June 3, 2022
OTD: John Flanagan (9 Jan 1873 - 3 Jun 1938)
John Flanagan, the three-time Olympic Hammer champion athlete, was born on 9 January 1873 at Kilbreedy, Limerick. He emigrated to America in 1896 where he joined the New York City Police Department.
While in New York he rose to fame in athletic circles as a hammer thrower. He represented the United States in the Olympic Games and is best remembered for winning three consecutive Gold medals (1900, 1904, 1908), a feat still unequaled.
In 1911 he returned to Limerick to work the family farm . He continued his involvement in athletics as both a competitor and a coach. He passed on the 3rd of June 1938) One of Ireland's most famous Irish Whales.
Outbreak of the Economic War: June 30, 1932
Irish Independent, July 1, 1932, with headline story on Anglo-Irish economic tensions
Background to the Anglo-Irish Trade WarWhile the Anglo-Irish Treaty of 1921 granted Ireland a measure of independence, many in the newly formed Saorstát &E…
OTD: James Plunkett (1920 - 2003)
James Plunkett, author of Strumpet City, one of the best books on Dublin, was born on 21 May 1920 in the Hibernian metropolis. Strumpet City details the lives of common Dublin folk and their hero, James Larkin. The novel is an excellent fiction…
