House for the swearing in of the new Dáil. No anti-Treaty republicans attend. 19 September – the Fourth Dáil meets for the first time at Leinster House. Michael Hayes is elected Ceann Comhairle and W. T. Cosgrave is elected President of the Executive Council. 13 October–23 November – 1923 Irish Hunger Strikes: IRA prisoners in Irish gaols stage a hunger strike; two die. 15 October – the Mallow Viaduct over the River Blackwater is officially re-opened by President W. T. Cosgrave. 14 November – the Nobel Prize for Literature is awarded to poet and playwright W. B. Yeats. Full date unknown The Royal Bank of Ireland buys the Irish Free State business of the Belfast Banking Company, which in turn buys the Northern Ireland business of the Royal Bank of Ireland. See Allied Irish Banks. The General Assembly of the Church of Scotland calls for curbs on the immigration of Irish Catholics. Arts and literature 11 April – Seán O'Casey's drama The Shadow of a Gunman, the first of his "Dublin Trilogy" (set in 1920), opens at the Abbey Theatre, Dublin. W. B. Yeats is awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature. He also publishes his poetry The Cat and the Moon (including "Leda and the Swan"). Elizabeth Bowen publishes her first book, a collection of short stories, Encounters, in London. Liam O'Flaherty publishes his first novel, Thy Neighbour's Wife. Mainie Jellett's Decoration is among the first abstract paintings shown in Ireland when it is exhibited at the Society of Dublin Painters Group Show. Sports Boxing World light heavyweight championship Winners: Mike McTigue defeated Battling Siki for the title on St Patrick's Day, 1923, at La Scala Theatre, Dublin. Football League of Ireland Winners: Shamrock Rovers FAI Cup Winners: Alton United 1 - 0 Shelbourne. Played at Dalymount Park, Dublin, on 17 March 1923. Belfast side Alton United of the Falls District League are shock winners of the Free State Cup beating Shelbourne 1–0 in the final at Dalymount Park. Clubs and leagues in republican areas of Northern Ireland had affiliated to the FA of the Irish Free State after the 1921 split from the Belfast-based Irish Football Association. Gaelic Games The All-Ireland Champions are Galway (hurling) and Dublin (Gaelic football) Births 2 January – Cathal Goulding, Chief of Staff of the Irish Republican Army and the Official IRA (died 1998). 15 January – Tommy Eglington, soccer player (died 2004). 31