1954 in Ireland

← 1953 1952 1951 1950 1949 1954 in Ireland → 1955 1956 1957 1958 1959
Centuries:	18th 19th 20th 21st
Decades:	1930s 1940s 1950s 1960s 1970s
See also:	1954 in Northern Ireland Other events of 1954 List of years in Ireland

Events from the year 1954 in Ireland.

Incumbents

• President: Sean T. O'Kelly (Fianna Fáil)
• Taoiseach: Éamon de Valera (Fianna Fáil) (until 2 June), John A. Costello (Fine Gael) (starting 2 June)

Events

• 1 January - 1954 is the first Marian year. There are many events and devotions to Our Lady and shrines and statues are erected in public places.
• 11 January - The Irish Council of the European Movement is formed in Dublin.
• 19 January - The government announces that the new Cork Airport will be built at Ballygarvan, four miles south of the city.
• 19 February - Captain Henry Harrison, the last surviving member of the party led by Charles Stewart Parnell, dies aged 87.
• 20 April - Murderer Michael Manning, aged 25, is executed in Mountjoy Prison. He is the last person to be judicially executed in the State.
• 5 May - At its headquarters in Kingsbridge, CIÉ signs a £4.75 million contract to replace its steam locomotives with diesels.
• 16 May - 30,000 march through Dublin in a huge Marian year procession, the city's greatest display of Catholic faith since the International Eucharistic Congress of 1932.
• 18 May - Irish general election, 1954: Fianna Fáil lose four seats. The second inter-party government under John A. Costello comes to power when the members of the 15th Dáil assemble on 2 June.
• 12 June - An Irish Republican Army unit carries out a successful arms raid on Gough Barracks in Armagh signalling the renewal of IRA activity following a long hiatus.
• 28 June - Alfie Byrne is elected Lord Mayor of Dublin for the tenth time.
• 5 July - Dublin Corporation decides that Nelson's Pillar on O'Connell Street will not be removed.
• 5 September - 27 people die when KLM Flight 633 crashes two minutes after leaving Shannon Airport.
• 8 September - Marian College (Dublin) opened for the first time.
• Undated - Entrepreneur Joe "Spud" Murphy (1923–2001) sets up Tayto to manufacture crisps.^[1]

Arts and literature

• 16 June - The first public celebration of "Bloomsday" takes place in Dublin. Writers Flann O'Brien, Patrick Kavanagh and Anthony Cronin travel in a horse-drawn coach stopping at numerous pubs to retrace the steps of the characters from James Joyce's novel Ulysses.
• 16 October - A marble plaque is unveiled at Westland Row, Dublin, to mark the centenary of the birth of Oscar Wilde.
• 19 November - Brendan Behan's first play, The Quare Fellow, premières at the Pike Theatre, Dublin, to great reviews.
• First Cork International Choral and Folk Dance Festival.^[2]
• English-born painter Derek Hill settles at St Columb's Rectory, near Churchill, County Donegal.
• Publication of Christy Brown's autobiography My Left Foot.
• Publication of Iris Murdoch's first novel, Under the Net.

Sport

Football

• League of Ireland

Winners: Shamrock Rovers

• FAI Cup

Winners: Drumcondra 1 - 0 St Patrick's Athletic.

Births

January to June

• 3 January - Fintan Cullen, art historian and writer.
• 10 January - Bairbre de Brún, Sinn Féin MEP and first Sinn Féin politician to represent Northern Ireland in the European Parliament.
• 15 April - Michael Willis, First And Only Official IRA Member To Escape From The Crumlin Road Prison
• 29 April - Gavan O'Herlihy, actor.
• April - Róisín Shortall, Labour Party TD for Dublin North–West.
• 8 March - Dermot Keely, soccer player and manager.
• 30 April - Gerry Daly, soccer player.
• 13 May - Johnny Logan, born Seán Patrick Michael Sherrard, singer and songwriter (born in Australia).
• 25 May - Daragh O'Malley, actor.
• 6 June - Tim O'Reilly, computer software promoter.

July to December

• 6 July - Tim Kennelly, former Gaelic footballer with Kerry (died 2005).
• 11 July - Liam Thomas Quinn, priest and teacher.
• 23 July - Arthur Morgan, former Provisional Irish Republican Army prisoner, Sinn Féin TD for Louth.
• 28 July - Mikey Sheehy, former Kerry Gaelic footballer.
• 22 August - Jimmy Barry-Murphy, hurler and footballer with Cork.
• 8 September - Áine Brady, Fianna Fáil TD for Kildare North.
• 8 October - Tony Ward, former international rugby player and sports journalist.
• 16 October - Noel Slevin, journalist.
• 2 November - Martin Cullen, Fianna Fáil Teachta Dála representing Waterford and Cabinet Minister.
• 11 December - Noel Lane, Galway hurler and manager.
• 17 December - Síle de Valera, Fianna Fáil TD representing Clare, Minister and MEP.
• December - John Fenton, Cork hurler.

Full date unknown

• Ballymoss, racehorse (died 1979).
• George Birmingham, former Fine Gael politician.
• Brian Cody, former Kilkenny hurler, manager.
• Pat Delaney, Offaly hurler.
• Catherine Dunne, author.
• Ger Fennelly, former Kilkenny hurler.
• Billy Fitzpatrick, former Kilkenny hurler.
• Paddy Glackin, fiddle player.
• Ger Henderson, former Kilkenny hurler.
• Sean O'Callaghan, former Provisional Irish Republican Army member and Garda Síochána informer.
• Harry O'Donoghue, musician and songwriter.
• Bertie Óg Murphy, Cork hurler and manager.
• Francis Martin O'Donnell, United Nations official.
• Eugene Sheehy, Group Chief Executive of Allied Irish Bank Plc.

Deaths

• 20 April - Michael Manning, carter, convicted of murder and hanged, last person executed in the Republic of Ireland.
• 1 May - James Macmahon, civil servant and businessman, Under-Secretary for Ireland from 1918 to 1922 (born 1865).
• 2 May - Elinor Darwin, engraver and portrait painter (born 1871).
• 20 May - Roger Sweetman, barrister-at-law, member of 1st Dáil representing North Wexford (born 1874).
• 8 July - George Gardiner, boxer (born 1877).
• 11 September - R. M. Smyllie, editor of The Irish Times (born 1894 in Scotland).
• 16 September - James Douglas, member of the 1922 Seanad (born 1887).
• 21 October - T. V. Honan, merchant, Fianna Fáil member of the Seanad (born 1878).

References