Events from the year 2004 in Ireland.
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February
- 28 February – Five people were killed in a bus crash at Wellington Quay, Dublin.
April
- 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 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.[2][3]
October
- 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 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.
December
- 15 December – The Irish Nationality and Citizenship Act 2004 was enacted. Inter alia, this provided that children born of most foreign national parents on the island of Ireland were no longer automatically entitled to Irish citizenship.[7][8][9]
- 16 December – In Colombia, the Penal Chamber of Bogotá's Supreme Tribunal handed down lengthy jail sentences to the Irish 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.
- 26 December – Four Irish people were among the victims of the Indian Ocean tsunami.
- 31 December – Taoiseach Bertie Ahern pledged €10 million in humanitarian aid to people affected by the earthquake and tsunami in South and Southeast Asia.
- The Italian Quarter private development opened in Dublin, incorporating the photographic mural Dublin's Last Supper.[10][11][12]
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.
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.
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.
- 5 February – Harry West, leader of the Ulster Unionist Party from 1974 to 1979, Stormont MP, Minister for Agriculture (born 1917).
- 18 February – Tommy Eglington, soccer player (born 1923).
- 2 March – Cormac McAnallen, Tyrone Gaelic footballer (born 1980).
- 4 March – Paddy Ruschitzko, Laois hurler (born 1917).
- 6 March – Tom Leonard, Fianna Fáil TD (born 1924).
- 24 March – Richard Leech, actor (born 1922).
- 7 April – Maureen Potter, singer, actress and comedian (born 1925).
- 8 April – Enda Colleran, former Gaelic footballer (born 1941).
- 12 April – Sean Delaney, former soccer player and coach (born 1949).
- 11 May – Mick Doyle, rugby player and coach, killed in car crash (born 1941).
- 3 June – Joe Carr, amateur golfer (born 1922).
- 6 June – Simon Cumbers, journalist murdered in Saudi Arabia (born 1968).
- 8 June
- 24 June – Douglas Gageby, journalist and editor of The Irish Times (born 1918).
- 23 July – Joe Cahill, former Chief of Staff of the Provisional Irish Republican Army (born 1920).
- 8 October – Fergus Bourke, photographer (born 1934).
- 16 November – Margaret Hassan, aid worker in Iraq, kidnapped and murdered by Iraqi insurgents (born 1945).
- 20 November – Ian Lewis, cricketer (born 1935).
- 8 December – Digby McLaren, geologist and palaeontologist in Canada (born 1919).
- 26 December – Frank Pantridge, physician, cardiologist and inventor of the portable defibrillator (born 1916).
- Full date unknown