# 2025 in Ireland

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Events during the year 2025 in Ireland.

## Incumbents

* President: Michael D. Higgins
* Taoiseach (prime minister):
** Simon Harris (Fine Gael) (until 23 January 2025)
** Micheál Martin (Fianna Fáil) (from 23 January 2025)
* Tánaiste (deputy prime minister):
** Micheál Martin (Fianna Fáil) (until 23 January 2025)
** Simon Harris (Fine Gael) (from 23 January 2025)
* Minister for Finance:
** Jack Chambers (Fianna Fáil) (until 23 January 2025)
** Paschal Donohoe (Fine Gael) (from 23 January 2025)
* Chief Justice: Donal O'Donnell
* Dáil Éireann: 34th
* Seanad Éireann:
** 26th (until 30 January 2025)
** 27th (from 12 February 2025)

## Events
### January

* 1 January
** The 2025 Seanad election (for university members) was in progress (began 30 December 2024).
** The minimum wage rose to €13.50 per hour. The Irish minimum wage was introduced in April 2000.
* 4 January – The United States president Joe Biden presented the Irish singer Bono with the Presidential Medal of Freedom for his activism against AIDS and poverty.
* 8 January – The annual Art O'Neill Challenge endurance race, due to take place on 10 January from Dublin Castle, was postponed due to unsafe conditions along the route caused by an extreme cold weather and snow event affecting Ireland and Britain.
* 9 January – A provisional temperature record of –8.2 °C was recorded in County Longford as a cold snap continued with a Status Orange weather warning issued by Met Éireann.
* 10 January – Three sisters aged 12, 15, and 17 from Presentation Secondary School, Tralee were announced as the winners of the Young Scientist Exhibition for their project "Aid Care Treat", a medical assistance application designed to support emergency healthcare response.
* 15 January
** A programme for government was published by a coalition of the Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael parties, together with Independent politicians, all recently elected at the general election in November. Micheál Martin of Fianna Fáil was proposed as the new taoiseach (prime minister) until November 2027, when Simon Harris of Fine Gael (currently the acting taoiseach) would replace him.
** Seanad election ballot papers – for panel members – were issued.
* 16 January
** Passenger and freight sea ferry sailings between Dublin Port and the Port of Holyhead in Wales resumed after over a month's interruption. Storm Darragh in December damaged the Welsh port.
** Northern Ireland and the Irish Republic announced restrictions on animal imports from Germany following an outbreak of foot-and-mouth disease.
* 22 January – Dáil Éireann returned after the Christmas break.
* 23 January
** The Dáil elected the leader of the Fianna Fáil party, Micheál Martin, as the new taoiseach. Martin named his new Cabinet then went to Áras an Uachtaráin to receive his seal of office from President Higgins. The Dáil adjourned until 5 February.
** Met Éireann issued a Status Red wind warning for the entire country. All education and childcare services were closed and public transport was suspended.
* 24 January – Ireland's worst storm since 1961, Storm Éowyn, left 768,000 homes, farms and businesses without power, and brought record-breaking gusts of 183 km/h. A man died in County Donegal after a tree fell on his car, while the Connacht GAA Air Dome was destroyed. Galway's former champion hurler Michael Coleman died near his home in February while dealing with the storm's aftermath.
* 25 January – Thousands of people marched in a National Demonstration for Palestine in Dublin that was organised by the Ireland Palestine Solidarity Campaign (IPSC) together with more than 150 civil society groups. The IPSC called for Israel to stop its attacks on the West Bank and for the enactment of the Occupied Territories Bill.
* 29 January – The Seanad election poll for university members closed.
* 30 January – The Seanad election poll for panel members closed.

