Events during the year 2026 in Ireland.
Incumbents
President: Catherine Connolly Taoiseach: Micheál Martin (FF) Tánaiste: Simon Harris (FG) Minister for Finance: Simon Harris (FG) Chief Justice: Donal O'Donnell Dáil Éireann: 34th Seanad Éireann: 27th
Events
January 1 January – Pension auto-enrolment commenced for employees between the ages of 23 and 60, earning over €20,000, and not already in a pension scheme. 5 January – The taoiseach, Micheál Martin, met Chinese president Xi Jinping in the Great Hall of the People on Tiananmen Square, Beijing. The taoiseach then received a personal tour of the Forbidden City, which was closed to visitors that day. 7 January The president, Catherine Connolly, referenced the United Nations Secretary-General as she urged "full respect for international law, including the United Nations Charter" while noting that discussion of the United States attack on Caracas, during which President Maduro and his wife were seized and transported to Manhattan, "often overlook[s]" the "appalling" death toll (100+) the country experienced that night. Responding to Donald Trump's remarks about the US assuming control of Greenland, the taoiseach, Micheál Martin, said the European Union was "rock-solid behind Denmark" and described the island as "part of Denmark", while the minister for foreign affairs, Helen McEntee, said Greenland was "not for sale... not for taking". 9 January – The Department of Foreign Affairs announced that 12,904 passports issued in late December and early January would be reissued, because a technical error caused them not to be fully compliant with international travel standards. 13 January – The accreditation ceremony at Áras an Uachtaráin this morning for the new Iranian ambassador, Eshagh Al Habib, was postponed by the Department of Foreign Affairs because of the continuing upheaval in Iran. 24 January – A teenage girl, later identified as Grace Lynch, was knocked down by a scrambler bike and later died in hospital from her injuries.
February 4 February – Taoiseach Micheál Martin confirmed government plans for Grace's Law, a planned ban on the use of scrambler bikes in public places, following the death of Grace Lynch. 6 February – It was announced that the buried remains of a further 22 infants have been uncovered at the site of the former Bon Secours Mother and Baby Home in Tuam, County Galway. 11 February – Culture Minister Patrick O'Donovan announced the Basic Income for the Arts scheme that will see 2,000 eligible artists paid €325 a week by the Government to support them in their endeavours. Applications will open in May with the payment lasting three years.
March 7 March – Former president Mary Robinson said the airstrikes against Iran were "illegal and breach international law" while attending a rally in Belfast for International Women's Day. 12 March – £937m of Irish investment in the UK was announced ahead of a UK–Ireland summit. 13 March – UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer held a summit with Taoiseach Micheál Martin in Cork, where he said the Iran war had increased the importance of good relations between the UK and Ireland. 17 March – During his annual visit to Washington for Saint Patrick's Day, Taoiseach Micheál Martin met US President Donald Trump in the Oval Office and thanked him for "affirming the tremendous bonds" between Ireland and the US. 25 March – Due to the 2026 Iran war which resulted in soaring fuel prices, the Government cut taxes on both diesel and petrol, with excise duty on a litre of diesel reduced by 20 cents, with a 15 cents drop for petrol until the end of May.
April 7 April – Farmers began a blockade of major roads and oil refineries across the country in response to soaring fuel prices and wider government mismanagement. 10 April – It was announced that the remains of a further 36 infants have been uncovered at the site of the former Bon Secours Mother and Baby Home at Tuam, County Galway. 11 April – Fuel tankers regained access to Whitegate refinery in County Cork following a joint operation between gardaí and the defence forces to disperse protesters. 12 April – The government announced a package worth €505m to support those "most impacted" by rising fuel costs. 14 April Just prior to the vote on the motion of confidence in the government, Micheal Healy-Rae resigned as Minister of State at the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine, saying that the Taoiseach's speech was "not understanding" and that "the government have lost the people". A motion of confidence in the government in response to the handling of the fuel crisis and blockades by farmers succeeds by a vote of 92–78, with just two TDs having changed their vote since the initial formation of the government, these being the two Healy-Rae brothers. 15 April – The suspected leader of the Kinahan Organised Crime Group, Daniel Kinahan, was arrested in Dubai. The Irish courts had issued an arrest warrant for Kinahan for alleged serious crimes. His extradition to Ireland was expected to follow. 19 April – Aer Lingus announced that a number of flights had been cancelled from its summer schedule because of what it described as "mandatory maintenance on aircraft". 29 April – The government announced further fuel support for workers and businesses.
May 12 May – Lidl supermarket recalled two of its branded Irish chicken breast products amid salmonella concerns. 15 May – Yves Sakila, a Congolese national, died after being restrained by security guards outside a department store on Henry Street, Dublin. 18 May – During a meeting at Buckingham Palace, King Charles III accepted an invitation from President Catherine Connolly to make a state visit to Ireland. 20 May – The former teacher Enoch Burke was dismissed from Wilson's Hospital School in County Westmeath following four years of legal wrangling. Burke appeared in court by video link from Castlerea Prison and said he was "still an employee of Wilson’s Hospital School". 22 May – In a pair of by-elections, Daniel Ennis of the Social Democrats won in Dublin Central, and Seán Kyne of Fine Gael won in Galway West, only the fourth time in 44 years that a member of a governing political party was victorious. 25 May – Ireland's warmest May day was recorded, with a high of 28.6 °C at Shannon Airport in County Clare. 26 May – Met Éireann confirmed another temperature record had been set after 30.6 °C was recorded at Shannon Airport.
