1996 in Ireland
Encyclopedia
Events
- January 24 - The international body proposes six principles of democracy and non-violence ('the Mitchell principles') as conditions for entry to all-party talks in Northern IrelandNorthern IrelandNorthern Ireland is one of the four countries of the United Kingdom. Situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland, it shares a border with the Republic of Ireland to the south and west...
. - February 5 - The FAIFootball Association of IrelandThe Football Association of Ireland is the governing body for the sport of association football in the Republic of Ireland. It should not to be confused with the Irish Football Association , which is the organising body for the sport in Northern Ireland.For the full history, statistics and records...
appoint Mick McCarthyMick McCarthyMichael Joseph "Mick" McCarthy is an English-born former Irish international footballer who is currently the manager of Premier League club Wolverhampton Wanderers, where he has been in charge since July 2006....
as the Republic of Ireland national football teamRepublic of Ireland national football teamThe Republic of Ireland national football team represents Ireland in association football. It is run by the Football Association of Ireland and currently plays home fixtures at Aviva Stadium in Dublin, which opened in May 2010....
s manager. - February 9 - The IRAIrish Republican ArmyThe Irish Republican Army was an Irish republican revolutionary military organisation. It was descended from the Irish Volunteers, an organisation established on 25 November 1913 that staged the Easter Rising in April 1916...
ends its ceasefire by exploding a huge bomb at Canary Wharf in London. - March 11 - The Hepatitis Tribunal opens in Dublin.
- May 18 - IrelandRepublic of IrelandIreland , described as the Republic of Ireland , is a sovereign state in Europe occupying approximately five-sixths of the island of the same name. Its capital is Dublin. Ireland, which had a population of 4.58 million in 2011, is a constitutional republic governed as a parliamentary democracy,...
wins the Eurovision Song ContestEurovision Song ContestThe Eurovision Song Contest is an annual competition held among active member countries of the European Broadcasting Union .Each member country submits a song to be performed on live television and then casts votes for the other countries' songs to determine the most popular song in the competition...
for the seventh time with the song The Voice. - June 6 - President Mary RobinsonMary RobinsonMary Therese Winifred Robinson served as the seventh, and first female, President of Ireland from 1990 to 1997, and the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, from 1997 to 2002. She first rose to prominence as an academic, barrister, campaigner and member of the Irish Senate...
meets Elizabeth II at Buckingham PalaceBuckingham PalaceBuckingham Palace, in London, is the principal residence and office of the British monarch. Located in the City of Westminster, the palace is a setting for state occasions and royal hospitality...
, London. - June 7 - Detective Garda Jerry McCabeJerry McCabeDetective Garda Jerry McCabe was a member of the Garda Síochána, the police force of the Republic of Ireland. McCabe was murdered in Adare, County Limerick on 7 June 1996, by members of the paramilitary group, the Provisional IRA, during the attempted robbery of a post office van.-Early...
is shot dead by the IRAIrish Republican ArmyThe Irish Republican Army was an Irish republican revolutionary military organisation. It was descended from the Irish Volunteers, an organisation established on 25 November 1913 that staged the Easter Rising in April 1916...
in Adare, County LimerickCounty LimerickIt is thought that humans had established themselves in the Lough Gur area of the county as early as 3000 BC, while megalithic remains found at Duntryleague date back further to 3500 BC...
. - June 17 - Fifteenth Amendment of the Constitution of IrelandFifteenth Amendment of the Constitution of IrelandThe Fifteenth Amendment of the Constitution of Ireland repealed the constitutional prohibition of divorce. It was effected by the Fifteenth Amendment of the Constitution Act, 1995, which was approved by referendum on 24 November 1995 and signed into law on 17 June 1996.-Changes to the...
signed into law, repealing the absolute constitutional prohibition of divorceDivorceDivorce is the final termination of a marital union, canceling the legal duties and responsibilities of marriage and dissolving the bonds of matrimony between the parties...
under terms of the Fifteenth Amendment of the Constitution Act, 1995. - June 26 - Crime reporter Veronica GuerinVeronica GuerinVeronica Guerin was an Irish crime reporter who was murdered on 26 June 1996 by drug lords, an event which, alongside the murder of Detective Garda Jerry McCabe three weeks earlier, helped establish the Criminal Assets Bureau....
is shot in her car in Dublin. - September 25 - Last Magdalene asylum in the Republic closed.