### February

* 3 February – The Ceann Comhairle in Dáil Éireann, Verona Murphy, ruled that the Regional Technical Group of independent teachtaí dála (TDs) may not form a Dáil technical group to acquire additional speaking rights. She said, "I have decided that the Group are not eligible for recognition under Standing Order 170. I therefore cannot accord recognition as a technical group to the Regional Technical Group." Opposition politicians welcomed the development including Social Democrat Cian O'Callaghan who said, "Government backbenchers cannot masquerade as members of the opposition in a cynical attempt to avail of opposition speaking rights."
* 5 February – The postal service An Post announced that the price of a domestic postage stamp will increase for the third time in two years. The cost will increase by 25 cents to €1.65, on 27 February for personal customers, and on 1 March for businesses. The price of an international letter stamp will rise from €2.20 to €2.65. The number of letters being posted has declined by half in the past decade. Businesses and government now send 93 percent of post, with just seven percent being sent by the general public.
* 9 February – Three men, aged in their mid-20s to mid-40s, were injured following a stabbing incident in Stoneybatter, Dublin. The alleged attacker, a man in his late 20s, was arrested near the scene of the incident.
* 11 February – BT Ireland announced it would step down as organiser and sponsor of the Young Scientist Exhibition after 25 years.
* 12 February – ESB Networks, Ireland's state owned electricity company, confirmed that it had restored electricity to all customers across the nation whose power had been cut during Storm Éowyn. The last of those to be reconnected had been without electricity for almost three weeks.
* 14 February – In Goa, India, Vikat Bhagat was convicted of the murder of Danielle McLaughlin, a 28-year-old backpacker from County Donegal, whose body was found in a field in Goa in March 2017.
* 15 February – A 34-year-old man, Quam Babatunde, died after being stabbed on South Anne Street in Dublin.
* 17 February – The foreign minister of China, Wang Yi, met the taoiseach, Micheál Martin, and the tánaiste, Simon Harris, at Government Buildings to discuss bilateral relations. Martin visited China as minister for foreign affairs in May 2010, and as tánaiste in November 2023. Xi Jinping visited Ireland in 2012 before he became the Chinese president. The Chinese premier, Li Keqiang, visited in 2015, and his successor, Li Qiang, visited in January 2024.
* 19 February – The European Organisation for Nuclear Research (CERN) accepted in principle Ireland's application to join the organization as an associate member, starting next year. CERN near Geneva is the largest particle physics laboratory in the world and is the home of the Large Hadron Collider in which protons collide destructively at cosmic speed.
* 21 February – Sinn Féin confirmed it would boycott St Patrick's Day events at the White House over US President Donald Trump's stance on the Israel-Gaza conflict.
* 25 February – The UK and Irish governments announced plans to explore formal engagement with paramilitary groups to help bring about their disbandment.
* 27 February – The taoiseach met the president of Ukraine at Shannon Airport. Zelenskyy was flying to Washington DC to meet the president of the United States.
* 28 February – Irish and European political leaders declared support for President Zelenskyy and Ukraine following an angry public exchange between the American and Ukrainian presidents in Washington DC. Speaking on The Late Late Show, the taoiseach said, "We've got to hold our nerve in Europe. We've got to get behind Ukraine, engage with the United States and others, with a view to giving Ukraine the security that it requires." The minister for foreign affairs tweeted, "Ukraine is not to blame for this war brought about by Russia’s illegal invasion. We stand with Ukraine."

### March

* 4 March – An 11-year-old boy was stabbed by another child at a primary school in Dublin. The victim was brought to hospital with serious injuries.
* 6 March – Taoiseach Micheál Martin attended a UK–Ireland summit in Liverpool alongside UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer. Starmer said the two countries had "turned a page on the turbulent years" and were ready for a meaningful partnership.
* 12 March – Taoiseach Micheál Martin arrived at the White House to meet US President Donald Trump as part of the Irish Government's traditional round of St Patrick's Day engagements.
* 13 March – Gardaí launched an investigation after vandals damaged the Trump International Golf Links Ireland golf course in Doonbeg, County Clare.
* 17 March
** The Second World War Royal Air Force fighter pilot, John "Paddy" Hemingway, from Dublin, died at the age of 105. He served in the Battle of Dunkirk, the Battle of Britain (he was the last surviving pilot of the battle), the Invasion of Italy, and the Invasion of Normandy. He was shot down four times.
** The taoiseach condemned as "wrong" statements made by Conor McGregor during the fighter's meeting with the US president, Donald Trump, in the Oval Office on Saint Patrick's Day. McGregor attacked the Irish government and its policies on immigration and asylum seekers. Micheál Martin said McGregor did not represent the views of the people of Ireland. The tánaiste and minister for foreign affairs, Simon Harris, echoed Martin's remarks. The chief executive of the Dublin Rape Crisis Centre, Rachel Morrogh, said the meeting between McGregor and Trump was shocking since a jury had recently found that McGregor had committed rape. Trump described McGregor as "inspiring" and "fantastic".

