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2004 in Ireland

overview of Ireland-related events during the year of 2004

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General referenceInterpretive dossier study · Crown Archives visual atlas
Record originEnglish Wikipedia
Text licenseCC BY-SA 4.0
Source revisionSep 1, 2026
Entity authorityQ4603522
Source-derived summary

Events from the year 2004 in Ireland.

Incumbents

President: Mary McAleese

Taoiseach: Bertie Ahern (FF)

Tánaiste: Mary Harney (PD)

Minister for Finance:

Charlie McCreevy (FF) (until 29 September 2004)

Brian Cowen (FF) (from 29 September 2004)

Chief Justice:

Ronan Keane (until 2004)

John L. Murray (from 23 July 2004)

Dáil: 29th

Seanad: 22nd

Events

January

1 January –

Ireland assumed the rotating position of the Presidency of the Council of the European Union for six months.

Taoiseach Bertie Ahern assumed the rotating position of the President of the European Council for six months.

Scouting Ireland was created when the merger between Scouting Ireland (CSI) and the Scout Association of Ireland (SAI) became effective.

February

28 February – Five people were killed in a bus crash at Wellington Quay, Dublin.

March

16 March – The cooling towers of Rhode Power Station, near Kilbeggan, County Westmeath, were demolished.

27 March – Ireland's rugby team won the Triple Crown for the first time since 1985.

29 March – A smoking ban introduced by Minister for Health, Micheál Martin, came into effect in all pubs, restaurants, and work places.

April

20 April – Welsh pub landlords reported an increase in the number of Irish patrons visiting Wales where they could avoid the restrictions of Ireland's new smoking ban which prohibited smoking in Irish pubs. The drinkers could travel to Wales by ferryboat for as little as £10 for a day-return ticket, smoke cigarettes while drinking, and pay lower prices for their alcohol.

Editorial summary

The public source identifies “2004 in Ireland” as overview of Ireland-related events during the year of 2004. This brief keeps that definition visible, then builds a research path around Ireland, overview and Ireland-related.

Editorial reviewA practical starting point whose main value is the path it opens into stronger specialist and primary sources. The current lead gives the account dated anchors—2004, 1985—that can be checked directly. The selected authority fields contribute no independent date. Its value is orientation rather than verdict, with Ireland, overview and Ireland-related providing the first useful test.
Editorial analysis

Why this record matters

A short description can identify a subject without explaining its stakes. For “2004 in Ireland”, the useful work is to connect “overview of Ireland-related events during the year of 2004” to the records capable of establishing context and consequence.

Evidence profile

Vocabulary and entity names are the principal evidence signals here, because they determine the precision of every later search. The source revision retrieved here is dated Sep 1, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q4603522. None of the 0 selected statements returned an explicit reference. The first chronological checks are 2004 and 1985.

Critical limits

Overview language is designed for orientation and should not be treated as a substitute for the evidence cited beneath it. The lead is largely declarative, so disagreement and counter-evidence require a deliberate search beyond the opening account. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.

How to read it

Use the entry as an orientation point, then follow its citations and revision history. Names, dates and institutional relationships should be checked against the original record.

Best used for
  • Subject orientation
  • Search vocabulary
  • Locating named sources
Verify next

The closest primary source, responsible institution and strongest cited specialist reference.

Three-step research path

  1. Establish the record: confirm the title “2004 in Ireland”, its source revision and the description used here.
  2. Expand the search: follow 2004 in Ireland primary sources, 2004 in Ireland archive and Ireland research across catalogues and specialist indexes.
  3. Test the account: compare the strongest cited source with the responsible institution’s current record and note any disagreement.

Questions for further research

  1. Which source most directly establishes the central claim about “2004 in Ireland”?
  2. What terminology or title could unlock a more precise catalogue search?
  3. Which institution is responsible for the underlying evidence?
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Source & attribution

This entry incorporates text from 2004 in Ireland” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.