1999 in Northern Ireland
Encyclopedia
Events
- 15 March - Rosemary NelsonRosemary NelsonRosemary Nelson was a prominent Northern Irish human rights lawyer who was killed by a loyalist paramilitary group in 1999...
, LurganLurganLurgan is a town in County Armagh, Northern Ireland. The town is near the southern shore of Lough Neagh and in the north-eastern corner of the county. Part of the Craigavon Borough Council area, Lurgan is about 18 miles south-west of Belfast and is linked to the city by both the M1 motorway...
solicitor killed in a car bombCar bombA car bomb, or truck bomb also known as a Vehicle Borne Improvised Explosive Device , is an improvised explosive device placed in a car or other vehicle and then detonated. It is commonly used as a weapon of assassination, terrorism, or guerrilla warfare, to kill the occupants of the vehicle,...
attack by loyalistUlster loyalismUlster loyalism is an ideology that is opposed to a united Ireland. It can mean either support for upholding Northern Ireland's status as a constituent part of the United Kingdom , support for Northern Ireland independence, or support for loyalist paramilitaries...
paramilitaryParamilitaryA paramilitary is a force whose function and organization are similar to those of a professional military, but which is not considered part of a state's formal armed forces....
group, Red Hand DefendersRed Hand DefendersThe Red Hand Defenders is a loyalist paramilitary group in Northern Ireland. It was formed in 1998 by loyalists who opposed the Belfast Agreement and the loyalist ceasefires. Its members were drawn mostly from the Ulster Defence Association and Loyalist Volunteer Force...
. - 14 May - The fully renovated St George's MarketSt George's MarketSt George's Market is the last surviving Victorian covered market in Belfast, Northern Ireland. It is located on May Street, close to the River Lagan and the Waterfront Hall. Belfast Corporation commissioned the building of St George’s Market, which was built in three phases between 1890 and 1896...
in BelfastBelfastBelfast is the capital of and largest city in Northern Ireland. By population, it is the 14th biggest city in the United Kingdom and second biggest on the island of Ireland . It is the seat of the devolved government and legislative Northern Ireland Assembly...
reopens its doors. - 22 May - The electorate of the entire island of IrelandIrelandIreland is an island to the northwest of continental Europe. It is the third-largest island in Europe and the twentieth-largest island on Earth...
go to the polls to vote on the Good Friday Agreement. - 23 May - People North and South give their overwhelming support to the Good Friday Agreement.
- 21 October - Peter MandelsonPeter MandelsonPeter Benjamin Mandelson, Baron Mandelson, PC is a British Labour Party politician, who was the Member of Parliament for Hartlepool from 1992 to 2004, served in a number of Cabinet positions under both Tony Blair and Gordon Brown, and was a European Commissioner...
arrives in BelfastBelfastBelfast is the capital of and largest city in Northern Ireland. By population, it is the 14th biggest city in the United Kingdom and second biggest on the island of Ireland . It is the seat of the devolved government and legislative Northern Ireland Assembly...
as the new Secretary of State for Northern IrelandSecretary of State for Northern IrelandThe Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, informally the Northern Ireland Secretary, is the principal secretary of state in the government of the United Kingdom with responsibilities for Northern Ireland. The Secretary of State is a Minister of the Crown who is accountable to the Parliament of...
. - 29 November - Ten designated ministers are appointed to the power-sharing Northern Ireland AssemblyNorthern Ireland AssemblyThe Northern Ireland Assembly is the devolved legislature of Northern Ireland. It has power to legislate in a wide range of areas that are not explicitly reserved to the Parliament of the United Kingdom, and to appoint the Northern Ireland Executive...
. - 2 December - The Irish GovernmentIrish GovernmentThe Government of Ireland is the cabinet that exercises executive authority in Ireland.-Members of the Government:Membership of the Government is regulated fundamentally by the Constitution of Ireland. The Government is headed by a prime minister called the Taoiseach...
ratifies changes to Articles 2 and 3 of the Constitution. Direct rule from WestminsterParliament of the United KingdomThe Parliament of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is the supreme legislative body in the United Kingdom, British Crown dependencies and British overseas territories, located in London...
in Northern IrelandNorthern IrelandNorthern Ireland is one of the four countries of the United Kingdom. Situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland, it shares a border with the Republic of Ireland to the south and west...
ends. - 13 December - The first meeting of the North/South Ministerial CouncilNorth/South Ministerial CouncilThe North/South Ministerial Council is a body established under the Belfast Agreement to co-ordinate activity and exercise certain governmental powers across the whole island of Ireland...
takes place in ArmaghArmaghArmagh is a large settlement in Northern Ireland, and the county town of County Armagh. It is a site of historical importance for both Celtic paganism and Christianity and is the seat, for both the Roman Catholic Church and the Church of Ireland, of the Archbishop of Armagh...
