Ireland in the 20th Century

Table of contents

1 20th Century Ireland 2 1901-1910 3 1911-1920 4 1921-1930 5 1931-1940 6 1941-1950 7 1951-1960 8 1961-1970 9 1971-1980 10 1981-1990 11 1991-2000

20th Century Ireland

1901-1910

1901

• Centenary year of the Act of Union.
• Edward VII is proclaimed King of Ireland in a state ceremony in Dublin.
• Members of the Irish Yeomanry return home from fighting in South Africa.
• The Irish census shows the population of Ireland to be 4,459,000.
• The All-Ireland Champions are London (hurling) and Dublin (football)

1902

• Archbishop Croke, patron of the GAA, dies at the age of 78.
• Waterford City confer the freedom of the city on John Redmond.
• The centenary of the Christian Brothers is celebrated.
• The UK Liberal Party stops its support for Home Rule.
• The All-Ireland Champions are Cork (hurling) and Dublin (football)

1903

• St. Patrick's day becomes a national holiday in Ireland.
• Erskine Childers publishes The Riddle of the Sands.
• The Wyndham Land Act is passed - it solves the land purchase problem.
• The Independent Orange Order is founded in Belfast.
• The All-Ireland Champions are Cork (hurling) and Kerry (football)

1904

• The Abbey Theatre is founded in Dublin
• June 10 - Bloomsday. James Joyce meets Nora Barnacle for the first time.
• The All-Ireland Champions are Kilkenny (hurling) and Kerry (football)

1905

• Sinn Féin is founded by Arthur Griffith.
• The Ulster Unionist Council is founded. It helps to forge links between the Orange Order and Unionists.
• The All-Ireland Champions are Kilkenny (hurling) and Kildare (football)

1906

• Count John McCormack makes his stage debut in Italy.
• The All-Ireland Champions are Tipperary (hurling) and Dublin (football)

1907

• The Playboy of the Western World causes controversy when it is staged in the Abbey Theatre.
• Irish-born Ernest Shackleton leads an Antarctic expedition.
• Marconi begins a wireless service between Clifden and Canada.
• The All-Ireland Champions are Kilkenny (hurling) and Dublin (football)

1908

• The Irish Transport & General Workers Union is founded by James Larkin.
• The National University of Ireland is founded.
• Patrick Pearse founds St Enda's School for Boys in Dublin.
• The Dublin Municipal Gallery is opened.
• The All-Ireland Champions are Tipperary (hurling) and Dublin (football)

1909

• James Larkin forms the Irish Transport & General Workers Union (ITGWU)
• The first flight by an Iriush plane is made at Hillsborough.
• Ireland's first cinema, the Volta Cinema, opens in Dublin.
• The All-Ireland Champions are Kilkenny (hurling) and Kerry (football)

1910

• The Unionist Party is formed with the aim of maintaining the Act of Union.
• Irish is made compulsory for entry to the National University of Ireland.
• The All-Ireland Champions are Wexford (hurling) and Louth (football)

1911-1920

1911

• The Parliament Act is passed in the House of Commons - Lords can now delay a bill for only two years.
• The Irish census shows the population to be 4,400,000.
• The Titanic is launched at the Harland and Wolff shipyard in Belfast.
• The All-Ireland Champions are Kilkenny (hurling) and Cork (football)

1912

• The Third Home Rule Bill is accepted by the House of Commons, but is postponed for two years.
• 500,000 Ulster people sign the Solemn League and Covenant.
• The Titanic sinks in the Atlantic - its last port of call was County Cork.
• The Irish Labour Party is founded.
• D. W. Corbett makes the first flight across the Irish sea.
• The All-Ireland Champions are Kilkenny (hurling) and Cork (football)

1913

• The Great Dublin Lock-Out takes place.
• The Irish Volunteers and the Irish Citizen Army are established.
• The Ulster Volunteer Force is formed in Belfast.
• The All-Ireland Champions are Kilkenny (hurling) and Kerry (football)

1914

• The Curragh Mutiny - 57 British army officers refuse to implement Home Rule if it's introduced.
• World War I begins.
• The granting of Home Rule is postponed until after the war.
• Cumann na mBan is founded.
• The All-Ireland Champions are Kilkenny (hurling) and Kerry (football)

1915

• Douglas Hyde resigns as President of the Gaelic League.
• The Military Council of the IRB is formed.
• The All-Ireland Champions are Laois (hurling) and Wexford (football)

1916

• The Eater Rising takes place
  • Jan.: Supreme Council of IRB decide on insurrection
  • April 3: Irish Volunteers prepare for rising on Easter Sunday (April 23)
  • April 20-21: The Aud captured with arms meant for rising
  • April 22: Eoin MacNeill countermands order for rising
  • April 24: Rising occurs in Dublin one day late; Proclamation of the Irish Republic read by Patrick Pearse on steps of the G.P.O.
  • May 3: 12: Fourteen leaders of Rising are shot in Kilmainham Jail
  • Aug. 3: Sir Roger Casement hanged in London
  • The All-Ireland Champions are Tipperary (hurling) and Wexford (football)

1917

• Eamon de Valera is elected President of Sinn Féin.
• Thomes Ashe dies after a hunger strike.
• The All-Ireland Champions are Dublin (hurling) and Wexford (football)

1918

• November 11: World War I ends.
• Sinn Féin win a majority of Irish seats in the general election.
• Countess Constance Markievicz becomes the British parliament's first female MP.
• The All-Ireland Champions are Limerick (hurling) and Wexford (football)

