Top Qs
Timeline
Chat
Perspective

2025 in Ireland

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Remove ads

For Northern Ireland, see 2025 in Northern Ireland.

Events during the year 2025 in Ireland.

Quick facts Centuries:, Decades: ...

Incumbents

Thumb
President Catherine Connolly
Remove ads

Events

January

  • 1 January
    • The 2025 Seanad election (for university members) was in progress (began 30 December 2024).[1]
    • The minimum wage rose to €13.50 per hour. The Irish minimum wage was introduced in April 2000.[2]
  • 4 January – The United States president Joe Biden presented the Irish singer Bono with the Presidential Medal of Freedom for his activism against AIDS and poverty.[3]
  • 8 January – The annual Art O'Neill Challenge endurance race, due to take place on 10 January from Dublin Castle, was postponed due to unsafe conditions along the route caused by an extreme cold weather and snow event affecting Ireland and Britain.[4]
  • 9 January – A provisional temperature record of −8.2 °C was recorded in County Longford as a cold snap continued with a Status Orange weather warning issued by Met Éireann.[5]
  • 10 January – Three sisters aged 12, 15, and 17 from Presentation Secondary School, Tralee were announced as the winners of the Young Scientist Exhibition for their project "Aid Care Treat", a medical assistance application designed to support emergency healthcare response.[6]
  • 15 January
  • 16 January
  • 22 January – Dáil Éireann returned after the Christmas break.[10]
  • 23 January
  • 24 January – Ireland's worst storm since 1961, Storm Éowyn, left 768,000 homes, farms and businesses without power, and brought record-breaking gusts of 183 km/h.[13] A man died in County Donegal after a tree fell on his car, while the Connacht GAA Air Dome was destroyed.[14] Galway's former champion hurler Michael Coleman died near his home in February while dealing with the storm's aftermath.[15]
  • 25 January – Thousands of people marched in a National Demonstration for Palestine in Dublin that was organised by the Ireland Palestine Solidarity Campaign (IPSC) together with more than 150 civil society groups. The IPSC called for Israel to stop its attacks on the West Bank and for the enactment of the Occupied Territories Bill.[16]
  • 29 January – The Seanad election poll for university members closed.[1]
  • 30 January – The Seanad election poll for panel members closed.[1]

February

  • 3 February – The Ceann Comhairle in Dáil Éireann, Verona Murphy, ruled that the Regional Technical Group of independent teachtaí dála (TDs) may not form a Dáil technical group to acquire additional speaking rights. She said, "I have decided that the Group are not eligible for recognition under Standing Order 170. I therefore cannot accord recognition as a technical group to the Regional Technical Group." Opposition politicians welcomed the development including Social Democrat Cian O'Callaghan who said, "Government backbenchers cannot masquerade as members of the opposition in a cynical attempt to avail of opposition speaking rights."[17]
  • 5 February – The postal service An Post announced that the price of a domestic postage stamp will increase for the third time in two years. The cost will increase by 25 cents to €1.65, on 27 February for personal customers, and on 1 March for businesses. The price of an international letter stamp will rise from €2.20 to €2.65. The number of letters being posted has declined by half in the past decade. Businesses and government now send 93 percent of post, with just seven percent being sent by the general public.[18]
  • 9 February – Three men, aged in their mid-20s to mid-40s, were injured following a stabbing incident in Stoneybatter, Dublin. The alleged attacker, a man in his late 20s, was arrested near the scene of the incident.[19]
  • 11 February – BT Ireland announced it would withdraw as organiser and sponsor of the Young Scientist Exhibition after 25 years.[20]
  • 12 February – ESB Networks, Ireland's state owned electricity company, confirmed that it had restored electricity to all customers across the nation whose power had been cut during Storm Éowyn.[13] The last of those to be reconnected had been without electricity for almost three weeks.[13]
  • 14 February – In Goa, India, Vikat Bhagat was convicted of the murder of Danielle McLaughlin, a 28-year-old backpacker from County Donegal, whose body was found in a field in Goa in March 2017.[21]
  • 15 February – A 34-year-old man, Quam Babatunde, died after being stabbed on South Anne Street in Dublin.[22][23]
  • 17 February – The director of the Office of the Central Foreign Affairs Commission, Wang Yi, met the taoiseach, Micheál Martin, and the tánaiste, Simon Harris, at Government Buildings to discuss bilateral relations.[24] Martin visited China as minister for foreign affairs in May 2010,[25] and as tánaiste in November 2023.[26] Xi Jinping visited Ireland in 2012 before he became the CCP general secretary. The Chinese premier, Li Keqiang, visited in 2015, and his successor, Li Qiang, visited in January 2024.[27]
  • 19 February – The European Organisation for Nuclear Research (CERN) accepted in principle Ireland's application to join the organization as an associate member, starting next year. CERN near Geneva is the largest particle physics laboratory in the world and is the home of the Large Hadron Collider in which protons collide destructively at cosmic speed.[28]
  • 21 February – Sinn Féin confirmed it would boycott Saint Patrick's Day events at the White House over US President Donald Trump's stance on the Israel-Gaza conflict.[29]
  • 25 February – The Irish and UK governments announced plans to explore formal engagement with paramilitary groups to help bring about their disbandment.[30]
  • 27 February – The taoiseach met the president of Ukraine at Shannon Airport. Zelenskyy was flying to Washington DC to meet the president of the United States.[31]
  • 28 February – Irish and European political leaders declared support for President Zelenskyy and Ukraine following an angry public exchange between the American and Ukrainian presidents in Washington DC. Speaking on The Late Late Show, the taoiseach said, "We've got to hold our nerve in Europe. We've got to get behind Ukraine, engage with the United States and others, with a view to giving Ukraine the security that it requires." The minister for foreign affairs tweeted, "Ukraine is not to blame for this war brought about by Russia's illegal invasion. We stand with Ukraine."[32][33]

