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Ireland in the 20th century

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20th-century Ireland

1901-1910

1901

  • Centenary year of the Act of Union.
  • Edward VII is proclaimed King of Ireland in a state ceremony in Dublin.
  • Members of the Irish Yeomanry return home from fighting in South Africa.
  • The Irish census shows the population of Ireland to be 4,459,000.
  • The All-Ireland Champions are London (hurling) and Dublin (football)

1902

  • Archbishop Croke, patron of the GAA, dies at the age of 78.
  • Waterford City confer the freedom of the city on John Redmond.
  • The centenary of the Christian Brothers is celebrated.
  • The UK Liberal Party stops its support for Home Rule.
  • The All-Ireland Champions are Cork (hurling) and Dublin (football)

1903

  • St. Patrick's day becomes a national holiday in Ireland.
  • Robert Erskine Childers publishes The Riddle of the Sands.
  • The Wyndham Land Act is passed - it solves the land purchase problem.
  • The Independent Orange Order is founded in Belfast.
  • The All-Ireland Champions are Cork (hurling) and Kerry (football)

1904

1905

  • Sinn Féin is founded by Arthur Griffith.
  • The Ulster Unionist Council is founded. It helps to forge links between the Orange Order and Unionists.
  • The All-Ireland Champions are Kilkenny (hurling) and Kildare (football)

1906

  • Count John McCormack makes his stage debut in Italy.
  • The All-Ireland Champions are Tipperary (hurling) and Dublin (football)

1907

  • The Playboy of the Western World causes controversy when it is staged in the Abbey Theatre.
  • Irish-born Ernest Shackleton leads an Antarctic expedition.
  • Marconi begins a wireless service between Clifden and Canada.
  • The All-Ireland Champions are Kilkenny (hurling) and Dublin (football)

1908

1909

  • James Larkin forms the Irish Transport & General Workers Union (ITGWU)
  • The first flight by an Iriush plane is made at Hillsborough.
  • Ireland's first cinema, the Volta Cinema, opens in Dublin.
  • The All-Ireland Champions are Kilkenny (hurling) and Kerry (football)

1910

  • The Unionist Party is formed with the aim of maintaining the Act of Union.
  • The All-Ireland Champions are Wexford (hurling) and Louth (football)

1911-1920

1911

  • The Parliament Act is passed in the House of Commons - Lords can now delay a bill for only two years.
  • The Irish census shows the population to be 4,400,000.
  • The Titanic is launched at the Harland and Wolff shipyard in Belfast.
  • The All-Ireland Champions are Kilkenny (hurling) and Cork (football)

1912

  • The Third Home Rule Bill is accepted by the House of Commons, but is postponed for two years.
  • 500,000 Ulster people sign the Solemn League and Covenant.
  • The Titanic sinks in the Atlantic - its last port of call was County Cork.
  • The Irish Labour Party is founded.
  • D. W. Corbett makes the first flight across the Irish sea.
  • The All-Ireland Champions are Kilkenny (hurling) and Cork (football)

1913

  • The Great Dublin Lock-Out takes place.
  • The Irish Volunteers and the Irish Citizen Army are established.
  • The Ulster Volunteer Force is formed in Belfast.
  • Irish is accepted as a matriculation subject for entry to the National University of Ireland.
  • The All-Ireland Champions are Kilkenny (hurling) and Kerry (football)

1914

  • The Curragh Mutiny - 57 British army officers refuse to implement Home Rule if it's introduced.
  • World War I begins.
  • The granting of Home Rule is postponed until after the war.
  • Cumann na mBan is founded.
  • The All-Ireland Champions are Kilkenny (hurling) and Kerry (football)

1915

  • Douglas Hyde resigns as President of the Gaelic League.
  • The Military Council of the IRB is formed.
  • The All-Ireland Champions are Laois (hurling) and Wexford (football)

1916

  • The Easter Rising takes place
    • April 3 - Irish Volunteers prepare for rising on Easter Sunday (April 23)
    • April 21 - The Aud captured with arms meant for rising
    • April 22 - Eoin MacNeill countermands order for rising
    • April 24 - Rising occurs in Dublin one day late; Proclamation of the Irish Republic read by Patrick Pearse on steps of the G.P.O.
    • April 25 - Martial Law is declared in Dublin.
    • April 29 - The leaders of the Rising surrender unconditionally.
    • May 3 - 12: Fourteen leaders of Rising are shot in Kilmainham Jail
    • August 3 - Sir Roger Casement hanged in London
    • The All-Ireland Champions are Tipperary (hurling) and Wexford (football)

1917

  • Eamon de Valera is elected President of Sinn Féin.
  • Thomes Ashe dies after a hunger strike.
  • The All-Ireland Champions are Dublin (hurling) and Wexford (football)

