2022 in Ireland


Events during the year 2022 in Ireland.

Incumbents

Continuing events

  • Irish anti-immigration protests

    January

  • 1 January – 23,281 cases of COVID-19 were recorded, as health officials warned that the true number of cases was likely to be higher, due to increased pressure on the PCR testing system.
  • 4 January – Minister for Education Norma Foley confirmed that schools would reopen as planned on 6 January, despite rising COVID-19 cases.
  • 6 January – The culture minister, Catherine Martin, began a consultation programme inviting opinions concerning the creation of a basic income plan for artists.
  • 7 January – The body of Shane O'Connor, 17, son of singer Sinéad O'Connor and musician Donal Lunny, was found near Bray after being reported missing by the Garda Síochána the previous day. His mother announced he had taken his own life, following two suicide attempts a week before.
  • 9 January – A 49-year-old father-of-two was shot dead in Ballyfermot, Dublin.
  • 10 January – The total number of confirmed COVID-19 cases in Ireland reached 1,000,000.
  • 12 January – A 23-year-old primary school teacher, Ashling Murphy, was murdered beside the canal in Tullamore.
  • 15 January – A National Lottery jackpot building since June 2021 and worth a record €19 million was won by a ticket sold in Castlebar.
  • 18 January – Ashling Murphy's funeral took place and 31-year-old Jozef Puška was arrested on suspicion of her murder..
  • 19 January
  • * The Government agreed a plan to give frontline healthcare workers a once-off €1,000 tax-free payment for their work during the COVID-19 pandemic and also agreed on an extra public holiday on 18 March in remembrance of people who died due to COVID-19.
  • 21 January – Taoiseach Micheál Martin announced the easing of almost all COVID-19 restrictions from 6am on 22 January, with the requirements of vaccine certificates and social distancing to end, restrictions on household visits and capacity limits for indoor and outdoor events to end, nightclubs to reopen and pubs and restaurants to resume normal trading times, while rules on isolation and the wearing of masks would remain.
  • 22 January – Anthony Casserly was sentenced to nine years in prison for his involvement in the murder of Wayne Whelan in 2019.
  • 25 January
  • * The Taoiseach said Ireland was advising against non-essential travel to Ukraine, describing a planned Russian military exercise off the Irish coast in February as unwelcome.
  • * Fishermen in the south and west of Ireland announced that they would hold peaceful protests to disrupt Russian naval exercises in February, set to take place within traditional Irish fishing areas.
  • 29 January
  • * Minister for Foreign Affairs Simon Coveney announced that controversial military exercises by the Russian Navy that were due to take place off the Irish coast had been relocated outside of Ireland's Exclusive Economic Zone.
  • * The Novavax vaccine was approved for use as Ireland's fifth COVID-19 vaccine.
  • 31 January – Chapters Bookstore in Parnell Street, Dublin, Ireland's largest independent bookshop, closed after trading for 40 years. following the announcement of its plan to do so the previous October.

    February

  • 1 February – The Minister for Education confirmed that the 2022 Leaving Certificate would be held with no accredited grades, while the Junior Cycle exam would be held for the first time since 2019.
  • 4 February – RTÉ selected Brooke Scullion to represent Ireland in the Eurovision Song Contest in Turin, Italy in May with the song "That's Rich".
  • 7 February – The FAI confirmed that it would be part of a joint bid with the football associations of Northern Ireland, England, Scotland and Wales to host UEFA Euro 2028.
  • 8 February – The Government announced an €8 billion retrofit scheme, which aimed to bring half a million homes up to a B2 energy rating by 2030.
  • 10 February – The Government agreed a €505 million package of measures to combat the rise in the cost of living, with an increase in the energy rebate to €200 including VAT, a 20% cut to public transport fares and recipients of the fuel allowance to receive an extra €125.
  • 12 February – The Department of Foreign Affairs urged Irish citizens to leave Ukraine "immediately by commercial means".
  • 18 February – Up to 80,000 homes and businesses were without power nationally, as Storm Eunice battered Ireland, with the most extensive damage in west Cork and Kerry. A 59-year-old council worker was killed in County Wexford by a falling tree while out clearing debris.
  • 21 February – Over 29,000 homes and businesses were without power, as Storm Franklin battered the country overnight.
  • 22 February
  • * The Government agreed to end almost all remaining COVID-19 restrictions from 28 February, with mask wearing in schools, indoor retail settings and on public transport to be voluntary, restrictions in schools to end and testing to be scaled back.
  • 24 February – The taoiseach condemned Russia's attack on Ukraine as "an outrageous and moral breach of the most fundamental principles of international law."
  • 28 February
  • * The majority of COVID-19 restrictions were removed, including the mandatory wearing of masks in retail settings and on public transport and social distancing in schools.
  • * A Garda in his early 30s was being treated in hospital after a serious assault in County Cavan, during which a gun was pointed at him and was badly beaten and doused in petrol.

