1998 in Ireland

none November 2020 August 2022 1998 Events from the year 1998 in Ireland. Incumbents President: Mary McAleese Taoiseach: Bertie Ahern (FF) Tánaiste: Mary Harney (PD) Minister for Finance: Charlie McCreevy (FF) Chief Justice: Liam Hamilton Dáil: 28th Seanad: 21st Events January 1 January – The Vocational Education Committees of the towns of Bray, Drogheda, Sligo, Tralee and Wexford were abolished. 14 January – The Mahon Planning Tribunal opened in Dublin Castle. February 27 February – Ireland qualified for entry into the Economic and Monetary Union of the European Union. March 15 March – Former Fine Gael party minister Hugh Coveney died in a fall from a cliff in County Cork. April 10 April (Good Friday) – The British and Irish governments and all the political parties in Northern Ireland (except the Democratic Unionists) signed the Belfast Agreement (also called Good Friday Agreement). May 22 May – The Good Friday Agreement was endorsed in a referendum by people north and south of the Irish border. June 5 June – The National 1798 Rebellion Centre in Enniscorthy, County Wexford was officially opened by Taoiseach Bertie Ahern during bicentennial commemorations of the 1798 Rebellion.1998-06-06 Taoiseach opens '98 exhibition The Irish Times en https://www.irishtimes.com/news/taoiseach-opens-98-exhibition-1.160415 July 1 July – The new Northern Ireland Assembly first met, in "shadow" form; Reg Empey and Seamus Mallon were elected First Minister and Deputy First Minister respectively. 11–13 July – The opening stages (fr Grand Départ) of the 1998 Tour de France were held in Ireland. August 15 August – Omagh bombing: 29 people died in a car bomb explosion near the centre of Omagh, County Tyrone by the Real Irish Republican Army (Real IRA). September 4 September – President Bill Clinton of the United States began his second official visit to the island of Ireland (his first being in 1995). 20 September - The TV3 television station was launched. October 22 October - Whistleblowers at Our Lady of Lourdes Hospital, Drogheda, drew attention to the excessive number of hysterectomies carried out by surgeon Michael Neary.Department of Health and Children (DOHC) 2006 The Lourdes hospital inquiry: An inquiry into peripartum hysterectomy at Our Lady of Lourdes Hospital, Drogheda. Report of Judge Maureen Harding Clark S.C. https://www.lenus.ie/handle/10147/42922 November 26 November – Tony Blair became the first Prime Minister of the United Kingdom to address the Oireachtas.Penguin Pocket On This Day Penguin Reference Library 0-14-102715-0 2006 30 November – Unemployment fell by 20% with the number of people in work rising by 100,000. December 12 December – Members of the Labour Party and Democratic Left agreed to merge. 26 December – Great Boxing Day Storm ('Hurricane Stephen'): Severe gale-force winds hit northwest Ireland causing heavy disruption to services. 31 December – The punt currency was traded for the last time as the euro currency was launched. Arts and literature 28 February – Actor and comedian Dermot Morgan died suddenly in London. 25 May – Patrick McCabe's novel Breakfast on Pluto was published. 3 July – The boyband Westlife was formed. 28 August – Maeve Binchy's novel Tara Road was published. 20 September – The TV3 television channel went on the air. 7 October – Marina Carr's drama By the Bog of Cats opened at the Abbey Theatre, Dublin. 24 December – Gay Byrne broadcast his final radio show, from St Stephen's Green, Dublin. John Montague became the first occupant of the Ireland Chair of Poetry. Garry Hynes became the first woman to win a Tony Award for Best Direction of a Play (The Beauty Queen of Leenane) on Broadway. Brendan Graham's Great Famine novel The Whitest Flower was published. Terence Dolan's A Dictionary of Hiberno-English: The Irish Use of English was published. Sport Association football St Patrick's Athletic won the League of Ireland. Cork City won the FAI Cup. Shelbourne's home UEFA Cup tie against Rangers was moved to England due to fears of sectarian trouble. Despite taking a 3–0 lead, Shelbourne lost 3–5. 8 May – The Irish under-16 team won the European Championship. 26 July - The Irish under-18 team won the European Championship. Gaelic football Galway won the All-Ireland Senior Football Championship, beating Kildare in the final. Golf Murphy's Irish Open was won by David Carter (England). Hurling Offaly won the All-Ireland Senior Hurling Championship for the second time in five years. Swimming 6 August – Olympic gold medalist Michelle Smith was banned from competition for four years for tampering with a drug test. Births 17 March – Nathan O'Toole, actor 2 April – Caelan Doris, rugby player 8 August – Liam Scales, footballer Deaths 26 January – Ernest Gébler, writer (b. 1914). 8 February – Niall Sheridan, poet, fiction writer and broadcaster (b. 1912). 28 February – Dermot Morgan, actor and comedian (b. 1952). 15 March – Hugh Coveney, Fine Gael TD and Cabinet Minister, yachtsman (b. 1935). 17 April – Robin Lawler, soccer player (born 1925). 6 May – Sybil Connolly, fashion designer (b. 1921). 22 May – Jim Power, Galway hurler (b. 1894). 26 May – Kate Cruise O'Brien, writer (b. 1948). 23 June Paul O'Dwyer, lawyer and politician in the United States (b. 1907). Maureen O'Sullivan, actress (b. 1911). 26 July – Seán Ó hEinirí, fisherman, seanchaí and monolingual speaker of the Irish language (b. 1915). 13 August – Liam de Paor, historian and archaeologist (b. 1926). 20 September – Robert Malachy Burke, Christian Socialist and philanthropist (b. 1907). 10 October – Tommy Quaid, Limerick hurler (b. 1957). 16 October – Patrick Hickey, visual artist (b. 1927). 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). See also 1998 in Irish television References External links 1998 at Reeling in the Years 1998