Language Act in Northern Ireland. 26 October The people of Ireland voted to choose their president. There was also a constitutional referendum to determine if the offence of blasphemy should be removed from the Constitution. 27 October – Michael D. Higgins was officially declared President of Ireland after receiving 822,566 first preference votes. 31 October It was announced that Garda whistleblower Maurice McCabe was retiring at midnight from the Garda Síochána after 30-year's of service. Former Garda Commissioner Nóirín O'Sullivan was appointed as the United Nations' Assistant Secretary-General for Safety and Security. November 1 November The Football Association of Ireland and the Irish Football Association launched a joint-bid to host the 2023 European Under-21 Championships. Sinn Féin TD Peadar Tóibín was suspended from the party for six months after voting against abortion legislation. Staff at Google offices around the world, including Dublin, staged an unprecedented series of walkouts in protest at the company's treatment of women. 2 November – Jonathan Keogh, Thomas Fox and Regina Keogh were each given life sentences after being found guilty of murdering Gareth Hutch in May 2016. 3 November – Labour Party leader Brendan Howlin called on his party's voters to also lend support to some other parties and progressive independents at the next election. 4 November – Hundreds of people attended an event in St. Stephen's Green to mark the arrival of a six-metre-high () sculpture of a World War I soldier. 5 November Bohemian F.C. were forced to change the design of their controversial 2019 away kit which was due to feature the image of Bob Marley because of image rights issues. Footballer James McClean criticised reports that the English FA is to investigate his social media response to those who abused him for not wearing a poppy on his shirt. 6 November – Taoiseach Leo Varadkar was criticised for warning all hospital workers that they must work "at full whack" over the Christmas holidays. 8 November – Éamon Ó Cuív was sacked from the Fianna Fáil front bench after unveiling a Northern Ireland election candidate without the party's permission. 9 November – Taoiseach Leo Varadkar met his counterparts from England, Scotland and Wales at the 31st summit meeting of the British-Irish Council. 10 November – Hundreds attended the funeral mass of 20-year-old Gussie Shanahan, who had been missing for 18 years and whose remains were only recently identified. 11 November President-elect Higgins