ROMSO Cyprus Knowledge Base
2023 in Ireland
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Events during the year 2023 in Ireland.
Incumbents
President: Michael D. Higgins
Taoiseach: Leo Varadkar (FG)
Tánaiste: Micheál Martin (FF)
Minister for Finance: Michael McGrath (FF)
Chief Justice: Donal O'Donnell
Dáil: 33rd
Seanad: 26th
Events
January
3 January – There were 931 patients without beds in Irish hospitals as the trolley crisis reached a record high.
4 January – The Irish data privacy board fined Meta Platforms €390 million for violations of the General Data Protection Regulation on Facebook and Instagram.
19 January – Argos retailer announced its intention to close all stores and operations in the Republic of Ireland at the end of June with the loss of 580 jobs.
21 January – Thousands of people marched in Limerick to protest against continued overcrowding at University Hospital Limerick.
February
2 February – The President of the European Parliament Roberta Metsola began a two-day visit to Ireland. She addressed both Houses of the Oireachtas as part of the 50th anniversary (1 January 1973) of Ireland joining the European Economic Community (now the European Union), and met the President, Taoiseach, and Tánaiste.
3 February – The band Wild Youth were chosen to represent Ireland in the Eurovision Song Contest 2023, scheduled to take place in Liverpool, England.
6 February – The coronation stone for the High Kings of Ireland on the Hill of Tara – the Lia Fáil – was vandalised when the word "Fake" was spray painted on the 5,000-year-old granite stone.
7 February
Government ministers met with aviation and police authorities for briefing on illegal unmanned aerial vehicle activity at Dublin Airport between 4–6 February which forced suspension of flying and diversions of flights to other airports.
Munster Technological University announced that it was investigating a significant breach of its information technology and telephone systems. It was later confirmed that the university suffered a ransomware cyber attack.
9 February – Microsoft announced that it would cut 120 jobs from its Irish-based workforce as part of a global cost-cutting plan.
12 February – Munster Technological University announced that information stolen from its computer systems in a cyberattack a week ago had appeared on the dark web.
18 February – Up to 50,000 people participated in an "Ireland for All" march and rally in Dublin in support of refugees and asylum seekers, and opposing racism and far-right groups.
21 February – The Government agreed a more targeted cost-of-living package, along with some universal payments, with €470m to be allocated for social protection measures.
22 February – Róisín Shortall and Catherine Murphy announced that they would stand down as co-leaders of the Social Democrats, with a successor to be appointed "at an early date." On 26 February, Holly Cairns was announced as the next leader of the party.
28 February – Minister for Education Norma Foley reversed a plan for Leaving Certificate candidates to sit Paper 1 of their English and Irish exams at the end of fifth year, after facing strong opposition from a number of organisations, including teacher and student representative bodies.
March
8 March
The report of a 20-year survey by The Botanical Society of Britain and Ireland revealed that 56% of Ireland's native plant species are in decline due to habitat loss, altered grazing pressure, and degradation (re-seeding, over-fertilising, nitrogen deposition, herbicides, soil drainage, mineral enrichment), rather than rising temperatures whose botanical effects – so far – are minor. By contrast, 80% of non-native plants introduced into Ireland since 1500 have increased.
The Taoiseach Leo Varadkar marked International Women's Day by announcing the Government's intention to hold a referendum in November to enshrine gender equality in the Constitution by amending Articles 40 and 41. Other referenda on separate issues may be held at the same time.
9 March – Met Éireann issued a Status Orange snow and ice warning for much of the country with significant accumulations of snow and icy conditions forecast.
13 March – The United States President Joe Biden announced that he will visit Ireland, north and south, in April for the 25th anniversary of the Good Friday Agreement (signed on 10 April 1998). It was reported two weeks later that Biden will arrive in Belfast on 11 April, then he will be based in Dublin from 12–15 April from where he will make trips to other parts of the country. Former US president Bill Clinton and his wife Hillary will visit Belfast the following week.
