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««« 1960 1959 1958 1957 1956	1961 in Ireland	»»» 1962 1963 1964 1965 1966
Decades: 1940s • 1950s • 1960s • 1970s • 1980s Centuries: 18th • 19th • 20th • 21st See also: 1961 in Northern Ireland Other events of 1961 List of years in Ireland

See also: 1960 in Ireland, other events of 1961, 1962 in Ireland

Events

• January 6 - Lieutenant-General Seán Mac Eoin flies out of Dublin en route to the Congo. He is taking up his new post as General Commanding Officer of the United Nations.
• January 20 - John F. Kennedy becomes President of the United States. He is the first President of Irish-Catholic descent.
• June 10 - President Éamon de Valera and Mrs. Sinéad de Valera greet Prince Rainier and Princess Grace at Áras an Uachtaráin.
• June 15 - Prince Rainier and Princess Grace of Monaco have tea in a three roomed cottage near Newport, County Mayo. It was from there that the Princess' grandfather, John Henry Kelly, set off for America almost 100 years ago.
• December 20 - The last legal execution in Ireland occures in Belfast, Northern Ireland - it is of Robert McGladdery for murder.
• December 31 - Teilifís Éireann goes on air as President de Valera inaugurates the new service. The station's first broadcast is a New Year countdown with celebrations at the Gresham Hotel and O'Connell Street, Dublin.

Arts and literature

Sports

• St Patrick's Athletic won the FAI Cup
• Drumcondra won the League of Ireland

Births

January to June

• 6 January - Fergal Keane, writer and broadcast journalist.
• 19 January - Eoghan Corry, journalist and author.
• 25 January - Liam Currams, Offaly hurler and gaelic footballer.
• 28 February - Barry McGuigan, former world Featherweight champion boxer.
• 20 March - Michael O'Leary, chief executive of the low-cost airline Ryanair.
• 27 March - Mark Cohen, cricketer.
• 28 March - Orla Brady, actress.
• 17 May - Enya, singer.
• 17 May - Mairéad Ní Mhaonaigh, fiddle player and singer.
• 21 May - John Cregan, Fianna Fáil TD for Limerick West.
• 2 June - Liam Cunningham, actor.

July to December

• 7 August - Roddy Collins, soccer player and manager.
• 8 August - The Edge, guitarist with U2.
• August - Ger Cunningham, Cork hurler.
• 25 September - Ronnie Whelan, soccer player.
• 13 October - Michael Walsh, former Kilkenny hurler.
• 27 October - Margaret Mazzantini, writer.
• 31 October - Larry Mullen, drummer with U2.
• 8 November- Seán Haughey, Fianna Fáil Teachta Dála for Dublin North East, son of Charles Haughey and Maureen Haughey, grandson of Seán Lemass.
• 11 December - Dave King, vocalist and songwriter.
• 12 December - Daniel O'Donnell, singer.

Full date unknown

• Kevin Hennessy, Cork hurler.
• John Hodgins, Cork hurler.
• Mark Keane, cognitive scientist and author.
• Michael Nugent, writer and dramatist.
• Miriam O'Callaghan, television presenter.
• Michelle Rocca, socialite.
• John Spillane, singer songwriter.
• Willie Walsh, former Chief Executive of Aer Lingus, Chief Executive Officer of British Airways.

Deaths

• 14 January - Barry Fitzgerald, Academy Award winning actor (b.1888).
• 18 January - Joseph Connolly, Fianna Fáil politician (b.1885).
• 4 February - Edward Pakenham, 6th Earl of Longford, politician, dramatist and poet (b.1902).
• 12 August - Sir Ion Hamilton Benn, 1st Baronet, businessman and British politician (b.1863).
• 25 September - James Crichton, soldier, recipient of the Victoria Cross for gallantry in 1918 at Crevecoeur, France (b.1879).
• 6 October - Achey Kelly, cricketer (b.1903).
• 16 November - T. C. Hammond, Anglican clergyman, Principal of Moore Theological College, Sydney (b.1877).
• 8 December - Seamus Robinson, member of Irish Volunteers and Irish Republican Army (b.1890).

Full date unknown

• Patrick MacDonogh, poet (b.1902).
• Carmel Snow, journalist and editor of the American edition of Harper's Bazaar from 1934 to 1958 (b.1887).

County Cork Population

Cork's population reaches an all-time low,with just 330,000 living there.The population in the late 50s was 336,000.