A look at the recent chronology behind Noel Smyth's attempt to buy Dunloe Ewart out entirely.

September 2000 - Liam Carroll's official involvement as a Dunloe Ewart shareholder begins.

October 19th, 2000 - Carroll emerges as the dominant shareholder in Dunloe, displacing Smyth as the biggest shareholder with a 25 per cent shareholding, having bought another 20 million shares on the market.

May 21st, 2001 - Carroll blocks buyback of 34 million Dunloe shares at the firm's e.g.m.

July 24th, 2001 - At the Dunloe Ewart a.g.m. Carroll's solicitor opposes two of the seven motions put to the meeting.

May 15th, 2002 - Dunloe Ewart agrees to sell 13 of its Northern Irish and English properties to Brunswick Ltd.

June 19th, 2002 - Carroll blocks two Dunloe Ewart motions to buy back its own shares and raise money through stock market placings at the company's a.g.m. Later at an e.g.m. the Northern Irish and English disposals are approved as the motion only required a simple majority.

August 29th, 2002 - It emerges that in May 2002 Liam Carroll offered Noel Smyth the opportunity to enter into a private tender process where each would offer to buy the other's shares. Whoever offered the most per share would be obliged to buy the shares at that price. Smyth declined the offer.

August 30th, 2002 - Dunloe Ewart says it will buy the 50 per cent share of Cherrywood, owned by British Land subsidiary Firmount, for €63.85 million. Smyth had offered some Cherrywood assets to Carroll in exchange for his shares.

September 17th, 2002 - Dunloe Ewart freezes voting rights on discovering Carroll owned 750,000 shares he hadn't declared, until July 2002. The shares were purchased in 1999, bringing Carroll's total to 106 million shares. Dunloe claimed that because the first set of shares were not declared, all subsequent stock exchange filings were false. The 750,000 shares were held through an Isle of Man company called Chardon.

September 25th, 2002 - Carroll admits to owning a further 4 million shares, held through a company called Kerbing Ltd, held on Carroll's behalf by Anglo Irish Bank on the Isle of Man.

October 1st, 2002 - Carroll applies to High Court to have voting rights restored.

October 2nd, 2002 - Carroll's voting rights are restored. He blocks Smyth's plans to buy out British Land's shares 50 per cent share in Cherrywood, along with shareholders Philip Monahan and Dermot Desmond's IIU.

October 15th, 2002 - Dunloe Ewart and British Land agree to put Cherrywood up for sale.

October 25th, 2002 - Noel Smyth offers 42.5 cents per share to buy Dunloe Ewart out entirely, ending the standoff with Carroll. This offer would value the firm at €167 million. Smyth's firm Valdot was used as the vehicle for the bid.Smyth calls for an inquiry by the Takeover Panel into the sale of 10 million shares in Dunloe Ewart at 40 cent per share, minutes before his takeover bid was announced. The sale amounted to 2.2 per cent of the firm.