8 May 1567: The Battle of Farsetmore was fought near Letterkenny in County Donegal. The battle was fought between the rival armies of Shane O’Neill of Tyrone and Aodh O'Donnell of Tyrconnell. Each side probably had about 2,000 men apiece but the Tyrconnell cavalry got the better of their mounted opponents and this precipitaed a general rout of the O’Neills men. Shane O’Neill was defeated and fled to the MacDonnells of Antrim who killed him.
8 May 1597: Feagh McHugh O'Byrne was hunted down and killed on this day by the Crown forces of Lord Deputy Russell. He met his death at the hands of one Milburne, who located Feagh McHugh in a cave at Glenmalure and slew him. His head was sent to Dublin Castle and put upon a spike on the Castle walls.
8 May 1801: At a meeting in St. Thomas's Church, Marlborough Street, the residents and property-owners of Mountjoy Square, Dublin, met to petition Parliament "to enclose the waste space central to the Square".
8 May 1899: The first production of the Irish Literary Theatre, Yeat’s The Countess Cathleen is performed.
8 May 1916: Sean Heuston, Michael Mallin, Eamonn Ceannt and Con Colbert were all executed in Kilmainham jail by firing squad.
8 May 1987: The SAS ambushed an Active Service Unit of the IRA killing eight volunteers as they attempted to bomb Loughgall RUC Barracks. One civilian bystander was also killed. It was the biggest single loss by the IRA during the course of the conflict.
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