1960 in Northern Ireland explained

Events during the year 1960 in Northern Ireland.

Incumbents

• • Governor - The Lord Wakehurst Prime Minister - Basil Brooke

Events

• 16 March – Passenger liner is launched at the Harland and Wolff shipyard in Belfast (for P&O).
• 6 April – Short SC.1 VTOL research aircraft makes its first transition from vertical to horizontal flight and back, flying from Belfast Harbour Airport.^[1]
• 13 April – MV Arlanza becomes the last passenger liner launched by Harland and Wolff in Belfast (for Royal Mail Line).

Arts and literature

• 26 January – First staging of Sam Thompson's play Over the Bridge, at the Empire Theatre, Belfast.^[2]
• 13 - 18 February - Orson Welles opens for the last time in a stage production, his adaptation Chimes at Midnight with the Gate Theatre Company, at the Grand Opera House, Belfast (transferring in March to Dublin).

Sport

Football

• Irish League

Winners: Glenavon

• Irish Cup

Winners: Linfield 5 - 1 Ards

Births

• 23 April – Barry Douglas, classical pianist.
• 30 April – Colonel Tim Collins, British Commander in Iraq.
• 6 May – Roma Downey, actress and producer.
• 13 May – Michael Savage, Liberal Party of Canada Member of Parliament.
• 8 June – Peter Heather, historian.
• 7 July – Billy Wright, leader of the Loyalist Volunteer Force (died 1997).
• 20 August – Deirdre Madden, author.
• 27 August – Mark Caughey, footballer.
• 29 August
  • Dominic Bradley, SDLP MLA.
  • Thomas Burns, SDLP MLA.
• 10 October – Arlene McCarthy, Labour Party Member of the European Parliament.
• 25 November – Robert Dunlop, motorcycle racer (died 2008).
• 10 December – Kenneth Branagh, actor and director.

Full date unknown

• Ian McDonald, science fiction novelist.
• Jeff McWhinney, deaf community activist.

Deaths

• 9 March – Jack Beattie, Labour politician (born 1886).
• 13 June – Ken McArthur, winner of the marathon race at the 1912 Summer Olympics for South Africa (born 1881).
• 20 July – Galbraith Lowry-Corry, 7th Earl Belmore, soldier and Deputy Lieutenant for County Fermanagh (born 1913).
• 1 September – Robert Moore, minister of religion and politician (born 1886).
• 25 October – Harry Ferguson, early aviator and developer of the modern agricultural tractor (born 1884).

See also

• 1960 in Scotland
• 1960 in Wales

Notes and References

1. Web site: Airport History . George Best Belfast City Airport . 2012-04-04 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20111012191943/http://belfastcityairport.com/About-Us/Airport-Development-and-Planning/facts-and-figures.aspx . 12 October 2011 .
2. News: Plaque to mark Belfast playwright. BBC NI News (26 January 2010). 26 January 2010. 27 January 2010.