January – The satirical magazine The Phoenix was launched.
19 January – The government confirmed that the Garda Síochána bugged politicians' and journalists' telephones.
8 February – A motion calling for the resignation of Charles Haughey as leader failed after a 12-hour Fianna Fáil meeting.
9 February – The racehorse Shergar was kidnapped from Ballymany Stud in County Kildare.
14 April – The inaugural meeting of Aosdána, an affiliation of creative artists, took place in the Old Parliament Building in Dublin.
23 April – While more than 50 illegal pirate radio stations were broadcasting in Ireland, a Government memorandum described how their signals were interfering seriously with ambulance, fire brigade and police radio systems, airport traffic systems, and legitimate radio and television reception throughout the country. The document also referred to complaints received from other countries. The following month, equipment was seized from Radio Nova, Kiss FM and Radio Sunshine. Equipment was also removed from Community Radio 257 in Portmarnock in December.[1][2]
25 April – Two thousand people demonstrated in Dublin against the proposed Pro-Life Amendment Bill (abortion).
18 May – Officials raided sites used by unlicensed operator Radio Nova in Dublin.
4 July – United States Vice President George Bush and his wife Barbara paid a one-day visit to Dublin. The Taoiseach, Garret FitzGerald, hosted a lunch in his honour at the State Apartments in Dublin Castle.[3][4]
31 July – Eight young men attending the Lisdoonvarna music festival drowned while swimming at Doolin.[5]
September – The Prime Minister of Zimbabwe, Robert Mugabe, paid a three-day state visit to Ireland with his wife, Sally. A guard of honour from the 5th Infantry Battalion greeted him at Dublin Airport, and the Army No. 1 Band played. The Taoiseach, Garret Fitzgerald, hosted a lunch in his honour at Iveagh House, and a banquet was held in Dublin Castle. Mugabe met Bishop Donal Lamont at Maynooth College on 9 September.[3][6][7][8]
16 September – The Government banned the Soviet airline, Aeroflot, from landing at Shannon Airport at the request of the President of the United States, Ronald Reagan, following the shooting down by the Soviet Union of Korean Air Lines Flight 007 with the loss of all 269 passengers and crew.[9]
20 September – Leading politicians paid tribute to former Tánaiste George Colley (who died in a London hospital) as he was buried.
1 October – The Concorde supersonic airliner paid its first visit to Dublin Airport. The landing of the Air France plane was watched by a large crowd from the observation deck on the roof of the terminal building. The flight came to bring passengers to Paris to see a horse race, the Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe.[11]
^Warning of ‘chaos’ on airwaves from pirate stations in 1983 Irish Times, 28 December 2013.
^Pirate radio stations cause chaos for emergency services Irish Independent, 28 December 2013.
^ abState papers from 1983 show drive to rein in spending on government entertaining Irish Times, 27 December 2013.
^'Soviet threat' tactic used on Bush Irish Independent, 27 December 2013.
^From Sunstroke to Lisdoonvarna to Carnsore Point - a history of music festivals in Ireland
^Blunders and mix-ups at Mugabe visit Irish Independent, 27 December 2013.
^Confusion over 1983 Mugabe banquet Irish Independent, 27 December 2013.
^Mugabe's visit to Maynooth – 9 September 1983 Archived 28 December 2013 at the Wayback Machine Saint Patrick's College, Maynooth. Retrieved: 28 December 2013.
^FitzGerald banned Soviet airlines Irish Independent, 27 December 2013.
^"1983: Dozens escape in Maze break-out". BBC News. BBC. 25 September 1983. Archived from the original on 23 December 2007. Retrieved 25 November 2007.