Minor was published. John McGahern's novel The Leavetaking was published. John Ryan's memoir Remembering How We Stood was published. Sport Golf The Carroll's Irish Open golf tournament was won by Irish player Christy O'Connor Jnr. Births 1 January – Lorraine Pilkington, actress. 24 January – Marie McMahon, long-distance runner 12 February – Andrew Myler, association football player. 1 March – Tara Blaise, singer. 17 April – Mark Foley, Limerick hurler. 19 April – Hugh O'Conor, actor. 25 April – Dara Ó Cinnéide, Kerry Gaelic footballer. 10 May – Clodagh McKenna, cookery writer and presenter. 10 June – Seánie McGrath, Cork hurler. 6 August – Willie Boland, association football player. 25 August – Pat Mulcahy, Cork hurler. 28 August – Gareth Farrelly, association football player. 15 September – Owen Butler, cricketer. 2 October – Girvan Dempsey, rugby player. 7 November – Ollie Moran, Limerick hurler. 16 December – Graham Lee, National Hunt jockey. 18 December – David O'Doherty, comedian. 20 December – Graham Hopkins, drummer. Full date unknown David Kitt, musician. Paul Murray, novelist. Deaths 7 January – Sinéad de Valera, writer and wife of former president, Éamon de Valera (born 1878). 23 February – Ernest Blythe, writer, journalist, and theatre manager, member of First Dáil, and Cabinet minister (born 1889). 27 February – John Vincent Holland, soldier, recipient of the Victoria Cross for gallantry in 1916 at Guillemont, France (born 1889). 21 April – James Kempster, cricketer (born 1892). 23 April – Michael Carty, Fianna Fáil party Teachta Dála (TD) (born 1916). 28 April – Tom Dreaper, horse trainer. 29 April – Arthur Blair-White, cricketer (born 1891). 10 May – Michael Tierney, Cumann na nGaedheal party TD, Fine Gael party member of Seanad Éireann (Senate) and President of University College Dublin (born 1894). 27 May – Robert Collis, physician and writer (born 1900). 24 June – Frank MacDermot, barrister, soldier, banker, and politician (born 1886). 31 July – Dan "Sandow" O'Donovan, Irish Republican Army member during the Irish War of Independence (b. c1895). 9 August – Maurice Gorham, journalist and broadcasting executive (born 1902). 10 August – Robert Barton, Sinn Féin party Member of Parliament, Cabinet minister, and signatory of Anglo-Irish Treaty 1921 (born 1881). 29 August – Éamon de Valera, former Taoiseach and President of Ireland (born 1882). 2 October – Seamus Murphy, sculptor (born 1907). 25 October – Padraig Marrinan, artist (born 1906). 26 October – William Teeling,