Eibhlin O'Neill's blog

One hundred years ago, on 3rd February 1919, Éamon de Valera (14 October 1882 – 29 August 1975), a leading figure in Ireland's fight for independence, made an audacious escape from Lincoln Gaol in England. He was detained there as one of a number of political prisoners held by the British.  Eamon de Valera took part in the Easter Rising of April 1916, which was launched by Irish republicans to end British rule in Ireland and establish an independent Irish Republic. During the Rising he commanded forces holding Boland's Mill on Grand Canal Street in Dublin.

One hundred years ago the First Dáil (Irish: An Chéad Dáil) was held in Dublin’s Mansion House on 21 January 1919. It came after the General Election of 14th December 1918. The Irish General Election of 1918 was that part of the 1918 general election which took place in Ireland. In 1918 the whole of Ireland was a part of the so-called United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, and was represented in the British Parliament by 105 MPs. It was significant moment in modern Irish history.

At approximately 1am on the morning of 8th January 1979 a huge explosion rocked the surrounds and lit the winter skies of Bantry Bay  (Irish: Cuan Baoi ) in the south-west of Ireland. On January 4th, 1979, the 121,000 tonne oil tanker Betelgeuse, which was owned by French company Total SA, had arrived in Bantry Bay from Ras Tanura in the Persian Gulf with a cargo of crude oil. On 6th January having berthed at the offshore jetty for the oil terminal at Widdy Island (Oileán Faoide), discharging the 114,000 tonnes of mixed Arabian crude oil began.

It has been announced that the excavation of a site at the former mother-and-baby home in Tuam in Co Galway is set to begin in the latter stages of 2019. The Tuam mother-and-baby home operated from 1925 to 1961 and was run by the Bon Secours Sisters, a religious order of Roman Catholic nuns, Unwed pregnant women were sent to the Home to give birth. It is thought that hundreds of babies are buried at the site after significant quantities of human remains were discovered there in 2016 and 2017.

Protesters gathered in Strokestown (Irish: Béal na mBuillí), Ireland today calling for an end to forced evictions. This is the result of a controversial violent eviction of a farming family from their home in County Roscommon (Irish: Contae Ros Comáin). An investigation is now also under way into the conduct of a group of men, working for the Belgian-owned KBC bank, who were brought in from the north of Ireland to carry out the eviction.

Gardaí (Irish: An Garda Síochána) the Irish police service, are investigating a suspected arson attack on a branch of the Belgian owned KBC Bank in Co Dublin yesterday morning. The front window had been smashed and the fire caused extensive damage to the ground floor of the building. This was the second arson attack on a KBC Bank in 48 hours. Yesterday protesters also occupied the lobby of the head office of KBC Bank in Dublin. This is the result of a controversial eviction of a farming family from their home in County Roscommon (Irish: Contae Ros Comáin).

The repercussions continue in regard to British Conservative MP Priti Patel's suggestion that potential food shortages in Ireland could be used as leverage in Brexit negotiations. Despite her claims that her comments were taken out of context the criticism shows no sign of abating. Priti Patel's comments were viewed as particularly insensitive in light of the Great Famine, which was exacerbated by British trade policy at the time and resulted in the deaths of millions.

It seems that there is a likelihood that the draft withdrawal agreement between the European Union and the United Kingdom will be defeated by a majority vote in the House of Commons (the lower house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom). There are seven elected Sinn Féin (the Irish republican political party) members of the House of Commons from constituencies in the Six Counties in the north of Ireland. Quite rightly, Sinn Féin has always contested general elections in the north of Ireland on the basis of abstentionism.

In June 2016 four anglers, Stephen Murphy, Kieran Mahar, William Gregory and David Johnston, found the remains of a prehistoric logboat in the River Boyne (An Bhóinn) in Ireland. A sample of the wood has now been radiocarbon dated to between 3,300-2,900BC.  This coincides with the construction of the Neolithic passage tombs of the Brú na Bóinne including Knowth, Dowth and Newgrange in the Boyne Valley through which the river flows. The remains of the logboat consist of a 3m length of wood, which would have formed the base of the boat.

The Irish Aviation Authority is investigating sightings of bright lights and UFO's seen over the coast of south-west Ireland. They were reported by a number of pilots of commercial aircraft while in contact with Shannon Air Traffic Control last Friday. A British Airways pilot spotted bright lights moving past her plane. The fast moving, very bright object was seen to disappear at very high speed. Air traffic control confirmed to the pilot that there was no military exercises taking place in the area at the time.