March

  • 4 March – An 11-year-old boy was stabbed by another child at a primary school in Dublin. The victim was brought to hospital with serious injuries.[34]
  • 6 March – Taoiseach Micheál Martin attended an Ireland–UK summit in Liverpool alongside UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer. Starmer said the two countries had "turned a page on the turbulent years" and were ready for a meaningful partnership.[35]
  • 12 March – Taoiseach Micheál Martin arrived at the White House to meet US President Donald Trump as part of the Irish Government's traditional round of Saint Patrick's Day engagements.[36]
  • 13 March – Gardaí launched an investigation after vandals damaged the Trump International Golf Links Ireland golf course in Doonbeg, County Clare.[37]
Thumb
John "Paddy" Hemingway, last surviving pilot of the Battle of Britain
  • 17 March
    • The Second World War Royal Air Force fighter pilot, John "Paddy" Hemingway, from Dublin, died at the age of 105. He served in the Battle of Dunkirk, the Battle of Britain (he was the last surviving pilot of the battle), the Invasion of Italy, and the Invasion of Normandy. He was shot down four times.[38][39]
    • The taoiseach condemned as "wrong" statements made by Conor McGregor during the fighter's meeting with the US president, Donald Trump, in the Oval Office on Saint Patrick's Day. McGregor attacked the Irish government and its policies on immigration and asylum seekers. Micheál Martin said McGregor did not represent the views of the people of Ireland. The tánaiste and minister for foreign affairs, Simon Harris, echoed Martin's remarks. The chief executive of the Dublin Rape Crisis Centre, Rachel Morrogh, said the meeting between McGregor and Trump was shocking since a jury had recently found that McGregor had committed rape. Matthew O'Toole of the Social Democratic and Labour Party said the meeting was an "insult to the island of Ireland" and "deeply depressing", and that McGregor was an "appalling individual" and "beyond the pale". Referring to Trump and McGregor, Ruth Coppinger TD said in Dáil Éireann, "two rapists met each other in the White House". During the meeting, Trump described McGregor as "inspiring" and "fantastic".[40]
  • 19 March – The Turkish group Democratic Türkiye Community in Ireland began a multi-day series of demonstrations in Dublin against the arrest of Ekrem İmamoğlu, mayor of Istanbul and aspirant presidential candidate in Turkey.[41]
  • 20 March – Sheep and cattle farmer Michael Gaine disappeared in County Kerry.[42] Human remains, subsequently found, were identified as being those of the missing man.[43]
  • 25 March – An angry and chaotic row broke out in Dáil Éireann leading the Ceann Comhairle to adjourn the session after the government won a vote to change standing orders which allowed the Regional Independents' technical group additional speaking time in the Dáil.[44]
  • 28 March – Seismometers across Ireland detected the magnitude 7.7 earthquake that struck Mandalay just before 7 am, Irish time. The shockwaves reached Ireland a few minutes later.[45]
  • 29 March – A partial solar eclipse, the deepest for a decade, was visible from Ireland.[46]

