On This Day
One of the many things Dr Éamon was renowned for was his On This Day column in the Irish News.
Expertly chosen, the column chose a day in history and brought it in its significance to the modern reader.
The column was usually placed down the right-hand side of a news or features page, and the page number varied from edition to edition.
But wherever it was placed, the mix was variously enlightening, eclectic, sometimes sad, but always interesting.
Éamon loved doing the column, from the 1980s right up to late 2022. On This Day continues in the Irish News to this day under a new author.
These items are an invaluable historical record – old reports curated by an expert and brought to life again in modern media.
Over time we plan to greatly add to this collection of Éamon’s On This Day contributions. We are very thankful to Ireland’s Department of Foreign Affairs and the Magill Trust for funding this project.
Please note:
The Foundation has worked hard to recreate Eamon’s distinctive voice through AI. Since this is an emerging technology, occasional imperfections may be audible.
On This Day – 11th October 1921
Publication date:
October 11, 2021
Reference date:
19211011
Stories Included:
1921: Patrick Hagan describes a brutal raid on his Dungannon home allegedly carried out by Specials, while Monaghan County Council discusses Republican ratepayers in arrears
Latest On This Day Posts
Published: December 17, 2020
On This Day - 17th December 1920
Stories Included:
1920: an Auxiliary policeman killed Canon Magner in West Cork, as the trial began of four men accused of the Gilford, Co Down robbery-murder
Published: December 16, 2020
On This Day - 16th December 1920
Stories Included:
1920: As the Lords passed the Government of Ireland Bill, the Irish News said most of Ireland had already rejected partition “with scorn”, while unionists pushed to secure their new state.
Published: December 15, 2020
On This Day - 15th December 1970
Stories Included:
1970: Paddy ‘Bogside’ Doherty denounced a campaign against his Derry appointment, Paddy Devlin clashed at the Old Bailey, saying: “I will not be sneered at”.
Published: December 14, 2020
On This Day – 12th December 1920
Stories Included:
1920: Hundreds of IRA volunteers attacked Camlough barracks and ambushed reinforcements at the Egyptian Arch, sparking heavy fighting and widespread fires
Published: December 18, 2020
On This Day - 18th December 1920
Stories Included:
1920: Lloyd George rejects efforts of nationalist MPs Joe Devlin and TP O’Connor to extract Nationalist safeguards from the government ahead of Partition
Published: December 12, 2020
On This Day – 12th December 1920
Stories Included:
1920: Bishop MacRory denounced Belfast’s sectarian expulsions, while Auxiliaries burned Cork’s city centre in revenge for an IRA ambush
Published: December 11, 2020
On This Day – 11th December 1920
Stories Included:
1920: Archbishop Clune’s talks with Lloyd George raise hopes of a truce, even as martial law is imposed across four Irish counties
Published: December 10, 2020
On This Day – 10th December 1920
Stories Included:
1920: Labour’s Arthur Henderson decried reprisals as “Cromwellian”, more prisoners were shipped to Ballykinlar Internment Camp
Published: December 9, 2020
On This Day – 9th December 1970
Stories Included:
1970: Dun Laoghaire’s King George IV statue was blasted again, Hillery warned about Irish in the EEC, and Stormont clashed over a blocked Derry appointment
Published: December 8, 2020
On This Day – 8th December 1970
Stories Included:
1970: A dossier details discrimination in Dungannon councils, while Derry nationalists push to end the Honourable the Irish Society and repatriate its assets.
On This Day Posts by Year
Please select a year to see the series of articles written by Éamon.
Latest On This Day Posts
(384 Posts)
Published: October 13, 2020
On This Day – 13th October 1920
Stories Included:
Major G O S Smyth killed in a Dublin raid linked to Michael Collins’ Squad
Published: October 12, 2020
On This Day – 12th October 1970
Stories Included:
Bogsiders trained by Irish defence forces, 1970 Haughey arms trial hears
Published: October 10, 2020
On This Day – 10th October 1920
Stories Included:
1920 reprisals: ‘Lloyd George in a moral abyss from which he never can emerge’
Published: October 9, 2020
On This Day – 9th October 1970
Stories Included:
1970: United Ireland means poverty, says Oliver Napier; New twist in Charles Haughey arms trial
Published: October 8, 2020
On This Day – 8th October 1920
Stories Included:
Grim statistics chart 1920 pogrom against Catholic workers; Craig – north of Ireland at ‘a parting of the ways’
Published: October 7, 2020
On This Day – 7th October 1970
Stories Included:
1970: Brian Faulkner rises as James Chichester-Clark’s future in doubt; Nationalist pressure to reform local government
Published: October 5, 2020
On This Day – 5th October 1920
Stories Included:
1920 Banbridge house siege: homeowners put on trial
Published: October 6, 2020
On This Day – 6th October 1920
Stories Included:
Slain RM Alan Lendrum Buried in Tyrone; General’s shocking statement on Lisburn riots
Published: October 3, 2020
On This Day – 3rd October 1970
Stories Included:
Sensation as judge quits Charles Haughey arms trial; 1970 Strabane bank raid almost foiled by faulty bag zip
Published: October 2, 2020
On This Day – 2nd October 1920
Stories Included:
Body of abducted Tyrone-born RM Alan Lendrum found; Arthur Griffith says reprisals are a “calculated political policy”
Published: October 1, 2020
On This Day – 1st October 1920
Stories Included:
The Times of London branded reprisals at Mallow, Co Cork a ‘national disgrace’
Published: September 29, 2020
On This Day – 30th September 1970
Stories Included:
Savage rioting as the Shankill Road turns on the British army; Charles Haughey arms trial – new twist