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← 1965 1964 1963 1962 1961 1966 in Ireland → 1967 1968 1969 1970 1971
Centuries:	18th 19th 20th 21st
Decades:	1940s 1950s 1960s 1970s 1980s
See also:	1966 in Northern Ireland Other events of 1966 List of years in Ireland

Events in the year1966 in Ireland.

• President:Éamon de Valera
• Taoiseach:
  • Seán Lemass (FF) (until 10 November 1966)
  • Jack Lynch (FF) (from 10 November 1966)
• Tánaiste:Frank Aiken (FF)
• Minister for Finance:
  • Jack Lynch (FF) (until 10 November 1966)
  • Charles Haughey (FF) (from 10 November 1966)
• Chief Justice:Cearbhall Ó Dálaigh
• Dáil:18th
• Seanad:11th

• 13 February – The Bishop of Clonfert,Thomas Ryan, protested against the content ofThe Late Late Show because an audience member, Eileen Fox, told hostGay Byrne that she wore no nightie on her wedding night. The episode was broadly referred to thereafter in Ireland as the Bishop and the Nightie scandal.^{[1]: 109 [2]}

• 6 March – A memorial was opened atKilmichael, County Cork, to commemorate the1920 ambush there.
• 8 March
  • Nelson's Pillar inO'Connell Street inDublin was blown up, probably by formerIrish Republican Army volunteers marking this year's 50th anniversary of theEaster Rising.^{[1]: 132–138}
  • A teenage riot took place in the early hours atDublin Airport when singerDickie Rock returned from his joint-fourth-place rank at theEurovision song contest in Luxembourg.Gardaí linked arms and struggled to contain the surging mob of 1,000 over-excited young people, twenty of whom were taken to hospital.^{[1]: 134–135}
  • The Broadcasting Authority (Amendment) Act changed the name of the national broadcasting authority from Radio Éireann toRadio Telefís Éireann.^[3]
• 31 March – Thetricolour flag flown over theGeneral Post Office inDublin in 1916 was returned by the British to thetaoiseach,Seán Lemass, inLondon.

• 6 April – The re-establishedUlster Volunteer Force launched its campaign^{[clarification needed]} in Belfast.
• 10 April –Celebrations took place to mark the 50th anniversary of theEaster Rising in 1916.^[1]: 138 Nine hundred survivors of the rising heard the reading of theProclamation of the Irish Republic and PresidentÉamon de Valera took the salute at a military parade.
• 11 April – President De Valera opened theGarden of Remembrance inParnell Square in Dublin.^[4]
• 15 April – Construction of Ireland's first high-rise flats began inBallymun, Dublin.
• 17 April – The Easter Rising was commemorated inBelfast by largeRepublican parades.

• 1 June – In the1966 presidential election, the Fianna Fáil party candidateÉamon de Valera was elected to a second term in office when he beat Fine Gael party candidateTom O'Higgins by 10,500 votes, less than one percent of the ballot (0.97%). De Valera was inaugurated on June 25.^[5][6]

• July 25 – US congressmanRichard Nixon visited Dublin in connection with the establishment of a petrochemical company near theNitrigin Éireann Teoranta fertiliser factory inArklow, County Wicklow. He met the taoiseach, Seán Lemass and visited President de Valera at Áras an Uachtaráin.^[7]

• 7 September – At aNational Union of Journalists seminar, the newMinister for Education,Donogh O'Malley, announced plans for his revolutionary free secondary education scheme, along with a free school-transport scheme for rural children. These plans were implemented in September 1967.^[8][9]
• 21 September –Allied Irish Banks was founded by the amalgamation of the Munster and Leinster Bank, Provincial Bank of Ireland, and Royal Bank of Ireland.

• 21 October – An anti-apartheid demonstration took place outside theNational Stadium during a visit by the South African Amateur Boxing Team.

• 8 November – Tributes were paid to Seán Lemass who announced his resignation as Taoiseach.
• 10 November – The new taoiseach,Jack Lynch, and his ministers received their seals of office from President de Valera at the president's residence,Áras an Uachtaráin.
• 25 November – The body of the second President of Ireland,Seán T. O'Kelly, lay in state at St. Mary's Pro-Cathedral.

• 1 December –Stillorgan Shopping Centre, the firstshopping centre in Ireland, was opened by the recently retired taoiseach, Seán Lemass.^{[1]: 149 [10]}

• The nave atBallintubber Abbey was restored and re-roofed.
• Tayto launched its secondcrisp flavour: salt and vinegar.

