1 January – It was revealed that 184 people were killed on Irish roads in 2023, the highest number of fatalities in almost a decade.[1]
4 January – A second man died in hospital following a shooting at a Dublin restaurant on Christmas Eve.[2]
5 January – Focus Ireland and the Simon Community described newly released record figures for homelessness (from November 2023) as "shocking", with 9,409 adults and 4,105 children now homeless.[3]
A coroner's inquest held in London found that Sinéad O'Connor died from natural causes.[6]
10 January – Gardaí began an investigation into human trafficking after ten Kurdish people from Iran and Iraq, three people from Vietnam, and one from Turkey were discovered in a refrigerated container that arrived at Rosslare Europort.[7]
17 January – A convent in Lanesborough, County Longford which had been designated as accommodation for Ukrainian refugees was set on fire.[10]
18 January – A man died following an explosion at a homeless hostel in Dublin city centre.[11]
19 January – The European Court of Human Rights announced that Ireland launched legal action against the United Kingdom on 17 January over the Northern Ireland Troubles (Legacy and Reconciliation) Act 2023 that gives amnesty to British soldiers and members of paramilitary groups in Northern Ireland during the Troubles.[12][13]
22 January
Senator David Norris retired from the Seanad after 36 years service. In his final speech, he deplored the slaughter in Gaza: "What is happening to the people of Gaza is appalling and cannot be allowed to continue."[14]
The Supreme Court decided unanimously that an unmarried father whose partner died is entitled to a widower's pension. The Minister for Social Protection originally refused him the pension; now, the Government must change social welfare law to comply with the Court's decision that the Department was guilty of unconstitutional discrimination. There are roughly 170,000 cohabiting couples in the State.[15]
It was reported that President Michael D. Higgins had been awarded the United Nations Agricola Medal. Higgins will be presented with the award by the Director-General of the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO), Qu Dongyu, in a ceremony in Dublin later this year. Higgins was selected by the FAO "in recognition of [his] contribution and commitment to the welfare of all peoples, [his] extraordinary support for FAO's fundamental goal of attaining universal food security, and the pursuit of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals."[17][18]
Homelessness figures for December were released, showing a slight drop in numbers to 13,318 people, including more than 3,900 children, accessing homelessness services in December. This was the first drop recorded in months, but it is not expected to be sustained.[19]
Three people (two men and a woman) in their early 20s were killed in a road crash in County Carlow.[21]
A murder investigation began after a post-mortem examination found that remains which were discovered in east Cork were those of a 47-year-old man who went missing in September 2023.[22]
The new Deposit Return Scheme became active. Henceforth, when empty and undamaged plastic, aluminium or steel containers are returned to participating shops and supermarkets, a small deposit, added to the original cost of purchase, is refunded.[23]
9 February – A woman in her 30s was arrested following the death of a six-year-old boy discovered in a car in County Waterford.[24]
13 February – A 37-year-old woman was charged with the murder of her six-year-old son who was found unresponsive in a car in County Waterford.[26]
16 February – Gardaí seized 546kg of crystal methamphetamine worth €32.8million at Cork Port. The quantity seized was by far the largest ever captured in Ireland. The haul, destined for Australia, was believed to belong to the Mexican Sinaloa Cartel. Two suspects were arrested and firearms were seized.[27][28]
23 February – Record homelessness figures were released by the Department of Housing, showing that in January, 13,531 people were making use of emergency accommodation, including over 4,000 children. The figures did not include more than 1,000 asylum seekers.[29]
29 February – President Michael D. Higgins was taken to hospital as a precaution, after complaining of feeling unwell.[30]
2 March – A man in his 40s was hospitalised with serious injuries after masked men armed with machetes and slash hooks stormed an U14 boxing event in Castlerea, County Roscommon.[31]
10 March – Cillian Murphy became the first Irish-born actor to win the best actor award at the Oscar ceremony in Hollywood, California for his leading performance in the film Oppenheimer.[34]
16 March – Ireland won the 2024 Six Nations Championship for the second year in a row after defeating Scotland in their final match of the contest.[35]
17 March – Thousands of people lined the streets in towns and cities across Ireland and around the world to watch St Patrick's Day parades, with 4,200 participants taking part in the parade in Dublin which was said to be the largest ever.[36]
Four men were arrested and a firearm seized following a Garda operation in Dublin, during which a man who was reported kidnapped in Belfast was found safe and well.[40]
31 March – Sarah McNally, a 41-year-old woman from County Longford, was named as the victim of a stabbing at a bar in Queens, New York, the previous evening. She died at Elmhurst Hospital shortly after the incident.[46]
