Saturday/Sunday
Stormy weather played ha voc with the post-Christmas exodus from Ireland, with ferry cancellations leaving thousands of holiday-makers stranded. Flights to Britain and mainland Europe were also delayed. Met Eireann warned of dangerous driving conditions as snow fell in many parts of the country.
Loyalist inmates at the Maze Prison voted to withdraw their support from the peace process, expressing anger at its handling by the British government. However, the prisoners' political leaders insisted the ceasefire of October 1994 was still intact.
The Northern Secretary, Dr Mo Mowlam, said in a television interview she would not be resigning, despite calls from unionists for her to do so. She admitted, however, that sometimes she was "not good at informing people enough ahead of time about what decisions are being made".
Monday
The Department of Finance predicted that, despite rising expenditure, Exchequer finances would show a small surplus at the year's end, putting the economy in the black for the first time in 30 years.
The forecast was underpinned by official returns showing tax receipts in 1997 rose by £1 billion more than the Department had estimated. Meanwhile, share demand drove the market value of both AIB and Bank of Ireland up 5 per cent to record levels.
The leadership of the Ulster Defence Association in the Maze warned that the loyalist ceasefire was fragile and demanded equal treatment with republican prisoners. The Minister for Foreign Affairs, Mr Andrews, called for action on the loyalist prisoner issue to be "accelerated".
After a series of meetings at Stormont, Dr Mowlam ruled out immediate movement.
In another development, the former leader of the H-Block hunger-strikers, Mr Brendan McFar lane, was arrested in Dundalk for questioning about offences relating to the kidnapping by the IRA in 1983 of supermarket chief Mr Don Tidey.
In a meeting at City Hall, Dublin City Council approved by 29 votes to six the issuing of 200 new taxi plates, while also agreeing to a range of fare increases. The measures must be agreed by the three Dublin county councils before taking effect.
Tuesday
A 15-year-old Monaghan boy died from meningococcal meningitis and a 12-year-old from the town was seriously ill with the disease in a Dublin hospital.
Two other children were being treated in Monaghan General Hospital but their condition had not been confirmed as meningitis.
The pound fell to a nine-year low of 84p against sterling as speculators bet that the Minister for Finance would not order a revaluation in the run-up to EMU. The currency also fell against the deutschmark and the dollar.
The trend was expected to continue after the Central Bank's key annual monetary policy statement made no direct reference to revaluation.
Wednesday
The Democratic Unionist Party criticised as "madness" the announcement by Dr Mowlam that she would visit UDA and UFF prisoners in the Maze on Friday.
However, the Ulster Unionists welcomed the move, which was announced after Dr Mowlam held talks in London with the prisoners' political representatives.
The 12-year-old Monaghan boy remained critically ill in hospital, while gardai confirmed meningitis had caused the death of a 26-yearold woman in Croom, Co Limerick, on December 28th. A public meeting organised by the North Eastern Health Board in Monaghan was attended by 600 people.
The pound continued its slide on the currency markets, slipping below DM2.50 for the first time in a year. The Irish share rally, during which the stock market rose 6 per cent since Monday, faltered in the face of weakness on the international markets.
Thursday
It emerged that Dr Mowlam might meet IRA prisoners as well as loyalists on her planned visit to the Maze, as cautious hopes were expressed that the visit could prevent the collapse of the loyalist ceasefire and the Stormont talks.
The Maze governor, Mr Martin Mogg, praised the visit as "a brave decision" and said Dr Mowlam "needs all the help she can get".
Financier Mr Dermot Desmond indirectly indicated he had made payments to Mr Charles Haughey since 1994.
Responding to a report in Ma gill magazine, Mr Desmond denied he had given money to Mr Haughey "prior to 1994" and said any arrangements since then were "of a private nature". He also denied he had ever collected or solicited money for Fianna Fail and said he would be suing Magill.
A hoax caller who caused a massive air-sea rescue operation on both sides of the Irish Sea was arrested by British police who found him at home with the mobile phone used to make the false distress calls.
