28th December 1918: Constance Markievicz becomes the first woman to be elected to the Parliament of the UK

Markievicz stood as a Sinn Féin candidate and secured over 63% of the vote in the constituency of Dublin St Patrick’s, but refused to take the oath of allegiance to the British crown and consequently did not take her seat in the House of Commons.

14th September 1607: ‘Flight of the Earls’ sees Gaelic nobility, led by Hugh O’Neill and Rory O’Donnell, leave Ulster in Ireland for mainland Europe

In the wake of the flight of the Earls, the lands and titles left behind were confiscated by the English crown, which accelerated the process of English colonisation over the next century.