Saturday/Sunday
The Catholic Archbishop of Dublin, Dr Desmond Connell, refused to pay for a Supreme Court appeal by the parents of the 13-year-old rape victim. The girl's father wanted to appeal the High Court decision allowing her to travel and asked the Catholic Church to fund it.
In a statement, Dr Connell said he had given consideration to the matter, and had taken legal advice, and "after careful consideration he decided he does not find himself in a position to provide financial assistance for an appeal of this case to the Supreme Court".
A planned access visit to the girl by her parents was abandoned. Sources said her parents arrived for the visit with a doctor and several other people, asking that all of them see the girl without a social worker present. This was refused and the visit did not go ahead.
Mr Anthony Beatty was shot dead in the Wild Heather pub in Capel Street in Dublin at around 8.45 p.m.. He had been drinking in an upstairs lounge when he was shot a number of times. He staggered downstairs and collapsed at the front door. He was a known Dublin drug dealer.
The Minister for Defence, Mr Smith, said the State's growing legal bills for dealing with deafness by soldiers was "like a juggernaut careering down a hill with no brakes and preparing to run over the ordinary taxpayer." Mr Smith said he intended to "install a new set of hydraulic brakes". The State is facing a bill of over £50 million in fees from solicitors acting for the soldiers.
Monday
A Galway taxi-driver, Mrs Eileen Costello O'Shaughnessy, a mother of two grown-up children, was murdered. Her badly beaten body was found by a local farmer in the townland of Knockdoemore, about 100 yards off the Tuam-Galway road. It was believed that an attempt had been made to remove the meter which had clocked up 17 miles.
The Northern Ireland Secretary Dr Mo Mowlam, announced RUC recruits will not in future have to swear service to Queen Elizabeth. The Minister for Foreign Affairs, Mr Andrews, admitted that his comment about cross-Border bodies with executive powers were misjudged.
Tuesday
The Minister for Justice, Mr O'Donoghue, is to introduce new "fast-track" procedures for clearing the backlog of 4,000 asylum applications by the middle of next year. Decisions on whether to grant asylum or not will be made by a group of officials in the Department of Justice, as a plan for an independent body to handle asylum applications is to be scrapped. The changes raised the prospect that large numbers of asylum-seekers may be forced to leave the State next year.
Seven hundred Welsh farmers, angry at the level of cheap beef imports coming into Britain, blockaded the port of Holyhead, forcing up to six Irish truckdrivers to abandon their journeys to British supermarkets. The chairman of the Stormont talks, Senator George Mitchell, said negotiations were "getting down to brass tacks" as a new formula of two instead of five delegates per party was agreed to speed up progress.
Wednesday
The Finance Minister, Mr McCreevy, presented his Budget. Higher income-earners gained most from it when the Minister unveiled a package of record tax reductions. It also contained the expected cut in tax on company profits. More than £100 million was spent on increasing social welfare payments. However, Opposition speakers in the Dail condemned it as a "rich man's budget". Controversially Mr McCreevy allocated £20 million to the GAA.
In an interview with the Irish Times the Oasis singer Noel Gallagher said he was bored with the group and was looking forward to a long break after their world tour has ended.
The blockade of Irish beef imports to the UK continued. A further blow was dealt to the industry with the British decision to ban the sale of meat on the bone because of fears that BSE could be transmitted to humans from bone marrow.
Thursday
The Taoiseach, Mr Ahern, said the Government is prepared to enshrine in the Constitution the right of a majority of the people of Northern Ireland to determine their future. However, it would not explicitly recognise British sovereignty, Mr Ahern said in an interview with the Financial Times.
Intense pressure was put on the British authorities, including telephone conversations between the Taoiseach and the British Prime Minister, Mr Tony Blair, over the continuing blockade of Irish beef at UK ports.
The body of a 53-year-old Co Galway man was discovered with his hands tied behind his back at his home near Inverin, 18 miles west of Galway city.