THE Croatian Foreign Minister, Mr Mate Granic, was attempting to explain Serb Croat rivalry to Mr Spring at lunchtime on Thursday when the news came in about Drumcree. A note was sent into the meeting somebody ring home now for important news.

An official made the call to Iveagh House and came back with a message. The Orange march had been forced through Garvaghy Road. Protesters had been baton charged off the streets.

The two ministers went out and made speeches about former Yugoslavia and the Dayton peace plan. Mr Granic spoke at great length. Mr Spring's comments were short. There were no questions invited, and Mr Granic escorted the Tanaiste to his office to phone home to discuss what had happened.

An hour later from the headquarters of the European Commanity Monitoring Mission, one of Mr Spring's officials was on the phone to Sir Patrick Mayhew's office expressing the Government's criticism of what had happened.

Throughout the day, from phones on the ground and on the Government jet, the Irish party heard of the growing reaction and anger. That day, Thursday, Mr Spring was in four countries, took three flights and met five governments in seven meetings. But in Sarajevo, Croatia, Belgrade and Athens, Drumcree was never far away.

In Belgrade late on Thursday night, the avuncular and smooth Serbian President Slobodan Milosevic explained that of course, he understood the problem about Radovan Karadzic and Ratko Mladic, but these were not the only war criminals. The international community behaved as if Serbs were the bad guys and everyone else was clean. This was untrue, he protested.

An official suggested to Mr Spring that he should go out and talk to the waiting Irish journalists before dinner. "Are you going to talk about me?" asked Mr Milosevic. "No, Northern Ireland," said Mr Spring. "Ah, Northern Ireland, yes, yes, a very difficult problem."

THE next morning, Mr Spring sat down in Athens discuss Greece's continuing veto of an EU financial assistance package for Mediterranean countries, on the grounds that some of the money is earmarked for Turkey, which is in dispute with Greece over Cyprus and other matters.

"I'm sorry to hear about Northern Ireland," said the Greek Foreign Minister, Mr Theodoros Pangalos. "I wish you the best." They then proceeded to discuss the local dispute. An hour later, the Greek Prime Minister, Mr Costas Simitis, had a similar expression of sympathy to offer.

Before he left Iveagh House on Wednesday morning, Mr Spring had given a press conference. He spoke about the purpose of his visit to former Yugoslavia and Greece. Inevitably, however, he was asked about the North. It was "on the edge of the abyss," he said.

But former Yugoslavia was the main purpose of this trip. On the plane, Mr Spring and his officials read over the thick detailed brief produced by the Department of Foreign Affairs. The Government jet landed in Brussels to collect European External Relations Commissioner Mr Hans Van Den Broek.

Mr Spring sat with him, discussing former Yugoslavia, as the plane was refuelled. Mr Van Den Broek spoke on his mobile phone, making last minute changes to the next day's schedule. There were two main issues on the EU trip Mostar and Dr Radovan Karadzic.

The EU was scheduled to hand over the administration of Mostar, which has been under its control for the past two years, to a local administration on July 23rd.

But there is no agreed local administration for the town, which is divided between Croats and Moslems. A recent election brought an inconclusive result, which is now being challenged by the Croats.

Then there is Radovan Karadzic, banned under the Dayton accords from holding public office, as he is an indicted war criminal. He remains defiantly at the head of his political party. Do you ban his party from the election and risk a Bosnian Serb boycott, and therefore major damage to the Dayton process? Or do you allow his party proceed with him at its head, thus possibly making a mockery of the stated determination to root mass murderers out of public life in the new Bosnia?

IN SARAJEVO, Irish diplomats working with the European Community Monitoring Mission for the duration of the presidency were waiting to meet the Tanaiste's party. The convoy of cars drove the four miles down sniper alley to the battered Holiday Inn.

The first meeting, with the President of the Bosnian Croat Federation, concentrated on the uncertainty over Mostar.

The president suggested that votes were rigged and some ballot boxes contained more votes than there were registered voters. He said this happened on the Mulsim side. He was a Croat. Later he had dinner with Bosnian President Alia Izetbegovic.

The next morning, Thursday, Mr Spring visited a clinic in Sarajevo funded by Irish Aid and some non-governmental organisations.

He had talks with the international high representative in Bosnia, Mr Carl Bildt, and met the Irish Commissioner of the International Police Task Force in Bosnia.

At 11.30 a.m. Mr Spring walked into a press conference populated by Sarajevo based journalists, cynical about flying visits by foreign politicians. It was the first anniversary of the Srebrenica massacre of up to 8,000 Muslim men and boys, for which Dr Karadzic and Mr Mladic are personally blamed.

The waiting reporters had got warmed up by the previous press conference, where clear differences between the Americans and Europeans over what to do about Dr Karadzic had emerged. Both say they want him out of public life. The Americans, however, suggest that his party be barred from the elections if he doesn't comply.

The EU line suggests that if he doesn't quit quietly, the elections should go ahead anyway, rather than run the risks a postponement might bring. Questions were hostile. Reporters suggested the EU was afraid to confront Dr Karadzic. They laughed somewhat theatrically when Mr Spring appeared reluctant to answer the question directly, but said the issue would be discussed next Monday by EU foreign ministers. "Occasionally things are not black and white," said Mr Spring.

Twenty minutes later we were on the plane. Thirty five minutes later we landed in Zagreb beside another convoy of cars. Twenty minutes after that, the police escort ensured that the Irish delegation was in the office of the Croatian Foreign minister, Mr Mate Granic. It was there that the news of Drumcree arrived.