2003 in Ireland
Encyclopedia
Events
- January 21 – The Spire of DublinSpire of DublinThe Spire of Dublin, officially titled the Monument of Light is a large, stainless steel, pin-like monument in height, located on the site of the former Nelson's Pillar on O'Connell Street in Dublin, Ireland.-Details:...
on O'Connell StreetO'Connell StreetO'Connell Street is Dublin's main thoroughfare. It measures 49 m in width at its southern end, 46 m at the north, and is 500 m in length...
is officially completed. - February 16 – 100,000 people in Dublin, and 30,000 in BelfastBelfastBelfast is the capital of and largest city in Northern Ireland. By population, it is the 14th biggest city in the United Kingdom and second biggest on the island of Ireland . It is the seat of the devolved government and legislative Northern Ireland Assembly...
march to express their opposition to the imminent invasion of IraqIraqIraq ; officially the Republic of Iraq is a country in Western Asia spanning most of the northwestern end of the Zagros mountain range, the eastern part of the Syrian Desert and the northern part of the Arabian Desert....
. - April 7 – President BushGeorge W. BushGeorge Walker Bush is an American politician who served as the 43rd President of the United States, from 2001 to 2009. Before that, he was the 46th Governor of Texas, having served from 1995 to 2000....
of the United States arrives 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...
for discussuions with British Prime Minister, Tony BlairTony BlairAnthony Charles Lynton Blair is a former British Labour Party politician who served as the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 2 May 1997 to 27 June 2007. He was the Member of Parliament for Sedgefield from 1983 to 2007 and Leader of the Labour Party from 1994 to 2007...
. He also meets TaoiseachTaoiseachThe Taoiseach is the head of government or prime minister of Ireland. The Taoiseach is appointed by the President upon the nomination of Dáil Éireann, the lower house of the Oireachtas , and must, in order to remain in office, retain the support of a majority in the Dáil.The current Taoiseach is...
Bertie AhernBertie AhernPatrick Bartholomew "Bertie" Ahern is a former Irish politician who served as Taoiseach of Ireland from 26 June 1997 to 7 May 2008....
, and the leaders of the pro-agreementBelfast AgreementThe Good Friday Agreement or Belfast Agreement , sometimes called the Stormont Agreement, was a major political development in the Northern Ireland peace process...
parties. - June 21 – The 2003 Special Olympics World Summer Games2003 Special Olympics World Summer GamesThe 2003 Special Olympics World Summer Games were hosted in Ireland, with participants staying in various host towns around the island in the lead up to the games before moving to Dublin for the events. Events were held from 21 June-29 June 2003 at many venues including Morton Stadium, the Royal...
open in Croke ParkCroke ParkCroke Park in Dublin is the principal stadium and headquarters of the Gaelic Athletic Association , Ireland's biggest sporting organisation...
, Dublin. - August 31 – The remains of BelfastBelfastBelfast is the capital of and largest city in Northern Ireland. By population, it is the 14th biggest city in the United Kingdom and second biggest on the island of Ireland . It is the seat of the devolved government and legislative Northern Ireland Assembly...
mother Jean McConvilleJean McConvilleJean McConville was a woman from Northern Ireland who, in 1972, was abducted and killed by the Provisional IRA and secretly buried on a beach in the Republic of Ireland. The IRA subsequently claimed that she had been passing information on republican activities to British security forces...
, are found 31 years after she was abducted and murdered by the Provisional IRAProvisional Irish Republican ArmyThe Provisional Irish Republican Army is an Irish republican paramilitary organisation whose aim was to remove Northern Ireland from the United Kingdom and bring about a socialist republic within a united Ireland by force of arms and political persuasion...
, who accused her of being a British armyBritish ArmyThe British Army is the land warfare branch of Her Majesty's Armed Forces in the United Kingdom. It came into being with the unification of the Kingdom of England and Scotland into the Kingdom of Great Britain in 1707. The new British Army incorporated Regiments that had already existed in England...
agent. - September 15 – For the first time the All-Ireland Football FinalAll-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...
is contested by two teams from the same province. TyroneTyroneThe name Tyrone can refer to:*County Tyrone, a county in Northern Ireland, roughly corresponding to the ancient kingdom of Tír Eogain*An Earl of Tyrone*A small steam train which runs between Bushmills and the Giant's Causeway in Northern Ireland-Places:...
are victorious over ArmaghArmaghArmagh is a large settlement in Northern Ireland, and the county town of County Armagh. It is a site of historical importance for both Celtic paganism and Christianity and is the seat, for both the Roman Catholic Church and the Church of Ireland, of the Archbishop of Armagh...
in the first All-UlsterUlsterUlster is one of the four provinces of Ireland, located in the north of the island. In ancient Ireland, it was one of the fifths ruled by a "king of over-kings" . Following the Norman invasion of Ireland, the ancient kingdoms were shired into a number of counties for administrative and judicial...
