1974

After the sudden death of Erskine Childers, Cearbhall ó Dálaigh becomes the fifth President of Ireland. 1974 sees a major bus strike in Dublin. Dubliners find different ways of getting around. The Army is brought in to provide transport. Normal service resumes after nine weeks. At the World Cup Final in Munich, West Germany beat Holland 2-1. U.S. President Richard Nixon fights the 'Watergate' scandal. He is implicated in political 'dirty tricks' , including attempts to 'bug' opponents and covering up a break-in. The President also loses legal battles in the U.S. Congress and Supreme Court . Faced with impeachment, Richard Nixon resigns. Richard Nixon becomes the first U.S. President to resign office. EUROVISION SONG CONTEST Brighton, 6 April - Once Abba take the stage, the rest is history... The musical 'Joseph And His Amazing Technicolour Dreamcoat' is the biggest stage hit in Dublin this year. The cast includes a young comedian and singer Brendan Grace. At the Gulf Oil terminal on Whiddy Island a tanker spills crude oil into Bantry Bay. Locals are angry at the lack of measures to prevent the oil spill. DUBLIN 17 May Loyalists explode three car bombs without warning as the streets are busy with people on a Friday evening. The death toll rises to thirty-three after another car bomb explodes in Monaghan. In the history of Ireland's Troubles, it is the highest-ever number of people killed on one day. No-one is ever arrested for the the Dublin and Monaghan bombings. CYPRUS 20 July Turkish armed forces invade the island. The attack follows a military coup by Greek officers. Turkey claims it is acting to protect its population on the island. The war divides the state of Cyprus in two. Having begun his career in showbands during the Sixties, Rory Gallagher is now one of Ireland's most successful international musicians. 1974 sees another sellout concert tour by the Corkman. Nell McCafferty brings a new style of campaigning journalism to coverage of legal and women's issues, and a group of women sets up Ireland's first-ever refuge for battered wives. In 1974, the Irish State still uses the legal concept of 'illegitimacy'. It denies equal rights to children born outside marriage. Campaigners demand changes in the law. Kilkenny and Limerick meet in the All-Ireland hurling final. Kilkenny win by 3-19 to 1-13 . Dublin beat Galway 0-14 to 1-6 in the football. The glory days begin for Dublin football. Millionaire heiress Patty Hearst is kidnapped in California by extremists from the self-styled 'Symbionese Liberation Army' (SLA). The SLA demands that food aid be distributed to the poor of San Francisco. In a taped recording Hearst says that she wishes to stay with the revolutionary group. Ten weeks after her kidnapping, Hearst is seen taking part in an SLA bank raid. She is later arrested and renounces all links to the SLA. An armed gang steals nineteen paintings from Russborough House worth a total of £8 million. The gang demands the return of Irish republican prisoners from England as well as £500,000 in ransom money. The authorities hit back by offering a £100,000 reward for information. Ten days after the robbery, Gardai recover the paintings . a wealthy Englishwoman, Rose Dugdale, is charged and convicted. She is also convicted of involvement in an earlier IRA operation, A hijacked helicopter attack on an RUC station. Rose Dugdale receives a total of 18 years in prison. GUILDFORD, SURREY 5 October. The IRA plants 'no warning' bombs in two pubs. Five people die. On 21 November, the IRA blows up two pubs in Birmingham. Twenty-one people die. The bombings provoke public outrage in Britain. Four people are later convicted of the Guildford bombings. They will spend 15 years in jail before being proven innocent. The 'Birmingham Six' will serve 16 years for a mass murder they did not commit. The real bombers of Guildford and Birmingham are never brought to justice. After the signing of the Sunningdale Agreement in...