- October 31 - Ireland's first Irish languageIrish languageIrish , also known as Irish Gaelic, is a Goidelic language of the Indo-European language family, originating in Ireland and historically spoken by the Irish people. Irish is now spoken as a first language by a minority of Irish people, as well as being a second language of a larger proportion of...
television station, Teilifís na Gaeilge (TnaG)TG4TG4 is a public service broadcaster for Irish language speakers. The channel has been on-air since 31 October 1996 in the Republic of Ireland and since April 2005 in Northern Ireland....
launched. - November 6 - The film Michael CollinsMichael Collins (film)Michael Collins is a 1996 historical biopic written and directed by Neil Jordan and starring Liam Neeson as General Michael Collins, the Irish patriot and revolutionary who died in the Irish Civil War. It won the Golden Lion at the Venice Film Festival....
is shown in CorkCork (city)Cork is the second largest city in the Republic of Ireland and the island of Ireland's third most populous city. It is the principal city and administrative centre of County Cork and the largest city in the province of Munster. Cork has a population of 119,418, while the addition of the suburban...
and Dublin. - November 25 - Michael O'HehirMichael O'HehirMichael James Hehir was an Irish hurling, football and horse racing commentator and journalist. Between 1938 and 1985 his enthusiasm and a memorable turn of phrase endeared him to many...
, broadcaster and sports commentator, dies aged 76. - November 29 - It is revealed that Dunnes Stores paid £208,000 for an extension to Minister Michael LowryMichael LowryMichael Lowry is an Irish politician. He is currently a Teachta Dála for the Tipperary North constituency and continues to enjoy high popularity in his constituency despite being the subject of a criminal investigation resulting from various scandals while in office.-Local government and...
's house. - December 13 - On the opening day of a Dublin summit, EU leaders achieve a breakthrough in the argument over preparations for a single European currency.
Gaelic football
- Meath GAAMeath GAAThe Meath County Board of the Gaelic Athletic Association or Meath GAA is one of the 32 county boards of the GAA in Ireland, and is responsible for Gaelic games in County Meath, as well as for Meath inter-county teams.- Pre-1960s :...
beat MayoMayo GAAThe Mayo County Board of the Gaelic Athletic Association or Mayo GAA is one of the 32 county boards of the GAA in Ireland, and is responsible for Gaelic games in County Mayo and the Mayo inter-county teams.-History:...
in the All-Ireland Senior Football ChampionshipAll-Ireland Senior Football ChampionshipThe All-Ireland Senior Football Championship, the premier competition in Gaelic football, is a series of games organised by the Gaelic Athletic Association and played during the summer and early autumn...
final, after a replay, to win their first title since 1988.
Golf
- Murphy's Irish OpenIrish Open (golf)The Irish Open is a professional golf tournament on the European Tour, currently played at the end of July or early August each year. The event has been played in many locations on the island; its current home is the Killarney Golf & Fishing Club in County Kerry in southwestern Ireland...
is won by Colin MontgomerieColin MontgomerieColin Stuart Montgomerie, OBE is a Scottish professional golfer, often referred to by one of his nicknames 'Monty'. He has had one of the finest careers in European Tour history, having won a record eight Order of Merit titles, including a streak of seven consecutively from 1993 to 1999, and 31...
(ScotlandScotlandScotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
).
