1984 in Ireland

Events from the year 1984 in Ireland.

Incumbents

1 January –
* The Department of Posts and Telegraphs split into An Post and Telecom Éireann.
* Galway City began celebrations marking its mayoral status granted by King Richard III in 1484.
10 January – Seán MacEntee, founder member of the Fianna Fáil party and former Tánaiste, died aged 94. He was the last surviving member of the First Dáil.
31 January – Ann Lovett, aged 15, died after giving birth to a boy in a grotto in Granard, County Longford. Reporting on the incident on The Gay Byrne Show uncovered many stories from listeners of rape, abortion and sexual abuse.

14 February – President Patrick Hillery attended the state funeral in Moscow of the Soviet premier, Yuri Andropov. Visiting world leaders were greeted by the new premier, Konstantin Chernenko.

14 March – Sinn Féin member of parliament Gerry Adams was shot and wounded in Belfast.
29 March – The Licensed Vintners Association voted to abolish the Holy Hour in pubs and hotels in Dublin and Cork which close for one hour between 2.30pm and 3.30pm. The Hour was introduced during the 1920s by Minister for Justice Kevin O’Higgins.

2 May – The New Ireland Forum, convened to address the war in Northern Ireland, published its report presenting three possibilities for discussion: a unitary Irish state, a federal/confederal state, and joint sovereignty.

Visit by Ronald Reagan
* 1 June – United States President Ronald Reagan arrived at Shannon Airport to begin a state visit.
* 2 June – Reagan was at Galway, Ballyporeen, and Phoenix Park in Dublin.
* 3 June – Ten thousand people protested outside Reagan's state banquet in Dublin Castle.
* 4 June – Reagan addressed a joint session of the houses of the Oireachtas.
18 June – European Parliament elections were held in Ireland and Northern Ireland.

13 July – The Ford Motor Company assembly plant in Cork closed. The closure of the Dunlop tyre factory in the same city had been announced previously and the Verolme Cork Dockyard was closed as a shipbuilder at the end of the year.
14 July – The Columban missionary Niall O'Brien, who was imprisoned in the Philippines, was released.
17 July – Some workers in Dunnes Stores in Henry Street, Dublin refused to handle South African produce as a protest against apartheid.
19 July – The strongest earthquake ever recorded in Ireland, the 5.4 magnitude Llŷn Peninsula earthquake near Caernarvon in Wales, rocked the Irish eastern seaboard and was felt by many in Dublin. Numerous aftershocks occurred over the following month.
23 July – The Dublin Area Rapid Transit rail service between Howth and Bray was inaugurated.

28 September – The Dublin telephone system collapsed due to network overload as a result of a phone-in competition on the illegal radio station, Radio Nova.

1 October – Queen Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom presented a Royal Charter to the University of Ulster.
5 October – Women workers in Dunnes Stores in Dublin, who were on strike for the previous 11 weeks in support of a dispute over the handling of South African fruit, began a sit-in at the store.
12 October – Brighton hotel bombing – The Irish Republican Army killed five people in a bomb attack at the Grand Hotel in Brighton, England during the British Tory Party annual conference, narrowly missing Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher.
22 October – The first stage of the new Rice Bridge over the River Suir in Waterford was opened to road traffic.

5 November – The RTÉ Radio current affairs programme, Morning Ireland, was broadcast for the first time.
8 November – RTÉ Television's first newsreader, Charles Mitchel, delivered his final news bulletin.
14 November – Irish Shipping Limited was placed in liquidation.

2 December – European Economic Community heads of government visited President Hillery and Mrs. Hillery at the President's residence, Áras an Uachtaráin.
7 December – The most sophisticated naval vessel ever built in the country, the £25 million LÉ Eithne, was commissioned at the Haulbowline naval base.

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

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

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

10 January – Seán MacEntee, Teachta Dála, Minister for Finance and Tánaiste,.
24 January – Bernard Cowen, TD, Senator and Minister of State,.
30 January – Luke Kelly, singer, folk musician and member of the band The Dubliners.
11 February – Theodore William Moody, historian.
3 March – Rinty Monaghan, world flyweight boxing championship.
19 March – Charlie Ware, hurler,.
24 March – Fintan Kennedy, General President of IT&GWU, member of the Seanad from 1969 to 1981.
6 April – Jimmy Kennedy, songwriter.
26 April – Kathleen Behan, mother of Brendan Behan.
June – Alec Mackie, association footballer.
21 July – Paddy Grace, hurler,.
8 August – Denis Johnston, dramatist.
13 August – Jack Lawrence, cricketer.
7 September – Liam O'Flaherty, novelist and short story writer.
15 September – Charles Lynch, pianist.
4 November – Fintan Coogan Snr, TD,.
29 December – Robert Farren, poet.
30 December – William Bedell Stanford, classical scholar and senator.