1990 in Ireland

Incumbents

• President:
• * Patrick Hillery
• * Mary Robinson
• Taoiseach: Charles Haughey
• Tánaiste:
• * Brian Lenihan
• * John Wilson
• Minister for Finance: Albert Reynolds
• Chief Justice: Thomas Finlay
• Dáil: 26th
• Seanad: 19th

  Events

• 1 January – the Northern Ireland Fair Employment Act became law.
• 3 April – there was all-party support for the Criminal Justice Bill to abolish capital punishment for all offences and replaced it with lengthy prison sentences.
• 26 April – the Labour Party selected Mary Robinson as its candidate in the presidential election.
• 11 June – the Irish football team began their first appearance at a World Cup Final's with a 1–1 draw against England in Cagliari in Italy. Kevin Sheedy scored for Ireland, with Gary Lineker scoring for England.
• 17 June – Ireland's World Cup continued with a goalless draw against Egypt.
• 20 June – the Irish Pound coin was introduced into circulation to replace the note of the same denomination.
• 21 June – the Irish football team completed their World Cup group stage unbeaten and reached the last 16 group with a 1–1 draw against Holland.
• 25 June – Ireland reached the World Cup quarter-finals by beating Romania on penalties after a goalless draw in the last 16 tie, in Genoa. As of 2016, this was Ireland's best World Cup result
• 30 June – Ireland were eliminated from the World Cup Final by a goal from Toto Schillaci in the quarter final match against the hosts, Italy, in Rome.
• 1 July – enormous crowds gathered in Dublin when 500,000 people came to pay tribute to the Irish football team and to former South African President, Nelson Mandela. The football team had reached the World Cup quarter final in Italia '90 before being beaten by Italy, while Mandela accepted the Freedom of the City of Dublin, granted to him two years earlier, at an open-air ceremony outside the Mansion House in Dawson Street.
• 2 July – Deputy President of the ANC, Nelson Mandela, addressed a joint session of both houses of the Oireachtas.
• 11 July – the Criminal Justice Act abolished capital punishment for all offences and replaced it with lengthy prison sentences.
• 24 July – the IRA killed three policemen and a nun in a bomb attack near Armagh.
• 24 August – Brian Keenan was released after 1,574 days in captivity in Beirut.
• September – Janet Catterall became the first woman in Ireland to be ordained as a priest in the Church of Ireland.
• 28 September – the centenary of People's Park, Dún Laoghaire, was celebrated.
• 24 October – the IRA killed six soldiers and a civilian in proxy bomb attacks at Derry and Newry.
• 25 October – presidential candidate Brian Lenihan denied that he tried to contact President Hillery to stop the dissolution of the Dáil in 1982. This was in spite of a taped interview where he confirmed that he did.
• 31 October – Tánaiste and Minister for Defence Brian Lenihan was dismissed from the government over the telephone call controversy.
• 9 November – Mary Robinson was elected the seventh President of Ireland.
• 3 December – Mary Robinson was inaugurated as the first female President of Ireland. Patrick Hillery retired after 14 years as Head of State.
• The pro-cathedral in Ennis was rededicated as a cathedral.

  Arts and literature

• 24 April – Brian Friel's Dancing at Lughnasa opened at the Abbey Theatre.
• May – Marita Conlon-McKenna's children's historical novel Under the Hawthorn Tree, the first in her Children of the Famine trilogy, was published by the O'Brien Press.
• August – Declan Hughes' first play, I Can't Get Started, opened.
• Anton Chekhov's Three Sisters opened at the Gate Theatre with Dublin-born Sinéad, Sorcha and Niamh Cusack in the title roles and their father Cyril Cusack as Dr. Chebutykin.
• Jim Sheridan's film The Field was shown.
• Shaun Davey's The Relief of Derry Symphony was composed.
• Maeve Binchy's novel Circle of Friends was published.
• Roddy Doyle's novel The Snapper, second of The Barrytown Trilogy, was published.
• John McGahern's novel Amongst Women was published.
• Colm Tóibín's first novel The South was published.
• CBI Book of the Year Awards for writers and illustrators of children's literature originated as Bisto Book of the Decade Awards.

  Sport

Gaelic games

• Cork GAA's football team won a second consecutive All-Ireland Senior Football Championship. The hurling team won the All-Ireland Senior Hurling Championship to complete a double for the county.

  Golf

• Carroll's Irish Open was won by José María Olazábal.
• Ireland won the Dunhill Cup.

  Soccer

• St Patrick's Athletic won the League of Ireland.
• Bray Wanderers won the FAI Cup beating non league St Francis FC in the first ever Lansdowne Road final.

  Births

• 7 February – Seán William McLoughlin, YouTube Celebrity internet personality.
• 5 March – Ashling Thompson, camogie player
• 29 May – Maeve O'Donovan, finalist in the 2006/2007 RTÉ programme "You're A Star."
• 2 June – Graeme Mulcahy, hurler.
• 25 October – Niall Donoghue, hurler .

  Deaths

• 21 January – Patrick Mulligan, Bishop of Clogher 1970–1979.
• 17 February – Brendan Corish, Labour Party TD and former leader, Cabinet Minister and Tánaiste.
• 28 February – John O'Sullivan, Fine Gael TD and Senator.
• 6 April – Peter Doherty, soccer player.
• 8 May – Tomás Ó Fiaich, Cardinal Archbishop of Armagh and Primate of All Ireland 1978–1990.
• 12 May – John 'Tull' Dunne, Gaelic footballer, coach and administrator.
• 11 June – Seosamh Mac Grianna, writer.
• 12 June – Terence O'Neill, Fourth Prime Minister of Northern Ireland.
• July – Peter Desmond, soccer player.
• 3 August – Thomas Dunne, Fine Gael TD and MEP.
• 19 October – Jerry Cronin, Fianna Fáil TD Cabinet Minister and MEP.
• 26 October – Breandán Ó hEithir, journalist and broadcaster working in Irish and English languages.
• 18 November – Fred Daly, golfer.
• December – Harry Bradshaw, golfer.