An Irish Diary on the Argenta prison ship

The Argenta was a prison ship that was stationed in Belfast Lough around 100 years ago. It was used to hold men who were suspected members of Sinn Féin or the IRA. I have just written a Diary about it in the Irish Times newspaper. Read it here.

 

Photograph of the Argenta. Image source.

 

Life was tough for those on board the wooden hulled steam ship. Conditions were extremely cramped and the food was of poor quality and often spoiled or under cooked. Disease was also a common feature of life on board for the men who were locked up in metal cages for hours on end with little hope of any improvement in their day to day experience. For more information on the conditions in which the internees were kept, read this Century Ireland article.

An Irish Diary on Trams in Cork

There is a plan in place to reintroduce trams to Cork city in Ireland. The one line is planned to run from Ballincollig in the west of the city to Mahon Point in the east, with stops at MTU, CUH, UCC and Kent Station. Find out more about the new scheme here. 

Trams were last used as a means of public transport in Cork over 90 years ago. They ended in 1931 when buses took over as the main means of public transport in the city. I have just written a Diary about the story of Cork's trams in today's Irish Times. Read it here.

 

Colorised photograph of a tram in Douglas, Cork 1910. Image source.

 

Map of the 1898 electric tram scheme.

As I mentioned in my article, there were two tram schemes in Cork in the past. The first was horse-drawn and last for just a few short years. There is some information about it here together with photographs of the trams and horses. 

The second tram scheme was electric and ran for over 30 years. There is information about it here together with some photographs. 

You can watch the Mitchell and Kenyon film from 1902 showing a tram in Cork city here.

If you would like to find out more about the history of trams in Cork - there is a book on the topic called Tram Tracks Through Cork: An Illustrated History by Walter McGrath. 

RTÉ Brainstorm article on music at JFK's funeral

On the 60th anniversary of JFK's assassination in Dallas, Texas in November 1963, I have written a short article for the RTÉ Brainstorm website on how a Scottish military band played at his funeral. Read it here.

 

The band of the Scottish Black Watch regiment performing on the South Lawn of the White House, 13 November 1963. Image source.

JFK receiving the officer's dirk from the commander of the Black Watch regiment on the South Lawn of the White House on 13 November 1963. Image source.

 

Music was an important element of the funeral with classical music, military music (such as Taps) and religious hymns, being the predominant sounds that was heard in Washington D.C. on the day. You can find out more about the music that was heard on the day of the funeral here.

There is a recording of the visit of the Black Watch band to the White House on the website of the JFK Library. You can watch it here. It shows JFK welcoming the band on the White House lawn and making a speech before the assembled crowd of schoolchildren from local schools, at the end of which, he was presented with the officer's dirk by the regiment's commander. 

Reconstruction of Ieper - An Irishman's Diary

The Belgian city of Ieper (Ypres) was almost pounded to oblivion during the First World War. The Ypres salient (a salient is simply a bulge in the line that gives the defenders the advantage of being able to fire on those in the salient from three sides) was the scene of several battles during the War. Hundreds of thousands of soldiers and civilians were killed and many towns in the region were destroyed. 

After the War, the Belgian authorities had to decide whether to rebuild Ieper more or less as it was or to take a new departure and start from a blank slate. They decided on the former approach and I have just written an Irishman's Diary in the Irish Times newspaper about the reconstruction of Ieper and some Irish connections to the city. Read it here.

 

Remains of the Cloth Hall, Ieper. Image source.

To understand the impact of the War on the citizens of Ieper, there is a very good article here by Pieter Trogh of the In Flanders Fields Museum. 

It is strange to walk around Ieper today in 2023 and see all the buildings that were built just 100 years ago in such an ancient place. As I mention in the newspaper article, many buildings contain markers showing the year of construction. There are some examples below and these markers serve as a reminder of the history of Ieper and what it endured during the War.

As mentioned in my newspaper article, the photographs taken by the Antony brothers (known as Antony d'Ypres) provide a great insight into what the town looked like before, during and after the War. The scale of destruction and the efforts that were put in to rebuilding are staggering. On that note, it is terribly sad to see modern day conflicts around the world killing and maiming people and laying waste to towns and cities in the same way that WW1 laid waste to Ieper.