1919

• Jan 21: The first Dáil Éireann meets in the Mansion House, Dublin.
  • Cathal Brugha is elected as Acting President.
• The War of Independence begins.
• Alcock & Brown land at Clifden, Galway after completeing the first transatlantic flight.
• The All-Ireland Champions are Cork (hurling) and Kildare (football)

1920

• Bloody Sunday
  • Michael Collins's 'Squad' kill 14 British intelligence officers in Dublin.
  • The Black and Tans retaliate by killing 14 people at a football match in Croke Park.
• A young medical student, Kevin Barry, is hanged due to his republican activities.
• Lord-Mayor of Cork, Tomás MacCurtain, is assassinated.
• The politician, Terence MacSwiney, dies after a hunger strike.
• The Irish Republican Army (IRA) is established.
• The Government of Ireland Act is passed in the House of Commons
• The All-Ireland Champions are Dublin (hurling) and Tipperary (football)

1921-1930

1921

• May 25: Dublin Customs House burned down
• July 9: Truce between IRA and British Army
• Dec. 6: Anglo-Irish Treaty is signed; Ireland receives dominion status; partition will create Northern Ireland.
• Dec. 8: Eamon de Valera publicly repudiates the Treaty.
• The Boundary Commission is set up the redraw the border between Northern and Southern Ireland.
• The All-Ireland Champions are Limerick (hurling) and Dublin (football)

1922

• Jan. 7: Dáil Eireann ratifies the Treaty.
  • Eamon de Valera resigns and leaves the Dáil with his followers.
• Jan. 9: Arthur Griffith is elected President of the Dáil but dies later in the year.
  • Michael Collins becomes Chairman of the Provisional Government.
• April: The Irish Civil War begins.
  • June 16: The pro-Treaty candidates are victorious in the general election.
  • Aug: Free State Army captures Dublin, Limerick, Cork and Waterford.
  • Aug 22: Michael Collins is assassinated.
  • Sept: W. T. Cosgrave is elected head of the Provisional Government.
  • Oct. 15: Leinster House Act made acts of war against Free State illegal
  • Dec 6: The Irish Free State is established.
• The RUC (Royal Ulster Constabulary) is formed.
• The All-Ireland Champions are Kilkenny (hurling) and Dublin (football)

1923

• The Irish Civil War ends.
• W. T. Cosgrave founds the Cumann na nGaedhael party.
• General Election
  • W. T. Cosgrave becomes President of the Executive Council.
  • Eamon de Valera and Sinn Féin abstain from the Dáil.
• W.B Yeats is awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature.
• The Garda Síochána are established.
• The Irish Free State joins the League of Nations.
• James Joyce publishes Ulysses.
• The All-Ireland Champions are Galway (hurling) and Dublin (football)

1924

• The Army Mutiny
  • Two government ministers resign after officers object to a reduction of the army.
  • Eoin O'Duffy is appointed Commander-in-Chief.
• The Free State Aer Corps is founded.
• Eamon de Valera is released from prison.
• The Intermediate and Leaving Certificates are established.
• The All-Ireland Champions are Dublin (hurling) and Kerry (football)

1925

• The Boundary Commission is scrapped, leaving the Northern Ireland border unchanged.
• Northern Ireland General Election
  • Unionists gain almost total control of the parliament
• Dublin-born George Bernard Shaw is awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature.
• The IRA launches the weekly newspaper, An Phoblacht.
• Legislation allowing divorce is banned in the Irish Free State.
• Work begins on the Shannon hydro-electric station.
• The All-Ireland Champions are Tipperary (hurling) and Galway (football)

1926

• The census reults reveal that:
  • The population of the Irish Free State is 2,972,000
  • The population of Northern Ireland is 1,257,000.
• Eamon de Valera and a number of others form Fianna Fáil - the Republican Party.
• The 2RN radio station is set up in Dublin.
• The All-Ireland Champions are Cork (hurling) and Kerry (football)

1927

• 1927 General Election (June)
  • Cumann na nGaedhael retain power.
  • W. T. Cosgrave remains as President.
• In August Fianna Fáil enter the Dáil and another election is called.
• 1927 General Election (September)
  • Cumann na nGaedhael retain power by a narrow majority.
• Kevin O'Higgins, Minister for Justice, is assassinated by the IRA.
• The ESB (Electricity Supply Board) is established.
• The All-Ireland Champions are Dublin (hurling) and Kildare (football)

1928

• New Irish coinage is issued featuring a harp on one side and animals on the other.
• Irish becomes a compulsory subject for the Inter. Cert.
• Captain James Fitzmaurice completes the first successful non-stop transatlantic flight from east to west.
• The first Irish team attends the Olympic Games
  • Dr. Pat O'Callaghan is the first person to win a gold medal for Ireland .
• John McCormack is appointed a Papal count for his services to music.
• The All-Ireland Champions are Cork (hurling) and Kildare (football)

1929

• Proportional Representation is abolished in Northern Ireland.
• The first Irish banknotes are issued.
• Ardnacrusha Power Station opens on the Shannon Scheme.
• Ireland's economy suffers due to the Wall Street Crash.
• The All-Ireland Champions are Cork (hurling) and Kerry (football)

1930

• The Irish delegation, led by Patrick McGilligan, attend the Imperial Conference.
• The first Irish Sweepstakes draw is held.
• The All-Ireland Champions are Tipperary (hurling) and Kerry (football)