Final. - November 27 – The people of Northern Ireland go to the polls. The Democratic Unionist PartyDemocratic Unionist PartyThe Democratic Unionist Party is the larger of the two main unionist political parties in Northern Ireland. Founded by Ian Paisley and currently led by Peter Robinson, it is currently the largest party in the Northern Ireland Assembly and the fourth-largest party in the House of Commons of the...
and Sinn FéinSinn FéinSinn Féin is a left wing, Irish republican political party in Ireland. The name is Irish for "ourselves" or "we ourselves", although it is frequently mistranslated as "ourselves alone". Originating in the Sinn Féin organisation founded in 1905 by Arthur Griffith, it took its current form in 1970...
make massive gains at the expense of more moderate unionist and nationalist parties.
Gaelic games
- All-Ireland Hurling FinalAll-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....
– Kilkenny 1–14, Cork 1–11. - All-Ireland Football FinalAll-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...
– Tyrone 0–12, Armagh 0–9.
Rugby Union
- Rugby World Cup – IrelandIreland national rugby union teamThe Ireland national rugby union team represents the island of Ireland in rugby union. The team competes annually in the Six Nations Championship and every four years in the Rugby World Cup, where they reached the quarter-final stage in all but two competitions The Ireland national rugby union...
reach the quarter-finals of the competition before being beaten by France. - 2003 Six Nations Championship2003 Six Nations ChampionshipThe 2003 Six Nations Championship was the fourth series of the Six Nations Championship. Including the previous incarnations as the Home Nations and Five Nations, this was the hundred-and-ninth series of the northern hemisphere rugby union championship...
: Ireland lose only to England, who win the tournament with a grand slamGrand Slam (Rugby Union)In rugby union, a Grand Slam occurs when one team in the Six Nations Championship manages to beat all the others during one year's competition...
. - 2002-03 Heineken Cup2002-03 Heineken CupThe 2002–03 Heineken Cup was the eighth edition of the Heineken Cup. Competing teams from France, Ireland, Italy, Wales, England and Scotland, were divided into six pools of four, in which teams played home and away matches against each other...
: MunsterMunster RugbyMunster Rugby is an Irish professional rugby union team based in Munster, that competes in the RaboDirect Pro12 and Heineken Cup.The team represents the Irish Rugby Football Union Munster Branch which is one of four primary branches of the IRFU, and is responsible for rugby union in the Irish...
and LeinsterLeinster RugbyLeinster Rugby, usually referred to simply as Leinster, is an Irish professional rugby union team based in Dublin, representing the Irish province of Leinster, that competes in the RaboDirect Pro 12 and also competes in the Heineken Cup...
advance from the pool stage and both are defeated in the semi-finals. The final is played in Landsdowne Road.
Soccer
- 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...
moves from a predominatly winter season to a Scandinavian style summer season. Bohemians win the transitional 2002/03 season and Shelbourne win the 2003 championship.
January to June
- 8 January – Patrick Pery, 6th Earl of LimerickPatrick Pery, 6th Earl of LimerickPatrick Edmund Pery, 6th Earl of Limerick KBE , was an Irish peer and public servant. He was educated at Eton College and New College, Oxford....
, peer and public servant (b.19301930 in Ireland-Events:*15 January – Ireland's new Papal Nuncio, Monsignor Robertson, presents his credentials to the Governor-General at the Vice-Regal Lodge in the Phoenix Park.*28 August – A painting by the Dutch artist Rembrandt, found in an Irish cottage, is authenticated....
). - 21 January – Tony O'MalleyTony O'MalleyTony O'Malley was a self-taught Irish painter. He was born in Callan, County Kilkenny, Ireland and, while he drew and painted for private pleasure from childhood, he worked as a bank officìal until a long battle with tuberculosis in the 1940s knocked him off the normal course of his life...
