2005 in Ireland

January

• 1 January – the Health Service Executive is established along with the HSE National Ambulance Service.
• 1 January – Cork officially becomes the European Capital of Culture for 2005. Ireland celebrated the Hamilton year of physics
• 1 January – Littlepace housing estate in Clonee struck by a small tornado
• 4 January – 11 year-old Robert Holohan goes missing from his East Cork home and sparks a nationwide search
• 6 January – Irish Farmers Association celebrates its 50th anniversary.
• 8 January – Minister for Foreign Affairs, Dermot Ahern TD, begins a visit to the area in South-East Asia that was devastated by the

recent tsunami.

• 12 January – body of Robert Holohan is found
• 18 January – Taoiseach Bertie Ahern, begins a trade mission to China. He is accompanied by one third of the Cabinet, including Micheál Martin, Mary Hanafin, Mary Coughlan and Noel Dempsey.
• 20 January – the Republic of Ireland officially changes all road signage and regulations to use kilometres per hour (km/h). Distance and speed in Northern Ireland remain in miles per hour.
• 24 January – former Minister for Justice Ray Burke is jailed for six months for tax evasion, as a result of legislation he introduced. He is the first Cabinet minister to be jailed as a result of the tribunals of inquiry.
• 30 January – Belfast man Robert McCartney is killed outside a bar in the city by members of the Provisional IRA.

February

• 7 February – Taoiseach Bertie Ahern lays the foundation stone of a new town called Adamstown, just outside Lucan, County Dublin.
• 17 February – seven people are detained by the Gardaí for suspected activities in relation to the bank heist in Belfast in December 2004. £2.3 million sterling is seized in County Cork.

March

• 4 March – the 100th Sinn Féin Ard-Fheis opens at the Royal Dublin Society in Ballsbridge, Dublin.
• 11 March – the Irish Sugar Company factory in Carlow closes for good with the loss of several hundred jobs. The factory was Ireland's oldest sugar factory.
• 17 March – St. Patrick's Day: The sisters and fiancée of murdered Belfast-man, Robert McCartney, meet US President George W. Bush in the United States.
• 27 March – Cian O'Connor is stripped of his Olympic gold medal after the sports ruling body find that his horse, Waterford Crystal had banned substances in its system during the Olympic Games in 2004.

April

• 2 April – there is prayer, mourning and remembrance in honour of Pope John Paul II following his death in Rome at 20:37 Irish time.
• 4 April – the Minister for Foreign Affairs, Dermot Ahern TD, is appointed one of four special envoys for United Nations reform by the UN Secretary General, Kofi Annan.
• 8 April – the late Pope John Paul II is laid to rest in Rome. President Mary McAleese and Taoiseach Bertie Ahern represent the Irish people at his funeral. There is a remembrance service under the papal cross in the Phoenix Park, Dublin.
• 16 April – the annual congress of the Gaelic Athletic Association votes to open up Croke Park and allow soccer and rugby to be played there under certain circumstances.
• 19 April – President McAleese and Taoiseach Bertie Ahern convey messages of congratulations to the newly elected Pope Benedict XVI.

May

• 14 May – President Mary McAleese's official state car is involved in a minor road accident in County Meath. The President and her driver escape injury.
• 23 May – five schoolgirls die and many other people are injured in a collision involving a crowded Bus Éireann school bus and two other vehicles in Co Meath.

June

• 13 June – the Irish language is granted official status as a working language within the European Union.
• 30 June – the M50 motorway is finally completed, 34 years after the route was first envisaged and 17 years after construction began.

July

• 7 July – Taoiseach, Bertie Ahern, meets Pope Benedict XVI for a private audience in Rome.
• 16 July – Irish student, Tara Whelan (17) and a British holidaymaker were among five people killed in the popular tourist resort of Kuşadası, in Turkey.
• 28 July – in what has been described as a "historic" day the Provisional Irish Republican Army ends its armed campaign and orders all its units to dump arms. The organisation also orders its members not to engage in any other activities of any kind.
• 29 July – 45-year-old Limerick woman, Dolores McNamara, scoops €115 million after winning the Euromillions rollover jackpot prize. It is Europe's largest ever lottery jackpot.

September

• 7 September – at Lansdowne Road, Dublin the Republic of Ireland lose 1–0 to France in a crucial soccer World Cup qualifier. On the same night at Windsor Park, Belfast, Northern Ireland beat England 1-0. It is the first time since 1927 that the team has beaten England at home.
• 15 September – the population of Ireland officially has the highest population since 1861. The increase is owed to immigration by Irish people abroad and immigrants from Europe and Asia.
• 19 September – Irish Ferries offers voluntary redundancy packages to its 543 seafaring workers.
• 26 September – in a move described as "the day the gun was taken out of Irish politics", the head of the Independent International Commission on Decommissioning, General John de Chastelain, says that he is satisfied that the Irish Republican Army has completed the decommissioning of its entire arsenal of weapons.

