Boland was expelled from the Fianna Fáil parliamentary party. 25 June – Bishops meeting at Maynooth lifted the ban on Catholic people attending Trinity College Dublin. 2 July – Neil Blaney was cleared of arms conspiracy charges. 5 July – After a special cabinet meeting the government demanded a ban on all parades in Northern Ireland and the disarming of civilians. 2 August – The British Army fired rubber bullets in Belfast for the first time. 9 August – The Galway-Aran Islands air service was launched. A return air-fare cost £5. 21 August – The Social Democratic and Labour Party was founded in Northern Ireland under the leadership of Gerry Fitt. 1 September – The New University of Ulster was presented with a Royal Charter by Elizabeth II. 3 October – United States President Richard Nixon arrived in Ireland. He was greeted by the Taoiseach. In Dublin, an anti-Vietnam War protest took place. 4 October – Mrs. Nixon visited relatives and her ancestral home in County Mayo. Another protest took place outside the United States embassy in Dublin. 13 October – Jim Lovell, Jack Swigert, and Fred Haise, survivors of the aborted Apollo 13 spaceflight to the moon, landed at Dublin Airport with wives Marilyn Lovell and Mary Haise (Swigert was unmarried). 23 October – Charles Haughey, James Kelly, Albert Luykx, and John Kelly were acquitted in the Arms Conspiracy Trial. 26 October – The Taoiseach was questioned on his return from the United States, and said that there will be no change in fundamental Fianna Fáil party policy regarding Northern Ireland. 15 December – Aer Lingus took delivery of its first Boeing 747 Jumbo Jet, the largest aircraft it ever operated. The plane was stored temporarily in Everett in Washington State, USA until it arrived for service in Ireland the following March. Unknown dates The first Regional Technical Colleges opened, at Carlow, Athlone, Dundalk, Sligo, and Waterford. A Magnesite processing plant opened in Ballinacourty in County Waterford. Arts and literature 1 March – The national song contest was held. 21 March – "All Kinds of Everything" sung by Dana won the Eurovision Song Contest for Ireland for the first time. 1–3 May – The first Oireachtas Rince na Cruinne was held in Dublin. 9 November – David Lean's film, Ryan's Daughter, was released. It was filmed largely in Ireland. John Banville's short story collection Long Lankin was published. Leland