1918

  • November 11: World War I ends.
  • Sinn Féin win a majority of Irish seats in the general election.
  • Countess Constance Markievicz becomes the British parliament's first female MP.
  • The All-Ireland Champions are Limerick (hurling) and Wexford (football)

1919

  • Jan 21: The first Dáil Éireann meets in the Mansion House, Dublin.
  • The War of Independence begins.
  • Alcock & Brown land at Clifden, Galway after completeing the first transatlantic flight.
  • The All-Ireland Champions are Cork (hurling) and Kildare (football)

1920

1921-1930

1921

  • May 25: Dublin Customs House burned down
  • July 9: Truce between IRA and British Army
  • Dec. 6: Anglo-Irish Treaty is signed; Ireland receives dominion status; partition will create Northern Ireland.
  • Dec. 8: Eamon de Valera publicly repudiates the Treaty.
  • The Boundary Commission is set up the redraw the border between Northern and Southern Ireland.
  • The All-Ireland Champions are Limerick (hurling) and Dublin (football)

1922

  • Jan. 7: Dáil Eireann ratifies the Treaty.
  • Jan. 9: Arthur Griffith is elected President of the Dáil but dies later in the year.
  • April: The Irish Civil War begins.
    • June 16: The pro-Treaty candidates are victorious in the general election.
    • Aug: Free State Army captures Dublin, Limerick, Cork and Waterford.
    • Aug 22: Michael Collins is assassinated.
    • Sept: W. T. Cosgrave is elected head of the Provisional Government.
    • Oct. 15: Leinster House Act made acts of war against Free State illegal
    • Dec 6: The Irish Free State is established.
  • The RUC (Royal Ulster Constabulary) is formed.
  • The All-Ireland Champions are Kilkenny (hurling) and Dublin (football)

1923

1924

  • The Army Mutiny
    • Two government ministers resign after officers object to a reduction of the army.
    • Eoin O'Duffy is appointed Commander-in-Chief.
  • The Free State Aer Corps is founded.
  • Eamon de Valera is released from prison.
  • The Intermediate Education Board for Ireland examinations are replaced by:
  • The All-Ireland Champions are Dublin (hurling) and Kerry (football)

1925

  • The Boundary Commission is scrapped, leaving the Northern Ireland border unchanged.
  • The Garda Síochána become the states only police force as the DMP are absorbed.
  • Northern Ireland General Election
    • Unionists gain almost total control of the parliament
  • Dublin-born George Bernard Shaw is awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature.
  • The IRA launches the weekly newspaper, An Phoblacht.
  • Legislation allowing divorce is banned in the Irish Free State.
  • Work begins on the Shannon Scheme, or Ardnacrusha, the hydro-electric station.
  • The All-Ireland Champions are Tipperary (hurling) and Galway (football)

1926

1927

1928

  • New Irish coinage is issued featuring a harp on one side and animals on the other, the Saorstát Pound ('Free State Pound').
  • Irish becomes a compulsory subject for the Intermediate Certificate.
  • Captain James Fitzmaurice completes the first successful non-stop transatlantic flight from east to west.
  • The first Irish team attends the Olympic Games
    • Dr. Pat O'Callaghan is the first person to win a gold medal for Ireland .
  • John McCormack is appointed a Papal count for his services to music.
  • The All-Ireland Champions are Cork (hurling) and Kildare (football)

1929

  • Proportional Representation is abolished in Northern Ireland.
  • The first Irish banknotes are issued.
  • Ardnacrusha Power Station opens on the Shannon Scheme.
  • Ireland's economy suffers due to the Wall Street Crash.
  • Primary Certificate - introduced, but optional, at end of primary education
  • The All-Ireland Champions are Cork (hurling) and Kerry (football)

1930

  • The Irish delegation, led by Patrick McGilligan, attend the Imperial Conference.
  • The first Irish Sweepstakes draw is held.
  • The Vocational Education Committee (VEC) system is established.
  • The All-Ireland Champions are Tipperary (hurling) and Kerry (football)

1931-1940

1931

  • The Statute of Westminster is passed in Britain; Dominions now have the right to repeal Acts which were passed in Britain.
  • Saor Éire, a republican socialist group, is formed.
  • Eamon de Valera founds The Irish Press newspaper.
  • The All-Ireland Champions are Cork (hurling) and Kerry (football)

1932

1933

1934

  • Eoin O'Duffy resigns from Fine Gael.
  • Britain and the Free State signs a Coal-Cattle Pact.
  • Irish becomes a compulsory subject for the Leaving Cert.
  • The All-Ireland Champions are Limerick (hurling) and Galway (football)

1935

1936

  • The Irish Free State census shows the population to be 2,969,000.
  • The Irish national airline, Aer Lingus, is founded.
  • Sean MacBride becomes the chief of staff of the IRA.
  • The government declare the IRA an illegal organisation.
  • The Senate of the Irish Free State is abolished.
  • The All-Ireland Champions are Limerick (hurling) and Mayo (football)

1937

The Northern Ireland census shows the population to be 1,280,000.

