This Date in Irish History - September 18th

September 18th -


1851 -
Patriot Anne Devlin died in Dublin. From a
well-known nationalist family, Devlin was a close
friend and comrade of Robert Emmet, and was witness to
his execution. Despite both physical and mental
torture, Anne refused to give evidence against Emmet.


1867 -
FORCIBLE LIBERATION AND RESCUE OF FENIANS IN
MANCHESTER
THREE POLICEMEN SHOT
Special Telegram

Manchester, Wednesday Night.

A well-organized attack was made upon the police
van which was conveying Colonel Kelly and Captain
Deasy from the court after their remand, back to the
gaol outside the city.
The van was guarded by about a dozen policemen
without fire-arms, and on the Hyde road the van was
stopped by about fifty men, under command of O'Meara
Allen, a well-known Fenian.
Half of these men had loaded revolvers. They shot
the horses, killed one of the police, named Bret, and
drove the others off the van, while the armed party
kept off the police and crowd, who tried to stop the
attack.
The others, with axes, hammers, and stones, smashed
the van, and rescued the prisoners. They have not
been re-captured. Allen and twenty-two other of the
assailants were in custody by midnight.
The military are guarding them in the Central
Police Station. Several persons were wounded during
the attack on the police van.
Will the ruling classes ever learn wisdom and
become, ere it is too late, convinced of the great
social truth, that a people cannot with impunity be
always crushed down by bad laws, and denied redress by
an unsympathizing Government? Even in the ruling
country the power of the Government or the vigilance
of its officers, or the fidelity of its police, seems
unable to cope with the organization.


1889 -
Kathleen Behan (née Kearney) was born in
Dublin. Kathleen was a folk singer, worked for
Whitecross Republican Aid Assocociation, served as a
housekeeper to Maud Gonne, and was a folk singer. She
was the mother of Brian, Dominic and author Brendan
Behan, and the sister of Peadar Kearney, author of the
lyrics to "Amhrán na bhFiann".


1964 -
Death of playwright Sean O’Casey. O'Casey was a
major Irish dramatist. A committed nationalist and
socialist, he was the first Irish
playwright of note to write about the Dublin working
classes. His plays include "The Shadow of a
Gunman", "Juno and the Paycock", and "The Plough and
the Stars".