Irish themed covers of Le Petit Journal illustré

Every Monday morning for the last number of years, I have been tweeting (posting) the front page of the weekly French illustrated periodical Le Petit Journal illustré from 100 years ago. Occasionally, events in Ireland made the front page or the back page (they both contained a drawn image of whatever was making the news in France or around the world that week). 

I have listed below some of the covers relating to an Irish story. The first is from September 1920 and deals with the death of the Lord Mayor of Cork, Terence MacSwiney, in October 1920 after 74 days on hunger strike in Brixton prison. 

The last cover also refers to MacSwiney, in a way, as it shows prisoners in Mountjoy prison in Dublin on hunger strike in the aftermath of the Irish Civil War. The caption reads A l'exemple du Maire de Cork [following the Mayor of Cork's example]. It says that 424 prisoners have been on hunger strike since 14 October 1923. The images come from Gallica - the digital library of the Bibliothèque nationale de France.

 

Le Martyr Irlandais - Death of Terence MacSwiney. 19 September 1920. Source

Les Évéments d'Irlande - Irish War of Independence. 5 December 1920. Source

 

Le Sous-Marin Fantôme - Irish War of Independence. 3 July 1921. Source

 

Un assassinat politique - Assassination of Henry Wilson. 2 July 1922. Source
 

Les convulsions sanglantes de l'Irlande - Assassination of Michael Collins. 3 September 1922. Source

A l'exemple du Maire de Cork - Hunger strike in Mountjoy prison. 28 October 1923. Source

Flanders Fields Bursary Scheme 2023

This is a short description of the time I spent in Belgium in September 2023 on the Flanders Fields Bursary Scheme which is run by the In Flanders Fields Museum in Ieper (Ypres) and the Embassy of Ireland to Belgium. I have already written an Irishman's Diary in the Irish Times newspaper (see here) but I thought I'd give a little extra information about it here.

I saw the Flanders Fields Bursary advertised online in September 2022 and applied for it. This is the announcement that was made at the time. I was delighted when I was told that my application was chosen from among those who applied. I was given a choice of going to Ieper (Ypres) in either May or September to work on the research project and I chose September, thinking that the temperature might be a little cooler by that stage.

 

View of the Research Center at the In Flanders Fields Museum. Sept. 2023.

As it turned out, the weather was still very good in September and the temperature was mostly around 20-30°C. During the three weeks of the project, myself and another student from Ireland, Eilís Campbell, worked in the Research Center of the In Flanders Fields Museum in Ieper. 

Our job was to fill in the blanks of the Irish entries on the Names List which is a list of all those who died in Belgium due to the First World War (both military and civilian). We had a range of sources to draw on to help us in our research including British army military records, Irish and British census information, soldiers' wills and church records.

 

Visit to a Commonwealth War Graves Commission cemetery containing the graves of Irish who served in the British army. Sept. 2023.

During our time in Belgium, we also visited some sites near Ieper that had a connection with Ireland. This included the Island of Ireland Peace Park at Messines, which commemorates the dead of the three Irish divisions who fought in the War; [36th (Ulster) Division; 10th (Irish) Division and the 16th (Irish) Division].

We visited cemeteries of the Commonwealth War Graves Commission that contained the graves of Irish men who served in the British army. We were brought to the graves of the Co. Meath-born poet, Francis Ledwidge (1887-1917), who was killed in Boezinge near Ieper and the Irish nationalist politician, William Redmond (1861-1917), who was killed in Loker. We also visited the Passchendaele Museum in Zonnebeke.

As the Bursary scheme is organised in conjunction with the Embassy of Ireland to Belgium, we were invited to meet the Irish Ambassador and discuss our work on the project. It was a very enjoyable and rewarding experience to work on this project. I was able to put my research skills to good use and learned so much about the history of the First World War and the part played by Irish men in the War.

I want to thank all of those who helped me during the project to make it such an enjoyable and worthwhile experience - particularly the Embassy staff and the staff and volunteers at the In Flanders Fields Museum. Thank you all and I hope that the Bursary scheme continues for the years to come.

 

Meeting the Irish Ambassador to Belgium (2nd from left) (Mr Kevin Conmy) at the Embassy of Ireland to Belgium. Sept. 2023. Also pictured Ms. Eilís Campbell (2nd from right) (Ulster University) and Ms. Erica Lee (right) (Deputy Head of Mission at the Embassy of Ireland to Belgium).

