1988 in Ireland

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1988
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Ireland

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Centuries:

18th
19th
20th
21st

Decades:

1960s
1970s
1980s
1990s
2000s

Events

11 January - SDLP leader, John Hume and Gerry Adams of Sinn Féin, have a surprise meeting in Belfast.
6 March - Operation Flavius: A Special Air Service team of the British Army shoots dead a Provisional Irish Republican Army (IRA) Active Service Unit (Danny McCann, Seán Savage and Mairéad Farrell, unarmed at the time) in Gibraltar.
16 March - Milltown Cemetery attack: Three men are killed and 70 are wounded in a gun and grenade attack by loyalist paramilitary Michael Stone on mourners at Milltown Cemetery in Belfast during the funerals of the three IRA members killed in Gibraltar.
19 March
- Corporals killings in Belfast: Two British Army corporals are abducted, beaten and shot dead by Irish republicans after driving into the funeral cortège of IRA members killed in the Milltown Cemetery attack.
- 5,000 people turn out for an anti-apartheid rally at the GPO in Dublin.
22 March - Tributes are paid to Aran Islands-born poet Máirtín Ó Direáin at his funeral in Dublin.
16 April - The Irish National Lottery launches its national live draw.
15 June - The IRA kills six British soldiers in a bomb attack in Lisburn.
19 June - The Royal Canal officially reopens for leisure purpose between Leixlip and Maynooth.
10 July - Dublin celebrates its official 1,000th birthday.
18 July - Nelson Mandela, the jailed anti-apartheid leader, is awarded the freedom of the City of Dublin.
11 August - The Department of Health launches an information booklet as the number of AIDS cases increases dramatically.
28 August - Leopardstown Racecourse celebrates its 100th birthday.
12 September - Archbishop Thomas Morris resigns as Archbishop of Cashel and is replaced by Dermot Clifford.
8 October - A tax amnesty brings in over £500 million.
17 October - The Independent Radio and Television Commission is established to regulate radio and television services outside the RTÉ umbrella.
26 October - The case of Norris v. Ireland is decided by the European Court of Human Rights, ruling the existence of laws in the Republic of Ireland criminalising consensual gay sex to be illegal.
16 November - Minister for Finance Ray MacSharry is appointed Ireland's new EC Commissioner.
National Archives of Ireland formed under terms of the National Archives Act 1986 taking over the functions of the State Paper Office and the Public Record Office of Ireland.
Paddy Power established by the merger of the 40 shops of three Irish bookmakers: Stewart Kenny, David Power and John Corcoran.^[1]
Gay and Lesbian Equality Network established in Dublin.

Arts and literature

30 April - Ireland hosts the Eurovision Song Contest.
13 June - A statue of Molly Malone by Jeanne Rynhart is unveiled in Grafton Street, Dublin, to mark the city's millennium. The installations Anna Livia in O'Connell Street by Éamonn O'Doherty (agreed 7 March) and People's Island by Rachel Joynt are produced for the same commemoration.
September - Television channel RTÉ 2 is relaunched as Network 2.
11 October - Comedy series Nighthawks is first broadcast on RTÉ's Network 2.

Sport

Cycling

13 March - Sean Kelly wins the Paris–Nice cycle race for the seventh year in a row.
15 May - Sean Kelly wins the Vuelta a España cycle race.

Gaelic football

Meath GAA beat Cork GAA 0–13 to 0–9 in Croke Park to win a second consecutive All-Ireland Senior Football Championship title.

Hurling

Galway GAA beat Tipperary GAA 1–15 to 0–14 in Croke Park to win a second consecutive All-Ireland Senior Hurling Championship title.

Soccer

The Republic of Ireland plays in the European Championship finals for the first time.
12 June - The Republic of Ireland celebrates a win over England 1–0 at Euro 88.

Golf

Carroll's Irish Open is won by Ian Woosnam (Wales).
16 October - Ireland (Eamonn Darcy, Ronan Rafferty, Des Smyth) wins the Dunhill Cup at St Andrew's.

Births

Robert Sheehan was born in January.

7 January - Robert Sheehan, actor.
15 January - Padraig Amond, soccer player.
23 January - Alan Power, soccer player.
29 January - Owen Garvan, soccer player.
21 February - Darren Forsyth, soccer player.
22 February - Robert Bayly, soccer player.
4 March - Timmy Purcell, soccer player.
2 May - Stephen Henderson, soccer player.
21 May - Adam Rooney, soccer player
14 July - Conor McGregor, MMA fighter
25 July - Anthony Stokes, soccer player.
14 September - Shane Tracy, soccer player.
22 September - Keith Quinn, soccer player.

Full date unknown

Séamus Hickey, Limerick hurler.

Deaths

January to June

1 January - Sister Philippa Brazill, nurse in Australia (born 1896).
1 January - Dan Spring, Gaelic footballer, trade unionist and Labour Party TD (born 1910).
15 January - Seán MacBride, former Clann na Poblachta TD, Cabinet Minister and Nobel Peace Prize Winner (born 1904).
2 February - Frederick Blaney, cricketer (born 1918).
6 February - Paschal (P. V.) Doyle, hotelier and builder, founder Doyle Hotel Group.
11 February - Tommy Coleman, Irish volunteer (born 1899).
24 February - Tommy O'Brien, journalist and broadcaster.
19 March - Máirtín Ó Direáin, poet (born 1910).
2 April - E. Chambré Hardman, photographer (born 1898).
10 May - Ciaran Bourke, musician, one of the original members of The Dubliners (born 1936).
5 June - Robert Dudley Edwards, historian (born 1909).

July to December

17 July - Frank Carter, Fianna Fáil TD, Seanad member.
10 October - Sonny Hool, cricketer (born 1924).
27 October - Frank Devlin, badminton player (born 1900).
12 December - Seán Dowling, revolutionary and playwright.
7 December - Peter Langan, restaurateur.
8 December - John Joe McGirl, chief of staff of the Irish Republican Army (born 1921).
21 December - Eithne Dunne, actress.
22 December - Jack Bowden, cricketer and hockey player (born 1916).

Full date unknown

Tommy Breen, international soccer player (born 1912).
Terry Leahy, Kilkenny hurler (born 1918).
Nick O'Donnell, Kilkenny and Wexford hurler (born 1925).
Tommy Potts, fiddle player (born 1912).
Ed Reavy, fiddle player and songwriter (born 1897).

References

↑ Goodley, Simon (2003-03-01). "Did you hear the one about the Irish bookie?". The Daily Telegraph (London). Retrieved 2012-12-20.