April

  • 1 April – Dáil Éireann voted 96–71 to uphold a motion of confidence in Ceann Comhairle Verona Murphy, the first time the Dáil had voted on a motion of confidence in a Ceann Comhairle.[47]
  • 15 April – The sky above Ireland was lit by the northern lights overnight.[48]
  • 16 April – An electricity interconnector was launched between Pembrokeshire in Wales and Great Island in Wexford Harbour. The 190 km cable will allow electricity to be imported from Britain and surplus Irish electricity to be exported from Ireland.[49]
  • 19 April – Aontú submitted a bill to the bills office of the Dáil seeking to allow Northern Ireland citizens to vote in Irish presidential elections.[50]
  • 22 April – It was announced that President Higgins and his wife, Sabina, the taoiseach, Michaél Martin, and the tánaiste, Simon Harris, would attend the funeral of Pope Francis on 26 April. Francis died yesterday, on Easter Monday.[51]

May

June

July

August

  • 3 August – While opening the Fleadh Cheoil music festival in Wexford, President Higgins called on the United Nations Security Council to intervene more effectively on behalf of the starving people of Gaza – which he called "the destruction of an entire people" – and for starving Israeli hostages held by Hamas – which he described as "a shocking act of cruelty". He said that using Chapter VII of the UN Charter would allow the international defence of a corridor to allow aid into Gaza.[70]
  • 6 August – Taoiseach Micheál Martin appealed to the kidnappers of Irish missionary Gena Heraty, kidnapped with a number of other people in Haiti on 3 August, to release her.[71]
  • 11 August – Thousands of fans greeted the victorious Galway camogie team in Ballinasloe and Clarinbridge after the team's victory over Cork in yesterday's All-Ireland camogie final match at Croke Park in Dublin.[72]
  • 12 August
    • President Michael D. Higgins condemned recent attacks on members of the Indian community in Ireland, describing them as "despicable" and "diminish all of us", while the annual India Day festival at Farmleigh was postponed due to fears over safety. Prashant Shuki, chair of the Ireland India Council said: "...the situation at the moment for holding India Day is not conducive ... we will announce new dates for India Day this year."[73]
    • Responding to the famine in Gaza, the minister for foreign affairs, Simon Harris, joined 22 other European foreign ministers and those of Australia, Canada, and Japan in an appeal to Israel to unblock "food, nutrition supplies, shelter, fuel, clean water, medicine and medical equipment" into the starving territory.[74]
  • 13 August – The fashion accessories retailer Claire's went into administration in the UK and Ireland.[75]
  • 14 August – Mairead McGuinness of Fine Gael ended her candidacy in the forthcoming presidential election on medical advice following a stay in hospital last week.[76]
  • 17 August – In an article for The Irish Times, author Sally Rooney said she will continue to support Palestine Action despite it having been proscribed as a terrorist group by the UK government.[77]
  • 28 August – Over 2,600 school secretaries and caretakers, who are members of Fórsa, began indefinite strike action to highlight their demands for public sector pensions and other entitlements.[78]
  • 29 August – A mass was held at Glasnevin Cemetery commemorating the 50th anniversary of the death of Éamon de Valera, in attendance by his grandson Éamon Ó Cuív, who expressed interest in his candidacy for the presidential election.[79]
  • 30 August – Taoiseach Micheál Martin endorsed former Dublin Gaelic football manager Jim Gavin as the Fianna Fáil Presidential candidate.[80]
  • 31 August – Colum Eastwood, the former leader of the Social Democratic and Labour Party, ruled himself out of running in the presidential election.[81]

