1987 in Ireland

Events from the year 1987 in Ireland.

Incumbents

 * President: Patrick Hillery
 * Taoiseach:
 * Garret FitzGerald (FG) (until 10 March 1987)
 * Charles Haughey (FF) (from 10 March 1987)
 * Tánaiste:
 * Dick Spring (Lab) (until 20 January 1987)
 * Peter Barry (FG) (from 20 January 1987 until 10 March 1987)
 * Brian Lenihan (FF) (from 10 March 1987)
 * Minister for Finance:
 * John Bruton (FG) (until 10 March 1987)
 * Ray MacSharry (FF) (from 10 March 1987)
 * Chief Justice: Thomas Finlay
 * Dáil:
 * 24th (until 20 January 1987)
 * 25th (from 10 March 1987)
 * Seanad:
 * 17th (until 3 April 1987)
 * 18th (from 25 April 1987)

January

 * 1 January – The halfpenny coin was withdrawn from circulation.
 * 20 January – Labour Party ministers resigned from the government because of disagreement over budget proposals.

February

 * 19 February – A general election returned a Fianna Fáil minority government after the Fine Gael–Labour Party coalition collapsed. Charles Haughey became taoiseach by one Dáil vote. The new Progressive Democrats party won 14 seats.

March

 * 11 March – Former taoiseach Garret FitzGerald resigned as leader of the Fine Gael party and was succeeded by Alan Dukes.
 * 22 March – The Irish National Lottery was launched.

May

 * 8 May – Loughgall ambush: The British Special Air Service killed eight Provisional Irish Republican Army (IRA) members and a civilian in Loughgall, County Tyrone.
 * 9 May – Johnny Logan won the Eurovision Song Contest for Ireland with his own composition Hold Me Now, making him the only person to win the competition twice as a performer.
 * 26 May – A referendum was held on the Single European Act. Nearly 70% voted in favour of the tenth amendment to the Constitution.

July

 * 26 July – Stephen Roche won the Tour de France, the first Irish cyclist to do so.

November

 * 8 November – Remembrance Day bombing: Eleven people were killed and 63 were injured by an IRA bomb during a Remembrance Day service in Enniskillen.
 * 10 November – The funeral took place of broadcaster Eamonn Andrews.
 * 29 November – Beaumont Hospital opened in Dublin.

December

 * 5 December – Downpatrick and Ardglass Railway began public operation, the first Irish gauge heritage railway in Ireland.
 * Undated – Cooley Distillery began producing Irish whiskey.

Arts and literature

 * U2 released The Joshua Tree album to international acclaim.
 * Maeve Binchy's novel Firefly Summer was published.
 * Roddy Doyle published his first novel, The Commitments, the first volume of The Barrytown Trilogy, about a group of unemployed young people on the north side of Dublin who start a soul band.
 * Kíla, the folk/world music group, was formed in the Irish language secondary school, Coláiste Eoin in County Dublin.

Association football

 * 11 November – Ireland qualified for their first major international tournament when Scotland pulled off a shock 1–0 win in Sofia against Bulgaria. Gary Mackay scored the only goal with just three minutes left to put Ireland into the Euro 88 tournament in West Germany.

Cycling

 * 6 September – Cyclist Stephen Roche completed a remarkable treble by winning the Giro d'Italia, the Tour de France, and the World Championship.

Gaelic football

 * Meath defeated Cork by 1–14 to 0–11 to win the All-Ireland Senior Football Championship.

Golf

 * The Carroll's Irish Open golf tournament was won by Bernhard Langer (West Germany).

Hurling

 * Galway defeated Kilkenny by 1–12 to 0–9 to win the All-Ireland Senior Hurling Championship.

Births

 * 2 January – Cathal Naughton, Cork hurler.
 * 9 January – Nicola Coughlan, actress
 * 22 January – Shane Long, association footballer.
 * 24 January – Ruth Bradley, television actress.
 * 30 January – Becky Lynch, professional wrestler.
 * 4 February – Darren O'Dea, association footballer.
 * 5 February – Denis McLaughlin, association footballer.
 * 14 February – James Chambers, association footballer.
 * 16 March – Diarmuid O'Carroll, association footballer.
 * 2 April – Shane Lowry, golfer
 * 13 April – Conor Sammon, association footballer.
 * 23 April – Kelly Gough, actress.
 * 12 May – Darren Randolph, association footballer.
 * 20 May – Pa Cronin, Cork hurler.
 * 21 May – Chris McCann, association footballer.
 * 7 July – Diarmuid Connolly, Dublin Gaelic football and hurling player.
 * 9 July – Jonny Hayes, association footballer.
 * 28 September – Gary Deegan, association footballer.
 * 2 June – Graeme Mulcahy, hurler (Kilmallock, Limerick).
 * 2 October – Séamus Hickey, hurler (Murroe-Boher, Limerick).
 * 11 October – Richie McCarthy, hurler (Blackrock, Limerick).
 * 16 October – Eric McGill, association footballer.
 * 9 November – Tom Condon, hurler (Limerick).
 * 14 November – Brian Gleeson, actor
 * 16 November – T. J. Reid, Kilkenny hurler.
 * 13 December – Billy Clarke, association footballer.

Deaths

 * 2 January – Roger McHugh, professor, author and playwright (born 1908).
 * 4 January – Eudie Coughlan, Cork hurler (born 1900).
 * 14 January – Ewart Milne, poet (born 1903).
 * January – Billy King, cricketer (born 1902).
 * 8 April – Kevin McNamara, Archbishop of Dublin (born 1926).
 * 19 April – Con Cremin, diplomat (born 1908).
 * 22 April – Bill Hayes, association footballer (born 1915).
 * 23 April – Oliver J. Flanagan, Fine Gael teachta dála (TD) and cabinet minister (born 1920).
 * 27 April – Maurice Gibson, Northern Irish judge (born 1913).
 * 8 May – Jim Lynagh, Provisional Irish Republican Army (IRA) member killed in an ambush by the British Special Air Service during an IRA attack on Loughgall Royal Ulster Constabulary station (born 1956).
 * 22 June – John Hewitt, poet (born 1907).
 * 30 June – Tommy O'Connor, association footballer.
 * 20 July – Denis J. O'Sullivan, Fine Gael TD (born 1918).
 * 18 October – Michael Lipper, Labour Party TD (born 1932).
 * 25 October – Ivan Beshoff, last survivor of the Russian Potemkin mutiny (born 1882/4 in the Russian Empire).
 * 29 October – Monk Gibbon, poet and author (born 1896).
 * 5 November – Eamonn Andrews, broadcaster (born 1922).
 * 25 November – James McDyer, Roman Catholic priest and community leader (born 1910).
 * 8 December – Peadar Livingstone, priest and historian (born 1930).
 * 9 December – Seán Brosnahan, Treasurer Irish National Teachers Organisation, member of the Seanad (Senate) from 1961 to 1977 (born 1911).

Full date unknown

 * Jimmy Warnock, boxer (born 1912).