of Elba, peace appeared to have returned. The Allies united and the armies of Wellington and Blucher defeated Napoleon once, simultaneous with the Napoleonic Wars, trade disputes, arming hostile Indians and British impressment of American sailors led to the War of 1812 with the United States. The war was little noticed in Britain, which could devote few resources to the conflict until the fall of Napoleon in 1814, American frigates inflicted a series of defeats on the Royal Navy, which was short on manpower due to the conflict in Europe
United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland
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The British
HMS Sandwich fires into the French
flagship Bucentaure (completely dismasted) during
Trafalgar. The Bucentaure also fights
HMS Victory (behind her) and
HMS Temeraire (left side of the picture). In fact, HMS Sandwich never fought at Trafalgar, it's a mistake by
Auguste Mayer, the painter.
United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland
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Flag
United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland
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Signing of the
Treaty of Ghent (1814), by A. Forestier c. 1915
United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland
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The Duke of Wellington
26.
Auxiliary Division
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The Auxiliary Division of the Royal Irish Constabulary, generally known as the Auxiliaries or Auxies, was a paramilitary unit of the Royal Irish Constabulary during the Irish War of Independence. It was set up in July 1920 and made up of former British Army officers and its role was to conduct counter-insurgency operations against the Irish Republican Army. The Auxiliaries became infamous for their reprisals on civilians and civilian property in revenge for IRA actions, the Auxiliaries were distinct from the so-called Black and Tans, former soldiers recruited into the RIC as Temporary Constables. The Auxiliaries and the RIC were disbanded in early 1922, following the Anglo-Irish Treaty, Churchills proposal was referred to a committee chaired by General Sir Nevil Macready, Commander-in-Chief of the British forces in Ireland. Macreadys committee rejected Churchills proposal, but it was revived two months later, in July, by the Police Adviser to the Dublin Castle administration in Ireland, Major-General H H Tudor. In a memo dated 6 July 1920, Tudor justified the scheme on the grounds that it would take too long to reinforce the Royal Irish Constabulary with ordinary recruits. Tudors new Auxiliary Force would be temporary, its members would enlist for a year, their pay would be £7 per week, plus a sergeants allowances. At this time a London advertisement for ex-officers to manage coffee stalls at two pounds ten shillings a week received five thousand applicants, the ADRIC was recruited in Great Britain from among ex-officers who had served in World War I, especially those who had served in the British Army. Most recruits were from Britain, although some were from Ireland, many had been highly decorated in the war and three, James Leach, James Johnson, and George Onions, had been awarded the Victoria Cross. Recruiting began in July 1920, and by November 1921, the division was 1,900 strong, the Auxiliaries were nominally part of the RIC, but actually operated more or less independently in rural areas. Divided into companies, each one hundred strong, heavily armed and highly mobile, they operated in ten counties, mostly in the south and west. They wore either RIC uniforms or their old army uniforms with appropriate police badges and they were commanded by Brigadier-General F P Crozier, a former officer of the loyalist paramilitary group, the Ulster Volunteers. The elite ex-officer division proved to be more effective than the Black. Auxiliary companies were intended as mobile striking and raiding forces, on 20 November, the night before Bloody Sunday, they captured Dick McKee and Peadar Clancy, the commandant and vice-commandant of the IRAs Dublin Brigade, and murdered them in Dublin Castle. That same night, they caught William Pilkington, commandant of the Sligo IRA, in his memoirs, the commandant of the Clare IRA, Michael Brennan, describes how the Auxiliaries nearly captured him three nights in a row. IRA commanders became concerned about the morale of their units as to many Volunteers the Auxiliaries seemed to be super fighters and all and those victories which were won over the Auxiliaries are among the most celebrated in the Irish War of Independence. On 28 November 1920, for example, a platoon of Auxiliaries was ambushed and wiped out in the Kilmichael Ambush by Tom Barry and the West Cork IRA. A little more than two months later, on 2 February 1921, another platoon of Auxiliaries was ambushed by Seán MacEoin and the Longford IRA in the Clonfin Ambush
Auxiliary Division
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Badge of the Auxiliary Division of the Royal Irish Constabulary
27.