Hurling
- Wexford GAAWexford GAAThe Wexford County Board of the Gaelic Athletic Association or Wexford GAA is one of the 32 county boards of the GAA in Ireland, and is responsible for Gaelic games in County Wexford. The county board is also responsible for the Wexford inter-county teams.-History:Hurling has been played in...
beat Limerick GAALimerick GAAThe Limerick County Board of the Gaelic Athletic Association or Limerick GAA is one of the 32 county boards of the GAA in Ireland, and is responsible for Gaelic games in County Limerick...
in the All-Ireland Senior Hurling ChampionshipAll-Ireland Senior Hurling ChampionshipThe GAA Hurling All-Ireland Senior Championship is an annual hurling competition organised by the Gaelic Athletic Association since 1887 for the top hurling teams in Ireland....
final. It is their first senior All-Ireland since 1968.
Olympics
- Swimmer Michelle SmithMichelle SmithMichelle Smith is a retired Irish swimmer and practising Irish barrister. She was a triple gold medallist at the 1996 Summer Olympics in Atlanta, for the 400 m individual medley, 400 m freestyle and 200 m individual medley...
wins three gold medals and one bronze in the Atlanta Olympics.
Soccer
- St Patrick's Athletic won the League of IrelandLeague of IrelandThe League of Ireland is the national association football league of the Republic of Ireland. Founded in 1921, as a league of eight clubs, it has expanded over time into a two-tiered league of 22 clubs. It is currently split into the League of Ireland Premier Division and the League of Ireland...
- Shelbourne won the FAI CupFAI CupThe Football Association of Ireland Challenge Cup, known as the FAI Ford Cup for sponsorship reasons, is a knock-out association football competition contested annually by teams from the Republic of Ireland...
January to June
- 8 January - Joyce McCartan, community activist.
- 12 February - James Camlin Beckett, historian.
- 18 February - Cathal Ó SándairCathal Ó Sándair-Biography:Born in Weston-super-Mare, England to an English father and Irish mother, his family moved to Ireland when he was a child. While still a school boy, Ó Sandair published a story in the first issue of the magazine Gael Óg in 1938. His first novel appeared in 1943 and featured Réics Carló,...
, writer (b.19221922 in Ireland-Events:*January 2 - The first edition of the newspaper Poblacht na hÉireann is published. It is established by republican opponents to the Anglo-Irish Treaty who declare their fealty to the Irish Republic....
). - 9 March - Ollie WalshOllie WalshPatrick Oliver Walsh , better known as Ollie Walsh, was an Irish sportsperson. He played hurling with the Kilkenny senior inter-county team from 1956 until 1972 and subsequently served as manager of the team from 1990 until 1995...
, KilkennyKilkenny GAAThe Kilkenny County Board of the Gaelic Athletic Association is one of the 32 county boards of the GAA in Ireland and is responsible for Gaelic Games in County Kilkenny. The county board has its head office and main grounds at Nowlan Park and is also responsible for Kilkenny inter-county teams...
hurler (b.19371937 in Ireland-Events:*January 22 - The National Council of Women of Ireland is agitating to form a women's police force.*April 8 - All political parties and Church leaders gather at the Mansion House, Dublin to pay tribute to the Chief Rabbi, Dr. Herzog, who is leaving to take up the new post of Chief Rabbi of...
). - 5 April - Gerard L'Estange, member of the Seanad, Fine GaelFine GaelFine Gael is a centre-right to centrist political party in the Republic of Ireland. It is the single largest party in Ireland in the Oireachtas, in local government, and in terms of Members of the European Parliament. The party has a membership of over 35,000...
TDTeachta DálaA Teachta Dála , usually abbreviated as TD in English, is a member of Dáil Éireann, the lower house of the Oireachtas . It is the equivalent of terms such as "Member of Parliament" or "deputy" used in other states. The official translation of the term is "Deputy to the Dáil", though a more literal...
. - 22 April - Molly KeaneMolly KeaneMolly Keane was an Irish novelist and playwright . She grew up at Ballyrankin in County Wexford and was educated at a boarding school in Bray, County Wicklow . She married Bobby Keane, one of a Waterford squirearchical family in 1938 and had two daughters...
