October in Irish history, day by day
44 entries across 31 days of October, picked by hand: the turning points, the culture, the sport and the people Ireland remembers, each linked to the full story.
1st October
2nd October
- 2015Died: Brian Friel, Donegal playwright of Philadelphia, Here I Come!, Translations and Dancing at Lughnasa Wikipedia
3rd October
4th October
- 2013Voters rejected a proposal to abolish Seanad Éireann, with 51.7 per cent voting against in a referendum. Wikipedia
5th October
6th October
7th October
- 2022An explosion at a petrol station in Creeslough, County Donegal, killed ten people and injured eight. Wikipedia
8th October
- 1903J. M. Synge's first staged play, In the Shadow of the Glen, opened at the Molesworth Hall in Dublin. Wikipedia
9th October
- 1834The first train with passengers ran on the Dublin and Kingstown Railway, Ireland's first railway, between Westland Row and Kingstown. Wikipedia
10th October
- 1918The mail boat RMS Leinster was sunk by a German submarine off Dublin Bay, the greatest loss of life ever in the Irish Sea. Wikipedia
11th October
- 1649Oliver Cromwell's army took Wexford, and the sack of the town became one of the defining events of the Cromwellian conquest. Wikipedia
12th October
- 1984The IRA bombed the Grand Hotel in Brighton during the Conservative Party conference, targeting Margaret Thatcher and her cabinet; five people died. Wikipedia
13th October
- 1994The Combined Loyalist Military Command announced a ceasefire, six weeks after the IRA ceasefire, bringing loyalists into the peace process. Wikipedia
14th October
- 1791The Society of United Irishmen was founded in Belfast, seeking equal rights for Catholics, Protestants and Dissenters and later leading the 1798 Rebellion. Wikipedia
- 1843Daniel O'Connell was arrested for conspiracy, a week after the government banned his monster meeting at Clontarf. Wikipedia
- 1882Born: Éamon de Valera, 1916 leader, Taoiseach and President of Ireland Wikipedia
15th October
- 1944Born: David Trimble, First Minister of Northern Ireland who shared the Nobel Peace Prize for the Good Friday Agreement Wikipedia
16th October
- 1843William Rowan Hamilton thought of quaternions while walking by the Royal Canal and carved the formula into Broom Bridge in Cabra. Wikipedia
- 1854Born: Oscar Wilde, Dublin-born writer of The Importance of Being Earnest and The Picture of Dorian Gray Wikipedia
- 2017Storm Ophelia crossed Ireland, closing schools and leaving hundreds of thousands of homes without power. Wikipedia
17th October
- 1907Marconi's wireless station near Clifden, County Galway, opened the first public transatlantic wireless service, sending messages to Canada. Wikipedia
18th October
- 1992Born: Barry Keoghan, Dublin actor of The Banshees of Inisherin and Saltburn Wikipedia
19th October
- 1745Died: Jonathan Swift, Dean of St Patrick's Cathedral and author of Gulliver's Travels Wikipedia
- 1988The British government banned broadcasters from airing the voices of Sinn Féin and paramilitary spokespeople, so actors dubbed their words. Wikipedia
- 1940Born: Michael Gambon, Dublin-born actor of The Singing Detective and the Harry Potter films Wikipedia
20th October
21st October
- 1976Born: Andrew Scott, Dublin actor of Fleabag, Sherlock and Ripley Wikipedia
22nd October
23rd October
- 1641The Irish Rebellion of 1641 began in Ulster, opening more than a decade of war across Ireland. Wikipedia
24th October
- 2015Died: Maureen O'Hara, Ranelagh-born star of The Quiet Man Wikipedia
25th October
- 1920Died: Terence MacSwiney, Lord Mayor of Cork, who died in Brixton Prison after 74 days on hunger strike Wikipedia
26th October
- 2018Michael D. Higgins was re-elected President, and voters in a referendum the same day removed blasphemy from the Constitution. Wikipedia
27th October
- 2011Ireland voted in a presidential election that made Michael D. Higgins the ninth President of Ireland. Wikipedia
28th October
- 1909Born: Francis Bacon, Dublin-born painter whose studio was moved to the Hugh Lane Gallery Wikipedia
29th October
- 1976Born: Mark Sheehan, Dublin guitarist and co-founder of The Script Wikipedia
30th October
- 1920Born: Christy Ring, Cork hurler who won eight All-Ireland medals Wikipedia