RTÉ Brainstorm article on the Original All Black - Dave Gallaher (1873-1917)

The captain of the New Zealand rugby team known as the 'Original All Blacks' was Dave Gallaher (1873-1917). He was born in Ramelton, County Donegal and emigrated with his family to New Zealand in 1878. I have just written a short article about him for the RTÉ Brainstorm website. Read it here.

 

Photograph of Dave Gallaher from 1905. Image source.

As I mention in the RTÉ Brainstorm article, Gallaher has an entry in both the Dictionary of Irish Biography (DIB) and its New Zealand equivalent - the Dictionary of New Zealand Biography. You can read them here and here. He began playing rugby for the Ponsonby Rugby Football Club after the family moved to Auckland a couple of years after his mother's death in 1887.

 

Dave Gallaher in his Ponsonby rugby jersey. Image source.

The first match between Ireland and the All Blacks took place at Lansdowne Road in Dublin on November 25th 1905. You can read an account of the match from the Maitland Daily Mercury here. They seem to have got their information from the Daily Mail but it is still interesting to read what commentators thought of the match at the time. He managed to visit his native Donegal during the trip to Ireland. I wonder what the locals made of his strange accent and what he thought of their distinctive accent.

When he heard that his younger brother, Douglas Wallace Gallaher, was killed in action in France during the Battle of the Somme in June 1916, Dave enlisted in the New Zealand Expeditionary Force. He was one of over 120,000 New Zealanders to enlist and one of over 100,000 New Zealanders to serve overseas during the First World War.

 

Photograph of Corporal Dave Gallaher in uniform. Image source.

Dave Gallaher was one of 13 former All Blacks to lose their lives during the War. Altogether three Gallaher siblings perished during the conflict. Along with Douglas and Dave, another brother, Henry, was killed by shellfire in April 1918. Sadly, some 18,000 New Zealanders lost their lives on the Western Front during the War. You can learn more about New Zealand's contribution here.

 

Dave Gallaher's gravestone in Nine Elms British Cemetery, Poperinge. Image source.

 

If you would like to find out more about Dave Gallaher and the Original All Blacks, there is a 44 minute film here on YouTube called 'Dave Gallaher - the Original All Black'. It was made by Letterkenny RFC, whose ground was renamed 'Dave Gallaher Park' in 1999.

Ambassador's letter - "the only scheme of its kind"

I was please to see this letter from the Irish Ambassador in Brussels. It appeared in the Irish Times following my Irishman's Diary in the Irish Times about the three weeks I spent at the In Flanders Fields Museum in Ieper (Ypres) Belgium in September 2023. Read it here. 

Thank you very much Mr Ambassador. I will write a blog post about my experience on the bursary scheme soon.

 

An Irishman's Diary on Ireland's Memorial Records and the Names List

I have just written an Irishman's Diary in today's Irish Times newspaper about the project I was working on for the last few weeks at the In Flanders Fields Museum in Ieper (Ypres) Belgium. Read it here.

 

Bookcase at In Flanders Fields Museum which contains the eight volumes of Ireland's Memorial Records.

 

The In Flanders Fields Museum Bursary scheme is run by the In Flanders Fields Museum and is supported by the Irish Embassy in Brussels and the Department of Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport and Media. The idea is to fill in the gaps in the information concerning Irishmen who fought in the British army during the First World War or for British-born men who fought in Irish regiments of the British army during the War. 

 

In the past, records of these men was not as good as they could have been - names could have been spelled incorrectly or important information such as date of birth, place of birth, next of kin, was missing. You can search the Names List (Namenlijst) which contains the name of over 550,000 people (military and civilian) here.

 

 

First page in Ireland's Memorial Records. There are illustrations like these by Harry Clarke around the border of every page.

An Irishman's Diary on the Cork International Exhibition 1902/03

The Cork International Exhibition was a massive undertaking and turned out to be a great success. Opened on 1 May 1902, it attracted nearly 2 million visitors. I have just written an Irishman's Diary about the Exhibition in the Irish Times newspaper. Read it here.

 

Exhibition catalogue, on display in the Cork Public Museum.

Over 500 exhibitors showed off their wares at the Exhibition when it opened in 1902. As I say in the article, it was deemed to have been such a success that it was decided to re-open it in May of the following year as the Greater Cork International Exhibition. 

