and county council, limerick gaa and gardaí urged people to limit their post-match social activity and to abide by the public health guidelines, because of the high rate of covid-19 incidence in the county. 19 august – following a meeting of the government committee on covid-19, it was revealed that a roadmap for the phased reopening of all remaining closed industries, including the live entertainment and arts sector, would be published on 31 august. 22 august – hse ceo paul reid said the threat from covid-19 was still "very real", with the number of patients being treated in hospitals with covid-19 at its highest level since the end of march, increasing to 314. 23 august following crowds of people gathering after the 2021 all-ireland senior hurling championship final on 22 august, gardaí began investigating alleged breaches of covid-19 regulations at a pub near croke park, while several pubs were temporarily shut by gardaí due to anti-social behaviour and a lack of social distancing. music industry representatives criticised the government after 40,000 people were allowed to attend the all-ireland senior hurling final at croke park, while the live entertainment industry remained closed, with representatives from a number of live event and music industry groups stating that the taoiseach and foreign affairs minister's attendance at the final was a "blatant disregard" for the live events industry. 24 august minister for health stephen donnelly said the government would continue to ease covid-19 restrictions "as quickly as possible" and that all remaining covid-19 restrictions would be eased before christmas. chief medical officer tony holohan warned of an "extremely high incidence" of the disease in ireland and that mask wearing in public places had decreased, while the chair of the nphet irish epidemiological modelling advisory group philip nolan said the peak of the fourth wave could be reached in september. 31 august a further 1,382 cases were reported, bringing the total number of confirmed cases to 352,447. the government announced a further reopening plan for the country, with all remaining covid-19 restrictions to be eased by 22 october, including the two-metre social distancing rule depending on the requirement of individual sectors, while masks would still be required in the health and retail sectors and on public transport. from 1 september: public transport would be operating at 100% full capacity, with the requirement to wear masks remaining from 6 september: larger crowds could gather for religious ceremonies with up to 50% capacity allowed in places of worship outdoor sports events could have 50% capacity in stadiums indoor venues could operate at 60% capacity for events for those who are vaccinated, while outdoor events could operate at 75% capacity for those who are vaccinated resumption of live music indoors at weddings and in bars from 20 september: the phased return to the workplace would commence resumption of indoor after-school activities along with sports indoors from 22 october: easing of the remaining covid-19 restrictions depending on covid-19 cases remaining manageable and 90% of adults being fully vaccinated, including the easing of requirements on social distancing and mask wearing september 2021 1 september – public transport began operating at 100% capacity across the country, as the government's plan for easing most covid-19 restrictions by 22 october began, while the gaa announced that an additional 1,150 tickets would be available with 41,150 people allowed to attend the all-ireland football final on 11 september. 3 september – according to the european centre for disease control, ireland had the highest incidence of covid-19 in the eu, which put the country firmly in the red zone as hospitalisations rise. 5 september – tánaiste leo varadkar faced criticism after a photograph emerged on social media showing him at the mighty hoopla music festival in london on the same weekend electric picnic was cancelled in ireland due to the government's covid-19 restrictions. 6 september – organised indoor and outdoor events and mass gatherings returned and live music and dancing were permitted at weddings, as the further easing of covid-19 restrictions took place. 9 september – ahead of the all-ireland senior football championship final between tyrone and mayo on saturday 11 september, public health west, mayo county council, mayo gaa and gardaí urged people to exercise extreme caution to prevent gatherings from turning into super spreader events. 10 september – latest figures showed that 90% of adults in ireland were fully vaccinated against covid-19, while the seven-millionth dose was administered. 14 september – chief medical officer tony holohan warned that new covid-19 restrictions could not be ruled out and "may be required in the future", despite very high levels of covid-19 vaccine uptake. 19 september – latest figures showed that over 90% of irish people over the age of 16 were now fully vaccinated against covid-19, the highest rate in the european union. 20 september – thousands of workers across the country began returning to their offices and places of work, as covid-19 restrictions further eased with rules around organised indoor group activities being relaxed and limits on outdoor group activities for participants being removed. 24 september – the hse announced that immunocompromised people would be notified of an appointment for a third dose of covid-19 vaccine from wednesday 29 september, as ireland's covid-19 booster vaccination campaign would commence. 25 september – ireland's mandatory hotel quarantine system ended immediately following an announcement by minister for health stephen donnelly, with all countries removed from the list of "high-risk" countries for international travel. 28 september – according to the bloomberg covid-19 resilience ranking, ireland was named the best country to be in for how it dealt with the pandemic and the rise of the delta variant. 30 september a further 1,271 cases were reported, bringing the total number of confirmed cases to 389,932. a pilot nightclub event took place at the button factory in dublin, which included a 60% capacity crowd of 450 people, vaccination certificates and antigen testing. october 2021 10 october – hse ceo paul reid said the number of people in icu with covid-19 had risen by 20% in one week, with 67% of the icu patients not vaccinated and 3% partially vaccinated. 