June 5 June – Ireland prohibited the Israeli national security minister Itamar Ben Gvir and the finance minister Bezalel Smotrich from entering Ireland, citing behaviour against 2026 Global Sumud Flotilla activists and anti-Palestinian statements. 13 June – Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney arrived in Dublin for a visit to Ireland, where he met with Taoiseach Micheál Martin. 14 June – Mark Carney met President Catherine Connolly at Westport House before travelling to the village of Aughagower in County Mayo, from where his grandparents emigrated to Canada. 17 June – The Dáil voted 86–70 to remove the mandatory three-day wait for an abortion in Ireland. 23 June – The Government announced it would contribute €228m (£197m) towards improving rail services between Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland. 24 June – The Oireachtas Committee on Drugs published a report recommending the possession of all drugs for personal use be decriminalised. 25 June – During the on-going 2026 European heatwaves, a highest recorded temperature of 32.1C was recorded at a weather station in Athenry, Co Galway.
July 1 July – A ceremony in Dublin Castle was held to mark the start of Ireland taking over the Presidency of the Council of the European Union for the next six months. 5 July – A man was killed in a crash at the Skerries 100 motorcycle race. 6 July – Following a trial at Dublin's Central Criminal Court, George Gibney, a former Irish national swimming coach, was convicted of sexually abusing four young female athletes and the attempted rape of one of the girls in the 1970s and 1980s. 7 July – Sinn Féin brought forward laws for a Citizens' Assembly on a United Ireland. 10 July – A heatwave was officially declared in Ireland after temperatures of 25°C were recorded for five days in a row at Oak Park, County Carlow. 20 July – The Government agreed proposals, to take effect in August, to ban electric scooter use by anyone under 18. Riders will be legally obliged to wear hi-visibility jackets and helmets. Legislation will follow to require licensing and registration of e-scooters and to ban their sale to minors. The taoiseach, Micheál Martin, said that a complete ban on such scooters remains possible. 22 July – Experts excavating the site of the former Bon Secours Mother and Baby Home in Tuam, County Galway, announced the discovery of a further 22 set of infant remains, bringing to 99 the total found so far. Gardaí intercepted a car at Carrickmacross, County Monaghan containing a bomb that they suspected was destined for use by dissident republicans in Northern Ireland. 24 July – A 25-year-old woman was remanded pending a bail hearing by Trim District Court in connection with the discovery of a bomb in a car in County Monaghan. She was granted bail four days later. 25 July – A man was charged in connection with the discovery of a bomb in a car in County Monaghan. 29 July – Musician Glen Hansard was killed in a motorcycle crash in Dublin.
August 7 August – The UK's Intellectual Property Office ruled that Galway-based Supermac's could register its name in the UK without creating confusion with brands sold by McDonald's. 9 August Suspected crime boss Daniel Kinahan, one of the world's most wanted men, arrived in Ireland after being extradited from Dubai. Nine people were injured in a two-car collision on the M50 in Dublin that involved a car travelling northbound on the southbound carriageway. Eight male teenagers were in the car, which collided with another car being driven by a man in his early 20s. Two were in a critical condition. 10 August – Fiosrú – the Office of the Police Ombudsman began investigating the previous day's crash on the M50 after one of the vehicles involved had been reported stolen prior to the collision. 11 August – A man was airlifted to Cork University Hospital after being bitten by a blue shark while part of a team tagging sharks for research purposes. 12 August – A partial eclipse of the sun (magnitude 0.945) darkened the sky across Ireland. In Dublin, the event lasted one hour and 52 minutes. It began at 6.12pm; the maximum was at 7.10pm when 94.5% of the sun's disc was covered by the moon, the sun was in the west at 275° at an altitude of 14.7° above the horizon; and it ended at 8.05pm. 16 August – Five teenage males were killed and a further four people injured, two of them seriously, following a two-vehicle collision on the M9 motorway in County Kildare, involving a stolen BMW driving on the wrong side of the carriageway. 17 August – Taoiseach Micheál Martin condemned the previous day's crash as being the result of "an irresponsible and dangerous act". Minister for Justice Jim O'Callaghan condemned it as "outrageously dangerous criminal behaviour" the "reckless" driving which caused the crash, while confirming legislation was being prepared to strengthen Garda protections regarding pursuit. The Garda Representative Association had said no member of An Garda Síochána had received pursuit training. 18 August – Westmeath Rose Caoilfhinn Ní Choiligh won the 2026 Rose of Tralee festival, becoming the second Rose from Westmeath to win.
September 2 September – At a hearing at Belfast Crown Court, Darren James Service pleaded guilty to charges relating to a Loyalist bomb hoax targeting former Foreign Affairs Minister Simon Coveney. 8 September Ireland sanctioned products from Israeli settlements in the West Bank.