County Dublin
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County Dublin is a former county in Ireland. It is conterminous with the Dublin Region and is in the province of Leinster and it is named after the city of Dublin, which is the regional capital and the capital city of Ireland. County Dublin was one of the first parts of Ireland to be shired by John, prior to 1994 County Dublin was also an administrative unit covering the whole county outside of Dublin City Council. In 1994 Dublin County Council was abolished and replaced with three separate administrative county councils, Dún Laoghaire–Rathdown, Fingal and South Dublin, the total population of the three aforementioned counties and Dublin city was 1,345,402 according to the census of 2016. Since the abolition of the Dublin Regional Assembly by statutory instrument No, 573/2014, the Eurostat statistical region known as Dublin Region falls under the remit of the wider Eastern and Midland Regional Authority. There are four local authorities whose remit collectively encompasses the area of the county and city of Dublin. These are Dublin City Council, South Dublin County Council, Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown County Council, prior to the enactment of the Local Government Act 1993, the county was a unified whole even though it was administered by two local authorities - Dublin County Council and Dublin Corporation. They rank equally as first level administrative units of the NUTS3 Dublin Region for Eurostat purposes. There are 34 LAU1 entities in the Republic of Ireland, each local authority is responsible for certain local services such as sanitation, planning and development, libraries, the collection of motor taxation, local roads and social housing. Dublin County Council was abolished in 1994 and the area divided among the counties of Dún Laoghaire–Rathdown, Fingal. To these areas may be added the area of Dublin city which collectively comprise the Dublin Region, the area lost its administrative county status in 1994, with Section 9 Part 1 of the Local Government Act,1993 stating that the county shall cease to exist. I am not sure whether Dubliners realise that that is what we are about today, the county is part of the Dublin constituency for the purposes of European elections. Together they return 44 deputies to the Dáil, despite the legal status of the Dublin Region, the term County Dublin is still in common usage. Many organisations and sporting teams continue to organise on a County Dublin or Dublin Region basis, the term Greater Dublin Area, which might consist of some or all of the Dublin Region along with counties of Kildare, Meath and Wicklow, has no legal standing. The Dublin Region is a NUTS Level III region of Ireland, the region is one of eight regions of the Republic of Ireland for the purposes of Eurostat statistics. It is co-extensive with the old county, the regional capital is Dublin City which is also the national capital. The latest Ordnance Survey Ireland Discovery Series 1,50,000 map of the Dublin Region, Sheet 50, shows the boundaries of the city and three surrounding counties of the region. Extremities of the Dublin Region, in the north and south of the region, Local radio stations include 98FM, FM104,103.2 Dublin City FM, Q102, SPIN1038, Sunshine 106.8, TXFM, Raidió Na Life and Radio Nova
County Dublin
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View of Killiney Bay from
Killiney Hill
County Dublin
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Three Rock Mountain, Dublin, Ireland looking towards Bray Head
County Dublin
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Balrothery East
28.
