1957 - 1960 AD

1957 January 1st : Fergal O Hanlon, a 19 year old youth from Co. Monaghan in Southern Ulster, and Sean South a 27 year old from Co. Limerick in the mid - south - west of the Munster Province were killed during a raid on the Brookesborough R.U.C police barracks in the 6 Counties artificially partitioned from the 9 in the Ulster Province, which grew to become an IRA legend, and several of the IRA were also wounded and were left behind. Meanwhile the Irish Garda police in the Irish Republic were to capture documents outlining the future plans of the IRA.

January: Sean Mac Bride, the leader of the political Clann na Pobhlachta Party, who were part of the Irish Republican Coalition Government, moved a motion of no confidence in their own Fine Gael Coalition Government, which was under the leadership of John A. Costello, as he blamed the Fine Gael Party for their economic failure, and also for not formulating and pursuing a policy to bring about the reunification of the 6 Counties artificially partitioned from the 9 in the Ulster Province by the British Imperial Government

February 12th:  John A. Costello, the leader of the Fine Gael Coalition Government dissolved the Dail Eireann / Irish Parliament.             

March 3rd: Cardinal D'Alton, put forward a proposal that each of the 6 Counties artificially partitioned from the 9 in the Ulster Province by the British Imperial Government, be now given the opportunity to choose between the Irish Republic Government in Dublin, or the "Official" Unionist Stormont Government in Belfast in Co. Antrim, and also that Ireland be treated by the British Imperial Government, just as India was now being treated under the Commonwealth of Nations. 

March 5th: In the General Elections, in the Irish Republic, the Fine Gael Coalition under John A. Costello was defeated, when they lost 10 seats, and the Fianna Fail Party under Eamonn de Valera, with 593,000 votes or 48.3% of the overall votes was re - elected, with over half the seats, including a large 9 seat majority. They had won 13 extra seats altogether, while the the Irish Labour Party had lost 7 seats, and were now down to 12 seats, and Sean Mac Bride, the leader of the political Clann na Pobhlachta Party, who had brought it on, was to lose his own seat, and this saw the end of his particular political Party altogether in the Irish Republic.

      Although the political Sinn Fein Party's votes were down, due to the fact that they had returned only 5% of the vote, they had won 4 seats with 66,000 votes, but they still would not take up their seats in the Irish Republic Parliament, which was a discouragement for anyone to continue to waste their vote, by voting for them in the first place.

     Eamonn de Valera, now 75 year old, became the new Taoiseach (Prime Minister) once again in the Irish Republic, and placed Frank Aiken in his previous situation as the Minister of External Affairs until 1969. Oscar Traynor, who became the Minister for Justice until 1960 had originally participated in the 1916 Easter Rising and the Civil War. He had been elected to the Dail Eireann in 1925, and had remained with the political Sinn Fein Party previously against the then newly formed Fianna Fail Party, but had finally joined in with them in 1932, and he was to continue to serve in the Fianna Fail Government until he was to retire in 1962. Sean Moylan who was also from the Fianna Fail Party, was defeated in his seat, but became a Senator instead in the other House.          

     Eamonn de Valera, the new (Prime Minister) Taoiseach in the Irish Republic, now had the political Sinn Fein Party leaders arrested and interned, and 200 Irish suspected of Irish Republican sympathies were also interred. - The IRA in the 6 Counties artificially partitioned from the 9 in the Ulster Province began assassinating the Stormont R.U.C police there, and raiding their barracks along with British Imperial Military installations, including blowing up a National Guard Centre there at Dungannon in Co. Tyrone.   

    A new player on the Irish scene was to be Charles Haughey, who had been born at Castlebar in Co. Mayo in the mid - west of the Connacht Province, who was a son of Sean Haughey who had participated in the Anglo - Irish War and Sarah nee Mac Williams, who were both originally from Co. Derry in the north - east of the Ulster Province. He entered the Irish Republic Parliament for the seat of North - East Dublin for the first time, as a Deputy in the Dail Eireann under the auspices of the Fianna Fail Party led by Eamonn de Valera.

August: In the 6 Counties artificially partitioned from the 9 in the Ulster Province and still under British Imperial Government control a Stormont R.U.C policeman, Sgt. A. Ovens, was killed by a booby trap in a farm house near Coalisland in Co. Tyrone in Central Ulster

November: 5 people were killed by a home made mine at Edentubber in Co. Louth in the north - east of Northern Leinster, adjoining the Ulster Province.  

December: James Ryan became the Minister for Finance in the Fianna Fail Party Cabinet in the Irish Republic under Eamonn de Valera.

     In the 6 Counties artificially partitioned from the 9 in the Ulster Province still under the control of the British Imperial Government, the Ascendancy "Official" Unionist Stormont Government forces there were increased by 3,000 R.U.C police and 12,000 "B" Specials.

        Sir Anthony Eden resigned as the British Conservative Prime Minster in England, and Harold Mac Millan replaced him as the British Conservative Prime Minister until 1963.  

