8th of December
A lot has happened over the course of history on this day. I kind of wish I had been more aware of the date when I hopped on the bus into the city this morning…
1541 - Thomas Culpeper and Francis Dereham are executed for having affairs with Catherine Howard, Queen of England and wife of Henry VIII.
1542 - Mary Queen of Scots is born.
1854 - Pope Pius IX proclaims the dogma of Immaculate Conception, which holds that the Virgin Mary was born free of original sin.
1907 - King Gustaf V of Sweden accedes to the Swedish throne.
1941 - World War II: Pacific War - China officially declares war against Japan, after the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor.
1966 - Sinéad O’Connor, Irish musician, is born.
1976 - The Eagles release the album Hotel California.
1980 - John Lennon is murdered by Mark David Chapman in New York City.
2006 - I have a brunch date and a hair appointment in the city centre, only to find myself rubbing shoulders (cuz we’re packed onto the footpaths like sardines) with most of the rural population of Ireland, who’ve come to Dublin to do their Christmas shopping. It’s the annual one-day migration of country folk to the city, as most Catholic schools are closed for this holy day. The streets and shops are jammed. What was I thinking?