See also:
2003 in Ireland,
other events of 2004,
2005 in Ireland and the
list of 'years in Ireland'.
Events
- January 1 - Ireland takes over as President of the European Commission.
- February 28 - Five people are killed in a bus crash at Wellington Quay, Dublin.
- March 16 - The cooling towers of Rhode Power Station, near Kilbeggan, County Westmeath are demolished.
- March 27 - Ireland's rugby team wins the Triple Crown for the first time since 1985.
- March 29 - Ireland receives worldwide attention as a smoking ban comes into effect in all pubs, restaurants and work places. The ban is pioneered by the Minister for Health, Micheál Martin.
- May 1 - 25 heads of government celebrate in Dublin as the European Union admits ten new member-states.
- June 25 - US President George W. Bush arrives at Shannon Airport for an EU-US summit.
- June 30 - Ireland is congratulated on its presidency of the European Commission. French President Jacques Chirac says it is the best presidency ever.
- July 20 - The Minister for Finance, Charlie McCreevy, is appointed as Ireland's next European Commissioner.
- August 7 - Irish athlete Cathal Lombard is accused of taking performance enhancing drugs at the Olympic Games.
- August 13 - The Minister for Agriculture, Joe Walsh, announces his retirement from the Cabinet. He is the longest-serving Agriculture Minister in Europe.
- August 27 - Cian O'Connor wins a gold medal for Ireland at the Olympic Games in Athens.
- September 8 - Former Taoiseach John Bruton is appointed EU Ambassador to Washington.
- September 14 - President McAleese announces her intention to run for a second term as President of Ireland.
- September 29 - Mary Coughlan is appointed Ireland's first female Minister for Agriculture.
- September 30 - The leader of the DUP, Ian Paisley, makes an historic first visit to Dublin for political talks with An Taoiseach Bertie Ahern.
- October 1 - As nominations for candidates close, Mary McAleese is re-elected unopposed for a second term as President of Ireland.
- October 2 - Ireland's second national television channel, Network 2, reverts back to its old name of RTÉ Two.
- October 5 - The Irish Government issue British hostage Ken Bigley with an Irish passport in an effort to secure his release from his Iraqi capturers.
- October 16 - An Taoiseach Bertie Ahern holds discussions with United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan in Dublin.
- October 19 - Dublin-born aid worker Margaret Hassan is kidnapped in Iraq.
- November 1 - The International Equestrian Federation confirms that part of the B sample of Waterford Crystal, the horse ridden by Olympic gold medallist Cian O'Connor, has been stolen in England.
- November 3 - Fran Rooney resigns as Chief-Executive of the Football Association of Ireland.
- November 9 - Banned substances were confirmed in the B blood sample of Waterford Crystal, the horse ridden by Olympic showjumping gold medallist Cian O'Connor.
- November 11 - Mary McAleese is inaugurated for a second term as President of Ireland.
- November 15 - Minister for Community, Rural & Gaeltacht Affairs, Eamon Ó Cúiv, has a lucky escape when is ministerial car is involved in a head-on collision with another car in County Kerry.
- November 16 - Irish-born aid worker, Margaret Hassan, is murdered by her capturers in Iraq.
- November 22 - Bertie Ahern celebrates 10 years as leader of the Fianna Fáil Party.
- December 8 - Negotiated proposals to restore the power-sharing institutions to Northern Ireland by March fail to reach finality. The main sticking point was a refusal by the IRA to allow photographs be taken of arms decommissioning and a refusal by the DUP's Ian Paisley to witness disarmament himself.
- December 16 - In Bogota, Colombia the Penal Chamber of Bogota's Supreme Tribunal hands down lengthy jail sentences to Niall Connolly, Martin McCauley and James Monaghan for training Marxist rebels in Colombia.
- December 18 - The 'Columbia Three', Niall Connolly, Martin McCauley and James Monaghan, are said to have fled the region where they were convicted of terrorist activities.
- December 19 - President McAleese convenes a meeting of the Council of State to discuss the Health Amendment II Bill, which was presented last week by the Health Minister Mary Harney.
- December 21 - £22 million is stolen in a heist from the Northern Bank in Belfast.
- December 31 - The Taoiseach, Bertie Ahern pledges €10 million in aid to the people affected by the tsunami in South-East Asia.
Arts and literature
Politics
Sports
Births
Deaths
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