September

  • 3 September – Temperature trends recorded by Met Éireann showed that spring and summer this year were the hottest experienced by the island of Ireland since records began in 1900. The average summer temperature in 2025 was 16.19 °C. Unpredictable levels of wetness and dryness in the past four years caused by human-induced atmospheric heating created uncertain and difficult operating conditions for Irish farmers, with extremes of heat, and consequent increases in both rain and drought, expected to grow.[82]
  • 5 September – Former taoiseach and Fianna Fáil leader Bertie Ahern, former Met Éireann meteorologist Joanna Donnelly and the creator and former star of Riverdance, Michael Flatley, all confirmed they had withdrawn their presidential candidacies.[83]
  • 6 September – Fórsa withdrew strike action by school secretaries and caretakers after an agreement was reached at the Workplace Relations Commission to engage in resolving the dispute.[84]
  • 8 September
  • 11 September – RTÉ said it would not take part in the 2026 Eurovision Song Contest "if the participation of Israel goes ahead".[87]
  • 19 September – Secretary of State for Northern Ireland Hilary Benn and Tánaiste Simon Harris announced a new UK and Irish deal on the legacy of the Troubles to replace the Northern Ireland Troubles (Legacy and Reconciliation) Act, with Harris describing the new framework as "a big step forward".[88]
  • 20 September
    • Cearta: A National Protest for the Irish language and the Gaeltacht was held in Dublin. A rally left Parnell Square and proceeded to a demonstration at Leinster House, the seat of Government. Activists sought improvements in funding of the Irish language and the Gaelacht, as well as improvements in Gaeltacht housing, education, and language rights.[89]
    • Sinn Féin announced it would back Independent TD Catherine Connolly in the forthcoming presidential election.[90]
  • 24 September – Closing date for nominations in the Presidential election.[91] Catherine Connolly, Jim Gavin and Heather Humphreys emerged as the three candidates.[92]
  • 25 September – The Hawaiian Nobel Prize winner and former president of the United States, Barack Obama, accepted the Freedom of the City of Dublin at a ceremony "held for security reasons" in the Shelbourne Hotel in Dublin. He was also presented by the Lord Mayor of Dublin with a bottle of Dublin whiskey and a first edition of James Joyce's novel, Ulysses. Obama and his wife, Michelle, were granted the honour by Dublin City Council "in its infinite wisdom", according to the Lord Mayor, in 2017. Obama revealed that he would not be grazing sheep in St Stephen's Green, because he has none.[93]
  • 29 September – Three people were found dead at a property in Drumgowna, County Louth. A man was arrested in connection with the deaths.[94]
  • 30 September – A man was charged in connection with three deaths in County Louth.[95]

October

  • 1 October – Met Éireann issued a Status Yellow wind warning ahead of the arrival of Storm Amy, the first named storm of the 2025–26 season, on Friday 3 October.[96]
  • 3 October – About 174,000 properties were without power across Ireland as Storm Amy battered the country, with a Status Orange wind warning issued for the northwest and a Status Red wind warning issued for County Donegal, where a man fell to his death in Letterkenny.[97][98]
  • 5 October – Fianna Fáil candidate Jim Gavin withdrew from the Irish presidential election, stating he had "made a mistake that was not in keeping with my character and the standards I set myself".[99]
  • 7 October
  • 9 October – RTÉ announced that broadcaster Ray D'Arcy had been fired.[103]
  • 16 October – Betting firm Paddy Power announced the closure of 57 outlets in the UK and Ireland.[104]
  • 17 October – One week before the forthcoming presidential election, a campaign was launched in Dublin to encourage people to spoil their votes. The "Spoil the Vote" campaign included businessman Declan Ganley who said he believed the ballot was rigged.[105]
  • 18 October – A 17-year-old boy was charged with the murder of a Ukrainian teenage boy who was stabbed at an emergency accommodation in north Dublin.[106]
  • 21 October – Six people were arrested for public order offences after a protest at an International Protection Accommodation Services in Citywest turned violent.[107]
  • 22 October – The energy minister, Darragh O'Brien, said that Ireland is planning to construct a submarine electricity interconnector to Spain during the 2030s. Ireland has two existing connectors to Britain, with a third planned, and one to France to be introduced in 2027.[108]
  • 23 October – On the eve of the presidential election, singer Bob Geldof confirmed that he would have won easily, had he been a candidate. Speaking at an event to mark the 50th anniversary of the first concert by The Nightlife Thugs (later The Boomtown Rats), he said, "If I'd stood, I'd have walked it. And I would have been really good."[109]
  • 24 October – Presidential election day.[91] Voting took place between 7 am and 10 pm in more than 5,500 polling stations.[110]
  • 25 October – Vote counting for the presidential election started at 9 am.[110] Catherine Connolly was declared the tenth president of Ireland in Dublin Castle at 7.22 pm. In a record-breaking election, she won the most first preference votes ever in an Irish presidential election (63.4 percent); the number of spoiled votes was the highest ever (12.9 percent); and voter turnout was low (45.8 percent).[111]
  • 31 October

