1 January – 1954 was the firstMarian year. There were many events and devotions toMary, mother of Jesus, and shrines and statues were erected in public places.
11 January – The Irish Council of the European Movement was formed inDublin.
20 April – MurdererMichael Manning, aged 25, was executed inMountjoy Prison. He was the last person to be judicially executed in the state.
5 May – At its headquarters in Kingsbridge, transport companyCIÉ signed a £4.75 million contract to replace itssteam locomotives with diesels.
16 May – Thirty thousand people marched through Dublin in a Marian year procession, the city's greatest display of Catholic faith since theEucharistic congress of 1932.
25 May – Joe 'Spud' Murphy establishedTayto crisps in two rented rooms on O'Rahilly's Parade, offMoore Street, Dublin[1][2][3]
12 June – AnIrish Republican Army (IRA) unit carried out a successful arms raid onGough Barracks inArmagh, signalling the renewal of IRA activity following a long hiatus.
16 June – The first public celebration ofBloomsday took place in Dublin. WritersFlann O'Brien,Patrick Kavanagh, andAnthony Cronin travelled in a horse-drawn coach stopping at numerous pubs to retrace the steps of the characters from James Joyce's novelUlysses.
16 October – A marble plaque was unveiled atWestland Row, Dublin, to mark the centenary of the birth of writerOscar Wilde.
