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2011 in Ireland

Events during the year 2011 in Ireland.

Incumbents

Events

January

February

  • 1 February
  • Fianna Fáil TD for Limerick West, John Cregan, announced he will not contest the 2011 general election.
  • It was announced that the Sunday Tribune newspaper had gone into receivership following the decision of Independent News & Media to stop funding it.
  • The Taoiseach dissolved the Dáil and went to Áras an Uachtaráin where President McAleese signed a proclamation of dissolution. The Minister for Local Government made an order appointing 25 February as polling day. The Clerk of the Dáil issued a writ to the constituency returning officers to initiate a general election, officially allowing posters of the candidates to be displayed.
  • A Russian agent was expelled from Ireland because of his role in the forgery of Irish passports for use in the "Illegals Program" spy ring in the United States. A Garda investigation discovered that members of the Russian espionage agency, the SVR, were involved in the forgeries. Alexander Smirnov, the first secretary in the Russian embassy's consular section, was instructed to leave Ireland.
  • 2 February – Russian deputy foreign minister Vladimir Titov threatened Ireland that Russia will retaliate for the Irish expulsion of a Russian forger. Ireland warned Russia that retaliation would be unjustified. An Irish government spokesman said Irish embassy staff in Moscow perform no spying activity.
  • 5 February – It emerged that a large number of gun enthusiasts had mounted legal challenges against the Criminal Justice (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act of August 2009 which banned handguns and restricted access to other firearms.
  • 7 February – The first gay civil partnership under the newly enacted civil partnership law took place in the Civil Registration Office in Dublin.
  • 10 February – A small plane carrying ten passengers and two crew crashed while landing in fog at Cork Airport. Six people were killed.
  • 25 February – A general election was held. There were party reverses and gains on a historic scale with support for the outgoing government parties Fianna Fáil and the Green Party collapsing. Dominic Hannigan and John Lyons were the first openly LGBT members of Dáil Éireann at the time of election.

March

April

  • 12–14 April – The Dalai Lama Tenzin Gyatso visited Ireland for the third time. He delivered a speech on the 13th to 2,000 people at a conference in Saggart and visited the town of Kildare. The following day, he gave an address to 3,100 people at the University of Limerick entitled "The Power of Forgiveness". He last visited Ireland in March 1991, and has also visited Northern Ireland three times.

May

June

  • 30 June–3 July – the Tall Ships' Races began in Waterford. Half a million people were expected to attend the festival.

July

August

September

  • 7 September – Telecommunication company TalkTalk announced the loss of 575 jobs with the closure of its call centre in Waterford.
  • 13 September – Homeowner Teresa Treacy was jailed for contempt of court in County Offaly. Government contractors cut down 12,000 of her trees to make way for electricity pylons while she was detained.
  • 22 September – The first Irish case of death by spontaneous combustion was recorded in Galway.

October

November

  • 3 November – The Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade announced the closure of Ireland's embassies in Iran and the Vatican, and its representative office in East Timor, as a cost-cutting measure during the serious Irish financial crisis.
  • 11 November – Michael D. Higgins was inaugurated as President of Ireland at a ceremony in Dublin Castle.
  • 15 November
  • The Irish association football team qualified for UEFA Euro 2012 in Poland/Ukraine.
  • Willie Penrose resigned as Minister of State for Housing and Planning due to his opposition to the Government's decision to close the army barracks in Mullingar.
  • 16 November – Thousands of students and their families from around Ireland marched on Government Buildings in Dublin to protest against the re-introduction of third-level education fees. A small group also engage in a sit-down protest outside the Fine Gael office on Upper Mount Street.
  • 22 November – Fine Gael's Darren Scully resigned as Mayor of Naas after commenting on live radio about the alleged "aggressive attitude" of "black Africans".
  • 23 November – The Prime Time Investigates television programme was cancelled as Director-General of RTÉ Noel Curran described the broadcasting of "Mission to Prey" as "one of the gravest editorial mistakes ever made" at RTÉ.
  • 26 November – Thousands of people marched against austerity in Dublin.
  • 29 November – Three student union presidents (of Galway-Mayo Institute of Technology, University College Cork and IT Carlow) under the leadership of Union of Students in Ireland (USI) President Gary Redmond, and in possession of a chemical toilet and supplies of food that could have lasted them weeks, occupied a room at the Department of Social Protection on Store Street in Dublin as part of a continued effort to have the Labour Party clarify its position on tuition fees. Ten student union presidents also attempted to occupy a room at the Department of Enterprise on Kildare Street.
  • 30 November
  • Nine Free Education for Everyone (FEE) students seeking clarification of the government's view on third-level education fees participated in a sit-down protest by occupying the constituency office of Fine Gael TD and former mayor Brian Walsh in Bohermore, Galway. They unfurled a banner on the roof with the message, "Free Education Nothing Less".
  • Audits of child protection practices conducted by the National Board for Safeguarding Children in the Catholic Church were published by six dioceses, with the Roman Catholic Diocese of Raphoe, overseen by Philip Boyce, coming in for most criticism.
  • A settlement was reached between the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Armagh and a man sworn to secrecy by Seán Brady over abuse by Brendan Smyth as a teenager.