### Scheduled

* 12 September – Earliest date possible for Presidential election.
* 12 November – Inauguration of new president.

## Arts

* 5 January – Irish actor Colin Farrell won his third Golden Globe award at a ceremony in Beverly Hills, California for his performance in The Penguin television series. He won previously for his performances in the films In Bruges and The Banshees of Inisherin.
* 7 February – Norwegian singer Emmy was chosen to represent Ireland in the Eurovision Song Contest 2025 with the song Laika Party. The winner was chosen by combined votes of the public vote, an international jury and a national jury on the Late Late Show Eurosong Special.
* 23 February – Colin Farrell won a Screen Actors Guild award at a ceremony in Los Angeles, California for best actor in a television miniseries for his performance in The Penguin.

## Sport
### Association football (men)
#### Nations League

Play-off fixtures:
* 20 March – Bulgaria v Ireland.
* 23 March – Ireland v Bulgaria.

#### 2026 World Cup qualification

UEFA Group F:
* 6 September – Ireland v Hungary.
* 9 September – Armenia v Ireland.
* 11 October – Denmark or Portugal$^†$ v Ireland.
* 14 October – Ireland v Armenia.
* 13 November – Ireland v Denmark or Portugal.$^†$
* 16 November – Hungary v Ireland.
† Depending on the outcome of two Nations League quarter-final playoff matches between Denmark and Portugal in March.

### Association football (women)
#### Nation's League

Group B2
* 21 February – Ireland 1–0 Turkey. This was the team's first match with manager Carla Ward in charge, after she replaced Eileen Gleeson.
* 25 February – Slovenia 4–0 Ireland.
* 4 April – Greece v Ireland.
* 8 April – Ireland v Greece.
* 30 May – Turkey v Ireland.
* 3 June – Ireland v Slovenia.

### Gaelic football

* 27 July – 2025 All-Ireland Senior Football Championship.

### Hurling

* 20 July – 2025 All-Ireland Senior Hurling Championship.

### Rugby

Six Nations Championship
* 1 February – Ireland 27–22 England.
* 9 February – Scotland 18–32 Ireland.
* 22 February – Wales 18–22 Ireland. This was Ireland's 14th Triple Crown win, having defeated England, Scotland, and Wales.
* 8 March – Ireland 27–42 France.
* 15 March – Italy v Ireland.

## Annual events

Source:
(H) = public holiday
* 1 January – New Year's Day. (H)
* 6 January – Nollaig na mBan.
* 8–11 January – Young Scientist Exhibition.
* 1 February – Imbolc.
* 3 February – Saint Brigid's holiday. (H)
* 20 February–2 March – Dublin International Film Festival.
* 1–8 March – Irish Astronomy Week.
* 17 March – Saint Patrick's Day. (H)
* 20 March – Spring equinox.
* 28–30 March – Skellig Coast Dark Sky Festival (Féile Spéartha Dorcha).
* 8–13 April – Cúirt Festival of Literature.
* 21 April – Easter Monday. (H)
* 1 May – Bealtaine.
* 2–10 May – Galway Theatre Festival.
* 5 May – May holiday. (H)
* 16–25 May – International Literature Festival Dublin.
* 24 May–2 June – Fleadh Nua festival.
* 28 May–1 June – Listowel Writers' Week.
* 2 June – June holiday. (H)
* 16 June – Bloomsday.
* 21 June – Summer solstice.
* 5–6 July – Longitude Festival.
* 28 July–3 August – Galway Races.
* 1 August – Lúnasa.
* 4 August – August holiday. (H)
* 3–10 August – Fleadh Cheoil festival.
* 10–12 August – Puck Fair.
* 15–19 August – Rose of Tralee festival.
* 29–31 August – Electric Picnic festival.
* 16–18 September – National Ploughing Championships.
* 22 September – Autumn equinox.
* 26–28 September – Galway Oyster Festival.
* September–October – Dublin Theatre Festival.
* October 4–10 – National Space Week.
* 27 October – October holiday. (H)
* 31 October – Halloween.
* 1 November – Samhain.
* 21 December – Winter solstice.
* 25 December – Christmas Day. (H)
* 26 December – Saint Stephen's Day, also Lá an Dreoilín. (H)

