Look Back 2006 & 2007

Look back 2006

VILLAIN

The Moriarty Tribunal found that Charles Haugheyhad taken millions of euro from wealthy businessmen for favours over 17 years; that he took money donated for Brian Lenihan snr's liver fund; and that he had "devalued the quality of modern democracy".

It also found that Bertie Ahern, taoiseach in 2006, had “facilitated his misuse of party funds”, and that the “degree of forbearance shown by AIB constituted an indirect payment or benefit equivalent to payment”.

HERO

The older generation have the brilliant David Attenborough but for younger TV viewers, plain-speaking, macho Aussie Steve Irwinwas the person who introduced them to wildlife. Irwin, known as the real Crocodile Dundee, died after being stung by a stingray off Port Douglas, north of Cairns, aged 44. He was filming an underwater documentary at the time.

WAR

The UN announced that, during June, an average of more than 100 civilians were killed in Iraq each day. By July, figures from the Iraqi health ministry and the Baghdad morgue showed that more than 3,400 civilians died during the month. By November, civilian deaths reached a record high, with 3,700 Iraqi civilians dying during the month, the highest toll since the war began in 2003, according to the UN. By December, the number of US deaths in Iraq reached 3,000.

DEMOTION

At a meeting of the International Astronomical Union’s general assembly in Prague, the assembled boffins demoted Pluto from a planet to a dwarf planet. The demotion of Pluto, which was first discovered 76 years before, was a controversial decision – many scientists disagreed, including Dr Alan Stern from the US space agency, who called the decision “embarrassing” and “sloppy science”.

SECURITY

Fears of terrorist attacks prompted the banning of all liquids from hand luggage at British and American airports – and it soon spread to airports globally.

The rules were later modified to allow through liquids in 100ml containers, if carried in a transparent plastic bag – the rationale being that smaller amounts of liquids are not viable for making bombs.

After the ban, a whole new market for pocket-sized toiletries, small plastic bags and high-priced bottled water in airport shops was born.

DISASTER

An earthquake registering 6.3 on the Richter scale hit Java in Indonesia. It is estimated that 5,750 people died in the disaster, while over half a million people were left homeless.

Look back 2007

HERO

Pádraig Harringtonentered the pantheon of golfing greats when he won the British Open in Scotland. When he beat Spain's Sergio Garcia in a play-off, it was the first time in 60 years that an Irishman had won the prestigious tournament. The prize was a cheque for over €1 million, and the famous championship cup, better known as the Claret Jug.

VILLAIN

By the time HBO's breakthrough mafia crime drama The Sopranos ended its six season run in June, Tony Soprano(James Gandolfini) had become the TV world's most-watched and analysed villain. The portly mobster's interior drama, as he tried to deal with his demons, was as compelling as his life as head of a vicious mob family. The quality of the drama, which was produced by David Chase, was credited with making TV a respectable artistic format for top actors.

ASSASSINATION

Benazir Bhutto, the Muslim world's first democratically elected woman prime minister, was assassinated in December at an election rally in Rawalpindi in Pakistan. The bomb blast also killed 20 of her supporters, and her murder sparked a wave of violence throughout the country. She was buried alongside her father, former prime minister Zulfikar Ali Bhutto, who was hanged in 1979 after being deposed by a military coup.

MISSING

When four-year-old British girl Madeleine McCannwent missing in May from a holiday resort in Praia da Luz in the Algarve it sparked off an unprecedented international hunt for the little girl. Her parents, Gerry and Kate, became global media figures and were in the public eye throughout the summer. For the rest of the year, Madeleine became the most famous little girl in the world. She has not been found.

BREAKTHROUGH

In March, a news conference saw Ian Paisley and Gerry Adamssitting side by side as they announced that power-sharing would return to Northern Ireland in May. Paisley said the DUP was committed to participation in government, while Adams described the breakthrough as the beginning of a "new era".

ENVIRONMENT

Climate change was firmly on the international agenda all year. The UN warned that without immediate action to curb the build-up of greenhouse gases, severe weather patterns, including droughts and flooding, were certain. Then, in October, Al Goreshared the Nobel Peace Prize for his work educating the world about the human impact on climate change.