1931-1940

1931

• The Statute of Westminster is passed in Britain
  • Dominions now have the right to repeal acts which were passed in Britain.
• Saor Éire, a republican socialist group, is formed.
• Eamon de Valera founds The Irish Press newspaper.
• The All-Ireland Champions are Cork (hurling) and Kerry (football)

1932

• The Eucharistic Congress is held in the Phoenix Park, Dublin.
• 1932 General Election
  • Fianna Fáil come to power for the first time.
  • Eamon de Valera becomes President of the Executive Council.
• The 'Oath of Allegiance' to the monarch is abolished.
• The Blueshirts are founded by Gen. Eoin O'Duffy.
• The Economic War begins between Britain and the Irish Free State.
• Eamon de Valera is inaugurated as the Chairman of the League of Nations.
• The All-Ireland Champions are Kilkenny (hurling) and Kerry (football)

1933

• 1933 General Election
  • Fianna Fáil retain power. de Valera remains as President.
• Fine Gael - the United Ireland Party is founded.
  • Eoin O'Duffy is its first leader.
• The All-Ireland Champions are Kilkenny (hurling) and Cavan (football)

1934

• Eoin O'Duffy resigns from Fine Gael.
• Britain and the Free State signs a Coal-Cattle Pact.
• Irish becomes a compulsory subject for the Laeving Cert.
• The All-Ireland Champions are Limerick (hurling) and Galway (football)

1935

• W. T. Cosgrave is elected Chairman of Fine Gael.
• Foynes, County Limerick, is chosen as the European terminal for transatlantic air services.
• Unionist politician, Edward Carson, dies.
• The All-Ireland Champions are Kilkenny (hurling) and Cavan (football)

1936

• The Irish Free State census shows the population to be 2,969,000.
• The Irish national airline, Aer Lingus, is founded.
• Sean MacBride becomes the chief of staff of the IRA.
• The government declare the IRA an illegal organisation.
• The Senate of the Irish Free State is abolished.
• The All-Ireland Champions are Limerick (hurling) and Mayo (football)

1937 The Northern Ireland census shows the population to be 1,280,000.

• Bunreacht na hÉireann is introduced.
  • The head of state is now the President of Ireland.
  • The head of government is the Taoiseach.
  • The national territory consists of the whole island of Ireland.
• The referendum on the constitution is held on the same day as the election.
• 1937 General Election
  • Fianna Fáil is returned to power and the referendum is carried.
• The All-Ireland Champions are Tipperary (hurling) and Kerry (football)

1938

• Dr. Douglas Hyde is appointed the first President of Ireland.
• The government falls unexpectedly this year.
• 1938 General Election
  • Fianna Fáil and de Valera return with a greater majority.
• The 'Economic War' with Britain ends.
• The Traety ports are handed back to the Free State.
• Clann na Talmhan is founded.
• The All-Ireland Champions are Dublin (hurling) and Galway (football)

1939

• The IRA begin a bombing campaign in England.
• World War II begins.
  • Éire decalres its neutrality.
  • Consription is not introduced in Northern Ireland
• The Irish Red Cross is founded.
• The All-Ireland Champions are Kilkenny (hurling) and Kerry (football)

1940

• Dr. John Charles McQuaid becomes Archbishop of Dublin
• John M. Andrews becomes Prime Minister of Northern Ireland.
• The All-Ireland Champions are Limerick (hurling) and Kerry (football)

1941-1950

1941

• 28 people are killed when German bombs fall on the North Strand in Dublin.
• 900 people are killed in a bomb attack in Belfast.
• The new terminal at Dublin Airport is completed.
• Irish novelist James Joyce dies in Zurich, Switzerland.
• The All-Ireland Champions are Cork (hurling) and Kerry (football)

1942

• US troops arrive in Northern Ireland.
• The Irish Blood Transfusion Service is founded.
• The All-Ireland Champions are Cork (hurling) and Dublin (football)

1943

• 1943 General Election
  • Fianna Fáil are re-elected but do not have a clear majority.
• Sir Basil Brooke becomes Prime Minister of Northern Ireland.
• The Central Bank opens in Dublin.
• The All-Ireland Champions are Cork (hurling) and Roscommon (football)

1944

• 1944 General Election
  • Fianna Fáil achieves a 14 seat overall majority.
  • The National Labour Party is formed.
• Gen. Richard Mulcahy becomes the new leader of Fine Gael.
• The All-Ireland Champions are Cork (hurling) and Roscommon (football)

1945

• World War II ends after six years of violence.
  • Winston Churchill attacks Irish neutrality.
  • An Taoiseach Eamon de Valera defends the Irish position.
• Sean T. O'Kelly is elected the second President of Ireland.
• Nationalist Eoin MacNeill dies.
• Irish tenor Count John McCormack dies.
• Córas Iompair Éireann (CIÉ), the state transport service, begins.
• The National Stud is established in Kildare.
• The All-Ireland Champions are Tipperary (hurling) and Cork (football)

1946

• The population of Éire is 2,955,000.
• Éire's application to join the United Nations is vetoed by the Soviet Union.
• Clann na Poblachta is founded by Sean MacBride.
• Bord na Móna is established.
• The All-Ireland Champions are Cork (hurling) and Kerry (football)

1947

• Shannon Airport becomes a duty-free area.
• The All-Ireland Football Final takes place in the Polo Grounds, New York.
  • Cavan beat Kerry to take the Sam McGuire Cup.
• The All-Ireland Hurling Champions are Kilkenny.

