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Decades: 1970s • 1980s • 1990s • 2000s • 2010s Centuries: 18th • 19th • 20th • 21st See also: 1990 in Northern Ireland Other events of 1990 List of years in Ireland

Events

• January 1 - The Northern Ireland Fair Employment Act becomes law.
• April 3 - There is all-party support for the Government bill to abolish the death penalty for capital murder and replace it with lengthy prison sentences.
• April 26 - The Labour Party selects Mary Robinson as its candidate in the presidential election.
• June 20 - Circulation begins of the IR£1 coin as a replacement for the note of the same denomination.
• July 2 - Deputy President of the ANC, Nelson Mandela, addresses a joint session of both houses of the Oireachtas.
• July 24 - The IRA kills three policemen and a nun in a bomb attack near Armagh.
• August 24 - Brian Keenan is released after 1574 days in captivity in Beirut.
• September 28 - Centenary of People's Park, Dún Laoghaire celebrated
• October 24 - The IRA kills 6 soldiers and a civilian in bomb attacks at Derry and Newry.
• October 25 - Presidential candidate Brian Lenihan denies that he tried to contact President Hillery to stop the dissolution of the Dáil in 1982. This is in spite of a taped interview where he confirms that he did.
• October 31 - An Tánaiste and Minister for Defence Brian Lenihan is sacked from the government over the telephone call controversy.
• November 9 - Mary Robinson is elected the seventh President of Ireland.
• December 3 - Mary Robinson is inaugurated as President of Ireland. Dr. Patrick Hillery bows out after 14 years as Head of State.

Arts and literature

• Brian Friel's Dancing at Lughnasa opens at the Abbey Theatre.
• Jim Sheridan's film The Field is shown
• John McGahern's novel Amongst Women is published

Sport

Gaelic Games

• Cork GAA's football team win a second consecutive All-Ireland Senior Football Championship.

The hurling team wins the All-Ireland Senior Hurling Championship to complete a double for the county.

Golf

• Carroll's Irish Open is won by José María Olazábal (Spain).
• Ireland - (David Feherty, Ronan Rafferty, Philip Walton) win the Dunhill Cup.

Soccer

• World Cup 1990

Group Stage

Republic of Ireland 1-1 England

Republic of Ireland 0-0 Egypt

Republic of Ireland 1-1 Netherlands

Republic of Ireland qualify for the knock out stage

Knockout stage

Republic of Ireland 0-0 (AET 5-4 PEN) Romania

Republic of Ireland qualify for the quarter final stage

Republic of Ireland 0-1 Italy

Republic of Ireland are knocked out at the quarter final stage

• St Patrick's Athletic win the Football League of Ireland
• Bray Wanderers win the FAI Cup beating non league St Francis FC in the first everLansdowne Road final

Births

• 29 May - Maeve O'Donovan, finalist in the 2006/2007 RTÉ programme "You're A Star."

Deaths

• 21 January - Patrick Mulligan, Bishop of Clogher 1970-1979 (b.1912).
• 17 February - Brendan Corish, Irish Labour Party TD and former leader, Cabinet Minister and Tánaiste (b.1918).
• 28 February - John O'Sullivan, Fine Gael TD and Senator (b.1901).
• 6 April - Peter Doherty, soccer player (b.1913).
• 8 May - Tomás Cardinal Ó Fiaich, Cardinal, Archbishop of Armagh and Primate of All Ireland 1978-1990 (b.1923).
• 12 June - Terence O'Neill, Fourth Prime Minister of Northern Ireland (b.1914).
• 3 August - Thomas Dunne, Fine Gael TD and MEP (b.1926).
• 19 October - Jerry Cronin, Fianna Fáil TD Cabinet Minister and MEP (b.1925).
• 18 November - Fred Daly, golfer (b.1911).

Full date unknown

• Mick Cashman, Cork hurler (b.1931).
• Peter Desmond, soccer player (b.1926).
• Seosamh Mac Grianna, writer (b.1900).