, painter (b.19131913 in Ireland-Events:*30 January - At Westminster the House of Lords rejects the Home Rule Bill by 326 to 69.*7 July - The Home Rule Bill is once again carried in the House of Commons, despite attempts by Bonar Law to obstruct it....
). - 23 January – Aodhagán Brioscú, last surviving founder of Irish cultural organisation Gael LinnGael LinnGael Linn is an organization devoted to the Irish language and arts.It is a non-governmental, non-profit organization, founded in 1953 to foster the Irish language and promote artistic events. On the business side, they run the Gael-Linn Records record label, which is partly funded by the Irish...
. - 16 February – Seán Ó CionnaithSeán Ó CionnaithSeán Ó Cionnaith was an Irish socialist republican politician, and a prominent member of The Workers' Party....
, Workers' Party of IrelandWorkers' Party of IrelandThe Workers' Party is a left-wing republican political party in Ireland. Originating in the Sinn Féin organisation founded in 1905 by Arthur Griffith, it took its current form in 1970 after a split within the party, adopting its current name in 1982....
politician (b.19381938 in Ireland-Events:* January 17 - The Ford Motor Works in Cork City produces its 25,000th car to be built there.* April 13 - The Department of Local Government & Public Health reports that cases of typhoid and diphtheria have reduced, however, infant deaths have increased....
). - 25 February – Tom O'HigginsTom O'HigginsThomas Francis O'Higgins was an Irish Fine Gael politician, a barrister and a judge.Tom O'Higgins was born in Cork in 1916. He was the son of Thomas F. O'Higgins and the nephew of Kevin O'Higgins...
, barrister and judge, Irish Chief Justice, 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...
TD and twice defeated Irish presidential candidate (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....
). - 11 March – Brian CleeveBrian CleeveBrian Brendon Talbot Cleeve was a prolific writer, whose published works include twenty-one novels and over a hundred short stories. He was also an award-winning broadcaster on RTÉ television. Son of an Irish father and English mother, he was born and raised in England...
, writer and television broadcaster (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....
). - 17 March – Linda KavanaghLinda KavanaghLinda Kavanagh was a leading member of the Workers' Party of Ireland and a member of Dublin City Council.Linda Kavanagh died aged 46 on 17 March 2003 after a brief illness. A native of Ballyfermot she joined the Workers' Party in the mid 1980s and represented the party in a number of elections...
, Workers' PartyWorkers' Party of IrelandThe Workers' Party is a left-wing republican political party in Ireland. Originating in the Sinn Féin organisation founded in 1905 by Arthur Griffith, it took its current form in 1970 after a split within the party, adopting its current name in 1982....
activist and Dublin City CouncilDublin City CouncilDublin City Council is the local authority for the city of Dublin in Ireland. It has 52 members and is the largest local authority in Ireland. Until 2001, it was known as Dublin Corporation.-Legal status:...
member. - 2 April – Pat Leavy, actress.
- 6 April – Ian Malone, member of British ArmyBritish ArmyThe British Army is the land warfare branch of Her Majesty's Armed Forces in the United Kingdom. It came into being with the unification of the Kingdom of England and Scotland into the Kingdom of Great Britain in 1707. The new British Army incorporated Regiments that had already existed in England...
's Irish GuardsIrish GuardsThe Irish Guards , part of the Guards Division, is a Foot Guards regiment of the British Army.Along with the Royal Irish Regiment, it is one of the two Irish regiments remaining in the British Army. The Irish Guards recruit in Northern Ireland and the Irish neighbourhoods of major British cities...
, shot dead in IraqIraqIraq ; officially the Republic of Iraq is a country in Western Asia spanning most of the northwestern end of the Zagros mountain range, the eastern part of the Syrian Desert and the northern part of the Arabian Desert....
(b.19741974 in Ireland-Events:*January 2 - The Northern Ireland Executive enjoys its first day in office.*February 15 - A 600 lb bomb explodes in Dungannon.*April 24 - The ESB announces that Carnsore Point on the Wexford coast will be the site of its nuclear power station....
). - 28 May – James PlunkettJames PlunkettJames Plunkett Kelly, or James Plunkett , was an Irish writer. He was educated at Synge Street CBS.Plunkett grew up among the Dublin working class and they, along with the petty bourgeoisie and lower intelligentsia, make up the bulk of the dramatis personae of his oeuvre...