1948

• 1948 General Election
  • Fine Gael, Labour, Clann na Poblachta and others form an inter-party government.
  • John A. Costello becomes Taoiseach.
• The government announces that the External Relations Act is to be repealed and Éire is to leave the Commonwealth.
• The All-Ireland Champions are Waterford (hurling) and Cavan (football)

1949

• Éire leaves the Commonwealth and the Republic of Ireland is born.
• The Ireland Act is passed in Britain.
  • This ensures that Northern Ireland wil remain part of the UK.
• Ireland refuses to join NATO.
• Former President of Ireland, Dr. Douglas Hyde, dies.
• The All-Ireland Champions are Meath (hurling) and Tipperary (football)

1950

• Noel Browne proposes the 'Mother and Child Scheme'.
• Dublin-born writer, George Bernard Shaw, dies aged 94.
• The All-Ireland Champions are Tipperary (hurling) and Mayo (football)

1951-1960

1951

• The population of the Republic of Ireland is 2,961,000
• Irish bishops condemn the 'Nother and Child Scheme'
  • The scheme is dropped.
  • Noel Browne resigns from the Caninet.
• 1951 General Election
  • Fianna Fáil returns with a minority government.
  • Eamon de Valera becomes Taoiseach.
• An Irishman, Ernest Walton, shares the Nobel Prize for Physics.
• Ian Paisley forms the Free Presbyterian Church
• The All-Ireland Champions are Tipperary (hurling) and Mayo (football)

1952

• The government introduce the Social Welfare Act which increases unemployment and sickness benefits.
• Sean T. O'Kelly is re-elected President of Ireland.
• Bord Fáilte is established to encourage tourism.
• The All-Ireland Champions are Cork (hurling) and Cavan (football)

1953

• Fianna Uladh is founded.
• Gael-Linn is set up to promote the use of Irish.
• The All-Ireland Champions are Cork (hurling) and Kerry (football)

1954

• 1954 General Election
  • Fine Gael, Labour and other parties form the second Inter-Party Government.
  • John A. Costello becomes Taoiseach for the second time.
• The Flags & Emblems Act in Northern Ireland prohibits the display of the Irish tricolor or disturbing a display of the Union Jack
• Michael Manning becomes the last man to be hanged in the Republic of Ireland.
• Christy Brown publishes his autobiography - My Left Foot.
• The All-Ireland Champions are Cork (hurling) and Meath (football)

1955

• Ireland becomes a member of the United Nations.
• Cork Opera House is destroyed by fire.
• The All-Ireland Champions are Wexford (hurling) and Kerry (football)

1956

• The census shows the population of the Republic of Ireland to be 2,818,000.
• Ronnie Delaney wins a gold medal for Ireland at the Olympic Games in Australia.
• The IRA begins a bombing campaign along the border.
• The All-Ireland Champions are Wexford (hurling) and Galway (football)

1957

• 1957 General Election
  • Fianna Fáil return to power.
  • Eamon de Valera becomes Taoiseach for the final time aged 75.
• Seán South and Fergal O'Hanlon are killed in an IRA attack on a RUC barrcks.
• The All-Ireland Champions are Kilkenny (hurling) and Louth (football)

1958

• Irish Army soldiers begin a United Nations peace-keeping mission in the Lebanon.
• The First Programme for Economic Expansion is drawn up by T. K. Whitaker.
• Aer Lingus begins its first service to the United States.
• The All-Ireland Champions are Tipperary (hurling) and Dublin (football)

1959

• Eamon de Valera is elected third President of Ireland.
• Sean Lemass becomes the new leader of Fianna Fáil and the new Taoiseach.
• James Dillon becomes the new leader of Fine Gael.
• The Irish Congress of Trade Unions is formed.
• The All-Ireland Champions are Waterford (hurling) and Kerry (football)

1960

• Irish troops are sent on United Nations peace-keeping missions to the Congo.
• F. H. Boland becomes President of the General Assembly of the United Nations.
• The All-Ireland Champions are Wexford (hurling) and Down (football)

1961-1970

1961

• The census results are announced:
  • The population of the Republic of Ireland is 2,818,000
  • The population of Northern Ireland is 1,426,000
• 1961 General Election
  • Fianna Fáil form a minority government with Sean Lemass as Taoiseach.
• Telefís Éireann (later RTÉ) commences broadcasting on New Years Eve.
• Sean Lemass returns as Taoiseach following the general election.
• The All-Ireland Champions are Tipperary (hurling) and Down (football)

1962

• The second Vatican Council takes place - this leads to greater openness within the Catholic Church.
• The IRA calls of its bombing campaign along the border.
• The All-Ireland Champions are Tipperary (hurling) and Kerry (football)

1963

• U.S President John F. Kennedy visits Ireland - he is assassinated later this year.
• Frank Aiken, Minister for External Affairs, speaks out against nuclear weapons at the UN Headquarters.
• Terence O'Neill becomes Prime Minister of Northern Ireland.
• The All-Ireland Champions are Kilkenny (hurling) and Dublin (football)

1964

• The Second Programme for Economic Expansion is launched.
• The playwrights, Seán O'Casey and Brendan Behan die.
• The All-Ireland Champions are Tipperary (hurling) and Galway (football)