    March

  • 2 March – Alan Kelly announced his resignation as leader of the Labour Party, citing a lack of confidence in his leadership from party colleagues as the reason. He announced he would stay on as leader until a replacement was appointed, and would remain as a TD for Tipperary.
  • 3 March – The Taoiseach launched this year's national population census, Census 2022, planned to take place on Sunday, 3 April.
  • 4 March – President Michael D. Higgins and his wife Sabina tested positive for COVID-19.
  • 5 March
  • *Minister for Health Stephen Donnelly announced that the requirement for vaccination certificates and passenger locator forms for those arriving into Ireland would end from midnight, to make it easier for Ukrainian refugees to enter the country.
  • *A man in his 30s was arrested following an acid attack on three men in Cork.
  • 7 March – A man was arrested after driving a truck through the gates of the Russian Embassy in Dublin, in an apparent protest at Russia's invasion of Ukraine.
  • 8 March
  • *A convoy of 25 trucks carrying 500 tonnes of aid left Dublin Port on a long journey to the border of Ukraine.
  • *49-year-old Desmond Wisley was charged with causing criminal damage to the gates of the Russian embassy in Dublin on 7 March.
  • 9 March
  • *The Government announced a €320 million plan to cut the excise duty on petrol and diesel, with a cut of 20 cent per litre on petrol and 15 cent per litre of diesel.
  • *Three men were arrested in connection with the aggravated burglary at the home of 73-year-old Tom Niland in Skreen, County Sligo, on 18 January.
  • 11 March – Two people died, and a third person was injured, in a road crash in County Roscommon.
  • 15 March – President Michael D. Higgins and Taoiseach Micheál Martin paid tribute to Irish citizen and Fox News cameraman Pierre Zakrzewski, after he was killed outside Kyiv in Ukraine.
  • 17 March
  • *Celebrations took place across the country to mark St Patrick's Day, following a two-year absence due to COVID-19, with around 400,000 people attending festivities in Dublin.
  • *A poem written by Bono about Saint Patrick and the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine was recited by Nancy Pelosi at a White House event for Saint Patrick's Day. The poem was widely derided by the Irish public as "cringeworthy".
  • *Taoiseach Micheál Martin tested positive for COVID-19 while in Washington for St Patrick's Day celebrations.
  • 18 March – Rachael Blackmore became the first woman to win the Cheltenham Gold Cup.
  • 20 March
  • *Gardaí began a murder investigation after a 36-year-old mother of five was shot dead in Finglas, Dublin.
  • *Events were held across the country to mark a national day of remembrance and reflection in honour of the more than 6,600 people who died from COVID-19.
  • 22 March – The World Health Organization said Ireland was among some countries that eased COVID-19 restrictions too "brutally" and were now seeing a spike in cases as a result.
  • 23 March – 27-year-old Derek Boyd was charged in connection with the fatal shooting of his sister Sandra Boyd in Finglas on 20 March.
  • 24 March – Ivana Bacik became the new leader of the Labour Party following the resignation of Alan Kelly earlier in the month.
  • 25 March
  • *Tánaiste Leo Varadkar cancelled a number of engagements in Cork and began self-isolating after testing positive for COVID-19.
  • *Minister for Foreign Affairs Simon Coveney was evacuated due to a security alert at a venue in Belfast where he had been giving a speech after an armed hijacking in the area.
  • *Dr Tony Holohan announced that he would step down as Chief Medical Officer on 1 July, following his appointment as Professor of Public Health Strategy and Leadership at Trinity College Dublin.
  • 26 March – Gardaí began an investigation after a 27-year-old man died and a 75-year-old man was seriously injured following a double stabbing in Cork. A 42-year-old man was arrested.
  • 28 March – 42-year-old John Murphy was charged with the murder of his brother Shane and the attempted murder of his father Weeshie after a double stabbing in Cork on 26 March.
  • 29 March
  • *Minister for Health Stephen Donnelly said there were no plans for restrictions to be re-introduced, despite the number of COVID-19 cases likely to be "hundreds of thousands" per week, while he said the BA.2 variant now accounted for about 95% of cases in Ireland.
  • *Minister for Education Norma Foley announced a major overhaul of the Leaving Certificate which aimed at reducing stress, with new subjects added, students starting fifth year in September 2023 to sit paper one in English and Irish and written exams to be worth no more than 60% of a student's final marks.
  • 30 March – A 16-year-old boy went on trial at the Central Criminal Court, charged with the murder of a 49-year-old Mongolian woman on her way home from work in Dublin city centre on 29 January 2021.
  • 31 March – Disability campaigner Tom Clonan wins the bye-election for the Seanad vacancy caused by Ivana Bacik's move to the Dáil in July 2021.