November

  • 1 November – Newly published figures showed that the number of Irish citizens deported from the United States had risen by 50% in 2025 compared to the previous year.[114]
  • 5 November – President-elect Catherine Connolly and her husband Brian McEnery visited President Higgins and his wife Sabina at Áras an Uachtaráin. After two presidential terms, or 14 years, the Higginses will leave the presidential residence for their home in Galway the day before the Connolly inauguration on the 11th.[115]
  • 6 November – The taoiseach, Micheál Martin, addressed the UN COP30 climate change summit in Belém, Brazil stating "I am concerned that the spirit of common purpose is weakening" and that there were fewer world leaders at the conference this year.[116]
  • 7 November – The team excavating the Bon Secours Mother and Baby Home in Tuam, County Galway, announced they had found seven sets of infant remains, but said they were unsure if these date to the time the home was in operation, or from an earlier time.[117]
  • 8 November – The Football Association of Ireland overwhelmingly backed a motion to call on UEFA to ban Israel from European club and international games.[118]
  • 10 November
    • Michael D. Higgins and his wife Sabina left Áras an Uachtaráin on the final day of his presidency. His term of office expired at midnight.[119]
    • An outbreak of avian flu was confirmed at a farm in Clontibret, County Monaghan.[120]
  • 11 November
  • 14 November – The Department of Foreign Affairs revealed that 242,772 people in the United Kingdom applied for an Irish passport last year.[124]
  • 17 November – The climate minister and leader of the Irish COP30 climate summit delegation Darragh O'Brien hosted an international meeting in Brazil to work towards including "a clear road map that shows how the world can exit fossil [fuels]" in the final agreement that the Brazilian summit presidency was aiming for.[125]
  • 18 November – The minister for finance Paschal Donohoe resigned to take up the second most senior position in the World Bank, as Managing Director and Chief Knowledge Officer.[126]
  • 19 November – Speaking to the broadcaster RTÉ at the COP30 climate summit in Brazil, former president of Ireland Mary Robinson expressed her frustration as a lawyer that conference negotiators are not highlighting their legal obligations under the Paris Accords, the Kyoto Protocol, and international law to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and protect the climate. She was also dissatisfied that the UNFCCC Gender Action Plan was not receiving the priority it needed. The Plan is a framework to connect gender equality and female empowerment to climate policies and actions to reflect the reality that women and children suffer most from climate change.[127]
  • 21 November – The taoiseach, Micheál Martin, arrived in Johannesburg before tomorrow's two-day G20 summit. He participated in a series of events and bilateral meetings during the day.[128]
  • 22 November – Daragh Morgan from County Galway became the second person to swim around Ireland, travelling 1,468 kilometres. The first Irish circumnavigation by swimming was performed by Henry O'Donnell in May 2022.[129]
  • 22–23 November – Micheál Martin attended the G20 summit. It was Ireland's first time participating in such a summit, at the invitation of the South African presidency. Martin held further bilateral meetings with world leaders on the margins.[128]
  • 26 November – President Connolly received her first foreign head of government visitor, First Minister of Scotland, John Swinney, at Áras an Uachtaráin.[130]
  • 27 November – Taxi drivers protested in Dublin against a new Uber fixed-price fare scheme. Traffic was delayed by the disruption, including routes to Dublin Airport.[131]