• 28 February – The first English-language production ofSamuel Beckett'sCome and Go took place at thePeacock Theatre, Dublin. It was first produced on 14 January in German, in Berlin; it was also first published, in French, this year.^[11]
• 18 July – The newAbbey Theatre in Dublin opened exactly 15 years after the original was burned down;^[12] the architect was former actorMichael Scott.
• October – The first annualCastlebar Song Contest was staged inCounty Mayo.^[13]
• Seamus Heaney's first poetry collection,Death of a Naturalist, was published.
• Aidan Higgins's novelLangrishe, Go Down was published.

• 24 January –Jimeoin, comedian, actor, producer and screenwriter.
• 25 January –Donal MacIntyre, investigative journalist.
• 8 February –Seán McCarthy,Cork hurler.
• 14 February –Gary Halpin, international rugby union player (died 2021).
• 17 February –John Power,Kilkenny hurler.
• 12 April –Jim Duffy, historian and political commentator.
• 23 April –Jim Stynes,Australian rules football player (died 2012).
• 3 May –Ducksy Walsh, handball player (died 2016).
• 15 May –Orla Guerin, television journalist.
• 22 May –Colm Ó Snodaigh, singer and musician withKíla, and writer.
• 9 June –Beverley Flynn,Fianna FáilTeachta Dála (TD) forMayo.
• 2 August –Grainne Leahy, Irish cricketer.
• 22 August –Alain Rolland, rugby player, international referee.
• 6 October –Niall Quinn, association footballer.
• 8 October –Mick Galwey, Gaelic footballer and rugby player.
• November –David Drumm, banker and convicted fraudster.
• 11 November –Alison Doody, actress.
• 21 November –Martin Hanamy,Offaly hurler.
• 30 November –Lenny Abrahamson, film director.
• 7 December –Leo Turley,Laois Gaelic footballer.
• 8 December –Sinéad O'Connor, singer-songwriter (died 2023).
• 10 December –Colm Ó Maonlaí, actor and musician.
• 12 December –Pat Shortt, actor.
• 16 December –Paul McGinley, golfer.

Full date unknown

• Rachel Joynt, sculptor.
• Liam Simpson, Kilkenny hurler.

• 10 March –Frank O'Connor, short story writer and memoirist (born 1903).
• 26 March –Joseph McGrath,Sinn Féin party and laterCumann na nGaedheal party TD, racehorse owner and breeder (born 1888).
• 28 March –Patrick McCartan, Sinn Féin member of parliament (MP) and TD, member of theFirst Dáil, founder member ofClann na Poblachta (born 1878).
• 1 April –Brian O'Nolan, satirist and humourist (born 1911).
• 29 April –Tom Hales,Irish Republican Armyvolunteer, fought inAnglo-Irish War andIrish Civil War (born 1892).
• 23 May –Jacko Heaslip, cricketer (born 1899).
• 3 June –Fionán Lynch, Sinn Féin MP and TD, member of theFirst Dáil, cabinet minister, Cumann na nGaedheal andFine Gael party TD (born 1889).
• 7 June –James Hickey, Labour Party politician andLord Mayor of Cork.
• 26 July –Maura Laverty, writer (born 1907).
• 12 August –Mike McTigue, boxer,light heavyweight champion of the world 1923–1925 (born 1892).
• 23 November –Seán T. O'Kelly, founding member of Fianna Fáil, Cabinet minister and secondPresident of Ireland (born 1882).
• 14 December –Paul Galligan, merchant, member of the First Dáil representingCavan West (born 1888).
• 15 December –Conn Ward, Fianna Fáil politician (born 1890).
• 25 December –Thomas Harvey, cricketer and rugby player (born 1878).
• 27 December –Sim Walton, hurler (Tullaroan, Kilkenny) (born 1870).
• 31 December –Danny Ryan, hurler (Moycarkey-Borris, Kilkenny) (born 1880).

• Diarmuid Murphy, writer, theatre and film producer (born 1895).
• Sydney Sparkes Orr, Professor of Philosophy at theUniversity of Tasmania (born 1914).

• 1966 in Irish television

• 1966 in Ireland
• 1960s in Ireland
• Years of the 20th century in Ireland
• 1966 in Europe
• 1966 by country

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