1888 in Ireland

Centuries:	17th; 18th; 19th; 20th; 21st;
Decades:	1860s; 1870s; 1880s; 1890s; 1900s;
See also:	1888 in the United Kingdom; Other events of 1888 ; List of years in Ireland

Events

Irish members of the British House of Commons attempt to introduce an Irish Local Government Bill however the Bill is opposed by Chief Secretary Arthur Balfour.
The Daily Telegraph is first published.
Belfast is granted city status by Great Britain.
The Belfast Central Library is founded.
A large flock of 110 Pallas's Sandgrouse, a rare species of birds in Ireland, is recorded. It is one of the last known migrations witnessed in Ireland.
April Pope Leo XIII issues a decree denouncing the "Plan of Campaign" as the Holy Office issued a rescript to the Bishops of Ireland to boycott the Campaign. This is ignored by many.
William Butler Yeats joins the Esoteric Section of Theosophistical Society.
James Daly sells Connaught Telegraph to employee T.H. Gillespie.
Thomas Lindsay Buick becomes Secretary of the Gladstone branch of the Irish National League.
Reverend Henry Lett publishes a research paper on several unknown forms of fungi found in Ulster however this document as well as other reaserch by Lett were later lost.
March - The Pan-Celtic Society is founded by William Butler Yeats.
August 20 - The Christian Brothers College is founded in Cork.
September - James Joyce enters the Clongowes Wood College as the schools youngest student.

Several Irish Cricket Teams travel for their second tour of Canada and the United States.

3 March Wales 11 - 0 Ireland (in Wrexham)^[1]

24 March Ireland 2 - 10 Scotland (in Belfast)^[1]

7 April Ireland 1 - 5 England (in Belfast)^[1]

Winners: Cliftonville 2 - 1 Distillery

Several Cavan GAA football teams are formed including the Kildallan Wolfe Tones, Castletara, Butlersbridge Emmets, Drumlane sons of O'Connell, Ballintemple Bob Sextons, Ballinagh Erins Hope, Bawnboy Gallowglasses, Milltown Owen Roe's, Arva Michael Davitts, and the Cavan Slashers.
April - The First Cavan GAA All Ireland Finals is held in Birr.
April 7 - A Cavan GAA football game between the Cavan Slashers and Belturbet Rory O'Moores was reported by an Anglo-Celt reporter as "..A disgrace, I must state that a more rowdy and disgraceful meeting I have never witnessed and the conduct of the party that came along with the Cavan club was simply what I could not wish to describe" and "The filthy expressions used by them towards the Rory O'Moores is simply not fit for publication"
April 30 - The first Cavan GAA County Championship Final was played at Cavan as the Maghera McFinns defeat the Ballyconnell First Ulster's.

The Leopardstown Racecourse is established by Captain George Quin becoming the first modern fully enclosed race track.

Cornelius Colbert, nationalist and rebel, took part in Easter Rising, executed (d.1916).
Dick Doyle, Kilkenny hurler (d.1959).
Linda Kearns MacWhinney, nurse, Sinn Féin member and politician.
Seaumas MacManus, writer.
W. F. Marshall, Presbyterian minister and poet (d.1959).
Art O'Connor, Sinn Féin MP, member of 1st Dáil, Cabinet Minister, lawyer and judge (d.1950).

22 November - John McGovern, soldier, recipient of the Victoria Cross for gallantry in 1857 at Delhi, India (b.1825).
1 December - John Divane, soldier, recipient of the Victoria Cross for gallantry in 1857 at Delhi, India (b.1822).

^ ^a ^b ^c Hayes, Dean (2006). Northern Ireland International Football Facts. Belfast: Appletree Press. pp. p 1. ISBN 0-86281-874-5. {{cite book}}: |pages= has extra text (help)