Events from the year 1979 in Ireland. Incumbents President: Patrick Hillery Taoiseach: Jack Lynch (FF) (until 11 December 1979) Charles Haughey (FF) (from 11 December 1979) Tánaiste: George Colley (FF) Minister for Finance: George Colley (FF) (until 11 December 1979) Michael O'Kennedy (FF) (from 12 December 1979) Chief Justice: Tom O'Higgins Dáil: 21st Seanad: 14th Events 2 January – Today, the lowest temperature recorded in Ireland in the 20th century was −18.8 °C (−1.8 °F) at Lullymore, County Kildare. (The lowest on record in 1881 was −19.1 °C.) 8 January – Whiddy Island Disaster: fifty people were killed when an explosion destroyed the French oil tanker Betelgeuse at the Gulf Oil terminal on Whiddy Island in Bantry Bay. 4 March – Legendary hurler Christy Ring was buried in Cork. 9 March – Taxpayers across the country took to the streets to protest against the tax system. 20 March – A huge anti-taxation demonstration was held in Dublin. 30 March – Ireland ended Irish pound parity with sterling on joining the European Monetary System. 12 April – Patrick McGilligan, the last surviving member of the first government, celebrated his 90th birthday in Dublin. He died seven months later, on 15 November. 10 May – Petrol shortages due to a crisis in the Middle East caused long delays at petrol stations in Ireland. 2 June – Protesters opposed to the building of civic offices on the site of Viking excavations in Wood Quay, Dublin, occupied the area. 7 June – European Parliament election, the first direct election to the European Parliament, in the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland. 15 June – Aer Lingus's first female pilot, Gráinne Cronin, received her wings. 14 July – In Crossmaglen, County Armagh, Gaelic Athletic Association (GAA) supporters paraded silently in protest against the British Army's commandeering of part of the local football pitch. Former GAA president Con Murphy addressed the crowd. 9 August – The first group of Vietnamese refugees arrived in Ireland. 27 August British retired Admiral Lord Mountbatten of Burma (a cousin to the Queen), and two 15-year-olds, his nephew and boatboy Paul Maxwell, were killed by a bomb planted on his boat in County Sligo where he was holidaying. The Dowager Lady Brabourne died the following day of her injuries. The Provisional Irish Republican Army (IRA) volunteers kill 18 British soldiers with two bombs in the Warrenpoint ambush. 29 September – Pope