15 March – 46-year-old Stephen Silver was found guilty of the capital murder of Detective Garda Colm Horkan who was shot dead in Castlerea, County Roscommon in June 2020.
16 March – Ryan Tubridy announced that he would be stepping down as the presenter of The Late Late Show after 14 years, with his last show in May.
17 March – Taoiseach Leo Varadkar held talks with US President Joe Biden as the two leaders marked Saint Patrick's Day at the White House.
21 March – Taoiseach Leo Varadkar launched the Government's national action plan to tackle racism in response to persistent racial discrimination in Ireland. The plan drew on a report published in April 2021 by the Anti Racism Committee, established in 2020 by the Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth.
31 March
RTÉ announced that Radio 1 would permanently stop broadcasting on the longwave band on 14 April.
The Supreme Court ruled that legislation governing the election of senators to the Seanad university panels was unconstitutional due to the failure for over 40 years to legislate for the Seventh Amendment of the Constitution of Ireland.
April
7 April – It was announced that the Leaving Certificate grinds school, the Institute of Education in Dublin with 7,000 pupils, founded by Ray Kearns in 1969, had been sold to a British educational company.
9 April – An emergency was declared and flights into Dublin Airport were suspended briefly when the nose landing gear of a Ryanair flight from Liverpool to Dublin experienced a problem during landing. Four other arriving flights were diverted to Shannon Airport.
Visit by Joe Biden
12 April – US President Joe Biden arrived in County Louth, one of his ancestral homelands, where crowds lined the streets in Carlingford and Dundalk. This followed a visit to Northern Ireland the previous day, as part of a four-day visit to the island of Ireland.
13 April – Biden visited President Michael D. Higgins at Áras an Uachtaráin and Taoiseach Leo Varadkar at Farmleigh House, before addressing a joint sitting of the Oireachtas at Leinster House, with the day ending with a banquet dinner at Dublin Castle.
14 April – Biden visited his ancestral homeland in County Mayo, visiting Knock Shrine and Mayo Roscommon Hospice, ending with a big event with around 27,000 in attendance featuring a public address and performances by The Coronas, The Chieftains and The Academic at St Muredach's Cathedral, Ballina.
17 April – Gerry Hutch was found not guilty of the 2016 murder of David Byrne at the Regency Hotel.
19 April – The 38th Cúirt International Festival of Literature opened in Galway.
22 April – It was announced that an investigator with the Garda Síochána Ombudsman Commission (GSOC) had attended a party celebrating the acquittal of Gerry Hutch the previous Monday, and that he was an associate of a relation of Hutch. The officer resigned when it became known, and GSOC intitiated an investigation.
23 April – An incorporeal Cabinet meeting agreed to send an Emergency Consular Assistance Team to Sudan, via Djibouti – some of them leaving on the night – on a mission to evacuate 150 Irish people and their families from the armed conflict there. The team consisted of officials from the Department of Foreign Affairs and members of the Defence Forces, including Army Ranger Wing personnel.
24 April – Fifty Irish citizens were evacuated on French and Spanish aircraft from Khartoum in Sudan to safety in Djibouti. It was announced that Ireland had purchased two Airbus C295 maritime patrol aircraft capable of future airlift missions, while Airbus will supply an additional military transport aircraft to Ireland in 2025.
25 April
Seventy-two Irish citizens and their families were rescued with the help of France and Spain from violence in Sudan to safety in Djibouti and Jordan.
An Irish metal and polymer lunar soil experiment produced by the Dublin City University School of Chemical Sciences was lost when the Japanese Hakuto-R Mission 1 Moon landing spacecraft carrying the Rashid Lunar Rover built by the United Arab Emirates stopped communicating during the final moments of an automated Moon landing attempt in the Atlas Crater.
