1984 in Ireland - Definition and Overview

See also: 1983 in Ireland, other events of 1984, 1985 in Ireland and the list of 'years in Ireland'.

Events

• January 1 - Galway City begins celebrations marking its mayoral status grtanted by King Richard III in 1484.
• January 10 - Seán MacEntee, founder member of Fianna Fáil and former Tánaiste, dies aged 94. He was the last surviving member of the First Dáil.
• January 30 - Luke Kelly of the Dubliners dies aged 43.
• January 31 - Ann Lovett, aged 15, dies after giving birth to a baby boy in a grotto in Granard, County Longford.
• March 14 - Sinn Féin MP Gerry Adams is shot and wounded in Belfast.
• May 2 - The New Ireland Forum publishes its report presenting three possibilities for discussion: a unitary Irish state, a federal/confederal state and joint sovereignty.
• May 22 - The village of Ballyporeen, County Tipperary prepares for the visit of US President Ronald Reagan.
• June 3 - 10,000 people take part in an anti-Reagan march in Dublin.
• June 4 - President Reagan addresses a joint session of the houses of the Oireachtas.
• June 18 - European Parliament elections are held in Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland.
• July 14 - Columban missionary Fr Niall O'Brien, who was imprisoned in the Philippines, is released.
• July 17 - Some workers in Dunnes Stores, Henry Street, Dublin refuse to handle South African produce as a protest against apartheid.
• July 23 - The DART light-rail service between Howth and Bray is introduced.
• October 1 - The University of Ulster is presented with a Royal Charter by Elizabeth II.
• October 5 - In Dublin women workers in Dunnes Stores, who have been on strike for the past 11 weeks in support of a dispute over the handling of South African fruit, begin a sit-in at the store.
• October 12 - The IRA kills five people in a bomb attack at the Grand Hotel, Brighton, during the Conservative Party conference.
• November 8 - RTÉ's first newsreader, Charles Mitchel, reads his last news bulletin.
• December 2 - EEC heads of government visit President Hillery and Mrs Hillery at Áras an Uachtaráin.
• December 7 - The most sophisticated naval vessel ever built in this country, the £25 million LE Eithne is commissioned at the Haulbowline naval base.

Arts and literature

Sports

Births

Deaths

• January 1 - Tarlach Ó Raifeartaigh, educationist.
• January 10 - Seán MacEntee, former Tánaiste, Fianna Fáil TD and Cabinet Minister.
• January 30 - Luke Kelly, folk singer.
• March 3 - Rinty Monaghan, world flyweight boxing championship.
• April 6 - Jimmy Kennedy, songwriter.
• April 26 - Kathleen Behan, mother of the Behans.
• August 8 - Denis Johnston, dramatist.
• September 7 - Liam O'Flaherty, novelist.