5 April – A final train ran on the west Cork railway.
8 May – Irish troops left for a peace-keeping mission in the Congo.
6 July – Gay Byrne presented the first edition of The Late Late Show television programme on RTÉ. Byrne went on to present the show for 37 years, the longest period through which anyone hosted a televised talk show anywhere in the world, and the show itself becomes the world's second longest-running talk show.