5 May 1794: The House of Commons in Dublin rejected after a long debate Henry Grattan’s Catholic Relief Bill, by 155 to 84.
5 May 1909: The death occurred in Dublin of Bindon Blood Stoney, one of Ireland’s chief engineers of the late 19th Century. As a young man he worked on the Earl of Rosse’s observatory at Birr before working on the Boyne viaduct in 1854-55. He was later port engineer to Dublin Port and Docks Board, he re-built Carlisle Bridge (now O’Connell Bridge) and under his directions half the former shipping quays on the Liffey were re-constructed and converted to deep water quays. He also helped in the construction of many of the harbours around the coast of Ireland.
5 May 1916: Major John McBride was executed by firing squad in Kilmainham Jail for his part in the Ester Rising. He had fought the British in the Boer War and only joined the Rising as it begun and while still in mufti.
5 May 1949: By the Treaty of London the Republic of Ireland became one of the founder members of the Council of Europe on this day. The original States were: Belgium, Denmark, France, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Norway, Sweden and the United Kingdom.
5 May 1981: Bobby Sands MP for Fermanagh and south Tyrone died in captivity after 66 days on Hunger Strike. His death sparked widespread rioting and disturbances in the North that lasted for days.
Portal