← 1895 1894 1893 1892 1891 1896 in Ireland → 1897 1898 1899 1900 1901
Centuries:	17th 18th 19th 20th 21st
Decades:	1870s 1880s 1890s 1900s 1910s
See also:	1896 in the United Kingdom Other events of 1896 List of years in Ireland

Events from the year1896 in Ireland.

• February – theBroighter Gold hoard of prehistoric objects is discovered nearLimavady by Tom Nicholl while ploughing.
• 29 March – theRoyal College of St Patrick, Maynooth is granted the status ofpontifical university by charter of theHoly See.^[1]
• 16 May – the first electric tram runs on theDublin tramways system.
• May –James Connolly returns fromEdinburgh to Ireland as paid organiser for the Dublin Socialist Club. He founds theIrish Republican Socialist Party.
• 28 March –Tom Gallaher incorporates theGallahertobacco business and opens the world's largest tobacco factory inBelfast.
• John Dillon assumes the leadership of the anti-Parnellite wing of theHome Rule Party.
• An extension is made toArthur Balfour's Land Act. 1,500 bankrupt estates are made available for sale to tenants.
• Ireland's first motor vehicle laws are introduced.
• Restoration of theChurch of Ireland'sKildare Cathedral is completed.

• 20 April – first cinema show in Ireland, at Dan Lowry's Star of Erin Variety Theatre inDublin.^[2]
• The lyrics ofThe Mountains of Mourne are written byPercy French with music adapted byHouston Collisson.^[3]
• Charles Villiers Stanford's comic operaShamus O'Brien is first performed.

• International

  February:Tim O'Brien becomes the first Irish captain of theEngland cricket team in a match won againstSouth Africa atPort Elizabeth^[4]

• International

  29 February Wales 6–1 Ireland (inWrexham)^[5]

  7 March Ireland 0-2 England (inBelfast)^[5]

  28 March Ireland 3-3 Scotland (in Belfast)^[5]

  Irish League

  Winners:Distillery

  Irish Cup

  Winners:Distillery 3 - 1Glentoran

• International

  2 March: TheIreland women's national field hockey team defeatEngland 2–0 atAlexandra College in the first ever women's international field hockey match.^{[6][7][8][9][10][11]}

• The Championships, Wimbledon

  Harold Mahony wins the gentleman's singlesChampionship

  Olympic Games

  John Pius Boland winsgold medals in the men's singles and doubles at the first modernSummer Olympics inAthens (Greece)

• 15 February –Arthur Shields, actor (died1970).
• March –Martin Joseph Sheehan, soldier andRoyal Air Service Observer in World War I, killed in action (died1918).
• 4 April –Sir Osmond Esmonde, 12th Baronet, diplomat and politician (died1936).
• 24 April –F. R. Higgins, poet and theatre director (died1941).
• 9 May –Austin Clarke, poet, playwright and writer (died1974).
• 22 May –Cyril Fagan, astrologer (died1970).
• 28 August –Liam O'Flaherty, novelist and short story writer (died1984).
• 17 September –Oscar Heron, Irish World War I flying ace (died1933).
• 10 November –Sophie Catherine Theresa Mary Peirce-Evans,later Mary, Lady Heath, aviator, athlete and writer (died1939).
• 25 December –Sister Philippa Brazill, nurse in Australia (died1988).

  Full date unknown

  • Monk Gibbon, poet and author (died1987).
  • Fiona Plunkett, republican (died1977).

• 10 January –Denis Dempsey, soldier, recipient of theVictoria Cross (born1826).
• 3 February –Jane Wilde, poet ("Esperanza"; born1821).
• 4 March –Peter Richard Kenrick, firstCatholicarchbishop west of theMississippi River (born1806).
• 4 May –Timothy Anglin, politician in Canada andSpeaker of the House of Commons of Canada (born1822).
• 18 May –Patrick Buckley, soldier, lawyer, statesman, and judge in New Zealand (born1841).
• 8 August –William Pery, 3rd Earl of Limerick, peer (born1840).
• 10 August –Jeremiah O'Sullivan,Roman CatholicBishop of Mobile (born1842).
• 15 August –Patrick Duggan,Roman Catholic Bishop of Clonfert (born1813).
• 22 September –Edward Selby Smyth, British General, commandedMilitia of Canada from 1874 to 1880 (born1819).
• 1 November –Jack (Nonpareil) Dempsey, boxer (born1862).
• 31 December –Leland Hone, cricketer (born1853).

  Full date unknown

  • Canon James Goodman,Irish music collector (born1828).

• 1896 in Scotland
• 1896 in Wales

• 1896 in Ireland
• 1890s in Ireland
• Years of the 19th century in Ireland
• 1896 in Europe
• 1896 by country
• 1896 in the United Kingdom

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