. - Nuala O'LoanNuala O'LoanNuala Patricia O'Loan, Baroness O'Loan, DBE is a noted public figure in Northern Ireland. She was the first Police Ombudsman in between 1999 and 2007. In July 2009, it was announced that she was to be appointed to the House of Lords. Consequently, she was raised to the peerage as Baroness O'Loan,...
is appointed as first Police Ombudsman for Northern Ireland.
Arts and literature
- Seamus HeaneySeamus HeaneySeamus Heaney is an Irish poet, writer and lecturer. He lives in Dublin. Heaney has received the Nobel Prize in Literature , the Golden Wreath of Poetry , T. S. Eliot Prize and two Whitbread prizes...
publishes a verse translation of BeowulfBeowulfBeowulf , but modern scholars agree in naming it after the hero whose life is its subject." of an Old English heroic epic poem consisting of 3182 alliterative long lines, set in Scandinavia, commonly cited as one of the most important works of Anglo-Saxon literature.It survives in a single...
from the Old EnglishOld English languageOld English or Anglo-Saxon is an early form of the English language that was spoken and written by the Anglo-Saxons and their descendants in parts of what are now England and southeastern Scotland between at least the mid-5th century and the mid-12th century...
.
Athletics
- The 27th IAAF World Cross Country Championships1999 IAAF World Cross Country ChampionshipsThe 27th IAAF World Cross Country Championships were held 27-28 March 1999 in Belfast, Northern Ireland.- Individual :- Team :- Individual :- Team :- Individual :- Team :- Individual :- Team :- Individual :- Team :- Individual :...
were held 27–28 March in BelfastBelfastBelfast is the capital of and largest city in Northern Ireland. By population, it is the 14th biggest city in the United Kingdom and second biggest on the island of Ireland . It is the seat of the devolved government and legislative Northern Ireland Assembly...
.
Football
- Irish League
-
- Winners: GlentoranGlentoran F.C.Glentoran F.C. is a semi-professional, football club in Northern Ireland. The club was founded in 1882 and plays its home games at the Oval in east Belfast. Club colours are green, red, and black.Glentoran's biggest rivals are Linfield...
- Winners: Glentoran
- Irish CupIrish CupFor the equivalent tournament in the Republic of Ireland, see FAI Cup.The Irish Cup is the national cup knock-out competition in Northern Irish football. Inaugurated in 1881, it is the fourth oldest national cup competition in the world...
-
- Winners: PortadownPortadown F.C.Portadown F.C. is a semi-professional, Northern Irish football club which plays in the IFA Premiership.The club was founded in the late 1880s and joined the Irish League in 1924. It is based in Portadown in County Armagh and plays its home games at Shamrock Park...
(as CliftonvilleCliftonville F.C.Cliftonville Football & Athletic Club is a semi-professional, Northern Irish football club playing in the IFA Premiership. Founded on 20 September 1879 by John McCredy McAlery in the suburb of Cliftonville in north Belfast, it is the oldest football club in Ireland and celebrated its 130th...
were disqualified)
- Winners: Portadown
Golf
- The Amateur ChampionshipThe Amateur ChampionshipThe Amateur Championship is a golf tournament which is held annually in the United Kingdom. It is one of the two leading individual tournaments for amateur golfers, alongside the U.S. Amateur...
is held at Royal County Down Golf ClubRoyal County Down Golf ClubRoyal County Down Golf Club is a golf club in Newcastle, County Down, Northern Ireland. Dating from 1889, it is one of the oldest golf clubs in Ireland...
, (winner:Graeme StormGraeme StormGraeme Raymond Storm is an English professional golfer.Storm was born in Hartlepool. He learnt his trade at Hartlepool Golf Club, where he still holds the course record of 62...
).
January to June
- 11 January - Brian MooreBrian Moore (novelist)Brian Moore was a Northern Irish novelist and screenwriter who emigrated to Canada and later lived in the United States. He was acclaimed for the descriptions in his novels of life in Northern Ireland after the Second World War, in particular his explorations of the inter-communal divisions of The...
