1994 in Ireland

Incumbents

• President: Mary Robinson
• Taoiseach:
• * Albert Reynolds
• * John Bruton
• Tánaiste:
• * Dick Spring
• * Bertie Ahern
• * Dick Spring
• Minister for Finance:
• * Bertie Ahern
• * Ruairi Quinn
• Chief Justice:
• * Thomas Finlay
• * Liam Hamilton
• Dáil: 27th
• Seanad: 20th

  Events

• January – The Phoenix magazine revealed that priest and media personality Michael Cleary fathered at least one child with his long-term partner.
• 14 April – The Central Bank issued a new £5 note featuring Catherine McAuley.
• 30 April – Ireland won the Eurovision Song Contest with the song Rock 'n' Roll Kids. The stepdance show Riverdance performed its world premiere during the interval.
• 20 May – The fourth People In Need Telethon was held.
• 26 May – Jack Charlton, manager of the Irish football team since 1986, was awarded the freedom of Dublin City.
• 6 June – Irish D-Day Normandy landings veterans joined Allied leaders at a 50th commemorative ceremony on Omaha Beach.
• 18 June – Ireland's football World Cup campaign began with a 1–0 win over Italy, one of the favourites to win the tournament. Ray Houghton scored the winning goal.
• 24 June – Ireland's chances of progressing to the last 16 of the World Cup were left hanging in the balance when they lost 2–1 to Mexico, with John Aldridge scoring the consolation goal.
• 28 June – Ireland qualified for the next stage of the World Cup with a goalless draw against Norway.
• 4 July – Ireland were knocked out of the World Cup by the Netherlands when they lost 2–0 in Orlando.
• 26 July – The Minister for Education, Niamh Bhreathnach, pledged the introduction of free third-level education for everyone over the next three years.
• 31 August – The Provisional Irish Republican Army announced a complete cessation of military operations.
• 1 September – Transition Year was introduced mainstream to secondary schools.
• 6 September – Taoiseach Albert Reynolds, John Hume and Gerry Adams held a historic meeting at Government Buildings in Dublin and pledged their commitment to the democratic idea.
• 30 September – Taoiseach Albert Reynolds and members of the Government waited at Shannon Airport to greet Russian president Boris Yeltsin. He failed to leave the aircraft to meet them and created a diplomatic incident.
• 13 October – Loyalist paramilitary groups announced a ceasefire six weeks after the PIRA.
• 2 October – Ulster Television screened a Counterpoint programme, Suffer the Little Children, beginning the exposure of Catholic Church sex abuse cases, initially those of Brendan Smyth involving children.
• 28 October – The inaugural session of the Forum for Peace and Reconciliation took place in St. Patricks Hall, Dublin Castle.
• 16 November – The Fianna Fáil-Labour government coalition collapsed.
• 17 November – Albert Reynolds resigned as Taoiseach. However, the Dáil was not dissolved.
• 19 November – Bertie Ahern was elected leader of the Fianna Fáil party.
• 15 December – John Bruton, leader of the Fine Gael party, became Taoiseach of the so-called "Rainbow" government in coalition with the Labour and Democratic Left parties.

  Arts and literature

• 3 January – One of Warner Bros.'s famous animated series Animaniacs made its debut on Network 2.
• 22 October – The Boyzone debut music album, Said and Done, was released in Ireland.
• Maeve Binchy's novel The Glass Lake was published.
• Emma Donoghue's first novel Stir Fry was published.
• Paddy Breathnach's film Ailsa was released.
• Colum McCann's short-story collection Fishing the Sloe-Black River was published.

  Sport

Association football

Athletics

• Eamonn Coghlan became the first person in the world over 40 years of age to run a sub-four minute mile.
• 10 December – Catherina McKiernan won Senior Women's gold in the 1994 European Cross Country Championships, the inaugural event of the series.

  Gaelic football

• 18 September – Down beat Dublin 1–12 to 0–13 in the All-Ireland Senior Football Championship final. It was Down's fifth All-Ireland senior title, and their second in four years.

  Golf

• Murphy's Irish Open was won by Bernhard Langer.

  Hurling

• Offaly beat Limerick 3–16 to 2–13 to win the All-Ireland Senior Hurling Championship final for the first time since 1985.

  Births

• 20 January – Seán Kavanagh, footballer.
• 12 April – Saoirse Ronan, screen actress.

  Deaths

January to June

• 1 January – Raymond Crotty, economist.
• 19 February – Micho Russell, tin whistle player and collector of traditional music and folklore.
• 23 February – Jackie Power, Limerick hurler and Gaelic footballer.
• 7 May – Andy McEvoy, soccer player.
• 12 May – Alfred Lane Beit, British politician, art collector and philanthropist, honorary Irish citizen.
• 13 May – Duncan Hamilton, motor racing driver.
• 21 May – Martin Doherty, member of Provisional Irish Republican Army, shot and killed
• 27 May – M. J. Molloy, playwright.
• 17 June – Terence de Vere White, lawyer, novelist and biographer.
• 27 June – William Conolly-Carew, 6th Baron Carew.

  July to December

• 19 July – Éilis Dillon, author.
• 5 August – Gerry O'Sullivan, Labour Party TD, Minister of State and Lord Mayor of Cork.
• 18 August – Martin Cahill, Dublin criminal, shot and killed.
• 23 September – James Brophy, cricketer.
• 6 December – Máire de Paor, archaeologist.
• 20 December – Stephen Coughlan, Labour Party TD and Mayor of Limerick.