1838 in Ireland

Centuries:	17th; 18th; 19th; 20th; 21st;
Decades:	1810s; 1820s; 1830s; 1840s; 1850s;
See also:	1838 in the United Kingdom; Other events of 1838 ; List of years in Ireland

Events from the year 1838 in Ireland.

Incumbent[]

4–22 April – the paddle steamer SS Sirius (1837) makes the Transatlantic Crossing to New York from Cork in eighteen days, though not using steam continuously.^[1]
15 August – following a year of widespread hunger the government institutes relief work and reduces the tithe rent for the poor by the Poor Law and Tithe Acts.^[2]
Foundation of a temperance society in Cork known as the Knights of Father Mathew by Theobald Mathew, a capuchin friar.

January – Richard W. Dowling, victorious commander at the Second Battle of Sabine Pass in the American Civil War (died 1867).
2 February – Nathaniel Burslem, soldier, recipient of the Victoria Cross for gallantry in 1860 at the Taku Forts, China (died 1865).
13 February – Michael Sullivan, physician, professor and politician in Canada (died 1915).
26 March – William Edward Hartpole Lecky, historian (died 1903 in England).^[3]
3 June – Daniel O'Reilly, U.S. Representative from New York (died 1911).
5 July – William Robinson, gardener (died 1935).
8 July – Colonel John Burke, soldier in America (died 1914).
28 July – Augustus Nicholas Burke, artist (died 1891).^[4]
24 August – James Hamilton, 2nd Duke of Abercorn, politician and diplomat (died 1913).^[5]
11 September – John Ireland, third Bishop and first Archbishop of Saint Paul, Minnesota (died 1918).
18 September – Sir Thomas Drew, architect, first designer of St Anne's Cathedral (died 1910).^[6]
1 November – Anthony Traill, provost of Trinity College Dublin (died 1914).
18 December – Michael Thomas Stenson, politician in Canada (died 1912).
Full date unknown
- James Gildea, soldier and philanthropist, founded the Soldiers', Sailors' and Airmen's Families Association (died 1920).
- John Philip Nolan, soldier, landowner and politician (died 1912).
- Dudley Stagpoole, soldier, recipient of the Victoria Cross for gallantry in 1863 near Poutoko in Taranaki, New Zealand (died 1911).

^ "Steamship Curaçao". Archived from the original on 24 December 2010. Retrieved 2011-02-02.
^ Moody, T. W.; Martin, F. X., eds. (1967). The Course of Irish History. Cork: Mercier Press. p. 375.
^ "William Edward Hartpole Lecky | Irish historian". Encyclopedia Britannica. Retrieved 15 February 2021.
^ Augustus Burke – Artnet
^ ABERCORN: James Hamilton^{[permanent dead link]}
^ Thomas Drew – Dictionary of Irish Architects