## Deaths
### January

* 2 January – Pádraig Ó Snodaigh, 89, Irish language writer, publisher, activist, and former president of Conradh na Gaeilge.
* 3 January – Donal Kelly, 86, journalist and news correspondent for RTÉ News.
* 4 January
** Colm Connolly, 82, journalist, newsreader and reporter for RTÉ News.
** Eleanor Maguire, 54, neuroscientist.
* 8 January – Des O'Grady, 72, Gaelic footballer (St Finbarr's, Cork senior team) and politician, county councillor (2014–2019).
* 9 January – Mick Kennedy, 89, hurler and Gaelic footballer (Marlfield, Clonmel Commercials, Faughs, Tipperary senior team, Dublin senior team, Leinster).
* 11 January – Kitty Flynn, 98, historian.
* 13 January – Mary Fennelly, 76, camogie player (St Paul's, Kilkenny senior team) and administrator, President of the Camogie Association (1982–1985).
* 14 January – Pat Goggin, 84, association footballer (Cork Hibernians, Tramore Athletic).
* 15 January – Linda Nolan, 65, singer, actress and television personality (The Nolans).
* 17 January – Martin Fallon, 55, Gaelic footballer (Strokestown, Roscommon senior team).
* 21 January – Robbie Bonham, 53, comedian and cartoonist.
* 22 January
** Paddy Cole, 85, singer, saxophone player and band leader.
** Michael Longley, 85, poet, Ireland Professor of Poetry (2007–2010). Born in Northern Ireland.
* 26 January – Éamonn Walsh, 79, politician, teachta dála (TD) (1992–1997).

### February

* 6 February – Paddy Cullen, 80, Gaelic footballer (O'Connell Boys, Dublin senior team, Leinster) and manager (Dublin senior team).
* 7 February – Michael Coleman, 61, hurler (Abbeyknockmoy, Galway senior team, Connacht).
* 8 February
** John Cooney, 28, boxer, intracranial haemorrhage.
** Matt Doyle, 70, tennis player. Born in the United States.
* 15 February – Eddie Wade, 76, politician, TD (1997–2002).
* 16 February – Michael O'Sullivan, 24, jockey.
* 17 February – Dan Wallace, 82, politician, TD (1982–2007) and Minister of State (1992–1993 and 1997–2002).
* 18 February – James Donovan, 80, forensic scientist.
* 19 February – Willie Walsh, 90, Roman Catholic prelate, Bishop of Killaloe (1994–2010).
* 21 February – Brendan McFarlane, 73, Irish republican activist.
* 22 February – Colette Doherty, poker player.
* 24 February – Johnny Culloty, 88, Gaelic footballer (Killarney Legion, East Kerry, Kerry senior team, Munster)).
* 26 February
** Jennifer Johnston, 95, novelist and playwright.
** Henry Kelly, 78, broadcaster, actor and journalist.
** Ray Ryan, 43, hurler (Sarsfields, Cork senior team).

### March

* 1 March – Pat Ingoldsby, 82, poet, writer and broadcaster.
* 11 March – Billy Joyce, 75, Gaelic footballer (Killererin, Galway senior team) and manager (Galway senior team).
* 12 March – Fiona McHugh, 57, journalist and editor.
* 17 March
** Ger FitzGerald, 60, hurler (Midleton, Cork senior team, Munster) and selector (Cork senior team).
** John Hemingway, 105, fighter pilot who served in the Second World War; last survivor of the Battle of Britain; shot down four times.