2006 in Ireland

1 Incumbents
2 Events
3 Arts and literature
4 Sports
5 Deaths
6 References
7 Categories

Incumbents

President - Mary McAleese
Taoiseach - Bertie Ahern
Tánaiste - Mary Harney(Until Sep.)-Michael McDowell(after Sep.)
Secretary of State for Northern Ireland - Peter Hain
First Minister - office suspended
Deputy First Minister - office suspended

Events

January 9 - Steve Staunton is appointed the new manager of the Republic of Ireland football team and will be mentored by Bobby Robson as International Football Consultantant.
January 17 - The Gaelic Athletic Association, FAI and IRFU announce that a deal has been reached which will allow soccer and rugby to be played in Croke Park.
January 30 - Postal workers enter a 20 day wildcat strike disrupting most of Belfast's delivery service
February 14 - The 25th Anniversary of the Stardust Disaster, in which 48 young people died, is remembered by the families of the survivors.
February 25 - Rioting in Dublin as Republican protestors condemn the right for a "Love Ulster" (Unionist) parade in the city.
March 11 - The last ever competitive rugby international takes place at the oldest rugby venue in the world, Lansdowne Road, after 128 years of use, before the ground is redeveloped.
March 17 - Over 400,000 ^[1] people take to the streets of Dublin to celebrate St. Patrick's Day as part of the world's largest St. Patrick's Day Festival.
April 16 - Up to 120,000 people line the streets of Dublin to mark the 90th anniversary of the 1916 Easter Rising.
April 23 - The 2006 census takes place in the Republic of Ireland.
April 26 - Prince Philip of the United Kingdom meets President Mary McAleese and Taoiseach Bertie Ahern on a visit to Dublin.
May 14 - Fianna Fáil celebrates its 80th anniversary with a day of celebrations at the Mansion House, Dublin.
May 15 The members of the Northern Ireland Assembly are recalled 3 1/2 years after the assembly was suspended, with a view to electing an executive, and havingthe suspension lifted
May 21 - Armed Gardaí forceably remove thirty Afghan refugees who had sought sanctuary in St.Patrick's cathedral, Dublin after a one week hunger-strike
May 22 - Belfast City airport is renamed George Best Belfast City Airport on what would have been George Best's 60th birthday.
May 24 - Australian Prime Minister John Howard formally addresses Dáil Éireann.
June 16 - The state funeral of the former Taoiseach Charles J. Haughey takes place in Dublin.
June 18 - Irish Government announces plans to spend €3.8 billion on scientific research over 7 years to grow world-class research capabilities.
July 1 - President Mary McAleese and leadng representatives of all political parties in Ireland, north and south, mark the 90th anniversary of the Battle of the Somme at the National War Memorial, Islandbridge
July 7 - Dublin Airport is evacuated for the second time in a week when an abandoned suspect package is found.
July 18 - The warmest temperature this century (and in over a decade) is recorded in Kilkenny Castle - 31.5 °C (88.7 °F). Ireland is one of many countries affected by the 2006 European heat wave. July 2006 is the warmest, on average, since records began in both the Republic and Northern Ireland.
July 19 - CSO preliminary 2006 census findings indicate that the population of the Republic of Ireland is 4,234,925 million, an increase of 8.6% since 2002 and at its highest since the 1861 census.
September 1 - 150th anniversary of the birth of John Redmond, Leader of the Irish Parliamentary Party.
September 7 - Mary Harney resigns as leader of the Progressive Democrats. She has led the party since October 1993.
September 11 - Michael McDowell becomes, by consensus, leader of the Progressive Democrats
18 October - Northern Ireland overtake the Republic of Ireland in the Fifa rankings for the first time. ^[2]
24 November - Loyalist Michael Stone, attempts to bomb the NI Assembly on the day nominations for first and deputy first minister are due to be made.^[3]^[4]

Arts and literature

June 13 - Colm Tóibín's novel The Master wins the International IMPAC Dublin Literary Award. He is the first Irish writer to win the prestigious award.
July 26 - Sesquicentennial anniversary of the birth of George Bernard Shaw

Sports

Olympic Games

The Republic of Ireland sent 4 athletes to the Winter Olympics in 2006, in Turin, Italy.

Ireland at the 2006 Winter Olympics

Athletics

Ireland's Derval O'Rourke wins the women's 60m hurdles at the 2006 IAAF World Indoor Championships, setting a new national record in the event, and becoming the first Irish woman to win an international senior sprint medal at this level.
Northern Ireland compete in the Commonwealth Games claiming two silver medals