  • Bunreacht na hÉireann is introduced.
    • The head of state is now the President of Ireland.
    • The head of government is the Taoiseach.
    • The national territory consists of the whole island of Ireland.
  • The referendum on the constitution is held on the same day as the election.
  • 1937 General Election
    • Fianna Fáil is returned to power and the referendum is carried.
  • The All-Ireland Champions are Tipperary (hurling) and Kerry (football)

1938

  • Dr. Douglas Hyde is appointed the first President of Ireland.
  • The government falls unexpectedly this year.
  • 1938 General Election
  • The 'Economic War' with Britain ends.
  • The Traety ports are handed back to the Free State.
  • Clann na Talmhan is founded.
  • The All-Ireland Champions are Dublin (hurling) and Galway (football)

1939

1940

1941-1950

1941

  • 28 people are killed when German bombs fall on the North Strand in Dublin.
  • 900 people are killed in a bomb attack in Belfast.
  • The new terminal at Dublin Airport is completed.
  • Irish novelist James Joyce dies in Zurich, Switzerland.
  • The All-Ireland Champions are Cork (hurling) and Kerry (football)

1942

  • US troops arrive in Northern Ireland.
  • The Irish Blood Transfusion Service is founded.
  • The All-Ireland Champions are Cork (hurling) and Dublin (football)

1943

1944

  • 1944 General Election
    • Fianna Fáil achieves a 14 seat overall majority.
    • The National Labour Party is formed.
  • Gen. Richard Mulcahy becomes the new leader of Fine Gael.
  • The All-Ireland Champions are Cork (hurling) and Roscommon (football)

1945

1946

1947

  • Shannon Airport becomes a duty-free area.
  • The All-Ireland Football Final takes place in the Polo Grounds, New York.
    • Cavan beat Kerry to take the Sam McGuire Cup.
  • The All-Ireland Hurling Champions are Kilkenny.

1948

  • 1948 General Election
  • The government announces that the External Relations Act is to be repealed and Éire is to leave the Commonwealth.
  • The All-Ireland Champions are Waterford (hurling) and Cavan (football)

1949

1950

1951-1960

1951

1952

  • The government introduce the Social Welfare Act which increases unemployment and sickness benefits.
  • Sean T. O'Kelly is re-elected President of Ireland.
  • Bord Fáilte is established to encourage tourism.
  • The All-Ireland Champions are Cork (hurling) and Cavan (football)

1953

  • Fianna Uladh is founded.
  • Gael-Linn is set up to promote the use of Irish.
  • The All-Ireland Champions are Cork (hurling) and Kerry (football)

1954

  • 1954 General Election
    • Fine Gael, Labour and other parties form the second Inter-Party Government.
    • John A. Costello becomes Taoiseach for the second time.
  • The Flags & Emblems Act in Northern Ireland prohibits the display of the Irish tricolor or disturbing a display of the Union Jack
  • Michael Manning becomes the last man to be hanged in the Republic of Ireland.
  • Christy Brown publishes his autobiography - My Left Foot.
  • The All-Ireland Champions are Cork (hurling) and Meath (football)

1955

  • Ireland becomes a member of the United Nations.
  • Cork Opera House is destroyed by fire.
  • The All-Ireland Champions are Wexford (hurling) and Kerry (football)

1956

1957

1958

  • Irish Army soldiers begin a United Nations peace-keeping mission in the Lebanon.
  • The First Programme for Economic Expansion is drawn up by T. K. Whitaker.
  • Aer Lingus begins its first service to the United States.
  • The All-Ireland Champions are Tipperary (hurling) and Dublin (football)

1959

1960

  • Irish troops are sent on United Nations peace-keeping missions to the Congo.
  • F. H. Boland becomes President of the General Assembly of the United Nations.
  • The All-Ireland Champions are Wexford (hurling) and Down (football)

1961-1970

1961

  • The census results are announced:
  • 1961 General Election
  • Telefís Éireann (later RTÉ) commences broadcasting on New Years Eve.
  • Sean Lemass returns as Taoiseach following the general election.
  • The All-Ireland Champions are Tipperary (hurling) and Down (football)

1962

  • The second Vatican Council takes place - this leads to greater openness within the Catholic Church.
  • The IRA calls of its bombing campaign along the border.
  • The All-Ireland Champions are Tipperary (hurling) and Kerry (football)

1963

1964

  • The Second Programme for Economic Expansion is launched.
  • The playwrights, Sean O'Casey and Brendan Behan die.
  • The All-Ireland Champions are Tipperary (hurling) and Galway (football)

