1984 in Ireland

← 1983 1982 1981 1980 1979 1984 in Ireland → 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989
Centuries:	18th 19th 20th 21st
Decades:	1960s 1970s 1980s 1990s 2000s
See also:	1984 in Northern Ireland Other events of 1984 List of years in Ireland

Events from the year 1984 in Ireland.

Incumbents

• President: Patrick Hillery
• Taoiseach: Garret FitzGerald (FG)

Events

• 1 January –
  • Department of Posts and Telegraphs split into An Post and Telecom Éireann.
  • Galway City began celebrations marking its mayoral status granted by King Richard III in 1484.
• 10 January – Seán MacEntee, founder member of Fianna Fáil and former Tánaiste, died aged 94. He was the last surviving member of the First Dáil.
• 31 January – Ann Lovett, aged 15, died after giving birth to a baby boy in a grotto in Granard, County Longford. Reporting of this incident on The Gay Byrne Show uncovered many stories from listeners of rape, abortion and sexual abuse.^[1]
• 14 March – Sinn Féin MP Gerry Adams was shot and wounded in Belfast.
• 2 May – The New Ireland Forum published its report presenting three possibilities for discussion: a unitary Irish state, a federal/confederal state and joint sovereignty.
• 22 May – The village of Ballyporeen, County Tipperary prepared for the visit of U.S. President Ronald Reagan to his ancestral home.
• 1 June – United States President Ronald Reagan arrived at Shannon Airport to begin a state visit.
• 2 June – Ronald Reagan was at Galway, Ballyporeen, and the Phoenix Park.
• 3 June – Ten thousand people protested outside Ronald Reagan's state banquet in Dublin Castle.
• 4 June – Ronald Reagan addressed a joint session of the houses of the Oireachtas.
• 18 June – European Parliament elections held in Ireland and Northern Ireland.
• 13 July – Ford Motor Company assembly plant in Cork closed;^[2] closure of the Dunlop tyre factory in the same city had been announced previously and the Verolme Cork Dockyard was closed as a shipbuilder at the end of the year.
• 14 July – Columban missionary Fr. Niall O'Brien, who was imprisoned in the Philippines, was released.
• 17 July – Some workers in Dunnes Stores in Henry Street, Dublin refused to handle South African produce as a protest against apartheid.
• 23 July – The Dublin Area Rapid Transit (DART) rail service between Howth and Bray was inaugurated.
• 28 September – The Dublin telephone system collapsed due to network overload as a result of a phone-in competition on an illegal radio station.
• 1 October – The University of Ulster was presented with a Royal Charter by Elizabeth II.
• 5 October – 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, began a sit-in at the store.
• 12 October – The Irish Republican Army killed five people in a bomb attack at the Grand Hotel in Brighton during the British Tory Party annual conference, narrowly missing Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher.
• 22 October – The first stage of the new Rice Bridge over the River Suir in Waterford was opened to road traffic.
• 5 November – The RTÉ Radio current affairs programme, Morning Ireland, was broadcast for the first time.
• 14 November – Irish Shipping Limited was placed in liquidation.
• 8 November – RTÉ Television's first newsreader, Charles Mitchel, delivered his final news bulletin.
• 2 December – European Economic Community heads of government visited President Hillery and Mrs. Hillery at Áras an Uachtaráin.
• 7 December – The most sophisticated naval vessel ever built in the country, the £25 million LÉ Eithne, was commissioned at the Haulbowline naval base.

Arts and literature

• May – The Irish Film Theatre closed at the end of the month due to insufficient box-office revenue.
• 24 June – The Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament (CND) Solstice Rock Festival took place at Saint Anne's Park in Raheny.
• 8 July – The Slane Concert was headlined by Bob Dylan with support from In Tua Nua, UB40, and Santana, and with guests Van Morrison and Bono.^[3]
• October – Ronan Sheehan was awarded the Rooney Prize for Irish Literature.^[4]
• 18 October – Van Morrison was in concert at the Simmonscourt Extension of the Royal Dublin Society.
• 31 October – The annual Oíche Shamhna fancy dress Céili Mór was held in Kilronan on the island of Inis Mór.
• December – Pat Murphy's film Anne Devlin was released, starring Brid Brennan, with Bosco Hogan as Robert Emmet.
• The literary Kate O'Brien Weekend in Limerick was celebrated for the first time.

