1940 in Ireland

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Events

• January - The Irish Naval Service acquires the first of its six Motor Torpedo Boats, M1.
• 17 January - Enid (Captain Wibe) of neutral Norway sailing from Steinkjer to Dublin, 10 miles north of Shetland, goes to assist SS Polzella which had been torpedoed by U-25. U25 then shells and sinks Enid.
• 7 February - Munster (Capt. R. Paisley) mined and sunk in Irish Sea entering Liverpool.^[1]
• 3 March - Cato (Capt. Richard Martin), British, from Dublin to Bristol, strikes a mine 2.5 miles west of Nash Point: 13 die, 2 survive.
• 9 March - Trawler Leukos sunk by gunfire from U-38, north west of Tory Island - 11 dead.^[1] (She may have moved between the surfacing U-boat and English trawlers, in the hope that the tricolour would protect her while the English escaped).
• 10 March - City of Bremen rescues 33 crew of Amor (Dutch) in the North Sea.
• 29 March - Fire destroys the roof and upper rooms of St. Patrick's College, Maynooth.
• 24 May - First secret meeting to formulate 'Plan W', joint action in the event of a German invasion of Ireland, is held between Irish officials and British military in London.
• 27 May - Uruguay of neutral Argentina sailing from Rosario to Limerick with 6,000 tons of maize, sinks with scuttling charges by U-37 160 miles from Cape Villano: 15 die, 13 survive.
• 10 June - Violando N Goulandris of then-neutral Greece sailing from Santa Fe to Waterford with a cargo of wheat is torpedoed by U-48 off Cape Finisterre: 6 die, 22 survive.
• 12 June - U-38 lands a German spy, Karl Simon, in Dingle. He is promptly arrested and interned for the duration.
• 19 June - Dublin Institute for Advanced Studies established.
• 23 June - Minister Frank Aiken encourages everyone to store food and water and to prepare a shelter in case of a direct hit.
• 2 July - British-owned SS Arandora Star, carrying civilian internees and POWs of Italian and German origin from Liverpool to Canada, is torpedoed and sunk by German submarine U-47 off northwest Ireland with the loss of around 865 lives.
• 4 July - Taoiseach Éamon de Valera announces that the policy of neutrality adopted the previous September will not be reversed.
• 11 July - Moyalla rescues twenty survivors from Athellaird (British) off Cape Clear Island.
• 15 July - City of Limerick (Capt. R. Ferguson) bombed by aircraft and sinks in Bay of Biscay, 700 miles west of Ushant - 2 dead.^[1]
• 20 July - City of Waterford (Capt. T. Freehill) shelled by submarine in North Atlantic but escapes.
• 30 July - Kyleclare rescues 52 survivors from Clan Menzies (British) off Mayo coast.
• 1 August - Collier Kerry Head bombed off Kinsale - survives this attack, but see 22 October.
• 15 August - Meath (Capt. T. MacFariane) mined and sunk off the South Stack, Holy Island, Anglesey;^[1] crew rescued by a local fishing trawler but 700 cattle lost
• 16 August - Lock Ryan (Capt. J. Nolan) bombed off Land's End but survives.^[1]
• 24 August - City of Waterford (Capt. T. Freehill) bombed in Irish Sea but survives.
• 27 August - Lanahrone rescues 18 survivors from Goathland (British) off Kerry coast.
• 4 September - Luimneach (Capt. E. Jones) sunk by gunfire from U-46 in Bay of Biscay.^[1]
• 4 September - Edenvale (Capt. N. Gillespie) machine-gunned by German plane off Waterford coast.^[1]
• 3 October - The German news agency announces that the German government is willing to pay compensation for dropping bombs on Dublin.
• 22 October - Kerry Head (Capt. C. Drummond) bombed again: all twelve hands lost, in full view of watchers on Cape Clear Island.^[1]
• November - The 'Murder of Marlhill' takes place in Knockgraffon near New Inn, County Tipperary
• 7 November - Éamon de Valera, speaking in response to Winston Churchill's statement, says that there can be no question of handing over Irish ports for use by British forces while they retain control of Northern Ireland.
• 11 November - Ardmore (Capt. T. Ford) strikes a mine off the Saltee Islands - 24 die.
• 24 November - James Craig, the first Prime Minister of Northern Ireland, dies suddenly. He was the longest continually serving Prime Minister in Europe.
• 19 December - Lightship tender Isolda (Capt. A. Bestic) is sunk by German bombers within sight of Carnsore Point - six killed, seven wounded.^[1]
• 21 December - Innisfallen (Capt. G. Firth) hits a mine off The Wirral Peninsula near New Brighton while leaving Liverpool and sinks - four die.^[1]
• 27 December - Dr. John Charles McQuaid is consecrated as Archbishop of Dublin.