26 April – Sixteen more Irish citizens and their family members were rescued since the day before via Djibouti, Jordan, and Cyprus, from the fighting which broke out on 15 April in Sudan. More than 100 Irish people remained in the country.
30 April – After evacuating 209 Irish people and their families in the past week, the Emergency Civil Assistance Team was withdrawn from Sudan.
May
6 May – Michael D. Higgins and Leo Varadkar, respectively, became the first Irish president and taoiseach in history to attend the coronation of a British monarch, at Westminster Abbey in London.
9 May – The Irish band Wild Youth failed to qualify for the final of the Eurovision Song Contest.
11 May
EirGrid announced plans for four major wind farm projects, three in the Irish Sea off the coasts of Counties Dublin and Wicklow and one off the Atlantic coast, in Connemara. The project is part of the largest ever renewable energy project in Ireland, intended to power six million homes by 2030.
The High Court ruled that the diseased leg of an elderly man with dementia should not be amputated against his wishes in an attempt to save his life.
13 May – Taoiseach Leo Varadkar and Minister for Justice Simon Harris condemned scenes during a stand-off between pro-and anti-immigrant protesters in Dublin and a homeless asylum seekers' camp was destroyed by fire.
18 May
Taoiseach Leo Varadkar expressed his dismay for a 14-year-old boy who was subjected to an unprovoked homophobic assault by a group of teenage boys in Navan and humiliated by having the video posted online.
A 17-year-old boy who was attacked by a group of people using golf clubs in Bluebell, Dublin remained in a critical condition in hospital and in a coma.
19 May – Five teenage boys were arrested by Gardaí investigating the homophobic attack on a 14-year-old boy in Navan. All were released without charge.
20 May – Patrick Kielty was confirmed as the new host of RTÉ's The Late Late Show, taking over from Ryan Tubridy and becoming the show's fourth permanent presenter.
21 May – A 21-year-old woman died after she was struck by a Garda car in County Donegal.
24 May – Minister for Education Norma Foley announced that Leaving Certificate results would be released on Friday 25 August, the earliest since 2019.
26 May
The number of homeless people in Ireland exceeded 12,000 for the first time.
The mother of an 18-year-old who killed himself in 2021 sued anti-vaccine campaigner Gemma O'Doherty for misrepresenting and sensationalising his death in the freesheet, The Irish Light, last year to support conspiracy theory about the COVID-19 vaccine.
30 May – Ireland's 2022 census figures from the CSO show an older population, increased diversity, decreased religiosity, and a population surpassing five million for the first time since the great famine.
June
7 June – A record 135,033 students began their Leaving Certificate and Junior Certificate exams.
17 June – A Status Orange warning was issued for 12 counties in the west, mid-west and midlands for thunderstorms, which resulted in 10,000 homes and businesses without power, two lifeguards taken to hospital after being struck by lightning in Kerry and localised flooding in a number of areas.
19 June – President Higgins apologised to Louise Richardson, the Chair of the upcoming Consultative Forum on International Security Policy, for a "throwaway remark" he made in relation to her DBE, amongst other remarks criticising the forum, and a potential "drift" towards NATO.
21 June – Ahead of the unfolding secret payment scandal, the Director General of RTÉ, Dee Forbes, was suspended from her employment by the RTÉ Board, and later issued a statement defending her record.
22 June
The postal service moved from its historic headquarters in the General Post Office building on O'Connell Street in Dublin to new premises at North Wall Quay.
RTÉ admitted that it paid its top presenter Ryan Tubridy €345,000 more than publicly declared between 2017 and 2022, in what the chair of its board said was a "serious breach of trust with the public".
24 June – All 30 remaining Argos stores in Ireland closed permanently at 5pm.
26 June – Dee Forbes resigned as Director-General of RTÉ with immediate effect, following ongoing controversy over undisclosed payments to broadcaster Ryan Tubridy.