1965

• Sean Lemass meets the Northern Ireland Prime Minister, Terence O'Neill, in Belfast.
  • O'Neill later returns the compliment by paying a visit to Lemass in Dublin
• Roger Casement is given a state funeral, almost fifty years after his execution.
• 1965 General Election
  • Fianna Fáil are re-elected with Sean Lemass as Taoiseach.
  • Liam Cosgrave becomes the new leader of Fine Gael.
• Clann na Poblachta ceases to exist this year.
• The All-Ireland Champions are Tipperary (hurling) and Galway (football)

1966

• Ireland celebrates the 50th Anniversary of the 1916 Easter Rising.
• Eamon de Valera is re-elected as President of Ireland.
• Jack Lynch replaces Sean Lemass as Taoiseach and Fianna Fáil leader.
• Former President of Ireland, Sean T. O'Kelly, dies aged 84.
• The UVF declares war on the IRA.
• Nelson's Pillar on O'Connel Street is blown up by republicans.
• The All-Ireland Champions are Cork (hurling) and Galway (football)

1967

• The Northern Ireland Civil Rights Association (NICRA) is founded.
• 3 people are killed when an Aer Lingus plane crashes in Dublin.
• Censorship is lifted on all books this year.
• Minister for Education, Donagh O'Malley, announces free secondary school education.
• The All-Ireland Champions are Kilkenny (hurling) and Meath (football)

1968

• Plans to merge Trinity College Dublin and University College Dublin are scrapped.
• Crisis in the North
  • Oct. 5: Two days of rioting follows after a banned civil rights march in Derry is broken up by RUC batons. Many view this incident as the start of 'the Troubles'.
  • Oct. 9: Following a student demonstration in Belfast, the People's Democracy (PD) a radical, left-wing student group, is formed.
  • Oct. 30: The Taoiseach, Jack Lynch calls for an end to partition to resolve the unrest.
  • Nov. 4: The Prime Minister of Northern Ireland, Terence O'Neill, says there will be no transfer of the North to the Republic without the consent of the NI parliament.
  • Nov. 22: O'Neill announces a five point reform plan which goes some way to easing the Catholic sense of grievance over matters including unfair housing allocation, council elections.
  • Dec. 11: William Craig, Minister of Home Affairs, is dismissed from the Northern Ireland cabinet.
  • Dec. 20: People's Democracy (PD) announce Belfast-Derry March.
• 61 people die when an Aer Lingus plane crashes at Tuskar Rock.
• The All-Ireland Champions are Wexford (hurling) and Down (football)

1969

• 1969 General Election
  • Fianna Fáil are re-elected to government - Jack Lynch remains as Taoiseach.
• Crisis in the North
  • Jan. 4: A march from Belfast to Derry is attacked by a loyalist mob at Burntollet bridge, near Derry.
  • April 28: Terence O'Neill resigns as Prime Minister
  • May 1: James Chichester-Clark is his replacement.
  • July: First deaths of the 'Troubles'
  • Aug. 12: Apprentice Boys' march in Derry attacked by nationalists; RUC storm Bogside, leading to the Battle of the Bogside
  • August: British army arrives in North.
  • Dec: A split in the IRA produces Provisional and Official IRA.
• The government introduce special tax concessions for creative artists and writers.
• Dublin-born Samuel Beckett is awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature.
• The All-Ireland Champions are Kilkenny (hurling) and Kerry (football)

1970

• The Arms Crisis
  • Charles Haughey and Neil Blaney are dismissed from the Cabinet amid allegations of illegal arms importation.
  • Kevin Boland resigns in sympathy with the two sacked ministers.
  • Haughey and Blaney are later acquitted of the crime.
• Ireland wins the Eurovision Song Contest for the first time when Dana sings All Kinds of Everything.
• U.S President Richard Nixon visits Ireland in October.
• The SDLP is founded by Gerry Fitt.
• Moderate Protestants and Catholics form the Alliance Party of Northern Ireland.
• The All-Ireland Champions are Cork (hurling) and Kerry (football)

1971-1980

1971

• Internment without trial is introduced in Northern Ireland.
• Aer Lingus takes delivery of two Boeing 747 Jumbo Jets.
• RTÉ televises its first live colour television production - the Eurovision Song Contest.
• Kevin Boland directly challenges the leadership of Fianna Fáil and demands military action on Northern Ireland.
• Former Taoiseach Sean Lemass dies aged 71.
• Cigarette advertising on television is banned.
• The new 'decimal system' replaces pounds, shillings and pence in Ireland.
• Brian Faulkner becomes Prime Minister of Northern Ireland.
• The All-Ireland Champions are Tipperary (hurling) and Offaly (football)

1972

• Bloody Sunday
  • British paratroopers shoot 13 civilians dead in Derry.
• In a referendum Ireland votes to join the European Economic Community.
• Northern Ireland comes under direct rule from Westminster.
• Bloody Friday
  • 19 people are killed when several bombs explode in Belfast.
• Mother Teresa returns to Ireland, the country where she began her religious life.
• The voting age is reduced from 21 to 18.
• Radio na Gaeltachta begins broadcasting.
• The All-Ireland Champions are Kilkenny (hurling) and Offaly (football)

