1966 in Northern Ireland

← 1965 1964 1963 1966 in Northern Ireland → 1967 1968 1969
Centuries:	20th 21st
Decades:	1940s 1950s 1960s 1970s 1980s
See also:	1966 in the United Kingdom 1966 in Ireland Other events of 1966 List of years in Northern Ireland

Incumbents

Monarch - Elizabeth II

Events

• 17 April - In Belfast, the Easter Rising is commemorated by large republican parades.
• 26 June - Ulster Volunteer Force engages in three sectarian murders.^[1]
• 23 November - By-election for the Parliament of Northern Ireland in the Queen's University of Belfast constituency, the last election prior to the seat's abolition in 1969. Robert Porter (Ulster Unionist Party) wins.
• Divis Tower in Belfast is built.

Arts and literature

• Seamus Heaney's first poetry collection, Death of a Naturalist.
• Ulster Orchestra founded in Belfast by the Arts Council of Northern Ireland, with Maurice Miles as its first principal conductor and János Fürst as leader.^[2]

Sport

Football

• Irish League

Winners: Linfield

• Irish Cup

Winners: Glentoran 2 - 0 Linfield

Births

• 3 January - Martin Galway, composer for games.
• 24 January - Jimeoin, comedian and actor.
• 8 March - Enda Gormley, Gaelic footballer.
• 25 March - Anton Rogan, footballer.
• 22 August - Nigel Sullivan, HR Director, TalkTalk Group.
• 30 August - Peter Cunnah, singer and songwriter.
• 12 October - Brian Kennedy, singer, Eurovision song contestant and writer.
• 28 October - Jules Maxwell, songwriter and composer.
• 16 November - Paul Millar, footballer and football manager.
• 12 December - Ian Paisley, Jr., Democratic Unionist Party MLA.
• 20 December - Dekker Curry, cricketer.
• 27 December - Henry Downey, Derry GAA hurler and Gaelic footballer.
• John McCrea, comic artist.
• Barry McElduff, Sinn Féin MLA.
• Cathy Wilkes, video artist.

Deaths

• 28 March - Patrick McCartan, Sinn Féin MP and TD, member of 1st Dáil, a founder member of Clann na Poblachta (born 1878).
• 1 April - Brian O'Nolan, novelist, satirist and humorist (born 1911).
• Sydney Sparkes Orr, Professor of Philosophy at the University of Tasmania (born 1914).

References

1. "Larkspirit Irish History". larkspirit.com. Archived from the original on 23 April 2009.
2. Schweitzer, Vivien (2007-01-08). "Hungarian Conductor János Fürst Dies at 71". Playbill Arts. Retrieved 2012-07-26.