, novelist (b.19211921 in Northern Ireland-Events:*13 May - As nominations close in the elections for both Northern and Southern parliaments, Sinn Féin takes 124 of the 128 seats available in the Southern parliament...
). - 15 January - Robert Lowry, Baron LowryRobert Lowry, Baron LowrySir Robert Lynd Erskine Lowry, Baron Lowry PC , often known as Robbie Lowry, was a Lord Chief Justice of Northern Ireland and a Lord of Appeal in Ordinary...
, Lord Chief Justice of Northern IrelandLord Chief Justice of Northern IrelandThe Lord Chief Justice of Northern Ireland is the head of the judiciary in Northern Ireland, presiding over the Courts of Northern Ireland. The present Lord Chief Justice of Northern Ireland is Sir Declan Morgan...
(b.19191919 in Ireland-Events:*21 January - Dáil Éireann meets for the very first time in the Round Room of the Mansion House, Dublin. An independent Irish Republic is declared. In the first shots of the Anglo-Irish War, two Royal Irish Constabulary men are killed in Tipperary....
). - 28 January - Markey RobinsonMarkey RobinsonMarkey Robinson was a prolific Irish artist with a distinctive naïve expressionist style. His main passion was painting, but he also produced sculptures, and designed some stained glass panels....
, artist (b.19181918 in Ireland-Events:*January 18 - Count Plunkett, Seán T. O'Kelly and others protest at the forcible feeding of Sinn Féin prisoners in Mountjoy Prison.*March 2 - In Skibbereen, County Cork Ernest Blythe is arrested for non-compliance with a military rule directing him to reside in Ulster.*March 6 - In the...
). - 15 March - Rosemary NelsonRosemary NelsonRosemary Nelson was a prominent Northern Irish human rights lawyer who was killed by a loyalist paramilitary group in 1999...
, solicitor killed by loyalist paramilitary group. - 4 April - Sir James FlanaganJames Flanagan (RUC)Sir James Bernard Flanagan, KBE was the only Roman Catholic Chief Constable of the Royal Ulster Constabulary . There was also later a Roman Catholic Deputy Chief Constable, Michael McAtamney....
, first and only Roman Catholic Chief ConstableChief ConstableChief constable is the rank used by the chief police officer of every territorial police force in the United Kingdom except for the City of London Police and the Metropolitan Police, as well as the chief officers of the three 'special' national police forces, the British Transport Police, Ministry...
of the Royal Ulster ConstabularyRoyal Ulster ConstabularyThe Royal Ulster Constabulary was the name of the police force in Northern Ireland from 1922 to 2000. Following the awarding of the George Cross in 2000, it was subsequently known as the Royal Ulster Constabulary GC. It was founded on 1 June 1922 out of the Royal Irish Constabulary...
. (b.19141914 in Ireland-Events:*17 January - Edward Carson inspects a parade of the East Belfast Regiment of the Ulster Volunteers.*20 February - The Fethard-on-Sea life-boat capsizes on service off the County Wexford coast: nine crew are lost....
). - 3 May - Paddy Kennedy, Republican Labour PartyRepublican Labour PartyThe Republican Labour Party was a political party in Northern Ireland. It was founded in 1964, with two MPs at Stormont, Harry Diamond and Gerry Fitt...
Councillor and MP (b.19421942 in Northern Ireland-Football:*Irish League*Irish Cup-Births:*19 February - Phil Coulter, musician and music producer.*1 May - Eric Welsh, footballer.*8 May - Terry Neill, footballer and football manager.*10 June - Gordon Burns, journalist and television presenter....
). - 6 June - Billy BrownBilly Brown (Irish musician)William Brown was an Irish musician and artist. He is best remembered as a singer, saxophonist and pianist with The Freshmen, one of Ireland's most popular showbands of the 1960s and 1970s....
, musician and artist (b.19431943 in Northern Ireland-Events:*9 February - the Belfast West by-election is won by the Northern Ireland Labour Party candidate Jack Beattie*1 May - Sir Basil Brooke becomes Prime Minister of Northern Ireland.-Football:*Irish League*Irish Cup-Births:...
). - 29 June - Declan MulhollandDeclan MulhollandThomas Declan Mulholland was a Northern Irish character actor who appeared in dozens of television shows and films....