July
2 July – Tributes were paid to two Leaving Cert classmates who died while holidaying with friends on the Greek island of Ios.
3 July
A 30-year-old Irish man was arrested following the violent death of a 36-year-old Irish woman at a hotel in the Spanish holiday location of Salou.
Seven GAA fans were arrested and 15 others were ejected after a fight broke out on Hill 16 at Croke Park on 1 July, during the All-Ireland SFC quarter-final match between Armagh and Monaghan.
4 July – Media Minister Catherine Martin announced an independent "root and branch examination" into RTÉ.
7 July – Iarnród Éireann warned passengers to be aware of people impersonating revenue protection officers on their trains.
10 July – New RTÉ Director-General Kevin Bakhurst stood down the RTÉ Board, and appointed a new temporary leadership team.
18 July – An Irish father and son from County Laois were killed following a road crash while on a family holiday in Turkey.
19 July – Taoiseach Leo Varadkar paid a surprise visit to embattled Ukraine where he met President Volodymyr Zelensky, Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal, Speaker of the Verkhovna Rada (parliament) Ruslan Stefanchuk, and members of the Irish community.
20 July –
Minister for Justice Helen McEntee condemned an unprovoked attack on a US tourist who suffered serious eye and head injuries after being punched, kicked and knocked to the ground by a group of youths in Dublin city centre.
Alongside the U.K., Irish government announced that the first phase of COVID-19 Inquiry comes to an end, with an interim report expected to be published in 2024.
23 July – A 14-year-old boy was arrested and charged in connection with the serious assault of a US tourist in Dublin city centre.
25 July – An All Ireland Rail Review was published to reopen all closed railway lines along the island of Ireland.
31 July – Two teenage girls, aged 16 and 17, died and three other people were injured after a serious road crash as they travelled to a debs ball in County Monaghan.
August
9 August – Irish Health Service Executive confirmed that EG.5, a new strain of COVID-19, had been detected in Ireland.
11 August – RTÉ Director-General Kevin Bakhurst confirmed that legal firm McCann Fitzgerald had begun a review into voluntary redundancy schemes at the broadcaster in 2017 and 2021.
12 August – Three tourists from the UK were hospitalised after an assault in Temple Bar, with calls for public order gardaí to patrol every night following a number of high-profile assaults in the capital.
15 August – Bank of Ireland suffered a major technology breakdown which allowed customers who had no money in their accounts to get access to funds, prompting queues at some ATMs around the country, with Gardaí controversially deployed in some areas.
18–22 August – The Rose of Tralee International Festival was held, and won by New York Rose Roisin Wiley, giving New York its first victory in the competition since 2007, and the first US winner since 2016.
25 August
Over 62,000 students received their Leaving Certificate results, which were artificially boosted by an average of almost 8%.
Four young people (a man in his early 20s and three women in their teens) died after a car carrying teenagers celebrating their Leaving Certificate results spun out of control and overturned in Clonmel, County Tipperary.
26 August – Tributes were paid to the four young people, including two siblings, killed in a car crash in Clonmel. Taoiseach Leo Varadkar said "the whole nation mourns", President Michael D. Higgins said the grief expressed by the community was "nearly unbearable", while local representatives described it as "every parent's worst nightmare".
28 August – A technical problem with the UK's air traffic service left thousands of airline passengers stranded in Ireland and around Europe causing delays and cancellations.
30 August – The Electoral Commission submitted its Constituency Review Report 2023 to the Oireachtas. It recommended that the number of Teachtaí Dála be increased from 160 to 174, and that the number of Dáil constituencies be increased from 39 to 43. The increases take account of a population rise of 8% since 2016.
September
7 September – During an appearance on RTÉ News at One, Taoiseach Leo Varadkar said he believes Ireland is "on the path to unification" and that there will be a United Ireland in his lifetime.
18 September – New booster vaccines begin rolling out for people aged 60 and over in Ireland, as a precaution against COVID-19 Pirola variant.
