March 3

Dermot_Morgan_Memorial_Chair_Magnus-Manske_CC2-5 Image Ireland Calling

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1766 Four pirates were sentenced to death and executed in St Stephen’s Green, Dublin on this day in 1766. The four men were found guilty of the murders of Captains Cochrane and Glass and also charged with plundering the Lord Sandwich.
The bodies were hung by the River Liffey as a warning to any other pirates, until the complaints from the public led to them being removed.

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1831 On this day in 1831, 120 British and Irish policemen tried to seize the cattle of a Roman Catholic priest. The priest had taken ownership of the animals to enable the members of his parish to refuse to pay ‘tithes’. Tithes were compulsory taxes of either money or goods that got paid to the Church of Ireland. This incident is reported to be the first of many over the next few years, with more violent and brutal conflicts to follow.

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Peter O’Sullevan1918  Peter O’Sullevan, the voice of British and Irish horse racing, was born in County Kerry on this day in 1918. O’Sullevan covered the racing for the BBC for more than 50 years before finally retiring in the 1990s.
He reported from several glamorous courses including Cheltenham and Ascot and was the commentator when Red Rum won his third Grand National in 1977.

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1952 The much loved actor Dermot Morgan was born in Dublin. He played the iconic Father Ted Crilly in the crazy Irish comedy, Father Ted.
Tragically, Morgan died of a heart attack in 1998 aged just 45, but the success of Father Ted was such that it remains a favourite on British and Irish television today. A chair is erected in memory of Dermot Morgan in Merrion Square, Dublin.

Dermot_Morgan_Memorial_Chair_Magnus-Manske_CC2-5 Image Ireland Calling

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1953 Happy birthday to Brian Kerr, born in Dublin on this day in 1953. He managed the Republic of Ireland Under 21 football team from 1997 to 2003, before being promoted to head coach of the first team. His side failed to progress through their qualifying group for the finals of the 2006 World Cup despite only losing one game, and Kerr was dismissed as national boss. He moved on to become a director of Sport against Racism Ireland.

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1977 Happy birthday to Ronan Keating, born in Dublin on this day in 1977. He enjoyed great success as the lead singer of Irish boyband, Boyzone in the 1990s before embarking on a solo career.
Click here to read about Ronan Keating’s collaboration with Burt Bacharach
Ronan Keating singing When You Say Nothing At All – from the film Notting Hill.

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 2003 Ambulance workers refused to answer any non-emergency calls on this day in 2003, in protest to proposed changes to their working conditions from their bosses. The action was a warning of what was to come as thousands of skilled workers left Ireland throughout the 2000s in search of better wages and future prospects.
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