1958 In the 6 Counties artificially partitioned from the 9 in the Ulster Province, still under the control of the British Imperial Conservative Government, Dr. G.B. Newe was appointed by Brian Faulkner the new Prime Minister of the "Official" Unionist Stormont Government, as the Minister of State, and he was to be the first Catholic to ever sit in the Stormont Government.

January 14th: In the 6 Counties artificially partitioned from the 9 in the Ulster Province, still under the control of the British Imperial Government, 70 IRA members raided the Stormont R.U.C. police barracks at Swatragh in the south of Co. Derry in the north - east of the Ulster Province, sealing off the village.

    -  Peig Sayers,(1873 - 1958) died this year, who had written "An Old Woman's Reflections."  

1959 - 1973. January: Eamonn de Valera, the aged Fianna Fail Prime Minister of Ireland, informed the members of his Government in the Irish Republic, that he intended to retire early, and give the new leader an opportunity to strengthen his position, and that it was also his intention to stand for the position of President of Ireland, which was to be vacated soon by Sean T. O Kelly, who under the Irish Constitution could not run for a third term.

     in the Irish Republic, Richard Mulcahy now gave up the leadership of the Opposition Fine Gael Party, which he had held since 1944 on the the resignation of their previous leader, William T. Cosgrave, and James Dillon, a son of John Dillon a previous leader of the old Irish Parliamentary Party, replaced him.

March: In the Irish Republic, a Bill to do away with Proportional Representation that was to be replaced by the first past the post legislation, was defeated by one vote in the Senate, but was bought before the Irish Parliament again 6 weeks later on, as Eamonn de Valera wanted the Dail Eireann to pass a resolution that the Bill was deemed to be passed by both Houses, to remove the Senate opposition, and Sean Mac Eoin who had previously nominated him for President in 1921, actually put up the strongest opposition to his motion, and it was lost.

June 17th: Eamonn de Valera became the 3rd President of Ireland following on from Douglas Hyde and Sean T. O Kelly. - Sean Lemass, as the Minister for Industry & Commerce, had carried out the reconstruction of Ireland, during Eamonn de Valera's rule and had been the Deputy Premier / Tanaiste for the previous 14 years, and he now became the leader of the Fianna Fail Party, and the new Prime Minister / Taoiseach of Ireland.  June 25th: Eamonn de Valera, was inaugurated at St. Patrick's Hall in Dublin Castle, and moved into the residence of the President known as Aras an Uachtarain in Phoenix Park in Dublin.

November 2nd: The Irish Republic Bill, to initiate an Amendment to the Constitution, to change the Proportional Representation with it's transferable voting system, initiated by Eamonn de Valera, was again re - introduced into the Dail Eireann, and was opposed by the Opposition and the motion was lost again. - The Fianna Fail Government, now under the leadership of Sean Lemass, introduced the  Industrial Development Act,  to bring in foreign capital, with a new policy of Free Enterprise, similar to the one carried out by the Stormont Government in the 6 Counties in Ulster Province. 

    In the Irish Republic, Copper had been mined in Castletownebere in Co. Cork in Southern Munster, and Lead and Zinc at Navan in Co. Meath in the north - east of Northern Leinster.

     In the Irish Republic, The King - Harmans handed over the Rockingham Estates near Co. Leitrim in Northern Connacht, to the Forestry Commission, which is now known as Loch Key Forest Park.

 December: In the 6 Counties artificially partitioned from the 9 in the Ulster Province, and still under the control of the British Imperial Conservative Government, Irish Catholic membership of the "Official" Unionist Party was raised by Progressives, but Sir George Clark the Grand Master of the Grand Orange Lodge was against it, and their Prime Minister, Lord Brookeborough said, "They are beating their heads against a wall, which did not exist and probably never will."

      In the Westminster Elections, for the British Parliament in England, the political Sinn Fein Party votes had dropped from 150,000 in 1955, down to 73,500, and the partition border campaign for the return of the 6 Counties artificially partitioned from the 9 in the Ulster Province to the whole of Ireland by the IRA petered out.

1960 In the Irish Republic, now under the leadership of Sean Lemass, 350 new foreign companies were to establish there up to 1969. - Lord Gort refurbished Bunratty Castle in Co. Clare in the north - west of the Munster Province, as a tourist centre.  - The Fianna Fail Coalition Party, under Sean Lemass, as their Taoiseach (Prime Minister), was now running the Irish Republic, which became a member of the United Nations, and Frederick H. Boland was elected as the President of the United Nations General Assembly, where he was forced to call the Russian President, Krushev to order. - Ireland because of it's policy of neutrality during the War years, had been excluded previously from the United Nations for 10 years.  - Brendan Corish / Mac Fheorais (descended from the Anglo - Norman Berminghams of Connacht Province) became the leader of the Irish Labour Party.

     The 6 Counties artificially partitioned from the 9  in the Ulster Province were by now costing the British Conservative Government around $ 90,000,000 a year to keep under their Imperial control. - The number of Irish Catholic students who were now attending the Queen's University there in Belfast in Co. Antrim was now up to 25%.

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