2004 in Ireland

Events

*January 1 - Ireland takes over as President of the European Commission.
*January 1 - Scouting Ireland was founded.
*February 28 - Five people are killed in a bus crash at Wellington Quay, Dublin.
*March 16 - The cooling towers of Rhode Power Station, near Kilbeggan, County Westmeath are demolished.
*March 27 - Ireland's rugby team wins the Triple Crown for the first time since 1985.
*March 29 - Ireland receives worldwide attention as a smoking ban comes into effect in all pubs, restaurants and work places. The ban is pioneered by the Minister for Health, Micheál Martin.
*May 1 - 25 heads of government celebrate in Dublin as the European Union admits ten new member-states.
*June 16 The Grangegorman Development Bill is published by the Irish Government.
*June 25 - U.S. President George W. Bush arrives at Shannon Airport for an EU-U.S. summit.
*June 30 - Ireland is congratulated on its presidency of the European Commission. French President Jacques Chirac says it is the "best presidency ever." Also this day the operations on the Luas "Green Line" commence.
*July 20 - The Minister for Finance, Charlie McCreevy, is appointed as Ireland's next European Commissioner.
*August 7 - Irish athlete Cathal Lombard is accused of taking performance enhancing drugs at the Olympic Games.
*August 13 - The Minister for Agriculture, Joe Walsh, announces his retirement from the Cabinet. He is the longest-serving Agriculture Minister in Europe.
*August 27 - Cian O'Connor wins a gold medal for Ireland at the Olympic Games in Athens.
*September 8 - Former Taoiseach John Bruton is appointed EU Ambassador to Washington.
*September 14 - President McAleese announces her intention to run for a second term as President of Ireland.
*September 30 - The Luas "Red Line" commences operation from Tallaght to Connolly Station.
*September 29 - Mary Coughlan is appointed Ireland's first female Minister for Agriculture.
*September 30 - The leader of the Democratic Unionist Party, Ian Paisley, makes an historic first visit to Dublin for political talks with An Taoiseach Bertie Ahern.
*October 1 - As nominations for candidates close, Mary McAleese is re-elected unopposed for a second term as President of Ireland.
*October 2 - Ireland's second national television channel, Network 2, reverts back to its old name of RTÉ Two.
*October 5 - The Irish Government issue British hostage Ken Bigley with an Irish passport in an effort to secure his release from his Iraqi capturers.
*October 16 - An Taoiseach Bertie Ahern holds discussions with United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan in Dublin.
*October 19 - Dublin-born aid worker Margaret Hassan is kidnapped in Iraq.
*November 1 - The International Equestrian Federation confirms that part of the B sample of Waterford Crystal, the horse ridden by Olympic gold medallist Cian O'Connor, has been stolen in England.
*November 3 - Fran Rooney resigns as Chief-Executive of the Football Association of Ireland.
*November 9 - Banned substances were confirmed in the B blood sample of Waterford Crystal, the horse ridden by Olympic showjumping gold medallist Cian O'Connor.
*November 11 - Mary McAleese is inaugurated for a second term as President of Ireland.
*November 15 - Minister for Community, Rural & Gaeltacht Affairs, Éamon Ó Cuív, has a lucky escape when is ministerial car is involved in a head-on collision with another car in County Kerry.
*November 16 - Irish-born aid worker, Margaret Hassan, is murdered by her capturers in Iraq.
*November 22 - Bertie Ahern celebrates 10 years as leader of the Fianna Fáil Party.
*December 8 - Negotiated proposals to restore the power-sharing institutions to Northern Ireland by March fail to reach finality. The main sticking point was a refusal by the Irish Republican Army to allow photographs be taken of arms decommissioning and a refusal by the Democratic Unionist Party's Ian Paisley to witness disarmament himself.
*December 16 - In Bogotá, Colombia the Penal Chamber of Bogotá's Supreme Tribunal hands down lengthy jail sentences to Niall Connolly, Martin McCauley and James Monaghan for training Marxist rebels in Colombia.
*December 18 - The 'Colombia Three', Niall Connolly, Martin McCauley and James Monaghan, are said to have fled the region where they were convicted of terrorist activities.
*December 19 - President McAleese convenes a meeting of the Council of State to discuss the Health Amendment II Bill, which was presented last week by the Health Minister Mary Harney.
*December 21 - £22 million is stolen in a heist from the Northern Bank in Belfast.
*December 31 - The Taoiseach, Bertie Ahern pledges €10 million in aid to the people affected by the tsunami in South-East Asia.

