December (Nollaig) 24th
1601 - The Battle of
Kinsale. Hugh O'Neill and Red Hugh O'Donnell are heavily defeated by
Mountjoy
http://www.kinsale-angling.com/NoFrames/Kinsale1601.htm
http://homepage.eircom.net/~earrings/battle-of-kinsale.html
http://www.libraryireland.com/JoyceHistory/Kinsale.php
1701 - Captain Thomas Bellew fights a duel with Major-General William Stewart
on Christmas Eve - both men's right hands are disabled as a result of war
wounds, and Bellew has served under Stewart. Stewart fires from two yards and
blows Bellew's hat off, whereupon Bellew throws his pistol away, saying he does
not wish to kill Stewart
1709 - Alan
Brodrick, Speaker of the House of Commons, is appointed Lord Chief Justice
of the Court of Queen's Bench
1713 - The second Irish parliament of Queen Anne sits from 25
November to this date. The Whig Alan Brodrick is elected Speaker for the second
time (having served 21 September 1703 to 19 May 1710), in place of John
Forster, after a stormy contest with the government's Tory nominee, Sir Richard
Levinge
1810 - John
O'Connell, politician, is born in Dublin
John O'Connell (1801 - 24 May 1858) was one of seven children (the third of
four sons) of the Irish Nationalist leader Daniel and Mary O'Connell. He served
in British Parliament as Member of Parliament (MP) for Youghal from 1832 to
1837, for Athlone from 1837-1841, for Kilkenny from 1841-1847, for Limerick from 1847-1851 and for Clonmel from 1853-57.
His brothers Maurice, Morgan and Daniel were also MPs.
1818 - In St. Nicholas Church at Oberndorf, Austria, church organist Franz Gruber, 31, composed a melody on guitar for the poem, "Stille
Nacht," written earlier by pastor Joseph Mohr, 26. This evening the world
heard "Silent Night" sung for the very first time.
1889 - Captain William O'Shea files for divorce, citing Parnell as his
wife Kitty's lover,
thus causing moral outrage and the subsequent loss of Parnell's political power
1895 - The 15-man crew of a Dun Laoghaire lifeboat crew is lost in a gale while
attempting a rescue from a stricken vessel off Blackrock
1921 - Gerard Victory,
composer, is born in Dublin
1942 - Psychiatrist and broadcaster Dr. Anthony Clare is born
in Dublin
1997 - In one of the worst storms in living memory, seven people
die and many others are injured as hurricane-force winds wreak havoc across the
country
1997 - 1st time a Channukah candle is officially lit in Vatican City
1998 - After 26 years, an exceptional era in broadcasting comes to a close on
this date when Gay Byrne does his final morning radio show on RTE Radio One.
2002 - President Mary McAleese breaks her ankle in a skiing accident in Austria
The Christmas Truce - http://www.snopes.com/holidays/christmas/truce.asp
Please pray for the safe return of our troops and keep them in your prayers and
thoughts this holiday season