, novelist, author of Strumpet CityStrumpet CityStrumpet City is a historical novel by James Plunkett set in Dublin, Ireland, at the time of the Dublin Lock-out. In 1980, it was adapted into a successful TV drama by Radio Telefís Éireann, Ireland's national broadcaster...
. (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....
). - 30 June – Constance SmithConstance SmithConstance Smith was an Irish film actress, known as a contract player of 20th Century Fox in the 1950s.-Biography:...
, actress (b.19281928 in Ireland-Events:*January 29 - In Belfast, members of the nationalist opposition protest at the Ulster Unionist Party government's plan to abolish Proportional representation.*January 31 - The outgoing Governor-General, T. M. Healy leaves the Vice-Regal Lodge...
).
July to September
- 16 July – James Kelly, former Irish ArmyIrish ArmyThe Irish Army, officially named simply the Army is the main branch of the Defence Forces of Ireland. Approximately 8,500 men and women serve in the Irish Army, divided into three infantry Brigades...
officer cleared of attempting to import arms for 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 the 1970 Arms Trial (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 -...
). - 17 July – Eamonn Leahy, barrister and husband of Cabinet Minister Mary HanafinMary HanafinMary Hanafin is an Irish Fianna Fáil politician who was a Teachta Dála for Dún Laoghaire from 1997 to 2011. She served as Government Chief Whip , Minister for Education and Science , Minister for Social and Family Affairs , Minister for Tourism, Culture and Sport and Minister for Enterprise,...
. - 28 July – Valerie GouldingValerie GouldingValerie Hamilton, Hon. Lady Goulding was an Irish campaigner for disabled people and senator who set up the Central Remedial Clinic in 1951, now the largest organisation in Ireland looking after people with physical disabilities...
, former Senator and campaigner for the disabled (b.19181918 in Ireland-Events:*January 18 - Count Plunkett, Seán T. O'Kelly and others protest at the forcible feeding of Sinn Féin prisoners in Mountjoy Prison.*March 2 - In Skibbereen, County Cork Ernest Blythe is arrested for non-compliance with a military rule directing him to reside in Ulster.*March 6 - In the...
). - 3 August – Phil Monahan, founder of Monarch Properties Holdings Limited, leaving an estate worth €26.7 million.
- 12 August – Kieran KellyKieran KellyKieran Kelly was a top Irish jump jockey who died as a result of a racing accident.Kelly was born in County Kildare and achieved his first Cheltenham Festival success in March 2003 on Hardy Eustace in the Royal & SunAlliance Novices' Hurdle.He was critically injured in a fall in on August 8, 2003...
, jump jockey after a racing accident (b.19781978 in Ireland-Events:*January 18 - The European Court of Human Rights finds Britain guilty of inhuman and degrading treatment of republican internees in Northern Ireland.*January 19 - The Fianna Fáil government dismisses the Garda Commissioner Edmund Garvey...
). - 14 August – Donal LamontDonal LamontBishop Donal Lamont was an Irish-Rhodesian Catholic bishop and a Roman Catholic missionary to Africa who was best known for his fight against white minority rule in Rhodesia .-Early days:...
, former Catholic Bishop in RhodesiaRhodesiaRhodesia , officially the Republic of Rhodesia from 1970, was an unrecognised state located in southern Africa that existed between 1965 and 1979 following its Unilateral Declaration of Independence from the United Kingdom on 11 November 1965...
(b.19111911 in Ireland-Events:*5 January - Protestant church leaders condemn the Ne Temere Papal decree on mixed marriages.*2 April - The national census is taken.*27 May - The first issue of the Irish Worker is published...
). - 19 August – Dennis FlynnDennis FlynnChristopher Dennis Flynn O.Ont, was Chairman of Metropolitan Toronto from 1984 to 1988. Flynn rarely used his first name and was commonly known as Dennis Flynn.-Background:...
, soldier in Canada, Chairman of the Municipality of Metropolitan TorontoChairman of the Municipality of Metropolitan TorontoThe Chairman of the Municipality of Metropolitan Toronto or Metro Chairman was the leader of Metropolitan Toronto, Canada, and the most senior political figure in the municipality. The Metro Chairman was elected by the members of Metropolitan Toronto Council.-New Level of Government:The position...
(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....
). - 20 September – Liam Tobin, longtime Árd Rúnaí Roinn na Gaeltachta and 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...
campaigner. - 24 September – Tomás MacGabhann, Trade Unionist and Irish language activist..
