Saturday/Sunday:
The Labour Party conference resulted in a heated debate over the future of semi-state companies. Senior party activists and trade union leaders opposed privatisation proposals.
The Garda fraud squad inquiry into banking practices began. More than 70 per cent of public complaints relate to the National Irish Bank. The Tanaiste, Ms Harney, said she would apply to the High Court to have inspectors appointed to look at practices such as overcharging and interest-loading operated by NIB.
The Christian Brothers published a formal apology to all those in its care who had been mistreated, inviting victims to seek help.
The UUP leader, Mr David Trimble, and the British Prime Minister, Mr Tony Blair, met as the Northern Ireland talks entered their final phase in the run-up to the April 9th deadline for agreement set by the talks chairman, Senator George Mitchell.
Monday
The Central Bank requested data from banks and building societies on interest and charges to customers. The Director of Consumer Affairs, Mr William Fagan, gave financial institutions until midnight to confirm their practices complied with guidelines given to him.
The High Court appointed two inspectors to NIB: retired Supreme Court judge, Mr John Blayney, and a leading accountant and senior partner in Craig Gardner, Mr Tom Grace.
The pound fell to 81.22p sterling, its lowest level in 13 years.
FAS began preparing a national plan to tackle long-term unemployment.
A new study showed that up to 9,000 jobs in Irish tourism, manufacturing and services could be lost if EU plans to abolish duty-free sales go ahead.
Tuesday
Major gaps emerged between the Northern Ireland parties on the structure of the proposed assembly.
A report by the United Nations Commission on Human Rights accused the RUC of engaging in widespread intimidation of lawyers involved in defending republican and loyalist paramilitaries.
It also called for an independent investigation into the murder of the Northern Ireland lawyer, Mr Pat Finucane, to see if security forces were involved in providing information to his UDA murderers.
The commission also announced that the former president, Mrs Mary Robinson, will visit China in September to discuss human rights issues.
The Association of Secondary Teachers in Ireland expressed concern at increasing harassment of female teachers in secondary schools by male pupils.
AA Roadwatch warned drivers in the Phoenix Park to watch out for a giraffe which had escaped from the zoo, and The Irish Times reported Department of the Environment plans to eliminate the driving test backlog by giving people the option of taking the test on a simulator, similar to an arcade game. Both reports prove to be April Fool jokes.
Wednesday
The Taoiseach, Mr Ahern, and the British Prime Minister, Mr Blair, failed to reach agreement on the key elements of a Northern settlement, after three hours of talks in Downing Street. Mr Ahern had said before leaving Dublin for London that there were "large disagreements that could not be cloaked".
Britain ruled out any new inquiry into the Finucane murder.
Estimates for the value of offshore deposits with NIB were revised from £35 million to £50 million as the Garda and High Court inspectors continued their inquiry.
A conference for the elderly heard the Irish have the shortest life expectancy in the EU, and that half of older Irish people had serious health problems.
SIPTU elected Mr John McDonnell, a union official from Cork, its new general secretary to replace Mr Billy Attley.
The former disc jockey, Mr Vincent Connell, who had a conviction for the murder of Ms Patricia Furlong quashed three years ago, died of a heart attack in Portsmouth, where he was studying legal science.
Thursday
Members of the Garda Emergency Response Unit intercepted a 980lb car bomb at the Dun Laoghaire ferry terminal. The bomb is thought to have been the work of dissidents within the Provisional IRA, and is believed to have been intended for detonation in England during the sensitive phase of the Northern talks.
Meanwhile, hopes increased that the deadlock between the Irish and British governments over an agreed position on a peace settlement might be overcome. This followed another meeting in London between Mr Ahern and Mr Blair.
The Maze inquiry into the murder of the loyalist paramilitary, Billy Wright, and the escape of a republican paramilitary, Liam Averill, recommended that paramilitary groups be left in charge of their respective wings.
The Garda Representative Association said it would consider industrial action if the Government did not improve its offer of a 5.5 per cent pay rise.
It emerged that about 50,000 policy-holders with Canada Life Ireland would receive free shares worth at least £2,600 each, on average, if a plan to turn the mutual group into a publicly quoted company goes ahead. But they will have to wait for their windfall. Demutualisation is a long and complex process and they are not expected to get the shares until the end of next year.