7 July – A Provisional IRA delegation led by Seán Mac Stíofáin met secretly regarding The Troubles with members of the British government, led by Secretary of State for Northern Ireland William Whitelaw, in London, but without an outcome.[1]
Claudy bombing ("Bloody Monday"), 10 am: Three car bombs in Claudy, County Londonderry, killed nine people. It became public knowledge only in 2010 that a local Catholic priest was an IRA member believed to be involved in the bombings but his role was covered up by the authorities.[3]
20 August – Commemorations were held at Béal na Bláth, County Cork, to mark the 50th anniversary of the death of Michael Collins.
1 December – Two bombs planted in Dublin by Ulster loyalists killed two men, George Bradshaw (30), a bus driver and Thomas Duffy (23), a bus conductor.[4]
25 September – The Darlington conference on the future of Northern Ireland opened.
19 November – Seán Mac Stíofáin, chief of staff of the Provisional IRA, was arrested in Dublin after giving an interview on RTÉ's This Week radio programme. On 25 November he was sentenced to 6 months' imprisonment by the Republic's Special Criminal Court (during which he staged a hunger strike).[5]Fianna Fáil Minister for Posts and Telegraphs Gerry Collins dismissed the entire RTÉ authority for permitting the broadcast.
13 December – President Éamon de Valera signed documents covering Ireland's entry into the EEC.
17 December – Police raided premises used by unlicensed station Radio Milinda in Dublin.
Arts and literatureedit
Hubert Butler's Ten Thousand Saints: A Study in Irish and European Origins was published.
^"Claudy bomb: conspiracy allowed IRA priest to go free". BBC News Northern Ireland. 24 August 2010. Archived from the original on 25 August 2010. Retrieved 25 August 2010.
^Cosgrave was not a great taoiseach but he wasn’t the worst Irish Times, 2017-10-04.
^Hunter, John (20 May 2001). "Death of the Englishman who led the Provisionals". The Observer. London. Archived from the original on 10 April 2021. Retrieved 3 May 2020.
^"Paul Anthony McDermott obituary: Leading lawyer and academic destined for the bench". The Irish Times. 10 December 2019. Retrieved 10 December 2019.