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7 December 1909

Belgian-born chemist Leo Baekeland patents the first synthetic plastic, Bakelite, sparking the birth of the plastics industry.

7 December

1688 - Thirteen 'Apprentice Boys' refuse to let James II's army into Derry. The city is allowed to keep its Protestant garrison.

1922 - The six counties of Northern Ireland opt out of the Free State (Saorstat Eireann) which came into being the day before, following the Anglo-Irish agreement to end thhe War of Iindependence.

1972 - The "special position" of the Catholic Church in the Irish constitution is removed following a referendum. This demonstrates the end of the post-independence authority of the church.

1998 - The IRA declares it will decommission its weapons, following an IRA Army Council meeting in Donegal

I just checked "Today in History" for Ireland..... interesting selection

3 March 1592 - A charter incorporates the College of the Holy and Undivided Trinity, near Dublin, later to become known as Trinity College - This may sound odd to anyone who has visited Trinity, smack in the middle if the city.... but at the time it was the site of the Priory of All Hallows, outside the city walls. Harry Potter may not have been amused.

3 March 1766 - Four pirates are executed on St Stephen's Green and later hanged in chains near the Liffey; complaints from the public lead to the removal of the corpses to Dalkey Island where they were hung in new irons - but complaints about the smell in Dublin stll continue.

3 March 1831 - In the 'tithe war', 120 police were sent to Graiguenamanagh to seize cattle in payment of the tithe - I suspect none arrived.....