This Day in Irish History

Today marks four years since I first tweeted from this account. Now seems like a good time to take a bit of a step back. There will still be tweets, just not as frequently. A big thank you to all followers, particularly those who bought my book (in paperback later this year).

This day 47 years ago – 20 July 1974 – a group of women protested the hitherto male-only bathing place of Forty Foot, Sandycove, Co Dublin. Among those protesting were journalist Nell McCafferty, politician Nuala Fennell and poet Mary D'Arcy. From then on, the area was shared.

@hattoriseanzo @MrChuckD 😂

@MrChuckD @ThisDayIrish Collab?

I put out books on the things i dig . Ya dig? I been around a long time and i don’t freestyle information. Chuck D Presents This Day in Rap and Hip-Hop History: D, Chuck, Fairey, Shepard: 9780316430975: Amazon.com: Books amazon.com/Chuck-Presents…

@jimhayes78 Thank you, Jimmy!

@ThisDayIrish looking forward to this

@irishwill83 @BelTel @CiaranDunbar @AlexKane221b @SJAMcBride Yes! I listened to it. Very interesting podcast series.

@ThisDayIrish Cracking podcast series on this @BelTel @CiaranDunbar @AlexKane221b @SJAMcBride Really eye opening

This day 45 years ago – 14 May 1974 – the Northern Ireland Assembly voted 44-28 to proceed with ratifying the Sunningdale Agreement. In response, Harry Murray of the Ulster Workers' Council announced a strike which lasted 14 days and led to the agreement collapsing on 28 May.

This day three years ago – 25 May 2018 – 66.9% of Irish voters supported repealing the constitutional ban on abortion. Taoiseach Leo Varadkar said, “Today we as a people have spoken, and we say we trust women and respect women to make their own decisions and their own choices.”

Great to see a full house this morning to celebrate our Irish Heritage Month Business Breakfast! Thank you to our guest speaker Padraic Coffey, author of This Day in Irish History, for sharing his experience of using social media to bring Irish history to a modern audience.

In honour of International Women's Day, here are a few Irish women who made significant contributions to Ireland and the world. A thread.

March is Irish Heritage Month! Join the Consulate, online or in person, at 7:30 am PDT on March 7th for our heritage themed Business Breakfast. Check out the link below for more details and to register. marchbusinessbreakfast.eventbrite.ie

Delighted that my friend Ferdia Lennon's debut novel Glorious Exploits has been chosen as RTÉ's Book of the Week, on top of the praise it's already received from Roddy Doyle and Emma Donoghue. Be sure to pick it up if you like contemporary Irish fiction! rte.ie/culture/books/…

@DaveMcGinnNaas You clearly didn't see some of the replies I received when I posted about this last week.

@ThisDayIrish Yeah, nobody disagrees with that mate

It was impossible not to be moved after Tom Hand, Emily's father, spoke about his daughter when it was believed she had been killed. Hamas should release her, unconditionally, along with any other hostages captured on Oct 7th. I cannot see why anyone would disagree with that.

@41OPP I've seen barely anyone on Irish social media call for a release of the hostages.

@ThisDayIrish I have yet to see anybody not in favor of the release of hostages.

@Now4NI @Droghedaboy You absolutely are changing the subject. Emily Hand has nothing whatsoever to do with these detainees you keep mentioning.

@Now4NI @Droghedaboy And what does that have to do with Emily Hand? Why mention it under a post about Emily Hand, other than to change the subject?

@Now4NI @Droghedaboy Neither that article, nor the one you shared after it, mentions by name any children held in Israel without charge. Either way, that has nothing to do with Emily Hand, who should be released immediately, unconditionally, by Hamas.

@Droghedaboy I have yet to see what any of this has to do with Emily Hand. I believe she should be released immediately, unconditionally. Do you disagree?

@ThisDayIrish The conviction rate for Palestinians in the occupation territories, when they are charged is nearly 100 per cent . They are also tried in military courts while Jews are tried in civil courts.

@Droghedaboy Can you please give me an example of one of these children being held without any charges?

@ThisDayIrish There are a large number of Palestinians, including children who are held long term by Israel with no charges .

@Droghedaboy Are you equating hostages, who committed no crime, and were captured on Oct 7th (some as young as 9 months old) with prisoners being detained on criminal charges? Do you see the two groups as identical and interchangeable?

@ThisDayIrish Hamas should release all hostages, including her. Israel should also release Palestinians held .

@BroncoBullfrog_ Please give me an example of one of the children who you say has been kidnapped by Israel, and I will give you my answer. I know that in the case of Emily Hand, she should be released immediately, unconditionally.

@ThisDayIrish Do you also think that Israel should release all the children it has kidnapped and is holding in military prisons?

@Droghedaboy What does that have to do with Emily Hand?

@ThisDayIrish Israel is holding thousands of Palestinian hostages, many children . All should be released.