, novelist and playwright (b.19041904 in Ireland-Events:*26 April - King Edward VII and Queen Alexandra arrive at Kingstown. The royal couple attend the Punchestown Races for the day.*2 May - The King and Queen travel to Waterford where they stay at Lismore Castle, home of the Duke of Devonshire....
). - 24 April - Tomás de BhaldraitheTomás de BhaldraitheTomás de Bhaldraithe was an Irish language scholar and lexicographer born Thomas MacDonagh Waldron in Limerick. He moved to Dublin with his family at the age of five. He was named after Thomas MacDonagh one of the signatories of the Proclamation of the Irish Republic, who had been executed after...
, Irish language scholar and lexicographer (b.19161916 in Ireland-Events:*January 14 - Michael Collins quits his job in London and returns to Ireland.*February 14 - John Redmond is re-elected Chairman of the Irish Parliamentary Party in Dublin.*February 29 - The week long Derry Feis opens in the city....
). - 9 June - Patrick FlynnPatrick Flynn (Canadian politician)Patrick Joseph Flynn was an Irish-born Canadian politician. He served as a Liberal Member of Parliament representing Kitchener, Ontario from 1974 until 1979. His younger brother Dennis Flynn was also active in Canadian politics.Flynn was born Patrick Joseph "Joe" O'Flynn in Rathcormac, County...
, Liberal Party of CanadaLiberal Party of CanadaThe Liberal Party of Canada , colloquially known as the Grits, is the oldest federally registered party in Canada. In the conventional political spectrum, the party sits between the centre and the centre-left. Historically the Liberal Party has positioned itself to the left of the Conservative...
MPMember of ParliamentA Member of Parliament is a representative of the voters to a :parliament. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, the term applies specifically to members of the lower house, as upper houses often have a different title, such as senate, and thus also have different titles for its members,...
(b.19211921 in Ireland-Events:*February 5 - In Brighton, England, the widow of Charles Stewart Parnell, Katherine Parnell, dies aged 76.*March 5 - Irish War of Independence: Clonbanin Ambush: Irish Republican Army kills Brigadier General Cumming....
). - 10 June - Peter Raftery, diplomat.
- 26 June - Veronica GuerinVeronica GuerinVeronica Guerin was an Irish crime reporter who was murdered on 26 June 1996 by drug lords, an event which, alongside the murder of Detective Garda Jerry McCabe three weeks earlier, helped establish the Criminal Assets Bureau....
, journalist, murdered by drug dealers (b.19581958 in Ireland-Events:*6 February - Dublin's Liam Whelan is among the dead when a plane carrying the Manchester United team crashes in Munich.*18 March - Taoiseach Éamon de Valera says he would be willing to have talks with the government of Northern Ireland on wider economic co-operation.*20 March - Work begins...
).
July to December
- 9 July - Christopher CassonChristopher CassonChristopher Casson was an English-born actor who became a citizen of Ireland in 1946. His work included stage, screen, radio and television roles...
, actor. - 16 July - Joe Dunn, Roman Catholic priestPriestA priest is a person authorized to perform the sacred rites of a religion, especially as a mediatory agent between humans and deities. They also have the authority or power to administer religious rites; in particular, rites of sacrifice to, and propitiation of, a deity or deities...
and broadcaster. - 6 August - Havelock NelsonHavelock NelsonHavelock Nelson was a composer and conductor. He joined the BBC in Belfast in 1947, having been educated at Trinity College Dublin and the Royal Irish Academy of Music. He conducted the BBC Northern Ireland Orchestra, also the Studio Symphony Orchestra and the Ulster Singers...
, composer and pianist (b.19171917 in Ireland-Events:*3 February - Count George Noble Plunkett, father of Joseph Mary Plunkett, wins Roscommon North on abstentionist Sinn Féin platform.*7 March - David Lloyd-George announces that Britain is ready to confer self-government to the parts of Ireland that wants it. The north-eastern part will not...
). - 18 August - Charles MitchelCharles MitchelCharles Gerald Mitchel was an Irish actor and broadcaster best known as a newsreader for the RTÉ News from 1961 until 1984. He was the first person to read the news on Telefís Éireann.-Early life:...