- 28 September – Proinsias Mac AonghusaProinsias Mac AonghusaProinsias Mac Aonghusa was a vice-chairman of Ireland's Labour Party. He was a broadcaster for Radio Éireann , and for RTÉ, UTV and the BBC...
, journalist, broadcaster, chairman Bord na Gaeilge, president Conradh na GaeilgeConradh na GaeilgeConradh na Gaeilge is a non-governmental organisation that promotes the Irish language in Ireland and abroad. The motto of the League is Sinn Féin, Sinn Féin amháin .-Origins:...
(b.19331933 in Ireland-Events:*February 4 - Fianna Fáil, led by Éamon de Valera, win their first overall majority in Dáil Éireann. He is welcomed in his own constituency in County Clare where 77 horsemen and 77 torchbearers who light 77 tar barrels in honour of the 77 seats won by the party.*February 21 -...
).
October to December
- 7 October – Frank Roe, former President of the Circuit Court.
- 16 October – Ernest BodellErnest BodellErnest Herbert Bodell was an Irish cricketer. He was a right-handed batsman and right-arm fast-medium bowler.He made his debut for Ireland in a first-class match against the MCC in September 1954...
, cricketer (b.19281928 in Ireland-Events:*January 29 - In Belfast, members of the nationalist opposition protest at the Ulster Unionist Party government's plan to abolish Proportional representation.*January 31 - The outgoing Governor-General, T. M. Healy leaves the Vice-Regal Lodge...
). - 10 December – Sean McClorySean McClorySean McClory was an Irish actor whose career spanned six decades and included well over 100 films and television series.-Early years:...
, actor (b.19241924 in Ireland-Events:*January 15 - The last internee at Kilmainham Gaol, Ernie O'Malley, is transferred to St. Bricin's Military Hospital.*April 20 - Sinn Féin commemorates the anniversary of the events of the 1916 Easter Rising....
). - 12 December – John McConnell, former Economics expert, journalist and civil servant.
- 27 December – Patrick J. ReynoldsPatrick J. ReynoldsPatrick Joseph "P.J." Reynolds was an Irish Fine Gael politician who served three terms in Dáil Éireann and five in Seanad Éireann, where he was Cathaoirleach for four years.- Family and early life :...
, 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...
and SenatorSeanad ÉireannSeanad Éireann is the upper house of the Oireachtas , which also comprises the President of Ireland and Dáil Éireann . It is commonly called the Seanad or Senate and its members Senators or Seanadóirí . Unlike Dáil Éireann, it is not directly elected but consists of a mixture of members chosen by...
(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....
). - 30 December – ArchbishopArchbishopAn archbishop is a bishop of higher rank, but not of higher sacramental order above that of the three orders of deacon, priest , and bishop...
Michael CourtneyMichael CourtneyMichael Aidan Courtney was the Apostolic Nuncio to Burundi and Titular Archbishop of Eanach DúinCourtney was born in Summerhill in Nenagh, County Tipperary...
Papal Nuncio to BurundiBurundiBurundi , officially the Republic of Burundi , is a landlocked country in the Great Lakes region of Eastern Africa bordered by Rwanda to the north, Tanzania to the east and south, and the Democratic Republic of the Congo to the west. Its capital is Bujumbura...
who was assassinated. - 31 December – Gerald GoldbergGerald GoldbergGerald Yael Goldberg was a lawyer and politician who in 1977 became the first Jewish Lord Mayor of Cork...
, lawyer, Fianna FáilFianna FáilFianna Fáil – The Republican Party , more commonly known as Fianna Fáil is a centrist political party in the Republic of Ireland, founded on 23 March 1926. Fianna Fáil's name is traditionally translated into English as Soldiers of Destiny, although a more accurate rendition would be Warriors of Fál...
politician and first Jewish Lord Mayor of CorkLord Mayor of CorkThe Lord Mayor of Cork is the honorific title of the Chairman of Cork City Council which is the local government body for the city of Cork in Ireland. The incumbent is Terry Shannon of Fianna Fáil. The office holder is elected annually by the members of the Council.-History of office:In 1199 there...
(b.19121912 in Ireland-Events:*9 April - 250,000 Orangemen converge on Balmoral Showground, declaring that under no circumstances will they accept Home Rule.*11 April - Prime Minister of the United Kingdom Herbert Asquith introduces the Home Rule Bill in the British House of Commons....
).