1 January – It was revealed that 184 people were killed on Irish roads in 2023, the highest number of fatalities in almost a decade.[1]
4 January – A second man died in hospital following a shooting at a Dublin restaurant on Christmas Eve.[2]
5 January – Focus Ireland and the Simon Community described newly released record figures for homelessness (from November 2023) as "shocking", with 9,409 adults and 4,105 children now homeless.[3]
A coroner's inquest held in London found that Sinéad O'Connor died from natural causes.[6]
10 January – Gardaí began an investigation into human trafficking after ten Kurdish people from Iran and Iraq, three people from Vietnam, and one from Turkey were discovered in a refrigerated container that arrived at Rosslare Europort.[7]
17 January – A convent in Lanesborough, County Longford which had been designated as accommodation for Ukrainian refugees was set on fire.[10]
18 January – A man died following an explosion at a homeless hostel in Dublin city centre.[11]
19 January – The European Court of Human Rights announced that Ireland launched legal action against the United Kingdom on 17 January over the Northern Ireland Troubles (Legacy and Reconciliation) Act 2023 that gives amnesty to British soldiers and members of paramilitary groups in Northern Ireland during the Troubles.[12][13]
22 January
Senator David Norris retired from the Seanad after 36 years service. In his final speech, he deplored the slaughter in Gaza: "What is happening to the people of Gaza is appalling and cannot be allowed to continue."[14]
The Supreme Court decided unanimously that an unmarried father whose partner died is entitled to a widower's pension. The Minister for Social Protection originally refused him the pension; now, the Government must change social welfare law to comply with the Court's decision that the Department was guilty of unconstitutional discrimination. There are roughly 170,000 cohabiting couples in the State.[15]
It was reported that President Michael D. Higgins had been awarded the United Nations Agricola Medal. Higgins will be presented with the award by the Director-General of the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO), Qu Dongyu, in a ceremony in Dublin later this year. Higgins was selected by the FAO "in recognition of [his] contribution and commitment to the welfare of all peoples, [his] extraordinary support for FAO's fundamental goal of attaining universal food security, and the pursuit of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals."[17][18]
Homelessness figures for December were released, showing a slight drop in numbers to 13,318 people, including more than 3,900 children, accessing homelessness services in December. This was the first drop recorded in months, but it is not expected to be sustained.[19]
Three people (two men and a woman) in their early 20s were killed in a road crash in County Carlow.[21]
A murder investigation began after a post-mortem examination found that remains which were discovered in east Cork were those of a 47-year-old man who went missing in September 2023.[22]
The new Deposit Return Scheme became active. Henceforth, when empty and undamaged plastic, aluminium or steel containers are returned to participating shops and supermarkets, a small deposit, added to the original cost of purchase, is refunded.[23]
9 February – A woman in her 30s was arrested following the death of a six-year-old boy discovered in a car in County Waterford.[24]
13 February – A 37-year-old woman was charged with the murder of her six-year-old son who was found unresponsive in a car in County Waterford.[26]
16 February – Gardaí seized 546kg of crystal methamphetamine worth €32.8million at Cork Port. The quantity seized was by far the largest ever captured in Ireland. The haul, destined for Australia, was believed to belong to the Mexican Sinaloa Cartel. Two suspects were arrested and firearms were seized.[27][28]
23 February – Record homelessness figures were released by the Department of Housing, showing that in January, 13,531 people were making use of emergency accommodation, including over 4,000 children. The figures did not include more than 1,000 asylum seekers.[29]
29 February – President Michael D. Higgins was taken to hospital as a precaution, after complaining of feeling unwell.[30]
March
2 March – A man in his 40s was hospitalised with serious injuries after masked men armed with machetes and slash hooks stormed an U14 boxing event in Castlerea, County Roscommon.[31]
10 March – Cillian Murphy became the first Irish-born actor to win the best actor award at the Oscar ceremony in Hollywood, California for his leading performance in the film Oppenheimer.[34]
16 March – Ireland won the 2024 Six Nations Championship for the second year in a row after defeating Scotland in their final match of the contest.[35]
17 March – Thousands of people lined the streets in towns and cities across Ireland and around the world to watch St Patrick's Day parades, with 4,200 participants taking part in the parade in Dublin which was said to be the largest ever.[36]
Four men were arrested and a firearm seized following a Garda operation in Dublin, during which a man who was reported kidnapped in Belfast was found safe and well.[40]
31 March – Sarah McNally, a 41-year-old woman from County Longford, was named as the victim of a stabbing at a bar in Queens, New York, the previous evening. She died at Elmhurst Hospital shortly after the incident.[46]
Police in New York confirmed that a man had been charged with the murder of Irish woman Sarah McNally.[48]
3 April – A man in his 30s died in hospital following a serious assault in Clondalkin, Dublin over the Easter weekend.[49]
4 April – The GAA defended its decision to report Supermac's to Meta over an April Fool's post which featured an altered image of Croke Park stadium, saying "the use of any registered trademark is not permitted, in jest or otherwise", resulting in their Instagram and Facebook accounts being suspended.[50]
9 April – Fine Gael leader Simon Harris became Ireland's youngest Taoiseach after a Dáil vote of 88–69 and being appointed by the President.[52]
10 April – A large fire destroyed industrial units in Dublin known as the ‘home of car culture in Ireland’.[53] The buildings were home to Deane Motors, Drift Games and JC Autocare.[54]
20 April – Taoiseach Simon Harris said he had "apologised unreservedly" to the families of the Stardust fire victims, and that he would "do so on behalf of the State on Tuesday next".[56]
23 April
In a statement to the Dáil, Taoiseach Simon Harris delivered a formal state apology to the victims of the Stardust fire and their families.[57]
28 April – Taoiseach Simon Harris said that other countries' migration policies "cannot be allowed to undermine" that of Ireland after it emerged that 80% of recent migrant arrivals in Ireland were people who crossed from the UK.[59]
8 February – Ireland were drawn against England, Finland, and Greece for Group 2 of League B in today's Nations League draw. Match dates to follow.[61]