October

• 14 October – following the failure of the Republic of Ireland to qualify for World Cup 2006 in Germany, Roy Keane announces his retirement from the international game.
• 18 October – Dr Tiede Herrema returns to the city of Limerick from which he was kidnapped 30 years ago in a high-profile case. Dr Herrema presents his personal papers relating to the issue to the University of Limerick Library.
• 20 October – the abducted journalist Rory Carroll is released unharmed after being kidnapped in Iraq on the previous day.
• 22 October – on the second day of the Fianna Fáil Ard-Fheis in Killarney, news breaks that the former party member and TD, Liam Lawlor, is killed in a car accident in Moscow.
• 25 October – the Ferns Report, detailing the investigation into clerical sex abuse in the Roman Catholic Diocese of Ferns, is published.

November

• 1 November – the Government launches the biggest national transport plan in the history of the state. The strategy, known as Transport 21, will allow for €34.4 million to be spent on roads, rail and the Dublin metro over a ten-year period.
• 18 November – Cork City Football Club win the League of Ireland for the second time in their history in front of a capacity crowd at Turners Cross Stadium.
• 18 November – Roy Keane sensationally leaves Manchester United in a decision that was said to be by mutual consent.
• 24 November – Abbas Boutrab becomes the first non republican or loyalist to be convicted in the diplock courts of Northern Ireland – he is convinced of having information that could be used to bomb an airliner.
• 25 November – George Best dies in London after several months of declining health.

December

• 6 December – the Irish-born broadcaster Terry Wogan receives a knighthood from Elizabeth II in London in recognition of his services to broadcasting.
• 8 December – President Mary McAleese meets Elizabeth II at Hillsborough Castle. It is the first time that the two heads of state meet in Ireland.

Music

• The comedy musical play I, Keano, written by Arthur Mathews, Michael Nugent and Paul Woodfull and starring Mario Rosenstock, premieres in Dublin.

Association football

• World Cup 2006 Qualification
  • Republic of Ireland 1–1 Israel
  • Republic of Ireland 2–2 Israel
  • Republic of Ireland 2–0 Faroe Islands
  • Republic of Ireland 0–1 France
  • Republic of Ireland 1–0 Cyprus
  • Republic of Ireland 0–0 Switzerland
  • Northern Ireland 0–4 England
  • Northern Ireland 0–1 Poland
  • Northern Ireland 2–0 Azerbaijan
  • Northern Ireland 1–0 England
  • Northern Ireland 2–3 Wales
  • Northern Ireland 0–2 Austria

     Both Ireland teams failed to qualify

Setanta Cup

Winners: Linfield F.C.

League of Ireland

Winners: Cork City F.C.

Irish League

Winners: Glentoran

Irish Cup

Winners: Portadown F.C.

FAI Carlsberg Cup

Drogheda United F.C. 2–0 Cork City F.C.

• The IFA celebrated its 125th anniversary.
• The UEFA under-19 European championship was hosted by Ireland, with the final won by France in Windsor Park on 29 July.
• There was an all-Irish clash in the first qualifying round of the UEFA Champions League. Shelbourne defeated Glentoran 6–2 on aggregate. Shels lost out in the following round to Steaua Bucureşti.

Gaelic games

All-Ireland Senior Hurling Championship Final

Cork 1–21 : 1–16 Galway

Christy Ring Cup Final

Westmeath 1–23 : 2–18 Down

Nicky Rackard Cup Final

London 5–8 : 1–5 Louth

All-Ireland Senior Football Championship Final

Tyrone 1–16 : 2–10 Kerry

Tommy Murphy Cup Final

Tipperary 1–16 : 2–10 Wexford

All-Ireland Senior Camogie Championship Final

Cork 1–17 : 1–13 Tipperary

All-Ireland Senior Ladies Football Championship Final

Cork 1–11 : 0–8 Galway

2005 International Rules Series

Australia by 57 points

Golf

• Pádraig Harrington wins the Honda Classic at Palm Beach Gardens, Florida.
• Paul McGinley Wins the Volvo Masters at Valderrama Golf Club in Spain.
• Nissan Irish Open is won by Stephen Dodd (Wales).

Rugby union

• 2005 Six Nations Championship
  • Ireland 28-17 Italy
  • Ireland 40-13 Scotland
  • Ireland 19-13 England
  • Ireland 19–26 France
  • Ireland 20–32 Wales
• Autumn Internationals
  • Ireland 7–45 New Zealand
  • Ireland 14–30 Australia
  • Ireland 43-12 Romania
• 2004–05 Heineken Cup
  • Munster and Leinster both qualify for the quarter-finals but fail to progress.