1965

1966

1967

  • The Northern Ireland Civil Rights Association (NICRA) is founded.
  • 3 people are killed when an Aer Lingus plane crashes in Dublin.
  • Censorship is lifted on all books this year.
  • Minister for Education, Donagh O'Malley reforms education:
    • The Primary Certificate - abolished as education.
    • The announcement of free secondary school education.
  • The All-Ireland Champions are Kilkenny (hurling) and Meath (football)

1968

  • Plans to merge Trinity College Dublin and University College Dublin are scrapped.
  • Crisis in the North
    • Oct. 5: Two days of rioting follows after a banned civil rights march in Derry is broken up by RUC batons. Many view this incident as the start of 'the Troubles'.
    • Oct. 9: Following a student demonstration in Belfast, the People's Democracy (PD) a radical, left-wing student group, is formed.
    • Oct. 30: The Taoiseach, Jack Lynch calls for an end to partition to resolve the unrest.
    • Nov. 4: The Prime Minister of Northern Ireland, Terence O'Neill, says there will be no transfer of the North to the Republic without the consent of the NI parliament.
    • Nov. 22: O'Neill announces a five point reform plan which goes some way to easing the Catholic sense of grievance over matters including unfair housing allocation, council elections.
    • Dec. 11: William Craig, Minister of Home Affairs, is dismissed from the Northern Ireland cabinet.
    • Dec. 20: People's Democracy (PD) announce Belfast-Derry March.
  • 61 people die when an Aer Lingus plane crashes at Tuskar Rock.
  • The All-Ireland Champions are Wexford (hurling) and Down (football)

1969

  • 1969 General Election
  • Crisis in the North
    • Jan. 4: A march from Belfast to Derry is attacked by a loyalist mob at Burntollet bridge, near Derry.
    • April 28: Terence O'Neill resigns as Prime Minister
    • May 1: James Chichester-Clark is his replacement.
    • July: First deaths of the 'Troubles'
    • Aug. 12: Apprentice Boys' march in Derry attacked by nationalists; RUC storm Bogside, leading to the Battle of the Bogside
    • August: British army arrives in North.
    • Dec: A split in the IRA produces Provisional and Official IRA.
  • The government introduce special tax concessions for creative artists and writers.
  • Dublin-born Samuel Beckett is awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature.
  • The Institution of Engineers of Ireland is formed from amalgamation.
  • The All-Ireland Champions are Kilkenny (hurling) and Kerry (football)

1970

1971-1980

1971

1972

1973

  • Ireland joins the EEC along with Britain and Denmark.
  • Erskine Hamilton Childers is elected fourth President of Ireland.
  • 1973 General Election
  • The Sunnigdale Agreement is signed.
    • Elections are held for a Power-Sharing Assembly in Northern Ireland.
    • A 'Council of Ireland' is also established.
  • The Irish Civil Service removes its ban on female employees marrying.
  • The All-Ireland Champions are Limerick (hurling) and Cork (football)

1974

  • Cearbhall Ó Dálaigh becomes the fifth President of Ireland following the death of President Childers.
  • Car bombs planted by Unionist terrorists kill 24 people in Dublin and 6 people in Monaghan.
  • Former IRA leader and government minister, Sean MacBride is awarded the Nobel Peace Prize.
  • Northern Ireland
    • A Loyalist general strike blockades Belfast.
    • The Power-Sharing Assembly is abandoned.
    • The IRA announce an 11 day ceasefire.
  • The Birmingham Six are wrongly convicted and imprisoned.
  • The ESB applies for planning permission to build a nuclear plant at Carnsore Point.
  • The All-Ireland Champions are Kilkenny (hurling) and Dublin (football)

1975

  • August 29 - Eamon de Valera dies in Dublin aged 92.
    • His life has spanned the history of the Irish state. He was a leader of the 1916 Rising, President for 14 years and Taoiseach for 21 years.
  • Dutch industrialist Dr. Tiede Herrema is kidnapped.
  • Ernest Blythe, Gaelic scholar, managing director of the Abbey theatre and former Minister for Finance dies.
  • Internment without trial ends in Northern Ireland.
  • The All-Ireland Champions are Kilkenny (hurling) and Kerry (football)

1976

1977

1978

  • An Irish Army battalion joins a UN Peacekeeping Force in Lebanon.
  • An Taoiseach, Jack Lynch, addresses the United Nations General Assembly.
  • David Cook is elected Belfasts first non-Unionist mayor.
  • Dublin Institute of Technology is established on an ad-hoc basis.
  • Ireland's second television channel, RTÉ 2, begins broadcasting.
  • Former President of Ireland Cearbhall Ó Dálaigh dies.
  • Citizens clash with Dublin Corporation over plans to build offices on the site of Dublin's original Viking settlement at Wood Quay.
  • The All-Ireland Champions are Cork (hurling) and Kerry (football)

1979

See also

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