Overview
In 1979, Vietnamese "boat people" flee poverty and persecution, with Ireland accepting refugees through a resettlement program. Iran becomes an Islamic republic after the Shah is ousted, and U.S. hostages are taken at the embassy. Pope John Paul II visits Ireland, drawing over a million people to a Mass in Dublin. Ireland faces the worst year for industrial disputes, with army intervention during a nationwide bus strike and a four-month postal strike. PAYE workers protest the tax system. Industrial disputes cost over 1.46 million working days. Lord Mountbatten is killed by an IRA bomb, and 18 British soldiers die in a separate bombing. In Cambodia, the Khmer Rouge regime’s atrocities are exposed. Kilkenny and Kerry win the 1979 All-Ireland hurling and football titles, respectively. Fianna Fáil leader Jack Lynch resigns, and Charles Haughey becomes Taoiseach. Margaret Thatcher is elected UK Prime Minister.