1997 in Ireland

Incumbents

• President:
• * Mary Robinson
• * Mary McAleese
• Taoiseach:
• * John Bruton
• * Bertie Ahern
• Tánaiste:
• * Dick Spring
• * Mary Harney
• Minister for Finance:
• * Ruairi Quinn
• * Charlie McCreevy
• Chief Justice: Liam Hamilton
• Dáil:
• * 27th
• * 28th
• Seanad:
• * 20th
• * 21st

  Events

• 8 January – Russia sought to widen its ban on the importation of Irish beef due to Bovine spongiform encephalopathy.
• 27 February – the law providing for divorce came into effect.
• 6 March – Michael Lowry resigned as a member of the Fine Gael party.
• 7 March – President Mary Robinson met Pope John Paul II in the Vatican.
• 17 March – the new national independent radio station, Radio Ireland, went on the air.
• 8 April – author Frank McCourt was awarded the Pulitzer Prize for his book Angela's Ashes.
• 6 June – in the general election, Fianna Fáil won a plurality of seats and formed a coalition government with the Progressive Democrats. Bertie Ahern replaced John Bruton as Taoiseach, and Mary Harney of the Progressive Democrats became Tánaiste and Minister for Enterprise, Trade, and Employment.
• 12 June – President Mary Robinson was appointed UN High Commissioner for Human Rights.
• 16 June – National University of Ireland, Maynooth came into existence with the commencement of the Universities Act, 1997.
• 25 June – film makers arrived for two months of shooting at Curracloe, County Wexford to re-create the D-Day Normandy invasion scenes for Steven Spielberg's film Saving Private Ryan.
• 3 July – Taoiseach Bertie Ahern met United Kingdom Prime Minister Tony Blair for the first time.
• 6-11 July – 1997 nationalist riots in Northern Ireland: There was violence in nationalist areas after an Orange Order parade was allowed down the Garvaghy Road by the Royal Ulster Constabulary in Portadown as part of the Drumcree conflict.
• 9 July – counsel for Charles Haughey admitted that the former Taoiseach accepted £1.3 million from businessman Ben Dunne.
• 20 July – the Irish Republican Army instituted a second ceasefire.
• 31 August – The British Ambassador to Ireland, Veronica Sutherland leads the tributes to Princess Diana.
• 6 September – Thousands of people queued at the British Embassy in Dublin to sign a book of condolence and to express their personal sadness at the death of Princess Diana. Due to the large turnout, three books of condolence were made available. Taoiseach Bertie Ahern, Tánaiste Mary Harney, Minister for Foreign Affairs Ray Burke, Fine Gael's Nora Owen and Labour's Ruairi Quinn all sign their condolences. Thousands of bouquets and cards are left at the gates of the embassy expressing a very real affection for Princess Diana as well as a sense of loss amongst the people of Ireland, Books of Condolence are also made available for signing at the Mansion House and at City Hall in Cork.
• 6 September – All Flags on State Buildings in Ireland fly at half mast as a mark of respect for Princess Diana on the day of her funeral.
• 7 September – A special service of remembrance for Diana, Princess of Wales, is held in St Patrick's Cathedral, Dublin, attended by the President of Ireland, Mary Robinson, & the Taoiseach, Bertie Ahern,
• 12 September – Mary Robinson resigned as President to assume her new role as UN High Commissioner for Human Rights.
• 18 September – the converted Collins Barracks re-opened to house the National Museum of Ireland's Decorative Arts and History collections.
• 7 October – substantial all-party talks began in Northern Ireland.
• 10 October – at a Provisional Irish Republican Army General Army Convention held at Falcarragh, County Donegal, a majority supported the ceasefire.
• November – IRA members opposed to the ceasefire, led by Michael McKevitt, met at a farmhouse in Oldcastle, County Meath, and formed a new organisation of Óglaigh na hÉireann, which became known as the Real Irish Republican Army.
• 1 November – the Hepatitis C Compensation Tribunal Act, 1997, took effect.
• 7 November – Dick Spring confirmed that he was resigning as leader of the Labour Party.
• 11 November – Mary McAleese was inaugurated as the eighth President of Ireland, the first time in the world that one woman succeeded another as elected head of state.
• 13 November – Ruairi Quinn won the leadership of the Labour Party.
• 27 December – the Loyalist Volunteer Force leader Billy Wright was shot dead in the Maze prison by members of the Irish National Liberation Army.