December

  • 1 December – The president of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy and his wife Olena Zelenska arrived from Paris just before 11 pm to begin their first official state visit to Ireland. They were greeted at Dublin Airport by the taoiseach, Micheál Martin, and by Thomas Byrne, the minister of state for European affairs. Zelenskyy previously met the taoiseach in Ireland during a refuelling stop at Shannon Airport in February.[132]
  • 2 December – Amid tight security including traffic disruption in Dublin, President Zelenskyy and Olena Zelenska began their round of formal engagements with a visit to President Connolly at Áras an Uachtaráin. This was to be followed by a bilateral meeting at Government Buildings between the taoiseach and Zelenskyy; a trade forum with the tánaiste and minister for foreign affairs; the inauguration of the Ireland-Ukraine Economic Forum; a press conference at Government Buildings; an address in person by Zelenskyy to a joint sitting of the Oireachtas; a meeting between Olena Zelenska and the minister for higher education; and a meeting between the Zelenskyys and representatives of the Ukrainian community in Ireland.[133]
  • 3 December – Taxi drivers held their second protest in Dublin and Galway against a new Uber fixed-price fare scheme. Traffic was delayed by the disruption, including routes to Dublin Airport.[134]
  • 4 December – The Supreme Court ruled that it would not permit a further appeal by the fighter Conor McGregor against a High Court finding last year that he raped Nikita Hand. The Court also dismissed an appeal by McGregor's friend, James Lawrence, against a decision not to award him his costs in the case.[135]
  • 5 December
  • 7 December – Gardaí launched a murder investigation following the death of a woman and a young boy in a house fire at a property in Edenderry, County Offaly.[138]
Remove ads

Arts

Sport

Summarize
Perspective

Association football (men)

Nations League

Play-off fixtures:

  • 23 March – Ireland 2–1 Bulgaria (4–2 agg).[149]

International friendly matches

2026 World Cup qualification

UEFA Group F:

  • 14 October – Ireland 1–0 Armenia.[155]
  • 13 November – Ireland 2–0 Portugal.[156]
  • 16 November – Hungary 2–3 Ireland.[157]

Ireland advanced to the play-off round.

Play-off semi-final

Play-off final

Association football (women)

Nation's League

Group B2

  • 8 April – Ireland 2–1 Greece.[162]
  • 30 May – Turkey 1–2 Ireland.[163]
  • 3 June – Ireland 1–0 Slovenia.[164]

Play-off fixtures:

  • 28 October – Belgium 2–1 Ireland
    (Ireland 5–4 Belgium aggregate).[166]

International friendly matches

  • 26 June – USA 4–0 Ireland (in Denver).[167]
  • 29 June – USA 4–0 Ireland (in Cincinnati).[168]

Camogie

All-Ireland Senior Camogie Championship:

Semi-finals:

All-Ireland camogie final:

Gaelic football

2025 All-Ireland Senior Football Championship:

Golf

Hurling

2025 All-Ireland Senior Hurling Championship:

Rowing

Rugby (men)

Six Nations Championship

  • 22 February – Wales 18–22 Ireland.[183] This was Ireland's 14th Triple Crown win, having defeated England, Scotland, and Wales.[184]

Autumn Nations Series

Rugby (women)

Six Nations Championship

Women's Rugby World Cup

Pool C

Quarter-finals

Remove ads

Annual events

Summarize
Perspective
See also: Public holidays in the Republic of Ireland

(H) = public holiday

January

February

March

  • 1–8 March – Irish Astronomy Week.[204]

April

May

  • 24 May–2 June – Cork Harbour Festival.[210]

June

  • 12–15 June – Taste of Dublin food festival.[214]

July

August

September

October

  • 4–10 October – National Space Week.[227]

November

December

Remove ads

Deaths

January

Thumb
Eleanor Maguire
Thumb
Robbie Bonham
Thumb
Michael Longley

February

Thumb
Michael Coleman
Thumb
Henry Kelly

March

Thumb
Pat Ingoldsby
Thumb
Eddie Jordan

April

Thumb
Mick O'Dwyer

May

Thumb
Peter Morwood
Thumb
Paul Durcan
Thumb
Gerry Murphy

June

July

August

Thumb
Hilary Weston
Thumb
Ollie Horgan

September

Thumb
Martin Mansergh

October

November

Thumb
Mick Lane

December

Remove ads

References

Loading related searches...

Wikiwand - on

Seamless Wikipedia browsing. On steroids.

Remove ads
Remove ads