25 September – South East Technological University in Carlow announced it would offer a Bachelor of Arts degree in Content Creation and Social Media, becoming the first university in Ireland to do so.
26 September – Officials recovered 2,253kg of cocaine after boarding MV Matthew, a Panamanian-registered ship, off the coast of Ireland. The operation was described by Gardaí as the largest drugs seizure in Ireland's history.
27 September – Using Dáil privilege, Mary Lou McDonald revealed details of a letter confirming a meeting between clinicians and a representative from Children's Health Ireland, concerning experimental spinal surgeries on children at Temple Street Hospital. Nineteen children had poor surgical outcomes following surgery at Temple Street, and one of children later died. Whether parental consent had been obtained is in dispute.
28 September – TikTok announced that it had shut down a misinformation network of 72 accounts targeting Ireland, that had over 94,000 followers, saying "the operators of the accounts posted divisive views in a bid to intensify social conflict."
29 September
Gardaí launched a murder investigation after a woman in her 40s died following a violent attack at her home in County Offaly. A 16-year-old boy, known to the victim, was arrested at the scene. The attack was filmed and posted on social media.
Homelessness figures were released, showing that there were 12,691 people homeless in Ireland in August – a 17% increase year-on-year – including a record 3,895 homeless children.
October
8 October – Tánaiste Micheál Martin said that the Department of Foreign Affairs had been in touch with the family of Kim Damti (22), an Irish-Israeli woman who was unaccounted for following the previous day's series of attacks launched by Hamas on Israel. On 11 October, Damti was confirmed dead.
10 October – Minister for Finance Michael McGrath and Minister for Public Expenditure, National Development Plan Delivery and Reform Paschal Donohoe announced Budget 2024, with three electricity credits for all households, a €12 increase to core social welfare payments and half-price travel for those aged under 25.
23 October –
Yousef Palani was sentenced to two life sentences plus 20 years for the murder of two men and the stabbing of a third in Sligo, all of who he had sought out on a pretence of dating.
25 October – The Health Products Regulatory Authority (HPRA) said it had seized 254 units of falsified Semaglutide, a drug used for type 2 diabetes and as an unofficial aide to weight loss, during 2023.
Sport
Association football
Men's International friendly matches
22 March – Ireland 3–2 Latvia.
Men's Euro 2024 qualification
27 March – Ireland 0–1 France.
16 June – Greece 2–1 Ireland. During the match in Athens, Greek supporters were asked repeatedly over the public address system to stop shining laser beams at the Irish footballers.
19 June – Ireland 3–0 Gibraltar.
7 September – France 2–0 Ireland.
10 September – Ireland 1–2 Netherlands.
13 October – Ireland 0–2 Greece.
16 October – Gibraltar 0–4 Ireland.
18 November – Netherlands v Ireland.
Men's Euro 2028 bid
12 April – The UK–Ireland bid to host the Euro 2028 football tournament was submitted to UEFA, with the Aviva Stadium proposed in Dublin (instead of Croke Park), alongside a redeveloped Casement Park in Belfast.
4 October – Turkey withdrew its bid to host Euro 2028 leaving the only remaining bid unopposed – the joint UK–Ireland one.
10 October – UEFA officially approved the Republic of Ireland, Northern Ireland, England, Scotland and Wales as Euro 2028 co-hosts.
Women's international friendly matches
22 February – China 0–0 Ireland.
8 April – USA 2–0 Ireland.
11 April – USA 1–0 Ireland.
22 June – Ireland 3–2 Zambia.
6 July – Ireland 0–3 France.
14 July – A friendly pre-World Cup warmup match against Colombia in Brisbane was abandoned after 20 minutes following harsh incidents by the South Americans against Denise O'Sullivan and Ruesha Littlejohn which earned the offenders yellow cards. O'Sullivan went to hospital with an injury inflicted by Colombian Daniela Caracas who said after the match that the Irish players "are little girls" (""), and "let them eat shit" ("").
