April 18

1608

Sir Cahir O'Doherty of Inishowen revolts and sacks Derry

Ireland

Sir Cahir O’Doherty (1587–5 July 1608) was the last Gaelic Chief of the Name of Clan O’Doherty and Lord of Inishowen, in what is now County Donegal. O’Doherty was …

1689

Siege of Derry begins

Ireland

The siege of Derry in 1689 was the first major event in the Williamite War in Ireland. The siege was preceded by an attempt against the town by Jacobite forces on 7 December 1688 …

1690

Five regiments of Irishmen sail for France and form the nucleus of Frances Irish Brigade

Ireland

The Irish Brigade was a brigade in the French Royal Army composed of Irish exiles, led by Lord Mountcashel. On April 18, 1690, the departure of an Irish Jacobite army had formed …

1768

Daniel Murray, Archbishop of Dublin, is born in Arklow, Co. Wicklow

Ireland

Daniel Murray (1768, at Sheepwalk, near Arklow, Ireland – Dublin, 1852) was a Roman Catholic Archbishop of Dublin. He was born on 18 April 1768 at Sheepwalk, near Arklow, County …

1778

William Bunbury, MP for Co. Carlow, dies after being thrown from his horse

Ireland

William Bunbury III of Lisnavagh (1744-1778) William was the great-grandson of the first Bunbury to settle in Ireland. He married the heiress Katherine Kane, shortly before he was …

1792

Langrishes Catholic Relief Act allows Catholics to practice law, and Protestants and Catholics to intermarry

Ireland

The Roman Catholic Relief Act 1791 is an Act of the Parliament of Great Britain passed in 1791 relieving Roman Catholics of certain political, educational, and economic …

1802

Robert Patterson, naturalist, is born in Belfast

Ireland

Robert Patterson, FRS (1802–1872) was an Irish businessman and naturalist born in Belfast, Ireland. The eldest son of Robert Patterson (1750–1831), owner of a mill-furnishing …

1817

Michael Roberts, Irish mathematician is born in Cork

Ireland

Michael Roberts (18 April 1817 – 4 October 1882), was an Irish mathematician and academic of Trinity College, Dublin (TCD), who served as Erasmus Smith’s Professor of …

1870

Birth in Dublin of Robert Tressell, born Noonan, author of The Ragged Trousered Philanthropists

Ireland

Robert Phillipe Noonan (17 April 1870 – 3 February 1911), born Robert Croker, and best known by the pen name Robert Tressell, was an Irish writer best known for his novel The …

1874

Remains of David Livingstone interred in Westminster Abbey.

England

David Livingstone FRGS FRS (/ˈlɪvɪŋstən/; 19 March 1813 – 1 May 1873) was a Scottish physician, Congregationalist, pioneer Christian missionary with the London Missionary Society, …

1875

Novelist Katherine Cecil Thurston, née Madden, is born in Cork

Ireland

Katherine Cecil Thurston, born Kathleen Annie Josephine Madden (18 April 1874 – 5 September 1911), was an Irish novelist, best known for two political thrillers. Born Kathleen …

1949

Ireland declared a full republic and withdrawn from British Commonwealth.

Ireland

The Republic of Ireland Act was an enactment of Oireachtas Éireann passed in 1948, which came into force on April 18, 1949 and which declared that the official description of …