October – Marina Carr's drama By the Bog of Cats opened at the Abbey Theatre, Dublin. 24 December – Gay Byrne broadcast his final radio show, from St Stephen's Green, Dublin. John Montague became the first occupant of the Ireland Chair of Poetry. Garry Hynes became the first woman to win a Tony Award for Best Direction of a Play (The Beauty Queen of Leenane) on Broadway. Brendan Graham's Great Famine novel The Whitest Flower was published. Terence Dolan's A Dictionary of Hiberno-English: The Irish Use of English was published. Sport Association football St Patrick's Athletic won the League of Ireland. Cork City FC won the FAI Cup. Shelbourne's home UEFA Cup tie against Rangers was moved to England due to fears of sectarian trouble. Despite taking a 3–0 lead, Shelbourne lost 3–5. 8 May – The Irish under-16 team won the European Championship. 26 July - The Irish under-18 team won the European Championship. Gaelic football Galway won the All-Ireland Senior Football Championship, beating Kildare in the final. Golf Murphy's Irish Open was won by David Carter (England). Hurling Offaly won the All-Ireland Senior Hurling Championship for the second time in five years. Swimming 6 August – Olympic gold medalist Michelle Smith was banned from competition for four years for tampering with a drug test. Births 17 March – Nathan O'Toole, actor Deaths 26 January – Ernest Gébler, writer (b. 1914). 8 February – Niall Sheridan, poet, fiction writer and broadcaster (b. 1912). 28 February – Dermot Morgan, actor and comedian (b. 1952). 15 March – Hugh Coveney, Fine Gael TD and Cabinet Minister, yachtsman (b. 1935). 17 April – Robin Lawler, soccer player (born 1925). 6 May – Sybil Connolly, fashion designer (b. 1921). 22 May – Jim Power, Galway hurler (b. 1894). 26 May – Kate Cruise O'Brien, writer (b. 1948). 23 June Paul O'Dwyer, lawyer and politician in the United States (b. 1907). Maureen O'Sullivan, actress (b. 1911). 26 July – Seán Ó hEinirí, fisherman, seanchaí and last known monolingual speaker of the Irish language (b. 1915). 13 August – Liam de Paor, historian and archaeologist (b. 1926). 20 September – Robert Malachy Burke, Christian Socialist and philanthropist (b. 1907). 10 October – Tommy Quaid, Limerick hurler (b. 1957). 11 November – Paddy Clancy, folk singer (b. 1922). 13 November – Valerie Hobson, actress (b. 1917). 21 November – John David Gwynn, cricketer (b. 1907). 26