2003 in Ireland

Incumbents

• President: Mary McAleese
• Taoiseach: Bertie Ahern
• Tánaiste: Mary Harney
• Minister for Finance: Charlie McCreevy
• Chief Justice: Ronan Keane
• Dáil: 29th
• Seanad: 22nd

  Events

• 21 January – The Spire of Dublin on O'Connell Street was completed.
• 16 February – One hundred thousand people in Dublin, and 30,000 in Belfast marched to express their opposition to the imminent invasion of Iraq.
• 7 April – President Bush of the United States arrived in Northern Ireland for discussions with British Prime Minister, Tony Blair. He also met Taoiseach Bertie Ahern, and the leaders of the pro-agreement parties.
• 21 June – The 2003 Special Olympics World Summer Games were opened by the former President of South Africa, Nelson Mandela, in Croke Park, Dublin.
• 31 August – The remains of Belfast mother Jean McConville were found 31 years after she was abducted and murdered by the Provisional IRA, who accused her of being a British Army agent.
• 15 September – For the first time, the All-Ireland Football Final was contested by two teams from the same province. Tyrone were victorious over Armagh in the first All-Ulster Final.
• 27 November – The people of Northern Ireland went to the polls. The Democratic Unionist Party and Sinn Féin made massive gains at the expense of more moderate unionist and nationalist parties.

  Literature

• May – Claire Kilroy's debut novel All Summer was published.
• 20 May – Mark O'Rowe's play Crestfall premièred at the Gate Theatre, Dublin.
• 25 November – The contents of Lissadell House in County Sligo were auctioned.
• Hugo Hamilton's memoir The Speckled People was published.
• Paul Murray's comic novel An Evening of Long Goodbyes was published.
• My Name Is Red by Orhan Pamuk won the International Dublin Literary Award.

  Music

Sport

Association football

• The League of Ireland moved from a predominantly winter season to a Scandinavian-style summer season. Bohemians won the transitional 2002/03 season and Shelbourne won the 2003 championship.

  Gaelic games

• All-Ireland Hurling Final – Kilkenny 1–14, Cork 1–11.
• All-Ireland Football Final – Tyrone 0–12, Armagh 0–9.

  Golf

• Nissan Irish Open was won by Michael Campbell.

  Rugby union

• Rugby World Cup – Ireland reached the quarter-finals of the competition before being beaten by France.
• 2003 Six Nations Championship: Ireland lost only to England, who won the tournament with a grand slam.
• 2002–03 Heineken Cup: Munster and Leinster advanced from the pool stage and both were defeated in the semi-finals. The final was played in Lansdowne Road.

  Deaths