Events in the year 1903 in Ireland. Events 3 January – The Norwegian ship Remittant was towed into quarantine in Queenstown with the entire crew suffering from beriberi. 3 February – The proposed canonisation of Oliver Plunkett was discussed in Rome. 26 February – The ocean liner SS Columbus was launched by Harland and Wolff in Belfast. 27 February – A meeting at the Mansion House, Dublin, enthusiastically welcomed a movement to establish Saint Patrick's Day as a national holiday. 8 March – Charles Gavan Duffy was buried at Glasnevin Cemetery in Dublin. He was laid to rest near others who took part in the Young Irelander Rebellion of 1848. 9 March – The Londonderry and Lough Swilly Railway's Letterkenny and Burtonport Extension was opened. 17 March – In Waterford, Saint Patrick's Day was marked as a public holiday (to encourage temperance). 26 March – The Chief Secretary for Ireland, George Wyndham, introduced his Irish Land Bill in the House of Commons of the United Kingdom. 31 March – The Lord-Lieutenant announced that Edward VII and Queen Alexandra intended to visit Ireland within the coming year. 15 May – The Chief Secretary for Ireland, George Wyndham, asked for support for his Irish Land Bill. 23 May – Extracts from the annual report of the British Army showed that there were 35,717 Irishmen in its service. 9 June – The University of Dublin announced that it was to award degrees to women following a vote. The first women would be admitted as full members of its sole constituent, Trinity College Dublin, in 1904. 1 July – The Belfast and Northern Counties Railway became the Northern Counties Committee of the Midland Railway of England. 19–27 July – King Edward VII made his first visit to Ireland as monarch, landing at Buncrana. 14 August – The Land Purchase (Ireland) Act 1903 was passed in the House of Commons of the United Kingdom, offering special incentives to landlords to sell their entire estates. 5 September – Irish painter Henry Jones Thaddeus was granted permission to paint the first portrait of Pope Pius X. 13 November – The 2nd Battalion of The Royal Dublin Fusiliers was welcomed home after nearly 20 years of foreign service. Undated Independent Orange Institution was formed, as a breakaway from the Orange Institution. The Pigeon House generating station in Dublin started producing electricity. The withdrawal of the last British Royal