Most of the buildings and structures erected for the Exhibition were taken down immediately following the end of the 1903 Exhibition or in the decades following. Two buildings that have remained are the Shrubberies House (now Cork Public Museum), which was used as an administration center during the Exhibition and the small President and Lord Mayor's Pavilion (now used as an art gallery).

 

The Shrubberies (Cork Public Museum)

 

 

The President and Lord Mayor's Pavilion (now art gallery).

 

The previous exhibitions to take place in Cork were on a much smaller scale. The First Irish Industrial Exhibition Cork 1852 took place in a building where the Cork City Hall now stands. Here you can view a map of Cork from the time to get an idea of what the city looked like back then.

If you are interested in the 1883 Irish Industrial and Fine Art Exhibition that took place in Cork, you can view and download the catalogue here from the Cork Public Museum.

Bursary award to carry out research in Belgium (In Flanders Fields Museum).

I am delighted to announce that I have been selected as a recipient of a bursary to carry out research in Belgium. Organised in conjunction with the Embassy of Ireland in Brussels, I will travel to Ieper / Ypres and conduct research into Irish involvement in the First World War at the In Flanders Fields Museum. I will post more information about the project soon. I am grateful to the Irish Embassy and the Museum for selecting my application from the large number submitted.

 

In Flanders Fields Museum. Image source. 

An Irishman's Diary on Paddy Joyce - actor and nephew of James Joyce

The actor Paddy Joyce (1923-2000) was a nephew of the writer James Joyce (1882-1941). Born in Trieste in 1923 and brought up in Dublin by his Irish mother, Paddy treaded the boards in Dublin, London and other European capitals. 

He acted in several big budget movies and played parts in a variety of popular television programmes on British TV. I have just written an Irishman's Diary in the Irish Times newspaper about Paddy Joyce. Read it here.

Paddy Joyce. Image source.

After acting in school plays while still a student at Belvedere College (alma mater of his famous uncle James Joyce), Paddy joined singing and acting groups in Dublin. He toured with several of these groups, visiting countries in Europe and north America before trying his luck in London. His list of credits is impressive with the likes of Eastenders, Coronation Street and Z Cars appearing among the list. He also played roles in Father Ted, Auf Wiedersehen Pet, and The Bill.

I first heard about Paddy Joyce at this year's Bloomsday celebrations in Cork. One of James Joyce's grand nephews, who attended the Bloomsday conference (which was organised by Dr Flicka Small), mentioned that Paddy was a nephew of James Joyce and that Paddy had enjoyed a successful acting career. Curious to know more, I did a little digging and my newspaper article is the fruit of that research.

Bloomsday in Cork - 16 June

The 16th of June is now celebrated around the world every year as 'Bloomsday'. It marks the day that Leopold Bloom, the fictional character in James Joyce's modernist novel Ulysses, wandered through the streets of Dublin city. 

 

Signpost in Nano Nagle Place.

 

Bloomsday Conference, Nano Nagle Place, Cork, 17 June 2023.

This year, for the first time in many years, an event was held in Cork. Organised by the Joycean scholar, Dr Flicka Small, it took place in Nano Nagle Place. It is fitting that an event was held in Cork, as it is the birthplace of James Joyce's father, John Stanislaus Joyce (1849-1931). It is also fitting that it took place in Nano Nagle Place, as Joyce's maternal grandmother (Ellen O'Connell) and her sister (Alicia) were educated in the South Presentation Convent (now Nano Nagle Place). You can read about this and the other links between Joyce and Nano Nagle Place here.

Speakers at the conference came from all over Ireland to talk about James Joyce, Cork, the Joyce family and of course, Ulysses. Local historians and residents of the South Parish, where James Joyce's father was born, discussed the history of the Joyce family in Cork.

 

Garden in Nano Nagle Place, Cork.

Other events held in Cork this year to mark Bloomsday include a presentation in the Crawford Art Gallery of the work of the artist Angie Shanahan and a discussion with Dr Flicka Small about art in Joyce. In the Cork City Library, former Irish diplomat, Daniel Mulhall, read from his book about Ulysses and from Ulysses itself.

Well done to all involved in the Cork Bloomsday 23 events. Looking forward to next year's Bloomsday already.

