Editing 1981 in Ireland (section)

==Arts and literature==
* 4 April – Ireland hosted the [[Eurovision Song Contest 1981|Eurovision Song Contest]], presented by [[Doireann Ní Bhriain]] and aired on [[RTÉ Television]].
* 1 August - The first [[Occasion at the Castle]] music festival was held in Castlebar, County Mayo. Headerliners included [[Ian Dury and the Blockheads]], [[The Pretenders]], [[Loudon Wainwright III]], [[The Undertones]], and the folk duo [[Kate and Anna McGarrigle]].<ref>{{cite web |last= |first= |date=27 April 2022 |title=Occasion, Occasion: Castlebar, 1981 |url=https://theblackpoolsentinel.com/2022/04/27/occasion-occasion-castlebar-1981/ |website= |location= |publisher= |access-date=}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last=Gillespie |first=Tom |date=11 February 2023 |title=Rock festival days in Mayo’s county town |url=https://www.con-telegraph.ie/2023/02/11/rock-festival-days-in-mayos-county-town/ |work=[[Connaught Telegraph]] |location= |publisher= |access-date=20 May 2025}}</ref> 
* 16 August – The first [[Slane Concert]] was held at [[Slane Castle]] featuring performers [[Thin Lizzy]], [[Hazel O'Connor]], [[The Bureau (band)|The Bureau]], Megahype, [[Rose Tattoo]], [[Sweet Savage]], and [[U2]].<ref>[http://www.u2gigs.com/show623.html U2 October Tour: October 1st leg: Europe: 1981-08-16: Slane Castle – Slane, Ireland] U2gigs.com. Retrieved: 19 July 2013.</ref>
* 14 September – Artist and writer [[Christy Brown]] was buried in [[Glasnevin Cemetery]], [[Dublin]].
* An association of artists, [[Aosdána]], was established.
* [[Molly Keane]]'s novel ''[[Good Behaviour (Keane novel)|Good Behaviour]]'' was published, her first for almost thirty years, and the first under her own name.
* [[Rita Kelly]]'s poetry ''Dialann sa Díseart'' was published.
*[[Neil Jordan]] was awarded the [[Rooney Prize for Irish Literature]].<ref>{{cite news|title=Neil Jordan Gets Rooney Prize|newspaper=[[The Irish Times]]|date=7 October 1981}}</ref>
* English-born painter [[Derek Hill (painter)|Derek Hill]] donated St. Columb's Rectory, near [[Churchill, County Donegal]] (his home since 1954), along with a considerable collection including work by [[Pablo Picasso]], [[Edgar Degas]], [[Georges Braque]], [[Graham Sutherland]] and [[Jack Butler Yeats]], to the [[Republic of Ireland|Irish State]].
* A proposed design for a new [[Áras an Uachtaráin]] (presidential mansion) was created by [[Rem Koolhaas]], but was never built.