, actor and television newsreader, read the first Telefís ÉireannRTÉ OneRTÉ One is the flagship television channel of Raidió Teilifís Éireann , and it is the most popular and most watched television channel in Ireland. It was launched as Telefís Éireann on 31 December 1961, it was renamed RTÉ Television in 1966, and it was renamed as RTÉ One upon the launch of RTÉ...
news bulletin in 1961 (b.19201920 in Ireland-Events:*27 February - The text of the Home Rule Bill to be introduced in the British House of Commons is published. It provides for the establishment of a 128-member parliament in Dublin and a 52-member parliament in Belfast....
). - 25 August - Erskine B. Childers, diplomat, son of President ChildersErskine Hamilton ChildersErskine Hamilton Childers served as the fourth President of Ireland from 1973 until his death in 1974. He was a Teachta Dála from 1938 until 1973...
. - August - Kathleen MillsKathleen Mills"Kay" Mills-Hill was an Irish sportsperson who played senior camogie with Dublin from 1941 until 1961. She is regarded as one of the greatest players of all-time, winning a record 15 All Ireland Senior Medals "that no other player in Camogie, hurling or football has equalled."-Early & private...
, camogie player (b.19231923 in Ireland-Events:*January 13 - Beechpark, the residence of President W. T. Cosgrave in Dublin, is set on fire.*January 10 - An order is signed creating the Revenue Commissioners....
). - 11 November - Liam NaughtenLiam NaughtenLiam Naughten was an Irish Fine Gael politician, who was a TD for the constituency of Roscommon from 1982 to 1989, and also served as a Senator....
, Fine Gael politician, Cathaoirleach of Seanad ÉireannCathaoirleachCathaoirleach is the title of the chairman of Seanad Éireann, the sixty-member upper house of the Oireachtas, the legislature of Ireland. The current Cathaoirleach is Senator Paddy Burke...
from 1995 until his death. (b.19441944 in Ireland-Events:*January 26 - W. T. Cosgrave officially resigns as leader of no Fine Gael.*March 10 - The United States alleges that Ireland's neutrality is operating in favour of the Axis Powers....
). - 24 November - Michael O'HehirMichael O'HehirMichael James Hehir was an Irish hurling, football and horse racing commentator and journalist. Between 1938 and 1985 his enthusiasm and a memorable turn of phrase endeared him to many...
, sports commentator and journalist (b.19201920 in Ireland-Events:*27 February - The text of the Home Rule Bill to be introduced in the British House of Commons is published. It provides for the establishment of a 128-member parliament in Dublin and a 52-member parliament in Belfast....
).
Full date unknown
- Sean 'ac DonnchaSean 'ac DonnchaSeán 'ac Dhonncha Seán 'ac Dhonncha Seán 'ac Dhonncha (alternatively, Seán 'ac onna (1919–1996) was a traditional Irish singer.Born in Carna, Conamara, Co. Galway, he won a scholarship to Coláiste Éinde and qualified as a primary teacher in 1940. He taught in Co. Cavan from 1947, and later spent...
, traditional singer (b.19191919 in Ireland-Events:*21 January - Dáil Éireann meets for the very first time in the Round Room of the Mansion House, Dublin. An independent Irish Republic is declared. In the first shots of the Anglo-Irish War, two Royal Irish Constabulary men are killed in Tipperary....
). - Erskine ChildersErskine Childers (UN)Erskine Barton Childers was a writer, BBC correspondent and United Nations senior civil servant. He was the eldest son of Erskine Hamilton Childers and Ruth Ellen Dow Childers...
, writer and broadcaster (b.19291929 in Ireland-Events:*January 17 - All cats from abroad, except Great Britain, are to be kept in quarantine for a period of six months to avoid rabies.*February 8 - A Belfast court sentences Fianna Fáil leader, Éamon de Valera, to one month in jail for illegally entering County Armagh.*February 20 -...
).