Tipperary
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Tipperary is a town and a civil parish in County Tipperary, Ireland. Its population was 4,415 at the 2006 census and it is also an ecclesiastical parish in the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Cashel and Emly, and is in the historical barony of Clanwilliam. The town gave its name to County Tipperary, in Irish, Tiobraid Árann means The Well of Ara—a reference to the river which flows through the town. The well itself is located in the townland of Glenbane which is in the parish of Lattin and this is where the River Ara rises. Little is known of the significance of the well. The town is a foundation and became a population centre in the early 13th century. Its ancient fortifications have disappeared but its area is characterized by a wide streets radiating from the principal thoroughfare of Main Street. The Maid of Erin is a monument, erected in 1907 it was relocated to a corner site on the main street from the centre of the main street in 2003. It is composed of carved limestone and the figure stands on a base depicting the portraits of the three executed men. The portraits carry the names in Irish of each man and she is now situated on stone flagged pavement behind wrought-iron railings, with an information board. This memorial to the Manchester Martyrs is a piece of sculpture now located in a prominent corner site. The choice of a figure as the personification of Ireland for such a memorial was common at the time. It is a naturalistic and evocative piece of work, made all the more striking by the portraits of the executed men. The town was the site of a military barracks of the British Army in the 50 years before Irish Independence. During the War of Independence, it played a role as a base from which the Black and Tans went on local sorties in their campaign of terror against the people of the town. In a rare appearance, the Royal Munster Fusiliers banner was carried to mark the occasion, however, given the notoriety of the place in the folk memory, there was only a small representation of townspeople in attendance. They were evicted and, under the direction of Fr, David Humphreys and William OBrien, decided to build a new town on land outside his control. The area now known Dillon Street and Emmet Street in Tipperary town was the centre of development and was built by local labour but with funds raised in Australia
Tipperary
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Tipperary Main Street
Tipperary
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Panoramic view of Tipperary and surroundings
29.
Cairo Gang
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The events were to be the first killings of Bloody Sunday. Some Irish historians dispute assertions of a history of service in the Middle East as the reason for the units nom de guerre. It has been suggested that they received the name because they held meetings at Cafe Cairo at 59 Grafton Street in Dublin. Earlier books on the 1919–1923 period do not refer to the Cairo Gang by that name, in response the Dublin Castle administration, the then headquarters of the British government in Ireland were forced to look for external intelligence support. They may also have received training from MI5 officers and ex-officers working for Special Branch. It was known officially as the Dublin District Special Branch and also as D Branch, in May 1920, Lieutenant Colonel Walter Wilson arrived in Dublin to take command of D Branch. The famous photograph usually identified as members of the Cairo Gang is lodged in the National Library of Ireland photographic archive Piaras Béaslaí collection and it describes the men as the special gang F company Auxiliaries. There are no names or details on the back of the photos, three other photos in the collection show Auxiliaries posing on vehicles in the grounds of Dublin Castle. These three photos are similarly numbered, the Cairo Gang members lived unobtrusively at nice addresses, in boarding houses and hotels across Dublin while preparing a hit list of known republicans. Mannix provided the IRAID with a list of names and addresses for all the members of the Cairo Gang, in addition, Michael Collinss case officers on the intelligence staff—Liam Tobin, Tom Cullen and Frank Thornton—were meeting with several D Branch officers nightly, pretending to be informers. All the members of the gang were kept under surveillance for several weeks, the operation was planned by several senior IRA members, including Michael Collins, Dick McKee, Liam Tobin, Peadar Clancy, Tom Cullen, Frank Thornton and Oscar Traynor. Clancy and McKee were picked up by Crown forces on the evening of Saturday,20 November and they were tortured and later shot dead while trying to escape. Tortured and killed them was Conor Clune. Clune was arrested in a raid on Vaughans Hotel in Dublin, the operation began at 9,00 am, when members of the Squad entered 28 Pembroke Street. The first British agents to die were Major Charles Milne Cholmeley Dowling, andy Cooney of the Dublin Brigade removed documents from their rooms. Three more members of the Gang were shot in the house, Captain Brian Christopher Headlam Keenlyside, Colonel Wilfrid Woodcock. He was in his uniform, and, when he shouted to warn the other five British officers living in the house, he was shot in the shoulder and back. As Keenlyside was about to be shot, a struggle ensued between his wife and Mick OHanlon, the leader of the unit, Mick Flanagan, arrived, pushed Mrs Keenlyside out of the way and shot her husband
Cairo Gang
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A photo purportedly of the Cairo Gang, but more probably the
Igoe Gang
