1990 in Northern Ireland

Incumbents

• Monarch - Elizabeth II

  Events

• 1 January - The Northern Ireland Fair Employment Act becomes law.
• 24 July - The Provisional Irish Republican Army kills three policemen and a nun in a bomb attack near Armagh.
• 24 August - Brian Keenan is released after 1574 days in captivity in Beirut.
• 6 September - RFA Fort Victoria bombing: RFA Fort Victoria, launched three months earlier at Harland and Wolff's shipyard, is boarded by an IRA unit in Belfast who plant bombs on board, one of which explodes, causing considerable damage.
• 24 October - The IRA kills six soldiers and a civilian in bomb attacks in Derry and Newry.

  Arts and literature

• 6 February - Marie Jones' The Hamster Wheel opens at The Arts Theatre, Belfast.
• 24 April - Brian Friel's Dancing at Lughnasa opens at the Abbey Theatre, Dublin.
• Ciarán Carson's Belfast Confetti poetry collection is published and wins the Irish Times Irish Literature Prize for Poetry.
• David Park's short story collection Oranges from Spain is published.

  Sport

Football

• Northern Ireland does not qualify for the 1990 world cup
• Irish League
• Irish Cup

  Golf

• Ireland win the Dunhill Cup.

  Motorcycling

• Robert Dunlop wins three MCN Supercup races, two races at the North West 200 and the 125cc race at the Isle of Man TT.

  Births

• 31 March - Lyra McKee, journalist.

  Deaths

• 21 January - Patrick Mulligan, Bishop of Clogher 1970-1979.
• 12 February - Harold McCusker, Ulster Unionist Party MP.
• 6 April - Peter Doherty, footballer.
• 8 May - Tomás Ó Fiaich, Cardinal Archbishop of Armagh and Primate of All Ireland 1978-1990.
• 12 June - Terence O'Neill, Fourth Prime Minister of Northern Ireland.
• 1 October - John Stewart Bell, scientist.
• 15 October - David McCalden, Holocaust denier.
• 18 November - Fred Daly, golfer.