| 1963 in Ireland Return to Years in Irish History |
|
 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. |
|
| 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
|
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 | |||
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