  Arts and literature

• 3 May – Ireland staged the Eurovision Song Contest, hosted by Ronan Keating and Carrie Crowley. The Irish entry, Mysterious Woman sung by Marc Roberts, came second.
• 4 July – Conor McPherson's play The Weir premièred at the Royal Court Theatre Upstairs in London.
• 13 July – Neil Jordan's film The Butcher Boy is released in Ireland.
• 24 November – the first episode aired of the RTÉ television programme, A Scare at Bedtime.
• 31 December – Jim Sheridan's film The Boxer was released, starring Daniel Day-Lewis.
• Raidió Teilifís Éireann rebranded its television channel Network 2 as "N2".
• Danny Osborne's Oscar Wilde Memorial Sculpture unveiled in Merrion Square, Dublin.
• John Banville's novel The Untouchable was published.

  Sport

Gaelic games

• Kerry won the National Football League, beating Cork 3–7 to 1–8 in the final.
• Kerry won the All-Ireland Senior Football Championship winners for the first time since 1986, following a 0–13 to 1–7 victory over Mayo in the final.
• Limerick beat Galway 1–12 to 1–9 in the National Hurling League final.
• Clare beat Tipperary by 0–20 to 2–13 in the All-Ireland Senior Hurling Championship final. It was their second title in three years.

  Golf

• The Murphy's Irish Open was won by Colin Montgomerie.

  Snooker

• Ken Doherty became world snooker champion following an 18 frames to 12 victory over Stephen Hendry at the Crucible Theatre, Sheffield.

  Soccer

• Shelbourne FC won the FAI Cup for the fifth time.
• The first ever League of Ireland match to be broadcast live on television was from Tolka Park between Shelbourne F.C. and Derry City F.C. on Network 2.

  Births

• 13 January – Tim O'Mahony, hurler
• 15 January – Alex Cardillo, actor
• 1 April – Darragh Fitzgibbon, hurler
• 14 May – David Griffin, hurler
• 25 August – Shane Kingston, hurler
• 7 November – Robbie O'Flynn, hurler
• 23 December – Mark Coleman, hurler
• 26 December – Alex Murphy, actor

  Full date unknown

• Aebh Kelly, singer

  Deaths

January to June

• 5 January – James Comyn, former Justice of the High Court of England.
• 31 January – John Joseph Scanlan, second Bishop of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Honolulu.
• 2 February – Seán Ó Síocháin, former Gaelic Athletic Association president.
• February – Reg Ryan, soccer player.
• 17 April – Chaim Herzog, sixth President of Israel .
• 12 March – William Hare, 5th Earl of Listowel, peer and Labour politician.
• 2 May – Robin Kinahan, Unionist politician and businessman.
• 9 May – Thomas FitzGerald, Earl of Offaly.
• 23 May – Noel Browne, politician, former Cabinet Minister.
• 24 May – Edward Mulhare, actor.
• 16 June – Michael O'Herlihy, television director.
• 18 June – Julia Clifford, fiddle player and traditional musician.

  July to December

• 25 September – Jim Kemmy, Labour Party and Democratic Socialist Party TD.
• 20 December – Jim Gibbons, former Fianna Fáil TD, Member of the European Parliament and Cabinet Minister.
• 29 December – John Graham, Irish Republican Army activist in the 1940s.

  Full date unknown

• Mervyn Wall, novelist and dramatist.