1989 in Ireland

← 1988 1987 1986 1985 1984 1989 in Ireland → 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994
Centuries:	18th 19th 20th 21st
Decades:	1960s 1970s 1980s 1990s 2000s
See also:	1989 in Northern Ireland Other events of 1989 List of years in Ireland

Events from the year 1989 in Ireland.

Incumbents

• President: Patrick Hillery
• Taoiseach: Charles Haughey (FF)

Events

• 2 January — Dundalk, County Louth celebrated its 1200-year heritage.
• 12 February — Belfast solicitor Pat Finucane was shot dead by loyalists,
• 20 March — Chief Superintendent Harry Breen and Superintendent Bob Buchanan of the Royal Ulster Constabulary were killed by the Provisional Irish Republican Army. An inquiry concluded in 2013 that a member or members of the Garda Síochána probably colluded in the ambush.
• 21 March — Three Irish soldiers on United Nations duty were killed in a landmine explosion in southern Lebanon.
• 3 April — Belfast-born Alex Higgins beat Stephen Hendry to win the British Benson and Hedges snooker championship.
• 11 May — At a meeting in Malahide Castle between Taoiseach Charles Haughey and visiting Nicaraguan President Daniel Ortega, Haughey promised Ortega support at the European Council of Ministers for aid and investment for his country despite an earlier telephone call from U.S. secretary of state James Baker urging Haughey to take a tough position against Ortega over democratic standards in Nicaragua.
• 22 June — An order was signed creating the University of Limerick, the first university founded since the foundation of the state; later in the day Dublin City University was created.
• 29 June — Charles Haughey resigned as Taoiseach, remaining on in a caretaker capacity.
• 19 August — Ten thousand people marched from Dublin city centre to the British Embassy calling for British withdrawal from Northern Ireland.
• 19 October — Three of the Guildford Four were released in London. Paul Hill was immediately re-arrested.
• 21 December — Aer Rianta's five millionth passenger was presented with a holiday to Florida.

Arts and literature

• 4 April — The Windmill Lane Consortium said that if it got the franchise it would be on the air within 9 to 12 months with its television station, TV3.
• 1 September — Contemporary music radio station Atlantic 252 (part owned by RTÉ) went on air for the first time from the long wave Clarkstown radio transmitter in County Meath (with studios in Trim).
• 4 September — Independent pop music station Century Radio went on the air for the first time.
• 18 September — Television soap opera Fair City was first broadcast on RTÉ One.
• 10 November — The film My Left Foot: the story of Christy Brown was released, directed by Jim Sheridan. Daniel Day-Lewis and Brenda Fricker won Academy Awards for their performances; others featured in the film included Fiona Shaw, Julie Hale, Cyril Cusack, Kirsten Sheridan and the late Ray McAnally.
• MidWest Radio began broadcasting as a licensed station in County Mayo.
• John Banville's novel The Book of Evidence was published.

Sport

Golf

• Carroll's Irish Open was won by Ian Woosnam (Wales).

Gaelic football

• The All-Ireland Senior Football Championship final ended on a scoreline of Cork GAA 0–17 Mayo GAA 1–11

Hurling

• The All-Ireland Senior Hurling Championship final ended on a scoreline of Tipperary GAA 4-24 Antrim GAA 3-9. Declan Kennedy scored all the winning goals.

Soccer

• 11 October — The Republic of Ireland beat Northern Ireland 3–0 in a World Cup Qualifier in Dublin.
• 15 November — The Republic of Ireland won 2–0 in Malta to secure qualification for the World Cup for the first time.

Births

Chloë Agnew was born in June.

• 8 January — Ian Bermingham, soccer player
• 24 February — Noel Haverty, soccer player
• 3 March — Barry O'Rorke, Gaelic footballer and hurler
• 9 June — Chloë Agnew, singer
• 4 August — Michael Murphy, Gaelic footballer
• Patrick Curtin, Gaelic footballer (died 2015)

Deaths

Samuel Beckett died in December.

• 24 January — Michael Scott, architect (born 1905).
• 27 January — Dónall Mac Amhlaigh, writer (born 1926).
• January — Jackie Wright, comedian (born 1905).
• 11 March — Simon Curley, cricketer (born 1917).
• 7 April — Frank Cluskey, former leader of the Labour Party (born 1930).
• 15 June — Ray McAnally, actor (born 1926).
• July — Eddie Gannon, soccer player (born 1921).
• 3 August — Dominic Behan, songwriter, novelist and playwright (born 1928).
• 10 August — H. Montgomery Hyde, barrister, author and Ulster Unionist MP (born 1907).
• 12 September — Seamus Twomey, twice chief of staff of the Provisional Irish Republican Army (born 1919).
• 4 November — Vivian Mercier, literary critic (born 1919).
• 14 December — Gerry Healy, British Trotskyist leader (born 1913).
• 22 December — Samuel Beckett, Nobel Prize in Literature 1969, playwright, novelist and poet (born 1906).

Full date unknown

• Hugh T. Baker, cricketer (born 1906).
• Peadar Livingstone, priest and historian (born 1930).
• John Mackey, Limerick hurler (born 1914).