1478 – John De La Pole, the Duke of Suffolk, was appointed lieutenant of Ireland for 20 years, but did not take office.

1653 – Sir Phelim O'Neill was executed by Parliament forces in Dublin, after refusing to confirm that the forged letter from King Charles I which started the rebellion was actually authentic, he was sentenced to die as a traitor. He was hung, drawn, and quartered.

1807 – Birth of James Fintan Lalor in Raheen, Co Laois. He was an Irish revolutionary, journalist, and 'one of the most powerful writers of his day.' A leading member of the Irish Confederation (Young Ireland), he was to play an active part in both the Rebellion in July 1848 and the attempted Rising in September of that same year. Lalor's writings were to exerted a seminal influence on later Irish leaders such as Michael Davitt, James Connolly, Pádraig Pearse, and Arthur Griffith.

1810 – Birth in Belfast of Sir Samuel Ferguson, Celtic scholar and a poet best known for his rendering of Irish legends in English verse.

1814 – William Brown from Foxford, Co Mayo led Argentine maritime forces into battle for the first time. The Hercules, joined by the Julieta, the Tortugas, the Fortunata and the felucca San Luis, facing the strong Spanish naval fleet commanded by Captain Jacinto de Romarate.

1883 – Pádraig Ó Siochfhradha, writer under the pseudonym 'An Seabhac' and promoter of the Irish language is born in Dingle, Co Kerry.

1888 – Birth of actor, William Joseph Shields, aka Barry Fitzgerald, in Dublin.

1894 – Ireland collected its first ever Triple Crown, defeating Wales in Belfast.

1921 – IRA informer Dan Shields betrayed the position of an IRA column in Nadd, west Cork. Three IRA volunteers: Edward Waters, teenager, Michael Kiely and David Herlihy of Cork No. 2 Brigade, were shot dead during a British army roundup on the Boggera Mountains near Nadd.

1923 – A civilian suspected of Republican sympathies is shot dead on Donore Avenue Dublin by Free State Intelligence officers.

1923 – Another Republican prisoner, Seamus Taylor is taken from Kenmare jail, in Co Kerry to Ballyseedy woods by National Army troops and shot dead.

1932 – IRA prisoners in the Free State are released.

1947 – Birth of Donal Lunny, founder of Planxty, the Bothy Band, and Moving Hearts, in Tullamore, Co Offaly.

1966 – Death of poet and novelist, Frank O'Connor, in Dublin.

1970 – Members of the Stormont parliament were given police protection.

1971 – Fighting erupts between Official and Provisional IRA in Belfast.

1971 – Dougald McCaughey (23), Joseph McCaig (18) and John McCaig (17), all three members of the Royal Highland Fusiliers (a regiment of the British Army), were killed by members of the IRA. The soldiers were off-duty and lured from a pub where they had been drinking. Their bodies were found at Squire's Hill, in the Ligoniel area of Belfast. There was widespread condemnation of the killings and increased pressure on Northern Ireland Prime Minister, Chichester-Clark, to take a tougher line on security in the region.

1976 – The Irish government referred Britain to the European Commission on Human Rights over the case of alleged ill-treatment of internees in 1971. A decision by the Commission was announced on 2 September 1976. The case was then passed to the European Court of Human Rights who made a further ruling on 18 January 1978.

1980 – Formation of the Irish Army Ranger Wing (ARW, Sciathán Fianóglach an Airm).

1981 – Bobby Sands recorded his diary for the first seventeen days of his hunger strike in which he detailed his thoughts and feelings on the momentous task that lay ahead of him. In order to secure his status as Irish political prisoner he was willing to fast til death, an event that would earn him a place in the annals of Irish history and in the hearts and minds of Irish republicans world wide. See Bobby Sands Trust for today's entry: http://www.bobbysandstrust.com/writings/prison-diary

1987 – Fianna Fáil, then led by Charles Haughey, formed a minority government.

1988 – Sixty British Labour Party Members of Parliament (MPs) criticised the shootings in Gibraltar on 6 March 1988.

1989 – Dr Devious (foaled) is an Irish-bred and British-trained Thoroughbred race horse. In a career which lasted from May 1991 until November 1992, he ran fifteen times and won six races. He is most notable as the winner of the Epsom Derby in 1992. Dr Devious's other most significant wins came in the Dewhurst Stakes and the Irish Champion Stakes. He was the second horse, after Bold Arrangement in 1986, to run in both the Kentucky Derby and the Epsom Derby.

1992 – The Garda Síochána uncovered an estimated 3,500 lbs of explosives together with a number of weapons at Drumkeen in Co Donegal.

1993 – The House of Commons at Westminster decided by 329 to 202 votes to renew the Prevention of Terrorism Act. The Labour Party voted against the motion whereas in previous years the party had abstained.

1994 – An RUC officer, James Haggan (33), was shot dead by the IRA while he was off-duty at a greyhound track in north Belfast.

1997 – The parents of Stephen Restorick, a British soldier who had been shot dead by the IRA on 12 February 1997, received a letter of condolence from President of Sinn Féin, Gerry Adams.

1998 – After five wildly inaccurate missiles are fired with little warning at a police station in Armagh city, police accuse republicans of attempting mass murder. 100 people — many pensioners — are forced to flee their homes. Fortunately, no-one is killed or injured.

1999 – Taoiseach Bertie Ahern, issued a statement on the present state of the peace process and the implementation of the Good Friday Agreement.

2000 – Harland and Wolff's last hope of saving the Belfast shipyard appeared doomed after it was confirmed that Cunard's £433 million contract to build the Queen Mary II had gone to French rivals.

2002 – Former Circuit of Ireland rally champion Frank Meagher was killed in a driving accident in Co Tipperary, between Cloneen and Mullinahone.

2003 – The National Aquatic Centre opened in Abbotstown, Dublin. The water-park with its eight different fun rides and attractions is one of the most hi-tech in Europe and the pool complex is one of the most advanced Olympic standard facilities in the world.

2003 – Tobacco manufacturers Gallaher announced a range of increases which saw the cost of several popular brands rise to nearly €6 for a packet of 20 cigarettes.

2005 – Death of Irish comedian, Dave Allen, born David O'Mahoney, in Dublin. Allen was an irreverent comic who found fame in the UK, regularly poking fun at the political and religious establishment.

2018 – Ireland were crowned Six Nations champions for the third time in five years.

Image | The Peace Maze, Castlewellan Forest Park, Co Down | Tourism Ireland

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