1998 in Ireland

Events

*1 January - The VECs of the towns of Bray, Drogheda, Sligo, Tralee and Wexford are abolished.
*14 January - The Planning Tribunal opens in Dublin Castle.
*27 February - Republic of Ireland qualifies for entry into the Economic and Monetary Union of the European Union.
*15 March - Former Fine Gael Minister Hugh Coveney dies in a fall from a cliff in County Cork.
*10 April - Good Friday: the British and Irish governments and all the political parties in the Northern Ireland (except the Democratic Unionist Party sign the Belfast Agreement.
*22 May - The Good Friday Agreement is endorsed in a referendum by people north and south of the border.
*15 August - 29 people die in a bomb explosion near the centre of Omagh, County Tyrone, caused by the Real IRA.
*20 September - TV3 goes on the air.
*26 November - Tony Blair becomes the first Prime Minister of the United Kingdom to address the Oireachtas.cite book|title=Penguin Pocket On This Day|publisher=Penguin Reference Library|isbn=0-141-02715-0|year=2006]
*30 November - Unemployment falls by 20% with the number of people in work rising by 100,000.
*12 December - Members of the Labour Party and Democratic Left agree to merge.
*31 December - The Punt is traded for the last time as the Euro currency is launched.

Arts and literature

*28 February - the actor and comedian Dermot Morgan dies suddenly in London.
*24 December - Gay Byrne broadcasts his final radio show from St. Stephen's Green.

port

Gaelic football

*Galway GAA win the All-Ireland Senior Football Championship, beating Kildare GAA in the final.

Golf

*Murphy's Irish Open is won by David Carter (England).

Hurling

*Offaly GAA win the All-Ireland Senior Hurling Championship for the second time in five years.

Olympics

*6 August - Olympic gold medalist Michelle Smith is banned from competition for four years for tampering with a drug test.

occer

* St Patrick's Athletic won the Football League of Ireland
* Cork City FC won the FAI Cup
* Shelbourne's home UEFA Cup tie against Rangers is moved to England due to fears of sectarian trouble. Despite taking a 3-0 lead, Shels lose 3-5.
*7 May - The Irish under-16 team wins the European Championship.

Births

Deaths

*28 February - Dermot Morgan, actor and comedian (b.1952).
*15 March - Hugh Coveney, Fine Gael TD and Cabinet Minister, yachtsman (b.1935).
*23 June - Maureen O'Sullivan, actress (b.1911).
*6 May - Sybil Connolly, fashion designer (b.1921).
*22 May - Jim Power, former Galway hurler (b.1894).
*26 May - Kate Cruise O'Brien, writer (b.1948).
*20 September - Robert Malachy Burke, Christian Socialist and philanthropist (b.1907).
*11 November - Paddy Clancy, folk singer (b.1922).
*13 November - Valerie Hobson, actress (b.1917).
*21 November - John David Gwynn, cricketer (b.1907).
*26 December - Cathal Goulding, Chief of Staff of the Irish Republican Army and the Official IRA (b.1923).

Full date unknown

*Paul O'Dwyer, lawyer and politician in the United States (b.1907).
*Tommy Quaid, Limerick hurler (b.1957).
*Liam de Paor, historian.

References