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Just to recap a little in case there are people not following all this: In the early 1960s the Catholic Church convened a major Council in Rome, which was to be a continuation of the last ecumenical Council held there, called Vatican I. Anyway the resulting Council codified and clarified somethings but actually changed very little or nothing per se (the Catholic Church sometimes clarifies matters in dispute but actually never changes anything as such, because it believes that the teachings of that Church are the truth, and the truth doesn't change).
But this Second Vatican Council was seen internationally as a kind of 1960s updating or changing of Catholic Church doctrine, even though a reading of the resulting documents show that it actually wasn't, ands so as part of this, known as the 'Spirit of the Council', wholesale changes were introduced by diktat from Rome in its aftermath, say the late 1960s and early 1970s.
Some clerics took umbrage at these wholesale changes, particularly Archbishop Marcel Lefebvre who had been the French head of the Holy Ghost order and who in fact had attended the Council and signed some of their documents. So he set up a seminary to train priests in the traditional manner and, mostly, he had the consent of the Church to do this. But when the Vatican delayed giving him permission to consecrate new bishops for his order, known as the SSPX, he went ahead anyway and this moment, in 1988, is usually taken as the beginning of some kind of rupture between the SSPX and the Holy See.
The SSPX has mostly flourished since then, under the four bishops so consecrated: the late Bishop Richard Williamson from England; Bishop Bernard Fellay from Switzerland (where the European SSPX seminary is): Bishop Alfonso de Galarreta (Spanish/Argentinean); and the late Bishop Bernard Tissier de Mallerais from France. The problem now is that with two dead (and Bishop Williamson had also been expelled) and the others not as young as they were and with maybe a million faithful to be administered to, scattered all over the world, the SSPX has a great need for new bishops.
Hence over the last 10 years or so we have an on again off again game of, 'will they consecrate new bishops', and if so will it be with Vatican approval? Now they have announced that they will go ahead with consecrations, on the 1st of July this year it seems, and in the accompanying statement it appears that it will be without Vatican approval.
So thats major news! Incidentally the SSPX now have regular masses in beautiful established churches at Athlone, Cork and Dublin, with also regular, at least weekly, masses in Belfast and Newry, and also now every other week in Kilkenny and Monaghan. Meanwhile the related SSPX Resistance (the same as the SSPX but under the influence of the late Bishop Williamson) celebrate masses at least weekly, in Longford, Cork, Dublin and Derry. Furthermore you have: regular, at least weekly, indult masses (these Latin masses are approved by each diocese) in Charleville Co. Cork, Cork City, Dublin (St Kevin's in Harrington St), Kilkenny City, Drumkeen Co. Donegal, Navan, and Silverstream Monastery in Stamullen Co. Meath, and monthly masses in Tralee, Knock, Carraroe Co. Sligo and other locations in the Diocese of Elphin including Rooskey; the Institute of Christ the King Sovereign Priest have regular, at least weekly, masses in Limerick, Galway, Belfast and Ardee; and the Priestly Fraternity of Saint Peter have daily masses in Waterford City and weekly ones in Wexford town.
So at least the infrastructure of the traditional Catholic movement in Ireland is growing quite strongly.
