August 22, 2019: A look back at what happened on this day in years gone by
We take a trip down memory lane and check out what happened on this day in years gone by by looking back at some Irish Examiner front pages and highlighting other events which went down in history across the world.
August 22- 50 years ago
A 22-year-old Bernadette Devlin made the front page of the Cork Examiner on this day 50 years ago, when she addressed reporters after touching down at Kennedy Airport in New York City.
Then the youngest member of the British parliament, Ms Devlin arrived in the United States meaning to collect $1m for refugees displaced by disturbances in Northern Ireland.
Barely visible through a network of microphones, Ms Devlin stood “hands on hips” and clad in blue jeans as she addressed the press.
“We don’t want war, we don’t want people to die,” she said. “What I mean to do is to collect one million dollars. If one million people send me a dollar apiece, then I shall have it quickly.”
When asked if she expected to remain a member of the British parliament, Ms Devlin said: “Oh, yes. They’ve never thought of machinery for throwing people like me out.”
The situation in Northern Ireland took up most of the front page of this newspaper 50 years ago.
This included an announcement of an advisory body to examine the structure of the Royal Ulster Constabulary and the Ulster Special Constabulary, and talks with the UN about “easing the situation.”
25 years ago
Boyzone “hysteria” made the front page of the Cork Examiner 25 years ago, as the ubiquitous 1990s boyband delighted fans at the Cork Opera House.
Elsewhere, Taoiseach Albert Reynolds called on the IRA and Sinn Fein to show “leadership and courage” as speculation grew of an imminent ceasefire.
And the former Taoiseach also made the front page of the by then renamed Irish Examiner five years ago, when he died.
10 years ago
Ten years ago, “recession blues were put on ice as Celtic Tiger champagne times sparkled” for Andrea Corr, of the music band The Corrs.
The singer’s marriage to Brett Desmond, at a starstudded event at the Doonbeg Golf Club, in County Clare, dominated the front page.
Elsewhere, a “defiant” Taoiseach Brian Cowen was adamant he would not be altering the direction of the soon-to-be-introduced National Assets Management Agency (NTMA) to appease members of his party.
Speaking in Tullamore, Mr Cowen told reporters the plan’s fundamentals — to buy €90bn worth of distressed development loans from the banks — would stay intact.
Five years ago
On August 22, 2014, Irish Examiner columnist Fergus Finlay wrote: “You could, if you wish, remember Albert Reynolds as the man who wrecked two governments.
“Or you could remember him as the man who built the peace process. He was both of those things.”
“A complex, gregarious, and yet stubborn man, who would bet his house on a game of poker if he had to. He took risks all his life, in business and in politics, and he always played for high stakes.”
Last year
On this day last year, Pope Francis was being urged “to go beyond apologies” when addressing child abuse. Ahead of his visit to Ireland last August, the Pope was being urged to release all the files on how the Church covered up decades of child abuse here.
Survivor groups were insisting that his words needed to be “followed up by actions.”
