Editing 2002 in Ireland (section)

==Events==
* 1 January –  The [[Euro|Euro Currency]] officially became the legal tender for the [[Republic of Ireland]], along with the other [[European Union|European Union (EU)]] [[Eurozone|Eurozone member area countries]], replacing the [[Irish pound]] by being introduced physically with the official launch of the [[Euro coins|currency coins]] [[Euro banknotes|and banknotes]].
* 9 January – Former [[Soviet Union|Soviet]] leader [[Mikhail Gorbachev]] received the [[Freedom of the City of Dublin]].
* 7 March – A [[Twenty-fifth Amendment of the Constitution Bill 2001|referendum]] on a proposal to amend the [[Constitution of Ireland|Constitution]] to remove the threat of suicide as a ground for legal abortion was narrowly defeated.
* 13 March – The {{MS|Stena Europe}} ferry was introduced on the [[Fishguard Harbour|Fishguard]]–[[Rosslare Europort|Rosslare]] route.
* 21 March – The third [[Coimisiún na Gaeltachta]] published its report on strengthening the role of the [[Irish language]] in the [[Gaeltacht]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.ahg.gov.ie/en/20YearStrategyfortheIrishLanguage/Publications/Report%20of%20Coimisi%C3%BAn%20na%20Gaeltachta.pdf |title=Report of the Gaeltacht Commission |year=2002 |access-date=2012-08-21 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131017090003/http://www.ahg.gov.ie/en/20YearStrategyfortheIrishLanguage/Publications/Report%20of%20Coimisi%C3%BAn%20na%20Gaeltachta.pdf |archive-date=17 October 2013 }}</ref>
* 2 April – [[Brendan Comiskey]], the [[Roman Catholic]] [[Bishop of Ferns]], resigned after criticism of his handling of abuse cases in the diocese.
* 5 April – The first recruits of the new [[Police Service of Northern Ireland]] graduated.
* 17 May – The [[Fianna Fáil]]-[[Progressive Democrats]] coalition was re-elected in the [[2002 Irish general election|general election]]. It was the first government to be re-elected since 1969. Fianna Fáil achieved 80 seats, just four short of an overall majority. [[Fine Gael]] lost 23 seats, and the [[Labour Party (Ireland)|Labour Party]] remained static. Increased support for [[Sinn Féin]] resulted in four extra [[Teachta Dála|TDs]]. [[Michael Noonan (Fine Gael politician)|Michael Noonan]] resigned as leader of Fine Gael and [[Ruairi Quinn]] resigned as leader of the Labour Party.
* 1 June – The [[Republic of Ireland national football team|national football team]] began its [[2002 FIFA World Cup]] campaign.
* 11 October – [[Geraldine Kennedy]] was appointed the first female editor of ''[[The Irish Times]]''.
* 14 October – As of midnight the [[Northern Ireland Assembly]] and [[Northern Ireland Executive|Executive]] were suspended by order of the British [[Secretary of State for Northern Ireland]].
* 19 October – Irish voters accepted the [[Treaty of Nice]] in [[Twenty-sixth Amendment of the Constitution of Ireland|the second referendum]] held on the issue.
* The [[Garda College Museum and Visitor Centre]] is opened at the [[Garda Síochána College]], [[Templemore]], [[County Tipperary]].<ref name = PolHis>{{cite web|url=http://policehistory.com/index.html|title=Garda Síochána Historical Society – Irish Police History|website=policehistory.com|access-date=2023-07-13}}</ref><ref name = Temple>{{cite web|url=https://templemore.ie/2022/09/10/a-brief-history-of-the-garda-college/|title=A brief history of the Garda College|website=templemore.ie|access-date=2023-07-13}}</ref><ref name = HistIre>{{cite web|url=https://www.historyireland.com/the-templemore-miracles/|title=The Templemore miracles|website=historyireland.com|access-date=2023-07-13}}</ref>