13 December-Carlow Cold Rolling Mills

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The Cold Rolling Mills was a factory based on the Killeshin Road in Graiguecullen near Carlow Town, Ireland. The Cold Rolling Mills produced the steel used in the manufacture of various brands of razor blade, in Ireland and abroad for several years from the late 1950’s onwards. Cold rolling is a process by which the thickness of sheet steel is reduced to a required specification by heating the steel and passing it through rolling machines.

An industry known as the Carlow Blade Factory, which was owned by Steel Products Ltd, had been established in Carlow in 1943. The Carlow Blade Factory was purchased in 1956 by Mr Ovsey Klotsman. Mr Klotsman was born in Pinsk in Belarus in 1900 and was trained in the metal processing industry in Germany. He founded a razor blade manufacturing business in Warsaw, Poland in 1930. He went on to establish other razor blade manufacturing plants in Europe and the Middle East. In 1936 Mr Klotsman opened a factory in Rishon LeZion about 8km south of Tel Aviv in present day Israel. A few years later he established factories in Vilnius, Lithuania, at Alexandria in Egypt and in Carlow, Ireland.

Instead of importing the steel band to make the razor blades at his Carlow factory, Mr Klotsman decided to establish the Cold Rolling Mills to produce this material. As a result the Cold Rolling Mills opened in Carlow in 1957. The Mills supplied the prepared steel to both the Blade Factory in Carlow and to Mr Klotsman’s other plants abroad. Mr Klotsman died on July 2nd 1967 and the factory in Carlow was sold shortly after his death.

In 1960 Mr Jim Larkin TD in a Dáil question, sought information on newly established industries in Ireland. In reply the Minister for Industry and Commerce gave details of over eighty such industries one of which was The Cold Rolling Mills in Carlow.

The Cold Rolling Mills factory in Carlow was mentioned by the then Minister for Industry and Commerce Mr Erskine Childers in answer to a Parliamentary Question in the year 1960 On This Day.

Carlow photo

Carlow

Photo by larryfishkorn

Photo by Internet Archive Book Images

Image from page 475 of “Steel rails; their history, properties, strength and manufacture, with notes on the principles of rolling stock and track design” (1913) by Internet Archive Book Images on 1913-01-01 00:00:00

09 December-Coronation Street

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Coronation Street is the longest running soap opera in Britain. The programme is based in the fictional town of Weatherfield near Manchester, England. It describes the lives of the residents of the town who live on Coronation Street, their social activities and family interactions.

Coronation Street is produced by Granada Television at its studios in Manchester. Each programme usually has a running time of 30 minutes and has an average viewership of around 9 million. It is broadcast on ITV channels in Great Britain and is broadcast simultaneously in Ireland. The programme is also broadcast in several countries around the world.

The first episode of Coronation Street was broadcast in the year 1960 On This Day.

Photo by Gene Hunt

Coronation Street, Weatherfield by Gene Hunt on 2014-08-30 18:39:07

Photo by Gene Hunt

Coronation Street legends by Gene Hunt on 2012-06-02 12:58:21

Photo by vagueonthehow

Coronation Street tour entrance by vagueonthehow on 2014-05-03 15:43:59

08 November-Niemba Ambush

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On Barrack Street in Carlow town, Ireland there is a monument to Lieutenant Kevin Gleeson and his comrades. They were killed in action serving with the United Nations peacekeeping force in the Congo in 1960. The soldiers were members of the 32nd Infantry Battalion. The Battalion took part in the first large scale overseas mission undertaken by Irish troops since the establishment of the state in 1922.

On June 30th 1960 the Belgian Congo became an independent republic. Independence was quickly followed by civil unrest. Within a week a mutiny broke out in the army and this was followed by the secession of two areas of the country, Katanga and South Kasai. An appeal was made by the Congolese Government to the United Nations to help restore order and preserve the territorial integrity of the country. The appeal was successful and on July 13th Ireland was requested to provide troops for the ONUC (Opération des Nations Unies au Congo) mission.

Legislation enabling the mission to take place was passed by Dáil Eireann. As a result Ireland became one of thirty countries from around the world to provide soldiers for the mission. Just over two weeks later, on July 28th 1960, the 635-strong 32nd Infantry Battalion departed for the Congo. A month later the Irish contingent was brought to 1,000 troops with the arrival of the 33 Infantry Battalion.

