1931 in Ireland

{{short description|none}}  {{Use dmy dates|date=August 2022}} {{Use Hiberno-English|date=August 2022}} {{YearInIrelandNav|1931}} Events from the year '''1931 in Ireland'''.

==Incumbents== * Governor-General: James McNeill * President of the Executive Council: W. T. Cosgrave (CnaG) * Vice-President of the Executive Council: Ernest Blythe (CnaG) * Minister for Finance: Ernest Blythe (CnaG) * Chief Justice: Hugh Kennedy * Dáil: 6th * Seanad: ** 1928 Seanad (until 5 December 1931) ** 1931 Seanad (from 6 December 1931)

==Events== *9 January – Ulster Canal abandoned.<ref>{{cite book|first=Ruth|last=Delany|title=A celebration of 250 years of Ireland's Inland Waterways|location=Belfast|publisher=Appletree Press|year=1986|isbn=0-86281-200-3}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|title=Abandonment of Ulster Canal|newspaper=Northern Whig|location=Belfast|date=1931-01-14|page=1}}</ref> *12 February – sixteen members of the Ennis Dalcassian Gaelic Athletic Association club are expelled for attending the Ennis-Nenagh rugby match.{{Citation needed|date=April 2026}} *17 March – first St. Patrick's Day parade held in the Irish Free State, reviewed by Desmond FitzGerald, Minister of Defense. *3 April – persistent rainfall causes the banks of the River Lee to burst. Half the houses in Cork are flooded. *7 May – the Irish Youth Hostel Service, An Óige, is established. *17 May – Muintir na Tíre, the rural organisation, is founded by Canon John Hayes. *9 July – Dublin-born racing driver Kaye Don breaks the world water speed record at Lake Garda, Italy.<ref>''BBC History'', July 2011, p.12.</ref> *13 August – law books return to the rebuilt Four Courts where High Court business resumes after its destruction during the Civil War. *5 September – the first issue of ''The Irish Press'', the newspaper of Fianna Fáil, goes on sale for 1d. *27 September – Saor Éire's first National Congress takes place in the Iona Hall in Dublin. *4 December – the derelict aerodrome at Collinstown in north County Dublin is considered as the site for a new civil airport.

==Arts and literature== * 13 October – Orson Welles makes his first professional stage debut, age 16, at the Gate Theatre, Dublin, with a leading rôle in an adaptation of ''Jew Süss''. * 25 October – Ireland's first all-concrete Art Deco church, the Church of Christ the King, is opened at Turners Cross, Cork, designed by Chicago architect Barry Byrne with sculptor John Storrs.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://turnerscross.com/church/|title=Church of Christ The King|work=Turners Cross.com|access-date=2012-03-20}}</ref> * 'Æ' (George William Russell) publishes ''Vale, and Other Poems''.<ref name=cocel>{{cite book|editor=Cox, Michael|title=The Concise Oxford Chronology of English Literature|publisher=Oxford University Press|year=2004|isbn=0-19-860634-6|url-access=registration|url=https://archive.org/details/conciseoxfordchr00coxm}}</ref> * Samuel Beckett's ''Proust'' is published. * Cecil Day-Lewis's poetry ''From Feathers To Iron'' is published. * Lord Dunsany's ''The Travel Tales of Mr. Joseph Jorkens'' is published. * Kate O'Brien's first novel, ''Without My Cloak'', is published. * Frank O'Connor's first short story collection, ''Guests of the Nation'', is published. * Francis Stuart's first novel, ''Women and God'', is published.

==Sport==

===Football===  *;League of Ireland *:Winners: Shelbourne *;FAI Cup *:Winners: Shamrock Rovers 1–1, 1–0 Dundalk

===Golf=== *Irish Open is won by Bob Kenyon (England).

==Births== *1 January – Jimmy Smyth, Clare hurler (died 2013). *7 February – Cyril Haran, priest and Gaelic football manager (Sligo) (died 2014).<ref>{{cite news |url=http://ahamlish.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/07/28Jun2014.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190507171436/http://ahamlish.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/07/28Jun2014.pdf |url-status=dead |archive-date=7 May 2019 |title=Very Rev. Fr. Cyril Haran, P.E., Ahamlish, Grange, Co. Sligo |date=28 June 2014 }}</ref> *2 March – Paddy Cooney, solicitor, Fine Gael TD, Cabinet Minister and MEP. *9 March – Jackie Healy-Rae, Fianna Fáil. TD for Kerry South (died 2014). *9 April – Patrick Walsh, Bishop of Down and Connor (1991–2008) (died 2023). *30 May – John O'Brien, Catholic priest and musician (died 2008). *5 June – Laurence Forristal, Bishop of Ossory (1981–2007) (died 2018). *8 July – Thomas Flynn, Bishop of Achonry (1976–2007) (died 2015). *26 July – Paddy Harte, Fine Gael TD and Minister of State (died 2018). *29 July – Tom Mitchell, IRA activist and politician (died 2020). *1 August – Seán Ó Riada, composer and musician (died 1971). *11 August – Thomas Meaney, Fianna Fáil TD and Minister of State (died 2022). *8 September – Desmond Guinness, architectural conservationist (died 2020). *20 September – Malachy McCourt, actor, writer and politician (died 2024) *13 October – Jimmy O'Neill, soccer player (died 2007). *27 October – Seán Calleary, Fianna Fáil TD and Minister of State (died 2018). *28 November – Dervla Murphy, travel writer (died 2022). *10 December **Gustavus Hamilton-Russell, 10th Viscount Boyne, Irish peer, soldier and banker (died 1995). **Tom MacIntyre, poet and playwright (died 2019). *28 December – Mervyn Taylor, Labour Party TD and cabinet minister (died 2021). *;Full date unknown *:*Mick Cashman, Cork hurler (died 1988). *:*Seán Kinsella, chef and restaurateur (died 2013).

==Deaths== *6 January – Harry Clarke, stained glass artist and book illustrator (born 1889). *19 January – Mary Elizabeth Byrne, literary scholar (born 1880). *7 March – Hamilton Lyster Reed, recipient of the Victoria Cross for gallantry in 1899 at the Battle of Colenso, South Africa (born 1869). *26 March – Timothy Michael Healy, Nationalist politician, journalist, author, barrister and first Governor-General of the Irish Free State (born 1855). *22 March – James Campbell, 1st Baron Glenavy, lawyer, Lord Chancellor of Ireland, first Chairman of Seanad Éireann (born 1851). *2 April – Katharine Tynan, novelist and poet (born 1861). *13 April – William Dowler Morris, mayor of Ottawa (born 1857). *22 April – Patrick Kenny, Independent member of the Seanad for 12 years from 1922. Leas Ceann Comhairle 1928. *25 June – Con Lucid, Major League Baseball player (born 1874). *17 August – Pretty Polly, racehorse (born 1901). *27 August – Frank Harris, author, editor, journalist and publisher (born 1856). *29 September – William Orpen, painter (born 1878). *18 October – Reginald Clare Hart, soldier, recipient of the Victoria Cross for gallantry in 1879 in the Bazar Valley, Afghanistan (born 1848). *23 October – Peter de Loughry, member of 1922 Seanad, TD representing Carlow–Kilkenny from 1927 to 1931. *28 October – Paddy Glynn, Attorney General of Australia and Minister for External Affairs (born 1855). *27 December – Alfred Perceval Graves, writer (born 1846).

==References== {{reflist}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:1931 in Ireland}} Category:1931 in Ireland Category:1930s in Ireland Ireland Category:Years of the 20th century in Ireland