2004 in Ireland

January–June

• 1 January – the Republic of Ireland assumed the Presidency of the European Commission.
• 1 January – Scouting Ireland was founded.
• 28 February – five people were killed in a bus crash at Wellington Quay, Dublin.
• 16 March – the cooling towers of Rhode Power Station, near Kilbeggan, County Westmeath, were demolished.
• 27 March – Ireland's rugby team won the Triple Crown for the first time since 1985.
• 29 March – a smoking ban introduced by Minister for Health, Micheál Martin, came into effect in all pubs, restaurants, and work places.^[1]
• 20 April – Welsh pub landlords reported an increase in the number of Irish patrons visiting Wales where they could avoid the restrictions of Ireland's new smoking ban which prohibited smoking in Irish pubs. The Irish drinkers could travel to Wales by ferryboat for as little as £10 for a day-return ticket, smoke cigarettes while drinking, and pay lower prices for their alcohol.^[1][2]
• 1–25 May – heads of government celebrated in Dublin as the European Union admitted ten new member states.
• June – the first phase of the Arklow Bank Wind Park, Ireland's first offshore wind farm, was commissioned.^[3]
• 16 June – the Grangegorman Development Bill was published by the Irish Government.
• 25 June – US President George W. Bush arrived at Shannon Airport for an EU-U.S. summit.
• 30 June
  • Ireland was congratulated on its presidency of the European Commission: President of France Jacques Chirac said it was the "best presidency ever."
  • Operations commenced on the Luas Green Line in Dublin.

July–September

• 20 July – Minister for Finance, Charlie McCreevy, was appointed as Ireland's next European Commissioner.
• 7 August – athlete Cathal Lombard was accused of taking performance-enhancing drugs at the Olympic Games.
• 13 August – Minister for Agriculture, Joe Walsh, announced his retirement from the Cabinet after seven years. He was the longest-serving agriculture minister in Europe.
• 27 August – Cian O'Connor won a gold medal for Ireland at the Olympic Games in Athens.
• 8 September – former Taoiseach John Bruton was appointed EU Ambassador to the United States.
• 14 September – Mary McAleese announced her intention to run for a second term as President of Ireland.
• 29 September – Mary Coughlan was appointed Ireland's first female Minister for Agriculture.
• 30 September
  • leader of the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP), Ian Paisley, made an historic first visit to Dublin for political talks with Taoiseach Bertie Ahern.
  • Luas Red Line commenced operation from Tallaght to Connolly Station.
• 1 October – as nominations for presidential candidates closed, Mary McAleese was re-elected unopposed for a second term as President of Ireland.
• 2 October – Ireland's second national television channel, N2, reverted to its original name of RTÉ Two.
• 5 October – the Irish Government issued an Irish passport to British hostage Ken Bigley in an effort to secure his release from his Iraqi captors.
• 16 October – Bertie Ahern held discussions with United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan in Dublin.
• 19 October – Dublin-born aid worker Margaret Hassan was kidnapped in Iraq.
• 1 November – International Equestrian Federation confirmed that part of the B sample of Waterford Crystal, the horse ridden by Olympic showjumping gold medallist Cian O'Connor, had been stolen in England.
• 3 November – Fran Rooney resigned as chief executive of the Football Association of Ireland.
• 9 November – banned substances were confirmed in the B blood sample of the horse, Waterford Crystal.
• 11 November – Mary McAleese was inaugurated for a second term as President of Ireland.
• 15 November – Minister for Community, Rural and Gaeltacht Affairs, Éamon Ó Cuív, had a lucky escape when his ministerial car was involved in a head-on collision with another car in County Kerry.
• 16 November – Margaret Hassan was murdered by her captors in Iraq.
• 22 November – Bertie Ahern celebrated 10 years as leader of the Fianna Fáil party.
• 8 December – negotiated proposals to restore the power-sharing institutions to Northern Ireland by March were not agreed upon. The main sticking point was a refusal by the Provisional Irish Republican Army to allow photographs be taken of arms decommissioning and a refusal by Ian Paisley to witness disarmament himself.
• 16 December – in Colombia, the Penal Chamber of Bogotá's Supreme Tribunal handed down lengthy jail sentences to the Colombia Three for training Colombian Marxist rebels.
• 18 December – the 'Colombia Three', Niall Connolly, Martin McCauley and James Monaghan, jumped bail.
• 19 December – President McAleese convened a meeting of the Council of State to discuss the Health Amendment II Bill, which was presented the previous week by the Health Minister Mary Harney.
• 21 December – Northern Bank robbery in Belfast.
• 31 December – Bertie Ahern, pledged €10 million in aid to the people affected by the tsunami in South-East Asia.

Gaelic games

• All-Ireland Senior Hurling Championship Final 2004
  • Cork 0–17 – 0–9 Kilkenny
• All-Ireland Senior Football Championship Final 2004
  • Kerry 1–20 – 2–9 Mayo

Golf

• Ryder Cup
  • Three Irishmen, Pádraig Harrington, Darren Clarke, and Paul McGinley, featured prominently on the victorious European team.
• Nissan Irish Open was won by Brett Rumford (Australia).

Mountaineering

• Clare O'Leary became the first Irish woman to reach the summit of Mount Everest.

Olympic Games

• Cian O'Connor and the horse Waterford Crystal won gold for Ireland in the equestrian event. O'Connor was later stripped of this title because the horse tested positive for a prohibited substance.

Rugby union

• 2004 Six Nations Championship
  • Ireland 19–3 Italy
  • Ireland 37–16 Scotland
  • Ireland 19–13 England
  • Ireland 17–35 France
  • Ireland 36–15 Wales
  • Ireland won the Triple Crown for the first time since 1985. The team also became the first to beat England since their World Cup win.
• 2003–04 Heineken Cup
  • Only Munster advanced from the group stage and were defeated in the semi-finals.

Soccer

• Football World Cup 2006 Qualification
  • Republic of Ireland 3–0 Cyprus
  • Northern Ireland 0–3 Poland
  • Republic of Ireland 1–1 Switzerland
  • Northern Ireland 2–2 Wales
  • Republic of Ireland 0–0 France
  • Northern Ireland 0–0 Azerbaijan
  • Republic of Ireland 2–0 Faroe Islands
  • Northern Ireland 0–0 Austria
• League of Ireland
  • Winners: Shelbourne
• FAI Cup Final
  • Longford Town 2–1 Waterford United
• UEFA Champions League

Shelbourne defeated KR Reykjavík in the first qualifying round on away goals. In the second qualifying round, Shelbourne lost the first leg 3–2 away to Hajduk Split, but two late goals in the home leg at Tolka Park meant they became the first Irish team to make it to the third qualifying round. After a 0–0 draw with Deportivo de La Coruña in front of 25,000 fans at Lansdowne Road, the Irish team lost 3–0 in Spain.

• UEFA Cup

Bohemians and Longford Town suffered disappointing first qualifying round defeats to FC Levadia Tallinn and FC Vaduz respectively. Shelbourne entered the first round proper after their Champions League third qualifying round exit, but missed out on a place in the UEFA Cup group stages. After a 2–2 draw at Lansdowne Road, Shelbourne lost 0–2 in the return leg against French side Lille.