Women's 2023 FIFA World Cup
The women's national football team made their World Cup debut in Australia.
20 July – Australia 1–0 Ireland (Sydney).
26 July – Canada 2–1 Ireland (Perth). Ireland eliminated.
31 July – Ireland 0–0 Nigeria (Brisbane).
2023–24 UEFA Women's Nations League B
23 September – Ireland 3–0 Northern Ireland.
26 September – Hungary 0–4 Ireland.
27 October – Ireland 5–1 Albania.
31 October – Albania 0–1 Ireland.
1 December – Ireland v Hungary.
5 December – Northern Ireland v Ireland.
Gaelic games
2023 All-Ireland Senior Hurling Championship
23 July – Defending champions Limerick defeated Kilkenny by 0–30 to 2–15 to claim their four-in-a-row in the All-Ireland SHC final.
2023 All-Ireland Senior Football Championship
30 July – Dublin won their 31st All-Ireland football title after a 1–15 to 1–13 win against defending champions Kerry in the All-Ireland SFC final.
Rugby union
2023 Six Nations Championship
4 February – Wales 10–34 Ireland
11 February – Ireland 32–19 France
25 February – Italy 20–34 Ireland
12 March – Scotland 7–22 Ireland
18 March – Ireland won the Grand Slam, after a 29–16 victory over England at the Aviva Stadium.
2023 Rugby World Cup warm-up matches
5 August – Ireland 33–17 Italy (Dublin).
19 August – Ireland 29–10 England (Dublin).
26 August – Ireland 17–13 Samoa (Bayonne).
2023 Rugby World Cup
9 September – Ireland 82–8 Romania, Nouveau Stade de Bordeaux, Bordeaux.
16 September – Ireland 59–16 Tonga, Stade de la Beaujoire, Nantes.
23 September – South Africa 8–13 Ireland, Stade de France, Saint-Denis.
7 October – Ireland 36–14 Scotland, Saint-Denis.
14 October – Ireland 24–28 New Zealand. Ireland were eliminated by New Zealand in the quarter final.
Deaths
January
9 January – Séamus Begley, 73, traditional musician and singer.
16 January
Carrie Acheson, 88, politician, TD (1981–1982).
Joe Martin, 91, footballer (Dundalk, League of Ireland XI).
18 January – John L. Murray, 79, jurist, chief justice (2004–2011), judge of the Supreme Court (1999–2015) and the ECJ (1992–1999).
19 January
Bertie Cunningham, 83, Gaelic footballer (Ballivor, Meath senior team).
Peter Thomas, 78, footballer (Waterford, Galway United, national team). Born in England.
20 January – Pierce Higgins, 45, hurler (Tooreen, Ballyhaunis, Mayo senior team), motor neuron disease.
21 January – Micheál Mac Gréil, 91, Jesuit priest, sociologist and writer.
30 January – Eddie Spence, 97, Gaelic footballer (Belfast O'Connell's, Antrim senior team). Born in Northern Ireland.
31 January – Donie Hanlon, 85, Gaelic footballer (Gracefield, Offaly senior team).
February
1 February – Billy Galligan, 86, hurler (Charleville, Blackrock, Claughaun, Avondhu, Cork senior team).
6 February – Niamh Bhreathnach, 77, politician, TD (1992–1997), Minister for Education (1993–1994 and 1994–1997).
7 February – Richard Kell, 95, poet, composer and teacher.
11 February – Séamus Ryan, hurler (Cappamore, Limerick senior team).
12 February
James Flynn, 57, film and television producer (Vikings, The Last Duel, The Banshees of Inisherin).
Theo Dunne, 85, footballer (Shelbourne) and manager (UCD).