1973

• Ireland joins the EEC along with Britain and Denmark.
• Erskine Hamilton Childers is elected fourth President of Ireland.
• 1973 General Election
  • Liam Cosgrave of Fine Gael becomes Taoiseach of a coalition government..
• The Sunnigdale Agreement is signed.
  • Elections are held for a Power-Sharing Assembly in Northern Ireland.
  • A 'Council of Ireland' is also established.
• The Irish Civil Service removes its ban on female employees marrying.
• The All-Ireland Champions are Limerick (hurling) and Cork (football)

1974

• Cearbhall Ó Dálaigh becomes the fifth President of Ireland following the death of President Childers.
• Car bombs planted by Unionist terrorists kill 24 people in Dublin and 6 people in Monaghan.
• Former IRA leader and government minister, Sean MacBride is awarded the Nobel Peace Prize.
• Northern Ireland
  • A Loyalist general strike blockades Belfast.
  • The Power-Sharing Assembly is abandoned.
  • The IRA announce an 11 day ceasefire.
• The Birmingham Six are wrongly convicted and imprisoned.
• The All-Ireland Champions are Kilkenny (hurling) and Dublin (football)

1975

• Eamon de Valera dies in Dublin aged 92.
  • His life has spanned the history of the Irish state.
  • He was a leader of the 1916 Rising, President for 14 years and Taoiseach for 21 years.
• Dutch industrialist Dr. Tiede Herrema is kidnapped.
• Ernest Blythe, Gaelic scholar, managing director of the Abbey theatre and former Minister for Finance dies.
• Internment without trial ends in Northern Ireland.
• The All-Ireland Champions are Kilkenny (hurling) and Kerry (football)

1976

• Presidential resignation
  • Cearbhall Ó Dálaigh resigns as President following comments by Defence Minister, Paddy Donegan.
  • Dr. Patrick Hillery becomes the sixth President of Ireland.
• The Irish inflation rate is the highest in the EEC.
• Former Taoiseach, John A. Costello, dies aged 84.
• Princess Grace buys her ancestral home in County Mayo.
• Finance Minister, Richie Ryan, introduces the toughest budget since WWII.
• The newly appointed British Ambassador to Ireland, Christopher Ewart-Biggs, is killed in a bomb attack.
• The Paece People Movement is inaugurated in Belfast.
  • Its founders, Máiréad Corrigan and Betty Wilson win the Nobel Peace Prize.
• The All-Ireland Champions are Cork (hurling) and Dublin (football)

1977

• 'The Brendan Voyage' comes to an end after sailing 6,000 miles to Canada.
• 1977 General Election
  • Fianna Fáil led by Jack Lynch win a 20 seat overall majority.
  • Garret FitzGerald is the new leader of Fine Gael.
• The Workers Party is founded after a split in Sinn Féin.
• A Belfast-man, Alex Higgins, wins the World Professional Snooker Championship.
• The All-Ireland Champions are Cork (hurling) and Dublin (football)

1978

• An Irish Army battalion joins a UN Peacekeeping Force in Lebanon.
• An Taoiseach, Jack Lynch, addresses the United Nations General Assembly.
• David Cook is elected Belfasts first non-Unionist mayor.
• Ireland's second television channel, RTÉ 2, begins broadcasting.
• Former President of Ireland Cearbhall Ó Dálaigh dies.
• Citizens clash with Dublin Corporation over plans to build offices on the site of Dublin's original Viking settlement at Wood Quay.
• Proposals to build a nuclear power station in Wexford are dropped.
• The All-Ireland Champions are Cork (hurling) and Kerry (football)

1979

• The census reveals that the population is 3,365,000.
• Euorpean Parliament elections are held for the first time.
  • 18 seats are filled in Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland.
  • John Hume and Ian Paisley are both elected.
• Ireland joins the European Monetary System.
• Pope John Paul II visits Ireland on a three day visit.
  • 1,000,000 attend an open-air mass in the Phoenix Park.
• 1979 is the worst tear ever for industrial disputes in Ireland.
• 50 people die when an explosion destroys the oil tanker 'Betelguese'.
• Lord Mountbatten is killed when his boat is blown up by the IRA.
• Jack Lynch retires as Taoiseach and Fianna Fáil leader.
  • Charles Haughey is his replacement.
• The All-Ireland Champions are Kilkenny (hurling) and Kerry (football)

1980

• Charles Haughey, in a television broadcast, warns the Irish people about the state of Ireland's finances.
• 700,000 PAYE workers join in a one-day protest.
• Johnny Logan wins the Eurovision Song Contest for Ireland.
• At Derrynaflan an eighth century chalice is discovered.
• 17 people die when the Dublin-Cork train is derailed at Buttevant, Co. Cork.
• The death toll during 'the troubles' reaches 2,000.
• [[Charles Haughey] and Margaret Thatcher establish the Anglo-Irish Committee.
• A hunger strike begins by republican prisoners in Northern Ireland's prisons.
• The All-Ireland Champions are Galway (hurling) and Kerry (football)

1981-1990

1981

• The census shows that the population is 3,443,405.
• 1981 General Election
  • Fine Gael and Labour form a coalition government.
  • Garret FitzGerald becomes Taoiseach for the first time.
• 48 young people are killed in a fire at the Stardust Ballroom.
• The IRA hunger-strike at the Maze Prison lasts for seven months.
  • Bobby Sands (MP for South Fermanagh), Kieran Doherty (TD for Cavan-Monaghan) and and 8 others die.
• An Aer Lingus plane is hi-jacked on its way from Dublin to London.
• The All-Ireland Champions are Offaly (hurling) and Kerry (football)