Arts and literature

• The Bell, a liberal monthly magazine of literature and social comment, is established in Dublin by Seán Ó Faoláin.
• Cecil Day-Lewis publishes Poems in Wartime and his translation of The Georgics of Virgil.^[2]
• Louis MacNeice publishes his poetry The Last Ditch.^[2]

Sport

Football

• League of Ireland

Winners: St James' Gate

• FAI Cup

Winners: Shamrock Rovers 3 - 0 Sligo Rovers.

Golf

• Irish Open is not played due to The Emergency.

Births

January to March

• 25 January - Bishop Philip Boyce, Roman Catholic bishop of the Diocese of Raphoe.
• 26 January - Séamus Hegarty, Bishop of the Diocese of Raphoe, later Bishop of the Diocese of Derry.
• 2 February - Brendan Daly, former Fianna Fáil TD and Cabinet Minister, Senator.
• 27 March - Lorcan Allen, farmer and former Fianna Fáil TD for Wexford, and the youngest person ever elected to Dáil Éireann (at the 1961 general election)

April to June

• 12 April - Dermot Fitzpatrick, former Fianna Fáil TD.
• 13 April - Frank O'Neill, soccer player.
• 20 April - Alfie Linehan, cricketer.
• 23 April - Timothy Carroll, Roman Catholic bishop serving as Apostolic Vicar in the Titular See of Tipasa in Mauretania.
• 11 May - Mary Henry, member of the Seanad (1993–2007) representing University of Dublin.
• 15 May - Proinsias De Rossa, former leader of the Workers' Party and Democratic Left, former Cabinet Minister and an MEP.
• 28 May - Maeve Binchy, novelist and columnist.
• 29 May - Donal Murray, Bishop of Limerick (1996 - ).
• 6 June - Willie John McBride, international rugby player.
• 6 June - Michael Smith, Roman Catholic Bishop of Meath.
• 24 June - Adrian FitzGerald, 24th Knight of Kerry.

July to December

• 26 July - Tom Enright, former Fine Gael politician.
• 5 September - Aideen O'Kelly, actress.
• 10 September - Dickie Rock, singer and songwriter.
• 12 September - Desmond Foley, Gaelic footballer and hurler and Fianna Fáil TD (died 1995).
• 19 October - Michael Gambon, actor.
• 1 November - Michael Collins, former Fianna Fáil TD.
• 6 November - Johnny Giles, former international footballer and broadcaster.
• 17 November - Luke Kelly, singer, folk musician and member of The Dubliners (died 1984).
• 1 December - Brendan Toal, former Fine Gael TD.

Full date unknown

• Séamus Cleere, former Kilkenny hurler.
• Martin Coogan, former Kilkenny hurler.
• Phil Flynn, former vice-president of Sinn Féin, businessman.

Deaths

• 2 January - William Harrington, cricketer (born 1869).
• 24 January - John Doogan, soldier, recipient of the Victoria Cross for gallantry in 1881 at Laing's Nek, South Africa (born 1853).
• 9 February - Edward Joseph Byrne, Roman Catholic Archbishop of Dublin (born 1872)
• 21 July - John Brunskill, cricketer (born 1875).
• 22 July - Peter Maher, boxer (born 1869).
• 14 August - Seán Russell, Irish republican and a chief of staff of the Irish Republican Army (born 1893).
• 21 September - Mick O'Brien, soccer player and manager (born 1893).
• 24 November - James Craig, 1st Viscount Craigavon, first Prime Minister of Northern Ireland (born 1871).

Full date unknown

• Dr. Mark F. Ryan, nationalist and author (born 1844).
• Samuel Shumack, farmer and author in Australia (born 1850).

References

1. ^ ^{a b c d e f g h i j} Forde, Frank (2000). "Appendix 3: Beligerent Action against Irish Ships". The Long Watch: World War Two and the Irish Mercantile Marine (rev ed.). Dublin: New Island. ISBN 1-902602-42-0. 
2. ^ ^{a b} Cox, Michael, ed. (2004). The Concise Oxford Chronology of English Literature. Oxford University Press. ISBN 0-19-860634-6.