During late October 1960 the area around the town of Niemba in the Katanga Province in southern Congo experienced a lot of unrest. Lieutenant Kevin Gleeson, who was a member of the 32nd Infantry Battalion, led an 11 man platoon to help restore order in the area. Lieutenant Gleeson was born in Donegal and moved with his family to Goresbridge Co Kilkenny when he was young. On completion of his second level education in Bagenalstown he entered Military College in the Curragh, Co Kildare. Near the town of Niemba his platoon was ambushed by over 100 Baluba tribesmen.

Lieutenant Gleeson was the first Irish soldier to be killed in the ambush. Eight other members of his platoon; Sergeant Hugh Gaynor, Corporal Peter Kelly, Corporal Liam Dougan, Private Matthew Farrell, Trooper Thomas Fennell, Trooper Anthony Browne, Private Michael McGuinn, and Private Gerard Killeen died. 25 Baluba Tribesmen died and many more were injured. Two Irish soldiers survived Trooper Thomas Kenny and Private Joe Fitzpatrick. Nineteen year old Trooper Browne was posthumously awarded Military Medal for Gallantry for his actions during the ambush.

The Niemba Ambush took place in the year 1960 On This Day.

Photo by infomatique

THE EASTER SUNDAY PARADE – IN MEMORY OF THE EASTER 1916 RISING [UN FORCE ONUC IN THE CONGO 1960]-113035 by infomatique on 2016-03-27 13:26:38

ONUC photo

ONUC

Photo by Irish Defence Forces

07 August-Bananarama

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The female pop music group Bananarama was formed by Siobhán Fahey, Sara Dallin and Karen Woodward in London in 1979. Sara Dallin and Karen Woodward were childhood friends. They grew and went to school together in their native Bristol in England. Siobhán Fahey, whose parents were from Co Tipperary, Ireland was born in Dublin. When Siobhán was young her family moved to England.

The Fahey family lived for a time in Germany before settling in Harpenden in Hertfordshire, England. Siobhán moved to London to study fashion journalism at the age of seventeen at the London College of Fashion, John Prince’s St. Sara Dallin was also studying fashion journalism at the same college. Karen Woodward, at the time, was working at the BBC. Sara Dallin became friendly with Fahey and the three came together to form Bananarama.

From small beginnings, often acting as backing vocals, Bananarama went on to become an international success. The group are in the Guinness Book of Records for having the most chart entries in the world for an all-female group. The group have had an array of international hits, have produced ten albums and sold over 30 million records.

Siobhán Fahey left the group in 1988 and formed Shakespears Sister. She was replaced by Jacquie O’Sullivan who was formerly a member of the group, Shillelagh Sisters. Bananarama continued to be a success and during O’Sullivan’s time the group had eight Top 40 UK hits. O’Sullivan left the group in 1991 and formed the group Slippery Feet. Bananarama, consisting of Sara Dallin and Karen Woodward continue to perform and released ‘Bananarama in a Bunch’ in June 2015.

Jacquie O’Sullivan, who performed with Bananarama from 1988 to 1991 was born in the year 1960 On This Day.

Photo by pcutler

Bananarama – Bananarama by pcutler on 2011-11-06 12:37:23

Photo by Annie Mole

Bananarama 2 – ’80s Day at Ascot by Annie Mole on 2008-08-09 18:31:27

27 July-Ethel Lilian Voynich

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Ethel lilian Voynich (née Boole) was an Irish born novelist and musician. She was the daughter of George Boole (Boolean Logic) the first Professor of Mathematics at University College Cork. Her mother, Mary Everest, was a feminist philosopher and niece of George Everest after whom Mount Everest is named.

Ethel Lilian Voynich was born at Lichfield Cottage, Ballintemple, Cork on May 11^th 1864. Following the death of her father George, her mother Mary moved with her children to England where she worked as librarian at Queen’s College, London. Ethel Lilian studied piano and music composition in Berlin between 1882 and 1885.

While studying in Berlin Ethel Lilian became involved in revolutionary politics. She learned Russian and worked as a governess in St Petersburg from 1887 to 1889. She continued her revolutionary activities there, before returning to England. She published her most famous and successful book, ‘The Gadfly’ in 1897. She met Wilfrid Michael Voynich, a Russian revolutionary who had escaped from Siberia. He was working England as an antiquarian book dealer. They married in 1902. In 1920 the Voynich’s moved to New York where Wilfrid continued his business.

‘The Gadfly’ became an international success. It sold millions of copies but it was until 1955 that Voynich heard that the book had sold over 2,500,000 in the Soviet Union alone. The book was also made into a movie on two occasions in the Soviet Union. In New York Ethel concentrated on music and composed a number of cantatas.

Ethel Lilian Voynich novelist, musician and native of Cork, Ireland died in New York City at the age of 96 in the year 1960 On This Day.