1957 in Ireland

← 1956 1955 1954 1953 1952 1957 in Ireland → 1958 1959 1960 1961 1962
Centuries:	18th 19th 20th 21st
Decades:	1930s 1940s 1950s 1960s 1970s
See also:	1957 in Northern Ireland Other events of 1957 List of years in Ireland

Events from the year1957 in Ireland.

Incumbents

• President:Seán T. O'Kelly
• Taoiseach:
  • John A. Costello(FG) (until 20 March 1957)
  • Éamon de Valera(FF) (from 20 March 1957)
• Tánaiste:
  • William Norton(Lab) (until 20 March 1957)
  • Seán Lemass(FF) (from 20 March 1957)
• Minister for Finance:
  • Gerard Sweetman(FG) (until 20 March 1957)
  • James Ryan(FF) (from 20 March 1957)
• Chief Justice:Conor Maguire
• Dáil:
  • 15th(until 4 February 1957)
  • 16th(from 20 March 1957)
• Seanad:
  • 8th(until 28 March 1957)
  • 9th(from 22 May 1957)

Events

• 1 January –Border Campaign:Seán SouthandFergal O'Hanlonwere killed in anIrish Republican Army(IRA) attack on aRoyal Ulster Constabularybarracks inBrookeborough,County Fermanagh.TheGovernment of Irelandused the currentOffences Against the State Actto arrest most of the IRA's leadership, including its Chief of Staff,Seán Cronin.
• 12 January – Over a hundredrepublicanswere arrested under theSpecial Powers Actin Northern Ireland.
• 24 January – SirAlfred Chester Beattybecame the first person grantedhonorary citizenshipof Ireland.
• 4 February – St. Mary'sChurch of IrelandCathedral atElphin, County Roscommon,was severely damaged in a violent storm, leading to its abandonment.
• 3 March –Éamon de Valeratold a crowd inCorkthat aUnited Irelandcould be achieved with time and the support of the people.
• 5 March –1957 Irish general election:TheFianna Fáilparty under Éamon de Valera returned to power, winning 78 seats. Members of the16th Dáilassembled on 20 March.
• 7 March - APercival Provostaircraft crashed on the lower eastern slope ofTable Mountain,County Wicklowwith the loss of one life.
• 11 March –Prize Bondswere introduced; theBank of Irelandoperated the scheme on behalf of theMinister for Finance.
• May–September –Fethard-on-SeaNe Temereboycott: aRoman Catholicpriest and some of his parishioners organised a boycott ofProtestant-owned local businesses.
• 4 July – Following the killing of aRoyal Ulster Constabularyofficer, the newGovernment of Irelandintroduced wholesale internment without trial for IRA suspects.
• 4 July – TheDáildebated the Fethard-on-SeaNe Temereboycott.
• 22 July – The Gough Monument in thePhoenix ParkinDublinwas wrecked by an explosion so violent that it was heard all over the city.
• 7 August – A 20-foot high war memorial inLimerickwas blown up. It was erected to commemorate British soldiers from Limerick who died inWorld War I.
• 30 September – Last day of operation of 97 miles (155 km) of railway in Northern Ireland (Great Northern Railway(GNR) branches and the entireSligo, Leitrim and Northern Counties Railway) following government instructions.County Fermanaghlost all its lines. The GNR closed a further 84 miles (134 km) of connecting lines in the Republic on October 12.
• 2 October – TheMinister for Health,Seán MacEntee,launched the Voluntary Health Insurance Board.
• 7 October – PresidentSeán T. O'Kelly's country residence, Roundwood House,County Wicklow,was destroyed by fire.
• 10 October – TheWindscale firebegan with a fire in a graphite core of areactorat theWindscaleNuclear Power station and reprocessing centre on theCumberlandcoast ofNorth West England.Years later there were claims that the radiation caused cancers and birth defects inCounty Louth.
• 27 October – The foundation stone ofGalway Cathedralwas blessed.
• 1 November – TheSovietsatelliteSputnikwas visible over Dublin for the second time in a month.
• November –Border Campaign:The premature explosion of a bomb at a farmhouse in County Louth killed four IRA men and a householder.
• Undated–Cyril Lordopened a new factory for the production of tufted carpets atDonaghadee,County Down.

Arts and literature

• 13 January –Samuel Beckett'sAll That Fall(set in a fictionalisedFoxrock) was first broadcast (on theBBC Third Programmein the U.K.), withJ. G. Devlinin a leading role.
• 12 May – ThePike Theatrein Dublin staged theTennessee WilliamsplayThe Rose Tattoo.During its short run the theatre was invaded byGardaí(police) and director Alan Simpson was arrested for producing "a lewd entertainment" for a mime of dropping a condom onto the floor.
• The Bachelorsmusical group formed as The Harmonichords in Dublin.
• Publication ofTomás de Bhaldraithe'sEnglish-Irish Dictionary.
• Publication ofHeinrich Böll'sIrisches Tagebuch(Irish Journal).