1982

• The Fine Gael-Labour coalition collapses after the introduction of a controversial budget.
• 1982 General Election (February)
  • Charles Haughey becomes Taoiseach leading a Fianna Fáil government.
• Corporal punishment is banned in schools in the Republic of Ireland.
• Ireland win the Rugby Union Triple Crown.
• 1982 General Election (November)
  • Garret FitzGerald becomes Taoiseach for the second time.
  • He leads another Fine Gael-Labour coalition government.
• The All-Ireland Champions are Kilkenny (hurling) and Offaly (football)

1983

• The 'Bugging Scandal'
  • It is revealed that the last Fianna Fáil government tapped the phones of two journalists.
• The New Ireland Forum is set up by an Taoiseach, Garret FitzGerald.
• Dr. Patrick Hillery is elected un-opposed for a second term as President of Ireland.
• The champion racehorse, Shergar, is kidnapped from a County Kildare stud.
• Gerry Adams becomed the new President of Sinn Féin.
• Nine prisoners escape from the Maze prison.
• Eight people are killed when two trains crash outside Kildare.
• The country's first motorway is opened.
• Abortion Referendum
  • An anti-abortion amendment is made to the Irish Constitution.
• Eamon Coughlan wins the 5,000 metres race at the World Championships.
• The All-Ireland Champions are Kilkenny (hurling) and Dublin (football)

1984

• US President Ronald Reagan visits Ireland this year.
• The DART (light rail system) opens in Dublin.
• Singer Luke Kelly of the Dubliners dies aged 43.
• The IRA bomb the Conservative Party conference in Brighton hoping to assassinate the British Cabinet.
• The New Ireland Forum report is published.
  • Three solutions are proposed for solving the problems in the North.
  • British Prime Minister, Margaret Thatcher rejects all three proposals.
• An Post and Telecom Éireann are set up.
• The Irish Shipping Company is liquidated.
• John Tracey wins a silver medal at the Olympic Games in Los Angeles.
• The GAA celebrates its Centenary Year
  • The hurling final is won by Cork in Semple Stadium, Thurles.
  • The All-Ireland Football Champions are Kerry.

1985

• The Anglo-Irish Agreement is signed between the governments of Britain and Ireland.
• Schoolchildren claim to have seen a 'moving' statue of the Virgin Mary at Asdee, and another one at Ballinspittle.
• Breakaway Fianna Fáil TD's leave the party.
• An Air India Boeing 747 crashes into the sea off the Irish coast. All passengers are killed.
• Knock International Airport receives its first commercial flight.
• Irish musician Bob Geldof organises Live Aid to raise money for famine victims in Ethiopia.
• Barry McGuigan becomes the WBA featherweight champion of the world.
• The All-Ireland Champions are Offaly (hurling) and Kerry (football)

1986

• The census reveals that the population is 3,541,000.
• Desmond O'Malley and Mary Harney found the Progressive Democrats.
• Phil Lynnot, lead singer with Thin Lizzy, dies aged 35.
• CIÉ is dissolved into three separate bus, rail and Dublin Bus services.
• Jack Charlton becomes the new manager of the country's soccer team.
• Hurricane Charlie reaches Ireland during this summer causing unprecedented damage.
• Divorce Referendum
  • The people of Ireland reject an amendment to allow divorce.
• The All-Ireland Champions are Cork (hurling) and Kerry (football)

1987

• The government collapses when the Labour Party withdraws from the coalition
• 1987 General Election
  • Charles Haughey becomes Taoiseach of a Fianna Fáil government.
  • Alan Dukes becomes the new leader of Fine Gael.
• Ireland's national debt heads towards £260 billion.
  • The government introduces major cutbacks.
• Stephen Roche wins cycling's World Championship, Tour de France and Giro d'Italia.
• The All-Ireland Champions are Galway (hurling) and Meath (football)

1988

• John Hume holds talks with Gerry Adams of Sinn Féin.
• A Loyalist gunman kills three people at an IRA funeral.
• The government receives £500 million in a tax amnesty.
• Dublin celebrates its Millennium.
• Ian Paisley interrupts Pope John Paul II during his speech at the European Parliament.
• The Republic of Ireland soccer team beat England 1-0 in the European Championships.
• The All-Ireland Champions are Galway (hurling) and Meath (football)

1989

• 1989 General Election
  • Fianna Fáil are forced to form a coalition government with the Progressive Democrats.
  • Charles Haughey becomes Taoiseach.
  • Desmond O'Malley takes over the Industry and Commerce portfolio.
• Mikhail Gorbachev holds a summit meeting with the Taoiseach at Shannon Airport.
• Century Radio, Ireland's first independent national radio station, is launched.
• The All-Ireland Champions are Tipperary (hurling) and Cork (football)

1990

• 1990 Presidential Election
  • The Labour candidate, Mary Robinson, is elected the first female President of Ireland.
  • She is the first non-Fianna Fáil candidate to be elected President.
  • She beats Brian Lenihan and Austin Currie.
• The Republic of Ireland soccer team reach the World Cup Finals for the first time.
  • They lose 1-0 to Italy in the quarter-finals.
• John Bruton becomes the new leader of Fine Gael.
• Beirut hostage Brian Keenan is released after 1,597 days in captivity.
• The All-Ireland Champions are Cork in both hurling and football.