Arts and literature

Politics

* January 1 - Ireland takes over from Italy as President of the European Council.
* European Parliament Election 2004 - Fine Gael emerge as the largest party eclipsing Fianna Fáil by one seat. Two Independent MEPs are elected. The Labour Party wins one seat and Sinn Féin takes a seat for the first time ever.
* Local Elections, 2004 - Fianna Fáil's share of the vote falls sharply while all the other opposition parties make gains. Sinn Féin make a huge breakthrough with a record number of councillors being elected.
* Cabinet Reshuffle - Michael Smith, Joe Walsh and Charlie McCreevy retire from the government. The big winners are Brian Cowen who becomes Minister for Finance and Dermot Ahern who becomes Minister for Foreign Affairs. Mary Hanafin, Dick Roche and Willie O'Dea join the Cabinet table for the first time. Séamus Brennan is demoted to the position of Minister for Social & Family Affairs. Mary Coughlan becomes Ireland's first female Minister for Agriculture & Food.

port

Gaelic games

*All-Ireland Senior Hurling Championship Final 2004
**Cork 0-17 - 0-9 Kilkenny

*All-Ireland Senior Football Championship Final 2004
**Kerry 1-20 - 2-9 Mayo

Golf

*Ryder Cup
**Three Irishmen, Pádraig Harrington, Darren Clarke and Paul McGinley, feature prominently on the victorious European team.
*Nissan Irish Open is won by Brett Rumford (Australia).

Olympic Games

*Ireland at the 2004 Summer Olympics
*Cian O'Connor and Waterford Crystal win gold for Ireland in the equestrian event. O'Connor was later stripped of this title.

Rugby Union

*2004 Six Nations Championship
**Ireland 19-3 Italy
**Ireland 37-16 Scotland
**Ireland 19-13 England
**Ireland 17-35 France
**Ireland 36-15 Wales
**Ireland win the Triple Crown for the first time since 1985. The team also becomes the first to beat England since their World Cup win.
*2003-04 Heineken Cup
**Only Munster advanced from the group stage and were defeated in the semi-finals.

occer

* Football World Cup 2006 Qualification
**Republic of Ireland 3-0 Cyprus
**Northern Ireland 0-3 Poland
**Republic of Ireland 1-1 Switzerland
**Northern Ireland 2-2 Wales
**Republic of Ireland 0-0 France
**Northern Ireland 0-0 Azerbaijan
**Republic of Ireland 2-0 Faroe Islands
**Northern Ireland 0-0 Austria

* Eircom League
**Winners: Shelbourne

* FAI Carlsberg Cup Final
** Longford Town 2-1 Waterford United

* UEFA Champions LeagueShelbourne defeat KR Reykjavík in the first qualifying round on away goals. In the second qualifying round, Shels lose the first leg 3-2 away to Hajduk Split, but two late goals in the home leg at Tolka Park means Shels become the first Irish team to ever make it to the third qualifying round. Dreams of making the group stages are dashed by Deportivo de La Coruña. After a highly credible 0-0 draw in front of 25,000 fans at Lansdowne Road, Shels lose 3-0 in Spain.

* UEFA Cup
Bohemians and Longford Town suffer disappointing first qualifying round defeats to FC Levadia Tallinn and FC Vaduz respectively. Shelbourne enter the first round proper after their Champions League third qualifying round exit, but miss out on a place in the UEFA Cup group stages. After a 2-2 draw at Lansdowne Road, Shels lose 0-2 in the return leg against French side Lille.

Births

Deaths

January to June

*5 February - Harry West, leader of the Ulster Unionist Party from 1974 to 1979, Stormont MP, Minister for Agriculture (b.1917).
*18 February - Tommy Eglington, soccer player (b.1923).
*2 March - Cormac McAnallen, Tyrone Gaelic footballer (b.1980).
*4 March - Paddy Ruschitzko, Laois hurler (b.1917).
*6 March - Tom Leonard, Fianna Fáil TD (b.1924).
*24 March - Richard Leech, actor (b.1922).
*7 April - Maureen Potter, singer, actress and comedian (b.1925).
*8 April - Enda Colleran, former Gaelic footballer (b.1941).
*12 April - Sean Delaney, former soccer player and coach (b.1949).
*11 May - Mick Doyle, rugby player and coach, killed in car crash (b.1941).
*3 June - Joe Carr, amateur golfer (b.1922).
*6 June - Simon Cumbers, journalist murdered in Saudi Arabia (b.1968).
*8 June - Kit Lawlor, soccer player (b.1922).
*8 June - Máirín Lynch, widow of former Taoiseach Jack Lynch (b.1917).
*24 June - Douglas Gageby, journalist and newspaper editor (b.1918).

July to December

*23 July - Joe Cahill, former Chief of Staff of the Provisional Irish Republican Army (b.1920).
*16 November - Margaret Hassan, aid worker in Iraq, kidnapped and murdered by Iraqi insurgents (b.1945).
*20 November - Ian Lewis, cricketer (b.1935).
*2 December - Margaret Dolan, oldest woman in Ireland when she died aged 111 (b.1893).
*8 December - Digby McLaren, geologist and palaeontologist in Canada (b.1919).
*26 December - Frank Pantridge, physician, cardiologist and inventor of the portable defibrillator (b.1916).

Full date unknown

*George Harrison, member of the Provisional Irish Republican Army and alleged gun-runner (b.1915).