The French Festival, Dublin 1962 - An Irishman's Diary

The French Festival took place in Dublin from 26 April to 8 May 1962. It was a cultural and industrial showcase put on by the French authorities to win hearts and minds (and perhaps wallets as well) in Ireland. I have just written an Irishman's Diary about it in the Irish Times newspaper. Read it here.

Photograph of Taoiseach Seán Lemass cutting the ribbon to open the French Festival at the Mansion House, Dublin, 26 April 1962.

The Festival was opened by Seán Lemass and he said that he hoped that it would renew the old ties that existed between the two countries. It took place in an Ireland very different from today's Ireland. The Festival was covered extensively in the Irish press as if it was something of immense importance. France was portrayed as an exotic land full of haute couture and fine dining (common stereotypes at the time I suppose, although they still be valid to this day, depending on who you ask). As mentioned in my article, the one dissenting voice was in the Cork Examiner. On the same day that the 'Dublin Letter' appeared saying that the French had come to Dublin in search of "more business", the editorial discussed the state of French politics in light of the Algerian War, which came to an end in March 1962.

The writer of the Irishman's Diary at the time, Quidnunc, labelled it a "whirlimagig" - probably due to the amount of events and variety of events that took place during the fortnight. As well as the formal events in the Mansion House and the Building Center on Lower Baggot Street, the French film Archimède, le clochard [The Tramp], starring Jean Gabin (1904-1976), was shown in the Ambassador Cinema at the top of O'Connell Street. 

A French frigate, Commandant Rivière, spent a week at the quayside in Dublin. Its crew entertained on board and were brought on a tour of the Guinness brewery. They also played a football match with Irish soldiers and there was a dinner arranged for them at MacKee barracks, which was attended by the Chief of Staff of the Irish Defense Forces. 

A French policeman directing traffic on Baggot Street with a Garda during the French Fesitval.

Over forty cases of cheese were flown in for the fortnight and they were sold in shops and restaurants around Dublin. A shop on Chatham Street, the Farm Produce Co., advertised that it was selling Brie and Camembert as well as the not so common varieties Saint-Paulin and La Grappe.

An Irishman's Diary on Musical Marie's record breaking attempt

Musical Marie was a Manchester house-wife (real name Marie Ashton) who attempted to set a new world record for non-stop piano playing in the middle decade of the 20th century. She visited Ireland on several occasions in the 1950s while trying to break the existing record. I have just written an Irishman's Diary in the Irish Times about her trips to Ireland. Read it here.

This a short video from British Pathé from December 1954 showing Marie playing the piano in London.The things some people put themselves through!

Irish newspapers contained some interesting articles about Marie's time in Ireland. In Cork in 1959, the Irish Examiner said that 12,000 people saw her perform and that she was propped up by pillows and that her hands were bandaged. It added that a BBC crew from Belfast were on their way to Cork to record the final hours of the record-breaking attempt. I wonder if the footage is still available somewhere. The Evening Echo advertised that she would get "no sleep" and "no rest".

Did you know that during her time in Ireland that she offered to pay a fine that was imposed on some unemployed Irishmen? The Irish Times reported that in August 1953, she offered to pay the fines that  were imposed on men of the Dublin Unemployed Association. The offer was declined as the men said they would prefer to go to jail than pay a fine. 

You can also read about Marie's time in Limerick in this short article.

An Irishman's Diary on Arthur Darley

Arthur Darley was an Irish doctor who worked at the hospital set up by the Irish Red Cross in the French town of St-Lô after the Second World War. I have just written about him in the Irishman's Diary column in the Irish Times newspaper. Read it here. 

Photo of Dr Arthur Darley (right). Source 1945 Capuchin Annual.

One of Darley's colleagues at the hospital was the Irish playwright Samuel Beckett (1906-1989). While Darley tended to the patients with tuberculosis, Beckett was charged with keeping account of the hospital's supplies. They became friends and when Darley died in 1948, Beckett wrote a poem about his friend, the man with the "gleaming eye". 

If you would like to know more about the hospital in St-Lô, there is an RTÉ radio documentary on its history available here.

An Irish Diary on Peggy O'Neil

Peggy O'Neil was described in 1942 as "one of the most famous actresses of this generation", but she has been forgotten by the general public. I have just written a Diary about her in the Irish Times. Read it here.

Portrait of Peggy O'Neil. Image source.

