Saturday/Sunday
Sinn Fein's Mr Gerry Kelly warned of a crisis in the peace process after senior unionist leaders insisted some prior disarmament was the "bottom line" before Sinn Fein would be allowed to enter a Northern Ireland executive. He said unionists were "generating unrealisable expectations" that decommissioning was about to happen.
The veteran Labour TD, Mr Michael Bell, was surprisingly defeated by a relatively unknown challenger, Mr Sean Butler (26), at a selection convention to choose a candidate in the Leinster constituency for next year's election to the European Parliament.
The State's first commercial television channel, tv3, started broadcasting with a low-key launch at its Tallaght headquarters.
Monday
A man was questioned by gardai after the discovery of the bodies of a middle-aged married couple in their home in Thurles, Co Tipperary. They had been stabbed.
The Northern Ireland First Minister, Mr David Trimble, moved to quash suggestions that he might resign over decommissioning. At the Liberal Democrats conference in Brighton, he said he had made no such threat. Earlier his colleague, Mr Jeffrey Donaldson MP, a critic of the Belfast Agreement, said Mr Trimble had spoken of his possible resignation at several private party meetings.
Twelve men were detained by gardai and RUC detectives investigating the Omagh bombing. Six were arrested in north Louth, and six in south Armagh.
Tuesday
Mr Trimble supported a public call by the Taoiseach to Sinn Fein to set out a timetable for decommissioning. After meeting Mr Ahern in Dublin, he said he wanted to know when the IRA would decommission, and "we want to see it begin in a credible way".
Mr Ahern said that although he had stated several times that movement on decommissioning before setting up an executive and a North-South council was not in the agreement, it was equally fair to ask "When will it all start? We know when it has to finish".
The Labour Party leader, Mr Ruairi Quinn, said a merger between his party and Democratic Left would be desirable and "good for the politics of the country". He said that in discussions between the two parties there had been agreement in ideological terms.
Mr Martin Doherty (25) was charged with the murder of his parents at their home in Thurles on Monday.
Wednesday
There were sharp exchanges between Mr Trimble and the Sinn Fein president, Mr Gerry Adams, over decommissioning. Mr Trimble rejected suggestions that he had changed his position from demanding immediate decommissioning to simply seeking a date when the disposal of arms would start.
Mr Adams said it was "not within our gift" to provide a date for the start of decommissioning. He accused Mr Trimble of trying to renegotiate the Belfast Agreement and "cherry-pick" its contents.
The Government said it was considering whether new legislation was needed following a European Court ruling that the beating or caning of a child by a parent was a breach of human rights. The court ruled that the caning of a nine-year-old British boy by his stepfather had breached the European Human Rights Convention against "inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment".
Jurys hotel group announced it was in discussions to buy the family-owned Doyle hotel group and create a chain of 28 hotels and inns, worth about £400 million.
Thursday
The ESB warned unions at the Ferbane peat-burning power station in Co Offaly that it would close the station if a long-running inter-union dispute over new work practices involving three technicians was not resolved. The Minister for Public Enterprise, Ms O'Rourke, said there was still "a three-week window of opportunity" to save the plant. Almost 120 jobs at the plant and more than 200 jobs with Bord na Mona would be lost if Ferbane closed.
The Employment Equality Agency confirmed that it had begun anti-discrimination proceedings against University College Dublin. It has accused the college of "generally" practising discrimination against women when making academic promotions.
The North's First and Deputy First Ministers were divided over the setting up of the North-South ministerial council. Mr Trimble had indicated that the body's inaugural meeting would be held within weeks.
But Mr Mallon said he would not assent to such a meeting unless the North's "shadow" executive was set up first. Mr Trimble has delayed its formation, insisting that Sinn Fein cannot take part without decommissioning.
The Garda Commissioner, Mr Byrne, ordered the setting up of a special detective unit to re-examine the disappearance of at least seven women, and to investigate the possible presence of a serial killer in the State.