04 August-Barack Obama

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Barack Obama was the 44^th President of the United States of America. He served for two terms from 2009 to 2017. A lawyer by profession, Obama served as US Senator for Illinois from 2005 to 2008. He was named the Nobel Peace Prize laureate in 2009.

Barack Hussein Obama II was born in Honolulu, Hawaii in 1961. His father, Barack H. Obama, Sr. and his mother, Ann Dunham met when they were both students at the University of Hawaii. Obama Sr. was a native of Kenya who was a student at the University on a college scholarship. Ann Dunham was studying anthropology.

Shortly after his son’s birth Obama Sr. was awarded a scholarship to study for a PhD at Harvard University. He moved to Harvard and Ann Dunham raised their son. She continued her studies and was awarded a BA in anthropology in 1967. She later studied abroad, particularly in Indonesia where she was accompanied by her son.

Barack Obama graduated with a degree in political science from Columbia University in 1983. He worked for a number of years as a community organiser in Chicago before entering Harvard Law School in 1988. He graduated with Juris Doctor Degree, worked as a lawyer and taught law at the University of Chicago Law School.

Having served as a US Senator, Obama was elected president of the United States on November 4^th 2008. He was inaugurated as the first African-American President on January 20^th 2009. He went on to serve for a second term and left office in January 2017 with an approval rating of 57 percent.

Barack Obama, 44^th President of the United States of America was born in the year 1961 On This Day.

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President Barack Obama

06 May-George Clooney

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The ancestors of the actor George Clooney lived in the village of Windgap, Co Kilkenny Ireland. Clooney’s great-great-grandfather, Nicholas Clooney, emigrated to America in 1852. The family settled in Kentucky.

George Timothy Clooney, actor, writer, producer and director was born in Lexington, Kentucky, USA in 1961. At school he was a keen sportsman but also scored excellent grades. He studied journalism at university but dropped out and worked at various jobs including picking tobacco.

Singer and actress, Rosemary Clooney, was an aunt of George Clooney. When Rosemary’s husband and son were making a film about horses in Kentucky they offered George a role. The role turned out to be the beginning of his acting career. He moved to Hollywood and played in several TV series and movies before making his breakthrough in the medical drama ‘ER’ in 1994.

During the following five years whilst continuing to play the character Dr Ross in ER, Clooney also began to appear in movies such as Batman and Out of Sight. He left ER in 1999 and won a Golden Globe award for his part in O Brother, Where Art Thou?

Clooney has starred in thirty movies. He has also produced twenty six, directed six and was co-writer of five movies. He has been nominated for eight Academy Awards and was the winner on two occasions. He has also won five Golden Globe awards and sixty other various awards.

As well as his movie career, Clooney also plays an active part in social and political issues. He has been officially appointed as a UN Peace Envoy and has been involved in trying to find a solution to the Darfur conflict in the Sudan. He has raised funds for the victims of 9/11 and for those affected by the 2010 Haiti earthquake. On September 27th 2014 George Clooney married human rights lawyer Amal Alamuddin.

George Clooney, actor, filmmaker and activist, was born in the year 1961 On This Day.

Photo by Ed Van-West

George Clooney

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George Clooney

George Clooney photo

George Clooney si sposa con Amal a Venezia

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12 April-First Human Space Journey

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Yuri Gagarin was a Russian Cosmonaut. In 1961 he became the first human to journey into outer space. Gagarin, aboard the Vostok Spacecraft was launched into space form the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan. He completed one orbit of the earth and landed safely 1 hour and 48 minutes after launch.

Yuri Gagarin became the first human to journey into outer space in the year 1961 On This Day.

Photo by Robbie Phelan Yuri Gagarin Statue London

12 December-Daniel O’Donnell

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Daniel O’Donnell is a native of Co Donegal, Ireland. He is a singer-songwriter and television presenter who is widely regarded as one of Ireland’s greatest entertainers. He began performing his blend of country and Irish folk music over 30 years ago. Since then he has become a household name across Ireland and Great Britain and has appeared on popular television shows in both countries.

Daniel Francis Noel O’Donnell was born in Kincasslagh, Co Donegal in 1961. Having completed secondary education in Donegal, O’Donnell moved to Galway in September 1980 to study a course in Business at Galway Regional Technical College. The following Christmas he decided to leave college to join his sister Margo’s band. He stayed with her band until 1983, leaving to start his own singing career. His first single ‘My Donegal Shore’ was recorded in 1983. It took a few years before he began to be successful but by 1992 he was performing to sell-out concerts.

“I Just Want to Dance With You” was a chart hit in Great Britain for O’Donnell in 1992 and this led to his first ever appearance on Top of the Pops. During his career he has had twenty UK Top 40 albums and fifteen Top 40 singles. He has sold over 10 million records and has achieved considerable success in North America. He was awarded an Honorary MBE by Queen Elizabeth II in 2002 for his services to the music industry.

Popularly known as ‘Wee Daniel’, O Donnell’s close relationship with his fans is well known and he is involved in many charitable causes. Daniel O’Donnell and his wife Majella were married in 2002. They live in Meenbanad near Dungloe in County Donegal where the Daniel O’Donnell visitors centre was opened in 2012. O’Donnell participated in the BBC Strictly Come Dancing programme in 2015.

Daniel O’Donnell was born in the year 1961 On This Day.

Photo by Branson Missouri

Daniel O’Donnell

Christmas in Branson by Branson Missouri on 2012-07-18 14:51:53

24 September-County Down wins Senior All-Ireland Football Championship

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The County Down Senior Gaelic Football Team has won the All-Ireland Football Championship on five occasions. The All-Ireland Football Championship is an inter-county Gaelic football tournament for the top teams in Ireland. The final is played annually at Croke Park in Dublin in late September.

The first victory for County Down was in 1960. The team won the title again in 1961, defeating Offaly 3-6 to 2-8. A crowd of 90,556, the biggest ever to attend Croke Park watched the Co Down team come from behind to win their second All Ireland Football Championship.

The County Down Senior Gaelic Football Team won the All-Ireland Football Championship in the year 1961 On This Day.

Photo by Visentico / Sento

GAA – Croke Park Stadium by Visentico / Sento on 2008-02-24 20:43:15