Born in Buffallo, New York to an Irish mother, Peggy O'Neil (1898-1960), was the subject of a vaudeville song 'Peggy O'Neil' and was known across Europe and North America for her acting. 

The song said that she had "eyes as blue as skies", "walks like a sly little rouge" and "talks with a cute little brogue". Over the years, it was sung by various artists including John McCormack and Danny La Rue. This is a video of a recording by John McCormack from March 1920. Perhaps it's time for a current artist to record the song so that we can introduce Peggy O'Neil to a new generation of movie fans. 

When she died in London in 1960, her burial plot was paid for by the Actors' Benevolent Fund.

RTÉ Brainstorm - Battling Siki in Ireland - 17 March 1923

100 years ago on 17 March 1923, the first international sport's event to take place in the newly formed Irish Free State played out in Dublin city. It was a world boxing title championship between the current holder who was a Senegalese-born Frenchman and a Clare-born boxer. I have just written about this sport's contest on the RTÉ Brainstorm website. Read it here.

Photo of Battling Siki in training. Image source.

Battling Siki (1887-1925) (real name Amadou M'barick Fall, also known as Louis Fall) was a larger than life individual who achieved worldwide fame when he beat the French boxer and current title holder, Georges Carpentier (1894-1975), on his home ground in France to claim the world Light heavyweight boxing championship title in September 1922. 

Photo of Battling Siki (center) after his win over Georges Carpentier. Image source.

Ireland was chosen as the venue for Siki (who was also referred to as 'Singular Senegalese') to defend his title after he was allegedly refused a visa to Britain. The world's press was watching closely to see if Siki could retain the title. Leading up to the fight, newspapers contained news of the preparations and some expressed fears that the Irish Civil (which was still going on at the time) could stop the match from going ahead or at least delay it. After the match, reports appeared in newspapers all over the world (as can be seen in the selection reproduced below, containing Swiss, French and American newspapers).

Siki pretending to be a boxing coach with two children on the streets of Dublin. From Swiss newspaper, L'Impartial, 19 March 1923. Image source.

 

 

Front page of French sport's magazine, Le Miroir des Sports, 22 March 1923. Image source. 

 

Inside page of Le Miroir des Sports. Image source.

 

Front page of the Richmond Planet, 24 March 1923. Image source. 

Description of the match in the Richmond Planet. Image source.

Alfie Lambe - An Irishman's Diary

Alfie Lambe (1932-1959) is a modern-day Irish Christian missionary. I have just written an Irishman's Diary in the Irish Times newspaper about Alfie Lambe's life and times. Read it here.

 Photograph of Alfie Lambe. Image source.

Alfie Lambe was born in Tullamore in County Offaly in 1932. He wanted to join the Christian Brothers but had to leave due to his delicate health. He joined the Legion of Mary in his hometown and worked for the organisation in Ireland before being sent to South America as a Legion envoy. He died there in 1959 and is still remembered today in many of the South American countries that he visited.

Ireland's Own article - H.J. Whitley (father of Hollywood)

H.J. Whitley (1847-1931), who was known as the 'father of Hollywood', was instrumental in developing Hollywood from the rural agricultural community that it was into the thriving residential neighbourhood that it is today. I have just written a short article for Ireland's Own magazine about the businessman and real estate magnate.

 Excerpt from my Ireland's Own article.

During the end of the 19th century and the start of the 20th, Whitley founded towns across Oklahoma, Dakota, Texas and California. As well as developing Hollywood as a residential area, Whitley also played a part in cinema history by allowing his estate to be used to film the first movie to be shot entirely in Hollywood. The 17 min long melodrama about California's Mexican era, In Old California, was directed by D.W. Griffith in 1910. 

His name is still associated with the area with the Whitley Heights neighbourhood being the most obvious link. More about that below.

The famous Hollywood sign. Image source. 

The Hollywood sign was inspired by Whitley's 'Whitley Heights' sign that he used to advertise his new development in the early 1920s. The 45ft (13m) tall sign, situated on Mount Lee, is know all over the world as a symbol of the movie industry, but did you know that it used to read Hollywoodland? The 'land' part at the end was removed at some point in the 1970s after the sign fell into disrepair, but the good news is that it got a makeover for its 100 birthday which falls in 2023. You can read more about the sign and its history here and here.