Sport

Association football

• Cork City F.C. founded and elected to the League of Ireland Premier Division. Former Chelsea and Cork Celtic hero Bobby Tambling was the first manager appointed.

Golf

• The Irish Open won by Bernhard Langer (West Germany).

Horse racing

• Irish Grand National steeplechase won by Bentom Boy ridden by Mrs Ann Ferris, the first woman winner.

Births

January to June

• 2 January – Denis Behan, soccer player.
• 6 January – Stephen Elliott, soccer player.
• 10 January – Alan McCormack, soccer player.
• 10 February – John Fitzgerald, soccer player.
• 21 February – Damien Molony, television actor.
• 22 February – Tommy Bowe, international rugby player.
• 4 March – Kevin O'Brien, cricketer.
• 8 March – Nora Jane Noone, actress.
• 16 March – Aisling Bea, born Aisling O'Sullivan, actress, comedian and writer.
• 17 March – David Collins, Galway hurler.
• 4 April – Willie O'Dwyer, Kilkenny hurler.
• 7 April – Bryan Cullen, Dublin Gaelic footballer.
• 11 April – Michael Cussen, Cork hurler.
• 17 April – Rosanna Davison, model, Miss World 2003.
• 13 May – Mark O'Brien, soccer player.
• 4 June – Kevin Hartnett, Cork hurler.
• 11 June – Andy Lee, boxer.
• 25 June – Killian Donnelly, stage actor

July to December

• 2 July – Ger O'Brien, soccer player.
• 5 July – Paul Keegan, soccer player.
• 21 August – Conor Kenna, soccer player.
• 6 September – Brian Murray, Limerick hurler.
• 12 October – Anthony Nash, Cork hurler.
• 19 November – Stephen Bradley, soccer player.
• 30 November – Andrew O'Shaughnessy, Limerick hurler.
• 31 December – Anthony Flood, soccer player.

Full date unknown

• Pamela Fitzgerald, camogie player.

Deaths

January to June

• 1 January – Tarlach Ó Raifeartaigh, Chairman of the Higher Education Authority; Secretary to the Department of Education; member of the Royal Irish Academy (born 1905).
• 10 January – Seán MacEntee, Fianna Fáil TD and Tánaiste from 1959 to 1965 (born 1889).
• 24 January – Bernard Cowen, Fianna Fáil TD and Minister of State (born 1932).
• 30 January – Luke Kelly, singer, folk musician and member of the band The Dubliners (born 1940).
• 11 February – Theodore William Moody, historian (born 1907).
• 3 March – Rinty Monaghan, world flyweight boxing championship (born 1920).
• 19 March – Charlie Ware, Waterford hurler (born 1900).
• 24 March – Fintan Kennedy, General President of IT&GWU, member of the Seanad from 1969 to 1981.
• 6 April – Jimmy Kennedy, songwriter (born 1902).
• 26 April – Kathleen Behan, mother of Brendan Behan (born 1889).
• June – Alec Mackie, soccer player (born 1903).

July to December

• 21 July – Paddy Grace, former Kilkenny hurler (born 1917).
• 8 August – Denis Johnston, dramatist (born 1901).
• 13 August – Jack Lawrence, cricketer (born 1904).
• 7 September – Liam O'Flaherty, novelist and short story writer (born 1896).
• 15 September – Charles Lynch, pianist (born 1906).
• 4 November – Fintan Coogan, Snr, Fine Gael TD (born 1910).
• 29 December – Robert Farren (Roibeárd Ó Faracháin), poet (born 1909).
• 30 December – William Bedell Stanford, classical scholar and senator (born 1911).

References