11 october – the number of patients being treated in hospital with covid-19 increased to 400, the highest since 8 march, while hse chief clinical officer colm henry revealed that up to 50,000 adults over the age of 40 were not yet vaccinated. 13 october deputy chief medical officer ronan glynn said there were still 300,000 adults who had not been vaccinated and that two out of every three people in icu were unvaccinated. taoiseach micheál martin said he could not guarantee that the removal of covid-19 restrictions on 22 october would proceed as planned and that the trajectory of the virus had taken a wrong turn with a sudden increase in case numbers, while minister for health stephen donnelly said he was self-isolating after experiencing mild symptoms. 18 october – nphet urged the government to pause the easing of restrictions on friday 22 october, with social distancing, mask-wearing and vaccine certificates to remain, while the niac approved vaccine boosters for people aged 60 and over. 19 october – the government published a revised plan for the easing of restrictions on 22 october, with nightclubs allowed to reopen, the return of normal trading hours in pubs and restaurants, no attendance limits on weddings and religious ceremonies and 100% capacity allowed at sporting venues, while the continued use of masks, vaccine certificates and social distancing measures would remain in place until at least february 2022. 20 october – a further 2,148 cases and 63 deaths were reported, bringing the totals to 421,234 cases and 5,369 deaths. 21 october a further 2,029 cases were reported, bringing the total number of confirmed cases to 423,260. updated guidelines for hospitality and for the reopening of nightclubs on 22 october were published, with nightclubs allowed to operate at 100% capacity, a maximum of 1,500 people permitted to dance or stand at live music venues and multiple table bookings allowed in pubs and restaurants. 22 october – nightclubs and late venues reopened after almost 600 days of closure, as new guidelines were published. 28 october – the hse began to send antigen tests to people who were deemed close contacts of a covid-19 case. 31 october – a further 1,963 cases were reported, bringing the total number of confirmed cases to 445,594. november 2021 2 november – a ceremony was held in dublin to remember the lives of people lost during the covid-19 pandemic. 5 november – the hse began rolling out covid-19 booster vaccines for those aged 60 and over. 11 november – a 14-year-old teenager became ireland's youngest person to die with covid-19. 16 november – the government announced a series of measures in a bid to curb the spread of covid-19, with a closing time for bars, restaurants and nightclubs to be midnight, household contacts of a person with covid-19 to restrict movements for five days and take three antigen tests, people required to work from home where possible and vaccination certificates required for cinemas and theatres. 26 november – minister for health stephen donnelly announced that covid-19 booster vaccines would be offered to everyone aged 16 and over, starting with pregnant women aged over 16, those aged 40 to 49 and those aged 16 to 39, following new recommendations from niac. 27 november the nphet epidemiological modelling advisory group began meeting to monitor the omicron variant situation in europe, and began considering further required measures. thousands of people attended a protest against covid-19 restrictions and vaccine passports at the gpo on dublin's o'connell street. 30 november a further 5,471 cases were reported, bringing the total number of confirmed cases to 570,115. the government announced additional measures in a bid to curb the spread of covid-19, with parents of children aged 12 and under urged to reduce socialisation indoors, a negative test required for people arriving into ireland from friday 3 december, the re-establishment of mandatory hotel quarantine, the wearing of face coverings for children aged 9 years and over on public transport, in retail and for children in third class and above. december 2021 1 december – tests carried out at the national virus reference laboratory confirmed that the first case of the omicron variant had been detected in ireland. 3 december – the government reintroduced a series of measures that would commence from 7 december to 9 january amid concerns of the omicron variant, with nightclubs to close, bars and restaurants to revert to six adults per table and no multiple table bookings allowed, indoor cultural and sporting events to operate at 50% capacity, a maximum of four households allowed to meet indoors, the pandemic unemployment payment to be reinstated and the requirement of vaccination certificates extended to gyms, leisure centres and hotel bars. 8 december – the niac recommended that covid-19 vaccinations be offered to children aged five to 11 years. 9 december – five additional cases of the omicron variant were detected, bringing to six the total number of cases that had been identified in ireland following whole genome sequencing. 15 december – cases of the omicron variant increased sharply as the chief medical officer tony holohan urged people to take precautions to avoid being in isolation for christmas. 17 december – to curb the spread of covid-19 over the christmas period, the government announced an 8pm closing time for bars, restaurants, live events, cinemas and theatres that would commence from 20 december to 30 january. 19 december – a further 5,124 cases were reported. chief medical officer tony holohan announced that the omicron variant was now the dominant variant in ireland after it was confirmed that 52% of cases were now due to omicron. 23 december a further 7,411 cases were reported. chief medical officer tony holohan confirmed that almost 75% of cases were now due to the omicron variant. minister for health stephen donnelly announced that booster vaccines would be offered to everyone aged 30 and over from 29 december and to all remaining age groups from 10 january. 24 december – a further 11,182 cases were reported. it was confirmed that 83% of cases were now due to the omicron variant. 25 december – cases began to rise sharply after christmas. 29 december a further 16,428