1991-2000

1991

• The census shows that the population is 3,526,000.
• An investigation is launched into fraud in the beef industry.
• Ireland adopts the Maastricht Treaty and joins the European Monetary Union.
• Charles Haughey survives a Fianna Fáil leadership challenge from Albert Reynolds.
• The Birmingham Six are released after 16 years wrongful imprisonment.
• Eddie Jordan sets up his own Formula 1 racing team.
• The All-Ireland Champions are Tipperary (hurling) and Down (football)

1992

• Unemployment reaches its peak in Ireland - 300,000 people are now out of work.
• Charles Haughey resigns as Taoiseach
  • He is implicated in the 1982 phone tapping of two journalists.
  • Albert Reynolds becomes the new Taoiseach and Fianna Fáil leader.
• 1992 General Election
  • The result is inconclusive.
• The High Court prevents a 14 year old girl from travelling to Britain for an abortion.
• Ireland wins the Eurovision Song Contest when Linda Martin sings Why Me.
• The Olympic Games are held in Barcelona.
  • Michael Carruth wins Ireland's first gold Olympic medal for 36 years.
  • Wayne McCullough wins a silver medal for Ireland.
• Bishop Eamon Casey resigns after it is revealed he fathered a son.
• The All-Ireland Champions are Kilkenny (hurling) and Donegal (football)

1993

• Fianna Fáil and Labour form the new government.
• The Downing Street Declaration is signed between the Irish and British governments.
• Irelands wins the Eurovision Song Contest when Niamh Kavanagh sings In Your Eyes.
• Desmond O'Malley retires as leader of the Progressive Democrats.
  • He is replaced by Mary Harney.
• Gerry Adams and John Hume begin diplomatic negotiations.
• Homosexuality is decriminalised in the Republic of Ireland.
• The All-Ireland Champions are Kilkenny (hurling) and Derry (football)

1994

• The IRA call a ceasefire following the progress in the peace-process.
• The Labour Party withdraws its support from the government.
  • Fine Gael, Labour and Democratic Left form a Rainbow Coalition
  • John Bruton becomes the Taoiseach.
• Bertie Ahern becomes the sixth leader of Fianna Fáil.
• Irelands wins the Eurovision Song Contest for a record third time in a row.
• The Republic of Ireland reach the last 16 in the World Cup Finals in the U.S.
• The All-Ireland Champions are Offaly (hurling) and Down (football)

1995

• Ireland play England at Lansdowne Road. The match ends prematurely when England fans start rioting.
• Séamus Heaney is awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature.
• The Celtic Tiger is born.
• U.S President Bill Clinton visits Ireland for the first time.
• In the closest referendum result ever Ireland votes for divorce by 50.3%.
• The All-Ireland Champions are Clare (hurling) and Dublin (football)

1996

• The census reveals the population of the Republic is 3,621,000.
• Ireland holds the Presidency of the European Union for the latter half of the year.
• Michelle Smith wins 3 Gold Medals for Ireland at the Olympic Games in Atlanta.
• Teilifís na Gaeilge starts broadcasting.
• George Mitchelll tries to move the stalled peace-process in the North.
• The IRA ends its ceasefire by exploding a massive bomb in London.
• Ireland wins the Eurovision Song Contest for the fourth time in five years.
• Journalist Veronica Guerin is murdered by a drugs gang.
• The All-Ireland Champions are Wexford (hurling) and Meath (football)

1997

• Mary McAleese is elected the eighth President of Ireland.
• Bertie Ahern becomes Taoiseach of a Fianna Fáil/Progressive Democrats coalition government.
• Radio Ireland begins on St. Patricks Day.
• Refugees and asylum seekers arrive in Ireland in record numbers.
• The IRA calls a new ceasefire.
• Mary Robinson become UN High Commissioner for Human Rights.
• Ray Burke resigns as Minister for Foreign Affairs amid corruption allegations.
• The All-Ireland Champions are Clare (hurling) and Kilkenny (football)

1998

• The Good Friday Agreement is adopted by people in Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland.
  • Elections are held for the Northern Ireland Assembly
  • John Hume and David Trimble win the Nobel Paece Prize.
• Actor and comedian Dermot Morgan dies suddenly in London.
• The Irish punt is traded for the last time as the Euro is launched.
• Several people are killed when a bomb explodes in Omagh, County Tyrone.
• TV3 begins broadcasting for the first time.
• Ireland's economy booms this year.
• The Tour de France comes to Ireland this year.
• Irish swimmer, Michelle de Bruin, is banned form swimming for four years.
• US President, Bill Clinton, visits Ireland.
• The All-Ireland Champions are Offaly (hurling) and Galway (football)

1999

• After 37 years, Gay Byrne retires as host of the Late Late Show.
• Former Taoiseach, Jack Lynch dies in Dublin aged 82.
• Two judges, Hugh O'Flaherty and Cyril Kelly, resign following the early release of Phillip Sheedy.
• Terry Keane reveals her affair with former Taoiseach Charles Haughey.
• Northern Ireland gets devolution.
  • David Trimble and Seamus Mallon become First and Deputy-First Ministers.
• Former Eurovision winner Dana is elected to the European Parliament.
• Ireland adopts the Euro as currency.
• The All-Ireland Champions are Cork (hurling) and Meath (football)

2000

• The Northern Ireland Assembly is suspended but later resumes its functions
• US President Bill Clinton makes his third visit to Ireland.
• The All-Ireland Champions are Kilkenny (hurling) and Kerry (football)
• As the 20th Century draws to a close Ireland celebrates the dawn of the third Millennium.