Editing 1981 in Ireland (section)

==Events==
* 6 February – [[Attacks on shipping in Lough Foyle (1981–82)]]: [[Liverpool]]-registered coal ship ''Nellie M'' was bombed and sunk by a [[Provisional Irish Republican Army]] unit using a hijacked pilot boat in [[Lough Foyle]].
* 14 February – [[Stardust fire]]: A fire at the Stardust nightclub in [[Artane, Dublin]], in the early hours killed 48 young people and injured 214.<ref>{{cite book|first1=Neil|last1=Fetherstonhaugh|first2=Tony|last2=McCullagh|title=They Never Came Home: The Stardust Story|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=c3IiAQAAIAAJ|year=2001|publisher=Merlin|isbn=978-1-903582-09-1|page=8}}</ref> In 2024 these would be declared as [[unlawful killing]]s.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cn0rvgg7dlzo|title=Jury delivers unlawful killing verdict in Stardust inquest|last=Moore|first=Aoife|date=2024-04-18|work=[[BBC News]]|access-date=2024-04-18}}</ref>
* 1 March – [[Bobby Sands]] began a [[hunger strike]] in the [[Maze (HM Prison)|Maze Prison]] (Long Kesh) near [[Lisburn]] ([[Northern Ireland]]).
* 5 March – The petrol strike ended when 800 tanker drivers resumed work.
* 10 April – Hunger striker Bobby Sands was elected [[Member of Parliament]] (MP) for [[Fermanagh and South Tyrone (UK Parliament constituency)|Fermanagh and South Tyrone]] in the [[Parliament of the United Kingdom]].
* 2 May – [[Aer Lingus Flight 164]], a Boeing 737 en route from [[Dublin]] to London was hijacked and ordered to fly to [[Tehran]]. The flight was diverted to Paris and the hijacker, Laurence Downey, was arrested.
* 5 May – Bobby Sands died on the 66th day of his hunger strike in the Maze Prison.
* 12 May – [[Francis Hughes]], previously the most wanted man in [[Northern Ireland]], died on the 59th day of his hunger strike in the Maze Prison.
* 21 May – [[Raymond McCreesh]] and [[Patsy O'Hara]] both died on the 61st day of their hunger strike in the Maze Prison.
* 11 June – [[1981 Irish general election]]. [[Fianna Fáil]] lost seats and a [[Fine Gael]]–[[Labour Party (Ireland)|Labour Party]] [[coalition government]] was formed. [[Kieran Doherty (hunger striker)|Kieran Doherty]], on hunger strike in the Maze Prison, was elected [[Teachta Dála]] (TD) for [[Cavan–Monaghan (Dáil constituency)|Cavan–Monaghan]].
* 30 June – [[Fine Gael]] leader [[Garret FitzGerald]] was elected [[Taoiseach]] as the 22nd [[Dáil Éireann]] assembled.
* 8 July – Provisional Irish Republican Army member [[Joe McDonnell (hunger striker)|Joe McDonnell]] died on the 61st day of his hunger strike.
* 25 July – During a fire at [[Portlaoise Prison]], [[Irish Army]] Pte Thomas Metcalfe scaled a forty-foot (12 m) high drainpipe in darkness and rescued a comrade trapped on a blazing rooftop. He later received the [[Military Medal for Gallantry]].
* 1 August – [[Irish National Liberation Army]] member [[Kevin Lynch (hunger striker)|Kevin Lynch]] died on the 71st day of his hunger strike in the Maze Prison.
* 2 August – [[Kieran Doherty (hunger striker)|Kieran Doherty]], [[Teachta Dála|TD]], died on the 73rd day of his hunger strike in Long Kesh.
* 11 September – The [[Irish Sugar Company]] announced that it was to close its factory in [[Tuam]], [[County Galway]].
* 19 December – [[Penlee lifeboat disaster]]: The Arklow-bound, Dublin-registered ''Union Star'' was lost on its maiden voyage off [[Cornwall]]. Sixteen lives were lost, eight from the ''Union Star'' and eight from RNLB ''Solomon Browne'' (ON 954) who died while attempting rescue.
* 27 December – Supporters of the Society for the Protection of Unborn Children marched in Dublin to demand a referendum for an [[Anti-abortion movements|anti-abortion]] amendment to the Constitution.
* Undated
** The Irish [[Green Party (Ireland)|Green Party]] was founded as the Ecology Party of Ireland by Dublin teacher [[Christopher Fettes]].