, actor (b.19321932 in Northern Ireland-Events:*5 July - The Chapel of the Holy Spirit in St Anne's Cathedral, Belfast is dedicated.*16 November - Edward, Prince of Wales travels to Belfast for the first time to open the new Parliament buildings....
).
July to December
- 1 July - William Whitelaw, 1st Viscount WhitelawWilliam Whitelaw, 1st Viscount WhitelawWilliam Stephen Ian Whitelaw, 1st Viscount Whitelaw, KT, CH, MC, PC, DL , often known as Willie Whitelaw, was a British Conservative Party politician who served in a wide number of Cabinet positions, most notably as Home Secretary and Deputy Prime Minister.-Early life:Whitelaw was born in Nairn, in...
, first Secretary of State for Northern IrelandSecretary of State for Northern IrelandThe Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, informally the Northern Ireland Secretary, is the principal secretary of state in the government of the United Kingdom with responsibilities for Northern Ireland. The Secretary of State is a Minister of the Crown who is accountable to the Parliament of...
. - 15 August - Paddy DevlinPaddy DevlinPaddy Devlin was a Northern Irish social democrat and Labour activist, a former Stormont MP, a founder of the Social Democratic and Labour Party and a member of the 1974 Power Sharing Executive.-Early life:...
, a founder of the SDLPSocial Democratic and Labour PartyThe Social Democratic and Labour Party is a social-democratic, Irish nationalist political party in Northern Ireland. Its basic party platform advocates Irish reunification, and the further devolution of powers while Northern Ireland remains part of the United Kingdom...
, a member of the 1974 Power Sharing ExecutiveSunningdale AgreementThe Sunningdale Agreement was an attempt to establish a power-sharing Northern Ireland Executive and a cross-border Council of Ireland. The Agreement was signed at the Civil Service College in Sunningdale Park located in Sunningdale, Berkshire, on 9 December 1973.Unionist opposition, violence and...
and author (b.19251925 in Northern Ireland-Events:*10 March - The Prime Minister of Northern Ireland, James Craig, announces the impending dissolution of the parliament. He says the election will be fought on the Boundary Commission....
). - 21 August - Noel LarmourNoel LarmourSir Edward Noel "Nick" Larmour usually known by his middle name or as Nick Larmour, was an Irish cricketer and politician.-Cricket:...
, cricketer and diplomat (b.19161916 in Ireland-Events:*January 14 - Michael Collins quits his job in London and returns to Ireland.*February 14 - John Redmond is re-elected Chairman of the Irish Parliamentary Party in Dublin.*February 29 - The week long Derry Feis opens in the city....
). - 23 August - James WhiteJames White (author)James White was a Northern Irish author of science fiction novellas, short stories and novels. He was born in Belfast and returned there after spending his early years in Canada. After a few years in the clothing industry, he worked at Short Brothers Ltd. from 1965 until taking early retirement in...
, science fiction novelist (b.19281928 in Northern Ireland-Events:*29 January - In Belfast, members of the nationalist opposition protest at the Ulster Unionist Party government's plan to abolish Proportional representation.*19 May - The foundation stone of the new Northern Ireland Parliament Building is laid at Stormont....
). - 15 October - Josef LockeJosef LockeJosef Locke was the stage name of Joseph McLaughlin , a tenor singer who was successful in the United Kingdom and Ireland in the 1940s and 1950s....
, tenor (b.19171917 in Ireland-Events:*3 February - Count George Noble Plunkett, father of Joseph Mary Plunkett, wins Roscommon North on abstentionist Sinn Féin platform.*7 March - David Lloyd-George announces that Britain is ready to confer self-government to the parts of Ireland that wants it. The north-eastern part will not...
).
Full date unknown
- Eamon CollinsEamon CollinsEamon Collins was a Provisional Irish Republican Army activist in the late 1970s and 1980s. He turned his back on the organisation in the late 1980s and later co-authored a book called Killing Rage telling of his experiences in the IRA...
, Provisional Irish Republican ArmyProvisional Irish Republican ArmyThe Provisional Irish Republican Army is an Irish republican paramilitary organisation whose aim was to remove Northern Ireland from the United Kingdom and bring about a socialist republic within a united Ireland by force of arms and political persuasion...
activist and writer (b.19541954 in Northern Ireland-Events:* April 6 - Flags and Emblems Act is introduced, making it illegal to interfere with the display of a Union Flag and giving the Royal Ulster Constabulary the right to remove any other flag or emblem if it is thought that it might lead to a breach of peace.* June 12 - An IRA unit carries...
).