13 February – Deirdre Purcell, 77, actress, journalist, broadcaster and author.
18 February – David G. O'Connell, 69, Roman Catholic prelate, Auxiliary Bishop of Los Angeles (2015–2023).
22 February
Mick Burns, 85, hurler (Nenagh Éire Óg, Tipperary senior team, Munster).
Dermot Kelly, 90, hurler (Claughaun, Limerick senior team, Munster).
24 February – Tom Tierney, 46, rugby union player (Garryowen, Munster, Leicester, national team) and coach (women's national team).
26 February
Tony O'Donoghue, 86, athlete and broadcaster.
Kieron Wood, 73, barrister, journalist and writer.
28 February
Brian O'Brien, 83, rugby union player (Shannon, Munster, national team) and manager (Shannon, Munster, national team).
Jimmy Hatton, 88, Gaelic footballer and hurler (Kilcoole, Wicklow senior teams) and referee.
March
2 March – Bertie O'Brien, 71, Gaelic footballer and hurler (St. Finbarr's, Cork senior teams).
3 March
Camille Souter, 93, artist.
Rita O'Hare, 80, Republican activist.
5 March – Maurice Scully, 70, poet.
10 March – Niall Brophy, 87, rugby union player (Leinster, national team, Lions).
12 March – Liam Kearns, 61, Gaelic footballer (Austin Stacks, Kerry senior team) and manager (Limerick, Laois, Tipperary, Offaly).
13 March – Tom Ryan, 81, hurler (Killenaule, Éire Óg, James Stephens, Tipperary senior team).
22 March – Marcus Wilson, 91, Gaelic footballer (St. Vincent's, Dublin senior teams).
25 March – Ger Glavin, 66, hurler (Midleton) and Gaelic footballer (Ballincollig, Imokilly, Cork senior team).
28 March – Jimmy Gray, 93, Gaelic footballer and hurler (Na Fianna, Dublin senior teams).
31 March – Harry Cassidy, 92, Gaelic footballer and manager (Bellaghy, Derry senior team). Born in Northern Ireland.
April
6 April – Jim McKeever, 92, Gaelic footballer (Ballymaguigan, Newbridge, Derry senior team, Ulster). Born in Northern Ireland.
10 April
John Joe Walsh, 82, Gaelic footballer (St Laurence's, Kildare senior team) and selector (Kildare).
Pat Magner, 82, politician, Senator (1982–1982, 1983–1987 and 1993–1997).
12 April – Senan Louis O'Donnell, 96, Roman Catholic prelate, bishop of Maiduguri (1993–2003).
13 April – Craig Breen, 33, rally driver, car crash.
14 April – Mark Sheehan, 46, singer-songwriter, guitarist and producer.
18 April – Colm Murphy, 70, Irish republican and convicted arms trafficker (Omagh bombing), degenerative lung disease.
22 April
Mick Loftus, 93, Gaelic footballer (Mayo senior team), referee and GAA president.
Hugh Byrne, 83, politician, TD (1969–1982).
28 April – Johnny Fean, 71, guitarist (Horslips).
May
1 May – Brendan Walsh, 50, hurler (Killeagh, Imokilly, Cork senior team).
6 May
Derek Keating, 67, politician, TD (2011–2016).
Joe Young, 89, Gaelic footballer and hurler (St. Vincent's, Dublin junior team, Galway senior teams).
7 May
Seán Keane, 76, fiddler. (The Chieftains).
Patrick Joseph McGrath, 77, Roman Catholic prelate, Bishop of San Jose, California (1999–2019).
15 May – Marty Lynch, 59, Gaelic footballer (Newry Mitchels, Newry Bosco, Down senior team). Born in Northern Ireland.
19 May – Seán McCormack, 79, Gaelic footballer (Kilmainhamwood, Meath senior team).
27 May
Hugh Callaghan, 93, a member of the Birmingham Six.
Graham Knuttel, 69, painter and sculptor.
