Events from the year 1998 in Ireland. Incumbents President: Mary McAleese Taoiseach: Bertie Ahern (FF) Tánaiste: Mary Harney (PD) Minister for Finance: Charlie McCreevy (FF) Chief Justice: Liam Hamilton Dáil: 28th Seanad: 21st Events 1 January – The Vocational Education Committees of the towns of Bray, Drogheda, Sligo, Tralee and Wexford were abolished. 14 January – The Mahon Planning Tribunal opened in Dublin Castle. 27 February – Ireland qualified for entry into the Economic and Monetary Union of the European Union. 15 March – Former Fine Gael party minister Hugh Coveney died in a fall from a cliff in County Cork. 10 April (Good Friday) – The British and Irish governments and all the political parties in Northern Ireland (except the Democratic Unionists) signed the Belfast Agreement (also called Good Friday Agreement). 24 April - The sixth edition of People in Need Telethon was held. 22 May – The Good Friday Agreement was endorsed in a referendum by people north and south of the Irish border. 1 July – The new Northern Ireland Assembly first met, in "shadow" form; Reg Empey and Seamus Mallon were elected First Minister and deputy First Minister respectively. 15 August – Omagh bombing: 29 people died in a car bomb explosion near the centre of Omagh, County Tyrone by the Real Irish Republican Army (Real IRA). 4 September – President Bill Clinton of the United States began his second official visit to the island of Ireland (his first being in 1995). 20 September - A new television station called TV3 was launched. 26 November – Tony Blair became the first Prime Minister of the United Kingdom to address the Oireachtas. 30 November – Unemployment fell by 20% with the number of people in work rising by 100,000. 12 December – Members of the Labour Party and Democratic Left agreed to merge. 26 December – Great Boxing Day Storm ('Hurricane Stephen'): Severe gale-force winds hit northwest Ireland causing heavy disruption to services. 31 December – The punt currency was traded for the last time as the euro currency was launched. Arts and literature 28 February – Actor and comedian Dermot Morgan died suddenly in London. 25 May – Patrick McCabe's novel Breakfast on Pluto was published. 3 July – The boyband Westlife was formed. 28 August – Maeve Binchy's novel Tara Road was published. 20 September – The TV3 television channel went on the air. 7