Sport

Association football

• 19 May –Ireland1–1England(atDalymount Park).

Golf

• 27 June –Philomena Garveywon theBritish Ladies Amateur Golf Championshipat Gleneagles.

Births

• 17 January –Colm Burke,Fine GaelLord Mayor of Cork,MEP.
• 22 January –Ray Flynn,Irish-American runner
• 7 February –Regina Joyce,long-distance runner.
• 15 February
  • Dave Langan,association football player.
  • David Stanton,Fine GaelTDforCork East.
• 26 February –Charlie Nelligan,KerryGaelic footballer.
• 6 April –Dermot Mac Curtain,Corkhurler.
• 8 April –Richie Power,Kilkennyhurler.
• 23 April –Tommy Quaid,Limerickhurler (died1998).
• 13 March –Patricia McKenna,Green Partypolitician.
• 7 March –Seán Crowe,Sinn FéinTD forDublin South-West.
• 21 March –Pat Breen,Fine GaelTD forClare.
• 20 May –Dermot Gallagher,association football referee.
• 23 May –Jimmy McShane,singer
• 28 May –Dick O'Hara,Kilkennyhurler.
• 17 June –Philip Chevron,born Philip Ryan, Celtic punk singer-songwriter and guitarist (died in 2013).
• 20 June –Kieran Brennan,Kilkennyhurler andIrish Armygeneral.
• 17 July –Terry Eviston,association football player.
• 2 August –Ashley Grimes,association football player and coach.
• 7 August –Daire Brehan,actress, broadcaster and barrister (died in 2012).
• 28 August –Tom Cashman,Corkhurler.
• 26 September –Finbar Wright,singer.
• 8 October –Martha Kearney,radio journalist.
• 14 October –John Henderson,Kilkennyhurler.
• 16 October –Eoin Liston,KerryGaelic footballer.
• 6 November –Siobhán McCarthy,actress.
• 19 November –Jack O'Shea,KerryGaelic footballer.
• 24 November –John Minihan,soldier,Progressive DemocratsSeanad Éireannmember.
• 12 December –Jon Kenny,comedian.
• 17 December –Robbie Gaffney,association football player.
• 25 December –Shane MacGowan,English-born Celtic punk singer-songwriter (died in 2023).

Undated

• Desmond Dinan,academic and author.
• Angela Downey,Kilkennycamogie player.
• Shani Mootoo,fiction writer and visual artist.
• Paul Woodfull,writer, actor, comedian and musician

Deaths

• 1 January –Fergal O'Hanlon,Irish Republican Armymember killed withSeán Southattacking theRoyal Ulster Constabularybarracks inBrookeborough(born in 1936).
• 1 January –Seán South,IRAleader fatally wounded during an attack on aRoyal Ulster Constabularybarracks inBrookeborough(born in 1929).
• 11 January –Anthony Mulvey,editor andNationalist PartyMP (born in 1882).
• 16 February –John Sealy Townsend,mathematical physicist (died in 1868).
• 25 March
  • Ernie O'Malley,prominent officer in theIrish Republican Armyduring theIrish War of Independenceand on anti-Treatyside in theIrish Civil Warand a writer (born in 1897).
  • George Townshend,writer, clergyman who converted to theBaháʼí Faith(born in 1876).
• 28 March –Jack B. Yeats,artist (born in 1871).
• 29 March –John J. O'Kelly,politician, author and publisher, president of theGaelic LeagueandSinn Féin(born in 1872).
• 11 April –Freeman Wills Crofts,novelist (born in 1879).
• 23 May –William Meldon,cricketer (born in 1879).
• 26 May –Edward Hutchinson Synge,theoretical physicist (born in 1890)
• 26 June –Colm Gallagher,Fianna FáilTD forDublin North-Centraland bo xing referee.
• 1 August –Cathal O'Byrne,singer, poet and writer (born in 1867).
• 22 September –Oliver St. John Gogarty,physician, poet and writer (born in 1878).
• 25 October –Edward Plunkett, 18th Baron Dunsany,writer and dramatist (born 1878).
• 9 November –Peter O'Connor,athlete (born in 1872).
• 16 November –Seán Moylan,memberIrish Volunteers,Sinn FéinandFianna FáilTD, Cabinet Minister andSeanad Éireannmember (born in 1888).
• 6 December –Michael James O'Rourke,soldier, recipient of theVictoria Crossfor gallantry in 1917 atHill 70near Lens, France (born in 1878).
• 21 December –Thomas Sadleir,genealogist (born in 1882).