December

  • 1 December
  • Tommy Broughan TD was expelled from the Labour Party after voting to reject a government amendment to extend the bank guarantee for another year.
  • Roscrea District Court solicitors walked out over the closure of the courthouse.
  • 2 December – Eight students from the National University of Ireland, Maynooth (NUIM), including the university's student union president Rob Munnelly, occupied the Naas constituency office of Fine Gael TD Anthony Lawlor. They brought sleeping bags, clothes, a chemical toilet and a week's supply of food. During the occupation Munnelly debated with Lawlor live on Kildare TV, USI President Gary Redmond visited the students, and a banner with the slogan "Save the Grant" was erected at Lawlor's entrance.
  • 3 December – Hundreds of people from County Donegal assembled in Buncrana to protest against austerity and to tell the government that "Inishowen and Donegal says no to further cuts and austerity".
  • 6 December – Patrick Nulty TD voted against the value added tax increase in the 2012 budget and lost the Labour Party whip as a result.
  • 16 December – Staff at the Vita Cortex plant in Cork began a sit-in after being told their jobs were eliminated and that they were to receive no redundancy payments.
  • 19 December – The Criminal Law (Defence and the Dwelling) Act 2012 was signed by President Higgins. The new home defence law, which came into effect on 13 January 2012, allowed householders to defend their homes against intruders using reasonable force, including lethal force.

The arts

Sport

Association football

2011 Nations Cup

  • 8–9 February and 24–29 May – 2011 Nations Cup association football tournament in Dublin.
  • 8 February – Ireland 3–0 Wales.
  • 9 February – Northern Ireland 0–3 Scotland.
  • 24 May – Ireland 5–0 Northern Ireland.
  • 25 May – Wales 1–3 Scotland.
  • 27 May – Wales 2–0 Northern Ireland.
  • 29 May – Ireland 1–0 Scotland.

2012 UEFA European Championships Qualifiers

International friendly matches

League of Ireland

Athletics

Cricket

Gaelic games

Football

Hurling

Rugby

Heineken Cup

2011 Six Nations Championship

  • 5 February – Six Nations Italy 11–13 Ireland.
  • 13 February – Ireland 22–25 France.
  • 27 February – Scotland 18–21 Ireland
  • 12 March – Wales 19–13 Ireland
  • 19 March – Ireland 24–8 England.

Rugby World Cup

  • 11 September – Ireland 22–10 United States
  • 17 September – Ireland 15–6 Australia
  • 25 September – Ireland 62–12 Russia
  • 2 October – Ireland 36–6 Italy
  • 8 October – Ireland 10–22 Wales

Deaths

January

February

March

April

May

June

July

August

September

October

  • 11 October – Peter McDermott, 93; former Meath Gaelic footballer and coach.
  • 12 October – Martin White, 102; former Kilkenny hurler and the oldest surviving All-Ireland medal winner.
  • 22 October – Cathal O'Shannon, 83; journalist and television presenter.

November

December

See also

References