1971 in Ireland

««« 1970 1969 1968 1967 1966	1971 in Ireland	»»» 1972 1973 1974 1975 1976
Decades: 1950s • 1960s • 1970s • 1980s • 1990s Centuries: 18th • 19th • 20th • 21st See also: 1971 in Northern Ireland Other events of 1971 List of years in Ireland

Events

• February 15 - Decimalisation: The Republic of Ireland and United Kingdom both switch to decimal currency.^[1]
• March 20 - Maj. James Chichester-Clark resigns as Prime Minister of Northern Ireland. He is succeeded on March 23 by Brian Faulkner.
• April 3 - The Eurovision Song Contest is held in Dublin. Presented by Bernadette Ní Ghallchóir, it is the first colour broadcast by RTÉ.
• April 11
  • Ten British Army soldiers are injured in rioting in Derry.
  • The Gaelic Athletic Association votes to lift its ban on members participating in "foreign games" such as soccer, rugby and cricket.
• May 11 - Seán Lemass, Taoiseach from 1959 to 1966, dies in Dublin aged 71. He was active during the 1916 Easter Rising, the War of Independence and the Civil War.
• May 22 - Members of the Irish Women's Liberation Movement return to Dublin on the "Contraceptive Train" from Belfast bringing contraceptives as a protest against the law banning their importation.
• July 8 - Two rioters are shot dead by British troops in Derry.^[2]
• July 16 - The Social Democratic and Labour Party (SDLP) announces that it is withdrawing from Stormont.
• August 9 - Internment without trial is introduced in Northern Ireland. Over 300 republicans are 'lifted' in pre-dawn raids by British security forces and interned in Long Kesh prison. Some Loyalists are later arrested. Twenty people die in riots that follow, including eleven in the Ballymurphy Massacre.^[3]
• August 12 - British troops begin clearing operations in Belfast following the worst rioting in years. Taoiseach Jack Lynch calls for an end to the Stormont administration.
• September 7 - The death toll in The Troubles reaches 100 after three years with the death of 14-year-old Annette McGavigan, who is fatally wounded by a gunshot in crossfire between British soldiers and the IRA.
• September 25 - A rally takes place in Dublin in support of a campaign of civil disobedience in Northern Ireland.
• September 27 - Prime ministers Edward Heath, Jack Lynch and Brian Faulkner meet at Chequers to discuss the Northern Ireland situation.
• October 13 - The British Army begins to destroy roads between the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland as a security measure.^[4]
• October 23 - Two women are shot dead by soldiers in Belfast as their car fails to stop at a checkpoint.^[5]
• October 31 - A IRA bomb explodes at the top of the Post Office Tower in London.^[6]
• November 10 - The government defeats a motion of no confidence in Jim Gibbons.
• November 17 - Neil Blaney and Paudge Brennan are expelled from the Fianna Fáil parliamentary party.
• December 4 - The McGurk's Bar bombing, carried out by the Ulster Volunteer Force in Belfast, kills 15 people, the highest death toll from a single incident in the city during "the Troubles".^[7]

Arts and literature

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Sports

All-Ireland Senior Football Championship: Offaly 1-14 Galway 2-8

All-Ireland Senior Hurling Championship: Tipperary 5-17 Kilkenny 5-14

Births

January to June

• 18 January - Stephen O'Brien, soccer player.
• 3 March - Stephen J. Martin, writer.
• 4 March - Fergal Lawler, drummer with The Cranberries.
• 12 March - Conrad Gallagher, chef.
• 6 April - Derek Tracey, soccer player.
• 18 June - Jason McAteer, Irish international soccer player.
• 28 June - Kenny Cunningham, soccer player.

July to December

• 16 July - Joe McHugh, Fine Gael TD for Donegal North–East, former Senator.
• 2 August - Davy FitzGerald, Clare hurler.
• 4 August - Paul McCarthy, soccer player.
• 6 August - Conor McPherson, playwright and director.
• 10 August - Roy Keane, former Manchester United and Glasgow Celtic footballer and current Sunderland manager.
• 17 August - Anthony Kearns, tenor
• 18 August - Aphex Twin, electronic music artist.
• 31 August - Pádraig Harrington, golfer, won the 2007 Open Championship.
• August - Brian Whelahan, Offaly hurler.
• 6 September - Dolores O'Riordan, singer and songwriter.
• 7 October - Johnny Dooley, Offaly hurler, manager.
• 24 October - Dervla Kirwan, actress.
• 3 November - Dylan Moran, comedian, actor and writer.
• 26 November - James McGarry, Kilkenny hurling goalkeeper.
• November - Brian Lohan, Clare hurler.
• 25 December - Noel Hogan, guitarist and songwriter.

Full date unknown

• Amanda Coogan, performance artist.
• John Doyle, musician and songwriter.
• Rónán Mullen, journalist and Senator.
• Jamesie O'Connor, Clare hurler.
• Fiona Pender, missing person.
• Hubert Rigney, Offaly hurler.
• John Troy, Offaly hurler.

Deaths

January to June

• 2 January - John O'Farrell, trade union official, served in the Seanad from 1922–36 and 1948–50.
• 24 January - St John Ervine, playwright and novelist (b.1883).
• 28 January - Edward O'Connell, Cork hurler.
• 31 March - Michael Browne, Master General of the Dominicans, Cardinal (b.1887).
• 1 April - Kathleen Lonsdale, X-ray crystallographer (b.1903).
• 4 May - Seamus Elliott, road bicycle racer (b.1934).
• 10 May - Archie Heron, trade union organiser.
• 11 May - Seán Lemass, Fianna Fáil TD and founder member, Cabinet Minister and Taoiseach (b.1899).
• 11 May - Eamon Martin, one of founders of Fianna Éireann, and an Irish Volunteer who fought in the Easter Rising (b.1893).
• 13 June - Máiréad Ní Ghráda, poet and playwright.
• 14 June - Gerard Dillon, artist and painter (b.1916).

July to December

• 14 August - Shane Leslie, diplomat and writer (b.1885).
• 15 September - John Desmond Bernal, scientist (b.1901).
• 26 September - Conor Maguire, lawyer and judge.
• 2 October - Paddy Ahern, Cork hurler (b.1900).
• 3 October - Seán Ó Riada, composer and musician (b.1931).
• 16 December - Richard Mulcahy, Chief of Staff, TD, Cabinet Minister and former leader of Fine Gael (b.1886).

References