1963 in Ireland Return to Years in Irish History |
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![]() Clearing snow in Belfast, February 1963 |
January: Charles Haughey, Minister for
Justice, announced the government's intention of abolishing the death
penalty. A new control tower was opened at Shannon airport. Ireland experienced one of its harshest winters in recent times, with temperatures below freezing through most of January. |
February: Between the fifth and
the seventh, Ireland experienced harsh blizzards. Abberdorney railway station withdrew passenger services after 83 years. |
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March: Terence O'Neill became Prime
Minister of Northern Ireland. April: The Copyright Act was passed. May: When asked in the Dáil if any progress had been made in Ireland's membership application to the EEC, the Taoiseach responded that a consultation procedure had been suggested, and Ireland had expressed its support for the idea. The Irish Maritime Law Association was formed. |
![]() Prime Minister Terence O'Neill |
![]() J.F. Kennedy in Dunganstown, Ireland |
June: Following the death of Pope John
XXIII, Teilifís
Éireann closed down immediately after its nine o'clock news
as a mark of respect. American President John F. Kennedy visited Ireland. His tour included a day at his ancestral home in County Wexford. He addressed the Oireachtas to a standing ovation and met President Eamon de Valera. His brother Ted later described this visit to Ireland as the happiest moment in Kennedy's presidency. July: Time magazine published an article, Lifting The Green Curtain, which described how 'for the first time in this century, most Irishmen are ready to believe that [the future] can be a bright one.[...] The signs are everywhere: in the new factories and office buildings, in the Irish-assembled cars (Fords, Austins, Volkswagens) fighting for street space in Dublin, in the new TV antennas crowding the rooftops, in the waning of national self-pity.' |
August: The Local Government (Planning
and Development) Act and Caravan Sites (Licence Applications) Order
were passed.
September: Galway beat Dublin in the All-Ireland Football Championship. October: Speaking at the UN, Minister for External Affairs Frank Aiken called for a ban on all nuclear weapons. Taoiseach Seán Lemass visited the White House, where Kennedy was still President. |
![]() Taoiseach Seán Lemass |
![]() Kennedy and de Valera meet in 1963
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November: The
Beatles played a concert at the Adelphi Cinema in Dublin. President de Valera attended the funeral of American President J. F. Kennedy. December: The Companies Act was passed. New Zealand played rugby against Ireland at Lansdowne Road. |
Notable births in Ireland |
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![]() Conor Lenihan 3rd March |
![]() Mark Dearey 19th March |
![]() Paul Doolin 26th March |
![]() Pat Gallagher 29th March |
![]() Ciaran Cuffe 3rd April |
![]() Graham Norton 4th April |
![]() Michael Creed 1st June |
![]() Lucy Greely 3rd June |
![]() Larry Tompkins 13th June |
![]() Terry McHugh 22nd August |
![]() Todd Carty 31st August |
![]() Marian Keyes 10th September |
![]() Niall Cahalane 25th September |
![]() Pat Boran |
![]() Margaret Cox |
![]() Eamon Ryan |
![]() Bryan Smyth |
![]() Tomás Mulcahy |
Notable Deaths in Ireland |
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Name | Date of death | Age | Details | |||
John Cardinal D'Alton | 1st February | 80 | Archbishop of Armagh and Primate of All Ireland | |||
Brian O'Higgins | 3rd March | 80 | Sinn Féin politician and former party leader | |||
Patrick Little | 16th May | 78 | Fianna Fáil TD and Cabinet Minister | |||
Seán O'Hegarty | 31st May | 82 | IRA member during the War of Independence | |||
Andrew Cunningham | 12th June | 80 | 1st Viscount Cunningham of Hyndhope, British admiral of the Second World War and First Sea Lord |
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George C. Bennett | 23rd June | (86) | Cumann na nGaedhael and later Fine Gael TD | |||
John Galvin | 11th October | 56 | Fianna Fáil TD | |||
Hugh O'Flaherty | 30th October | 65 | A Catholic priest, responsible for saving the lives of thousands of Allied soldiers and Jews during the Second World War |
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Domhnall Ua Buachalla | 30th October | 97 | Member of 1st Dáil, a Fianna Fáil TD, and last Governor-General of the Irish Free State |
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Daniel Mannix | 2nd November | 99 | Catholic clergyman and Archbishop of Melbourne | |||
Patrick MacGill | November | 73 | Journalist, poet and novelist | |||
William Norton | 4th December | (63) | Labour Party leader, TD and Cabinet Minister | |||
Oscar Traynor | 15th December | 77 | Fianna Fáil politician | |||
Andy Kennedy | December | 66 | Footballer | |||
Joseph Brennan | - | (76) | Governor of the Central Bank of Ireland | |||
Charles Campbell | - | (78) | 2nd Baron Glenavy | |||
Padraig O'Keeffe | - | (76) | Fiddle player |