1980 in Northern Ireland

Incumbents

• Monarch – Elizabeth II

  Events

• 1 January – First national anti-H-Block march.
• 27 October – Seven Provisional Irish Republican Army prisoners go on hunger strike in Long Kesh.
• 8 December – Taoiseach Charles Haughey meets with the British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher at Dublin Castle, the first visit by a British prime minister since independence.
• 15 December – Thirty more IRA prisoners join the hunger strike.
• 18 December – Hunger striker Sean McKenna critically ill. Belief that settlement is imminent brings an end to the hunger strike.
• Work begins on the building of the Foyle Bridge in Derry.
• W. A. McCutcheon's official survey The Industrial Archaeology of Northern Ireland is published.

  Arts and literature

• 23 September – Field Day Theatre Company presents its first production, the premiere of Brian Friel's Translations at the Guildhall, Derry.
• Crescent Arts Centre is founded in Belfast.
• Annual Enniskillen Drama Festival revived.
• Ron Hutchinson's The Irish Play is first performed, in London.
• Medbh McGuckian publishes the first collections of her poems in two pamphlets, Portrait of Joanna and Single Ladies: Sixteen Poems and wins an Eric Gregory Award.
• Bernard MacLaverty publishes his novel Lamb.

  Sport

Boxing

• Hugh Russell wins Flyweight Bronze medal at the 1980 Summer Olympics.

  Football

• Irish League
• Irish Cup

  Motorcycling

• Robert Dunlop makes first appearance at the Cookstown 100.

  Births

• 7 January – Zöe Salmon, Blue Peter presenter and former Miss Northern Ireland in 1999.
• 17 January – Gareth McLearnon, flautist.
• 11 February – Cormac McAnallen, Tyrone Gaelic footballer.
• 6 March – Ross Mawhinney, radio DJ.
• 3 April – Adrian McCoubrey, cricketer.
• 14 April – Grant McCann, footballer.
• 11 June – Pete Snodden, radio DJ.
• 3 July – Andrew White, cricketer.
• 9 July – Michael Ingham, footballer.
• 23 September – Malachi Cush, singer-songwriter.
• 6 October – Stephen Carson, soccer player.

  Deaths

• 5 July – A. J. Potter, composer.
• 22 November – Norah McGuinness, artist.

  Full date unknown

• Ronnie Bunting, Official IRA member and a founder member of the Irish National Liberation Army, assassinated.
• Sam Cree, playwright.
• Jimmy McCambridge, soccer player.
• Johnny McKenna, footballer.