1987 in Ireland

← 1986 1985 1984 1983 1982 1987 in Ireland → 1988 1989 1990 1991 1992
Centuries:	18th 19th 20th 21st
Decades:	1960s 1970s 1980s 1990s 2000s
See also:	1987 in Northern Ireland Other events of 1987 List of years in Ireland

Events from the year 1987 in Ireland.

Incumbents

• President: Patrick Hillery
• Taoiseach:
  • Garret FitzGerald (FG) (until 10 March 1987)
  • Charles Haughey (FF) (from 10 March 1987)
• Tánaiste:
  • Dick Spring (Lab) (until 20 January 1987)
  • Peter Barry (FG) (from 20 January 1987 until 10 March 1987)
  • Brian Lenihan (FF) (from 10 March 1987)
• Minister for Finance:
  • John Bruton (FG) (until 10 March 1987)
  • Ray MacSharry (FF) (from 10 March 1987)
• Chief Justice: Thomas Finlay
• Dáil:
  • 24th (until 20 January 1987)
  • 25th (from 10 March 1987)
• Seanad:
  • 17th (until 3 April 1987)
  • 18th (from 25 April 1987)

Events

• 1 January
  • Vehicle registration plates of the Republic of Ireland: a new sequence of index marks is adopted.
  • The halfpenny is abolished.
• 20 January – Labour Party ministers resign from the government over a disagreement over budget proposals.
• 19 February – a general election returns a Fianna Fáil minority government with Charles Haughey as Taoiseach.
• 11 March – former Taoiseach Dr. Garret FitzGerald resigns the leadership of Fine Gael. He is succeeded by Alan Dukes.
• 22 March – the Irish National Lottery is launched.
• 28 March – the National Lottery launches its first scratch cards.
• 8 May – Loughgall ambush: the British SAS kills eight Provisional Irish Republican Army members and a civilian in Loughgall, County Tyrone.
• 9 May – Johnny Logan wins the Eurovision Song Contest for Ireland with his own composition Hold Me Now, making him the only person to have won the competition twice as a performer.
• 26 May – voters go to the poll in the referendum on the Single European Act. Nearly 70% vote in favour of the 10th amendment to the constitution.
• 26 July – Stephen Roche wins the Tour de France.
• 8 November – Remembrance Day bombing: Eleven civilians are killed by an IRA bomb during a Remembrance Day service in Enniskillen.
• 10 November – the funeral takes place in Portmarnock of the broadcaster Eamonn Andrews followed by burial in Balgriffin Cemetery, north of Dublin.
• 29 November – Beaumont Hospital, Dublin, opens to patients.
• 5 December – Downpatrick & Ardglass Railway begins public operation, the first Irish gauge heritage railway in Ireland.
• Undated – Cooley Distillery first produces Irish whiskey.

Arts and literature

• U2 release The Joshua Tree album to popular international acclaim.
• Maeve Binchy's novel Firefly Summer is published.
• Roddy Doyle publishes his first novel, The Commitments, first of The Barrytown Trilogy, about a group of unemployed young people in the north side of Dublin who start a soul band.
• Kíla, the folk/world music group, is formed in the Irish language secondary school Coláiste Eoin in County Dublin.

Sport

Cycling

Stephen Roche

• 6 September – Stephen Roche completes a remarkable treble by winning the Giro d'Italia, the Tour de France and the World Championship.

Gaelic football

• Meath defeat Cork by 1–14 to 0–11 to win the All-Ireland Senior Football Championship.

Golf

• Carroll's Irish Open is won by Bernhard Langer (West Germany).

Hurling

• Galway defeat Kilkenny by 1–12 to 0–9 to win the All-Ireland Senior Hurling Championship.

Soccer

• 11 November – Republic of Ireland qualify for their first major international tournament when Scotland pull off a shock 1–0 win in Sofia against Bulgaria. Gary Mackay scores the only goal with just three minutes left to put the Republic of Ireland into Euro 88 which will be held in West Germany.

Births

Shane Long, born in January.

Shane Lowry, born in April.

• 2 January – Cathal Naughton, Cork hurler.
• 9 January – Nicola Coughlan, actress
• 22 January – Shane Long, soccer player.
• 24 January – Ruth Bradley, television actress.
• 30 January – Becky Lynch, professional wrestler.
• 4 February – Darren O'Dea, soccer player.
• 5 February – Denis McLaughlin, soccer player.
• 14 February – James Chambers, soccer player.
• 16 March – Diarmuid O'Carroll, soccer player.
• 2 April – Shane Lowry, golfer
• 13 April – Conor Sammon, soccer player.
• 23 April – Kelly Gough, actress.
• 12 May – Darren Randolph, soccer player.
• 20 May – Pa Cronin, Cork hurler.
• 21 May – Chris McCann, soccer player.
• 7 July – Diarmuid Connolly, Dublin Gaelic football and hurling player.
• 9 July – Jonny Hayes, soccer player.
• 28 September – Gary Deegan, soccer player.
• 2 June – Graeme Mulcahy, hurler (Kilmallock, Limerick).
• 2 October – Séamus Hickey, hurler (Murroe-Boher, Limerick).
• 11 October – Richie McCarthy, hurler (Blackrock, Limerick).
• 16 October – Eric McGill, soccer player.
• 9 November – Tom Condon, hurler (Limerick).
• 16 November – T. J. Reid, Kilkenny hurler.
• 13 December – Billy Clarke, soccer player.

Deaths

• 2 January – Roger McHugh, professor, author and playwright (born 1908).
• 4 January – Eudie Coughlan, Cork hurler (born 1900).
• 14 January – Ewart Milne, poet (born 1903).
• January – Billy King, cricketer (born 1902).
• 8 April – Kevin McNamara, Archbishop of Dublin (Roman Catholic) (born 1926).
• 19 April – Con Cremin, diplomat (born 1908).
• 22 April – Bill Hayes, soccer player (born 1915).
• 23 April – Oliver J. Flanagan, Fine Gael TD and Cabinet Minister (born 1920).
• 27 April – Maurice Gibson, Northern Irish judge (born 1913).
• 8 May – Jim Lynagh, Provisional Irish Republican Army member killed in an ambush by the SAS during an attack on Loughgall RUC station (born 1956).
• 22 June – John Hewitt, poet (born 1907).
• 30 June – Tommy O'Connor, soccer player.
• 20 July – Denis J. O'Sullivan, Fine Gael TD (born 1918).
• 18 October – Michael Lipper, Labour Party politician and TD (born 1932).
• 29 October – Monk Gibbon, poet and author (born 1896).
• 5 November – Eamonn Andrews, broadcaster (born 1922).
• 25 November – James McDyer, Roman Catholic priest and community leader (born 1910).
• 8 December – Peadar Livingstone, priest and historian (born 1930).
• 9 December – Seán Brosnahan, Treasurer INTO, member of the Seanad from 1961 to 1977 (born 1911).

Full date unknown

• Jimmy Warnock, boxer (born 1912).

See also

• 1987 in Irish television