30 May – Michael Viney, 90, artist, author, journalist and broadcaster.
31 May – Peter Harbison, 84, archaeologist.
June
1 June – Roy Taylor, singer and bass player.
3 June – Conor O'Brien, 18th Baron Inchiquin, peer. Born in England.
6 June – Teddy McCarthy, 57, hurler and Gaelic footballer (Sarsfields, Glanmire, Cork senior teams, Munster.
8 June – Paul Coghlan, 79, politician, Senator (1997–2020).
11 June – Michael A. Noonan, 82, television writer.
13 June – Christy Dignam, 63, singer (Aslan).
19 June – Jim McCourt, 79, boxer, Olympic bronze medallist (1964). Born in Northern Ireland.
21 June – Ronnie Nolan, 89, footballer (Shamrock Rovers, Bohermians, national team).
24 June – S. M. Cyril, 86, educator.
28 June – Willie Carrick, 70, footballer (Chelmsford City, Luton Town).
July
1 July
Gerard Cott, 83, politician, TD (1969–1973).
John O'Grady, 83, hurling referee.
3 July – Greig Oliver, 58, rugby union coach (Munster, national under-20 team). Born in Scotland.
6 July
Brendan Daly, 83, politician, TD (1973–1992 and 1997–2002), Minister for the Marine (1987–1989), Minister for Social Welfare (1991–1992).
Roly Meates, 85, rugby union player (Dublin University Football Club, Wanderers) and coach (Leinster, national team).
10 July – Ben Briscoe, 89, politician, TD (1965–2002) and Lord Mayor of Dublin (1988–1989).
22 July – Bill Cashin, 85, politician, Senator (1993–1997).
26 July – Sinéad O'Connor, 56, singer-songwriter.
28 July – Flor O'Mahony, 77, politician, Senator (1981–1987) and MEP (1983–1984).
30 July – Frank Rodgers, 82, Gaelic footballer (Beragh Red Knights, Tyrone senior team) and administrator.
31 July – Jimmy Cooney, 68, hurler (Sarsfields, Galway senior team) and referee.
August
1 August
Tony Brien, 54, footballer (Leicester City, Chesterfield, Rotherham United, West Bromwich Albion, Mansfield Town, Chester City, Hull City).
John Madigan, 76, hurler (Charleville, Avondhu) and rugby union player (UL Bohemians, Munster).
4 August – Colin O'Daly, 70, chef.
9 August – Art McRory, 82, Gaelic footballer (Dungannon, Tyrone senior team) and manager (Tyrone minor and senior teams). Born in Northern Ireland.
15 August – Liam McDaid, 78, Roman Catholic prelate.
23 August – Chryss Goulandris, 73, businesswoman, horse breeder and wife of Tony O'Reilly. Born in the United States.
September
4 September – Mick Molloy, 85, Olympic long-distance runner (1968).
6 September – Dermot Keogh, 78, historian and author.
8 September – John Kelly, 78, hurler (Cappawhite, Kilruane MacDonaghs, Tipperary senior team, Munster).
19 September
Jimmy Brohan, 88, hurler (Blackrock, Cork senior team, Munster).
Brendan Devlin, 92, academic.
Rónán Mac Aodha Bhuí, 53, broadcaster.
28 September – Michael Gambon, 82, Irish-English actor (Harry Potter, Gosford Park, The King's Speech), pneumonia.
October
9 October
Críostóir Ó Floinn, 95, writer.
Hugh Friel, 71, drummer (The Atrix).
10 October – Dónal O'Neill, 56, Gaelic footballer (Edenderry, Offaly senior team).
13 October – Hugh Russell, 63, boxer, Olympic bronze medallist (1980).
15 October – Gerry Ryan, 68, footballer (Bohemians, Derby County, Brighton, national team).
17 October – Paul Reynolds, 50, cricket umpire.
29 October – Jimmy Duggan, 93, hurler (Liam Mellows, Galway senior team, Connacht).
References