Police in New York confirmed that a man had been charged with the murder of Irish woman Sarah McNally.[48]
3 April – A man in his 30s died in hospital following a serious assault in Clondalkin, Dublin over the Easter weekend.[49]
4 April – The GAA defended its decision to report Supermac's to Meta over an April Fool's post which featured an altered image of Croke Park stadium, saying "the use of any registered trademark is not permitted, in jest or otherwise", resulting in their Instagram and Facebook accounts being suspended.[50]
9 April – Fine Gael leader Simon Harris became Ireland's youngest Taoiseach after a Dáil vote of 88–69 and being appointed by the President.[52]
10 April – A large fire destroyed industrial units in Dublin known as the 'home of car culture in Ireland'.[53] The buildings were home to Deane Motors, Drift Games and JC Autocare.[54]
20 April – Taoiseach Simon Harris said he had "apologised unreservedly" to the families of the Stardust fire victims, and that he would "do so on behalf of the State on Tuesday next".[56]
23 April
In a statement to the Dáil, Taoiseach Simon Harris delivered a formal state apology to the victims of the Stardust fire and their families.[57]
28 April – Taoiseach Simon Harris said that other countries' migration policies "cannot be allowed to undermine" that of Ireland after it emerged that 80% of recent migrant arrivals in Ireland were people who crossed from the UK.[59]
30 April – Cabinet approved legislation drawn up by Minister for Justice Helen McEntee that would re-designate the UK as a "safe country" to which asylum seekers can be returned.[60]
11 May – Ireland's Bambie Thug came sixth place in the Eurovision Song Contest, marking the country's first top-ten finish since 2011.[63]
13 May – The New York–Dublin Portal connecting the two cities via video screens was temporarily turned off, following reports that participants were behaving inappropriately.[64][65]
19 May – Dublin City Council announced that the New York–Dublin Portal would reopen, but with hours limited between 11am and 9pm instead of 24 hours.[66]
22 May – The three leaders of the Coalition Government – Taoiseach Simon Harris, Tánaiste Micheál Martin, and Minister Eamon Ryan – announced that Ireland, Norway, and Spain would recognise the State of Palestine on 28 May. In response, the Israeli foreign ministry said it would reprimand the three countries' ambassadors to Israel and show them video of female hostages being held by Hamas. Israel also recalled its own ambassadors to the three countries, having argued that such recognition would encourage Hamas terrorism.[67]
Former Circuit Court judge Gerard O'Brien was sent to prison for four years for sexually assaulting six boys and for the attempted rape of one of them.[69]
Gardaí in Dublin began wearing body cameras for the first time. It was planned to extend the practice to the whole country eventually.[70]
5 June – Gardaí began an investigation after a young woman who had just celebrated her 23rd birthday died following a dog attack in County Limerick.[71]
13 June – A former scout leader, Noel Sheehan of Glenville, County Cork, was sentenced to 4½ years in prison, with the final six months suspended, for the sexual assault and psychological damage of young scouts during the late 1980s.[73]
15 June – Five women swam a relay of the North Channel between Ireland and Scotland, starting in 11.8 °C water from Donaghadee and reaching Portpatrick. Afric Creedon, Jackie O'Connor, Karen Molloy, Orla Colreavy, and Siobhán O'Driscoll took half a day to swim a curved 42.2 kilometre route whose course was shaped by the tide.[74]
A 22-year-old soldier who beat a woman unconscious in a random street attack, and boasted about it on social media, walked free from court after Judge Tom O'Donnell gave him a fully suspended sentence which the victim described as "not justice".[77]
Aer Lingus confirmed it would cancel between 10 and 20 percent of its flights over the first five days of planned industrial action by pilots, affecting up to 40,000 passengers.[78]
21 June
The Defence Forces began internal proceedings in relation to the case of a soldier who beat a woman unconscious in an attack, which Tánaiste and Minister for Defence Micheál Martin "condemns unequivocally".[79]
The Irish Airline Pilots Association announced an official eight-hour strike on 29 June, in addition to its indefinite work-to-rule.[80]
22 June – Thousands of people marched in cities around Ireland to protest against the suspended court sentence given to the soldier Cathal Crotty who beat Natasha O’Brien unconscious during a random street attack in Limerick in 2022. The taoiseach, Simon Harris, condemned the attack as part of "an epidemic of gender-based violence".[81]
25 June – Jack Chambers was named as the new Finance Minister to succeed Michael McGrath.[83]
27 June
Two teenage boys, aged 15 and 17, died following a collision between a bus and an e-scooter in Waterford.[84]
Taoiseach Simon Harris described a bomb threat made on his family home as "utterly unacceptable".[85]
A report into serving members of the Defence Forces found 68 personnel had criminal convictions or were currently before the courts on criminal charges which ranged from drink-driving to rape.[86]
29 June – Hundreds of striking Aer Lingus pilots marched at Dublin Airport as part of a dispute with the airline over pay.[87]