Murder of Veronica Guerin brings shock and anger

Saturday/Sunday

SINN Fein leaders accused Mr Major and Mr Bruton of abandoning the peace process at the party's annual Wolfe Tone commemoration in Bodenstown, Co Kildare. Mr Martin McGuinness said the Taoiseach had "worked against" the peace process he inherited.

The Government said it had still not ruled out communication between its officials and Sinn Fein, although the discovery of the bomb factory and bunker in Co Laois strained relations almost to breaking point.

The RUC confirmed it wanted to interview the senior Sinn Fein representative, Mr Gerry Kelly, following incidents during a protest against an Orange parade in Belfast.

A 20 year old man was found hanged in his cell in St Patrick's Institution at 10.08 p.m. on Sunday. Mr Thomas Keane, of Clogher Road, Crumlin, Dublin had been on remand.

Consultants were preparing a report on the option of putting some of Dublin's light rail transit (LRT) system underground, after a Dail commitment that this alternative would be examined.

At the conclusion of the EU summit in Florence, Mr Bruton said European leaders had handed Ireland "quite an impressive list of things they do not agree about to be dealt with during the Irish presidency.

On Saturday the 704 mile Round Ireland yacht race started from Wicklow.

Monday

The SDLP deputy leader, Mr Seamus Mallon, agreed with the Government decision not to break off official contact with Sinn Fein. He said it was "very difficult" to know if there would be another IRA ceasefire.

The Bord na Mona managing director, Dr Eddie O'Connor requested more time to prepare answers to legal questions on his remuneration package. The board agreed to meet again in a week's time.

A professional tennis player, Mr Gareth Parker (23), was critically ill in hospital after a beating in north Belfast on Friday night. Police believed he was hit accidentally by a car as he lay injured in the road.

Two replica guns were among items found by gardai in a raid on 30 apartments in central Dublin.

Mr Gerry Kelly issued a statement denying he was "in hiding" from the RUC. "If the RUC wish to speak with me they can contact my solicitor", he said.

Kinsale, Co Cork, was declared Ireland's best kept town in the first cross Border competition.

The winner was announced at a Joint ceremony in Belfast.

Tuesday

The Taoiseach told the Dail there were dozens of bombs "of a new type" among the arms found in Clonaslee, Co Laois. He said gardai believed the bombs were intended for early use. Responding to his statement the Sinn Fein president, Mr Gerry Adams, accused Mr Bruton of closing the door on Sinn Fein.

Gardai put the mortars and bomb making equipment seized on display for the media at Garda headquarters in the Phoenix Park.

The Prince of Wales sailed into Belfast on the royal yacht, Britannia, for a three day visit.

A report into allegations of sexual abuse against a medical consultant found the board of Our Lady's Hospital in Drogheda did "not act sufficiently" to deal with the allegations.

Opposition politicians and representative groups called for a complete overhaul of the examination administration system after the Price Waterhouse Report into marking errors was circulated to members of the Oireachtas.

The US computer firm, IBM, announced it is to set up a new Dublin support centre at Blanchardstown. It said 200 of the 700 jobs would be created by October.

The family of a murdered Co Limerick farmer and livestock dealer, Mr John Cusack (56), offered a £10,000 reward for information leading to the conviction of his killer.

Wednesday

Investigative journalist Ms Veronica Guerin was murdered by a gunman on the Naas dual carriageway. She was returning to Dublin from Naas District Court, where she had appeared on a speeding charge. Minutes before she was shot she phoned a colleague in the Sunday Independent on her mobile phone to arrange a meeting to discuss a story.

Just before 1 p.m. she stopped at traffic lights near the Green Isle Hotel. Two men pulled up on a white motorcyele and the pillion passenger opened fire with a handgun, hitting her in the upper body five or six times.

Gardai drew up a short list of five Dublin criminals who may have had reason to murder her. Until early last year, Ms Guerin had been accompanied by two armed detectives after a west Dublin criminal threatened to kill her. It emerged after her murder that believing the threat had diminished, she gave up the Garda protection. The criminal involved is one of the main suspects in the inquiry.

The Government agreed the sale of 35 per cent of Telecom Eireann to a consortium of the Dutch and Swedish national phone companies. The State will receive £183 million up front for a 20 per cent stake in the company and a minimum of £200 million over the next three years for the remaining 15 per cent.

Hundreds of drunken English football supporters went on the rampage in London and other cities after their team lost a European Championship semi final on penalties.

Thursday

More than 100 gardai joined the Veronica Guerin murder hunt. Independent Newspapers offered a reward of £100,000 for information leading to the conviction of her killers. However, detectives said they did not anticipate any early arrests. At least one of the major criminals who might have ordered her murder was believed to be out of the jurisdiction on holiday.

The Attorney General and the Minister for Justice were said to be examining a Fianna Fail Bill allowing the High Court to freeze the assets of people suspected of involvement in organised crime.

Tributes, flowers and signatures in books of condolences flooded into the offices of Independent Newspapers, the Oireachtas and the National Union of Journalists.

A man charged with murder walked free from the Central Criminal Court after the judge said his trial had been "tainted by the appalling misbehaviour" of investigating gardai. Mr Frederick Flannery (35) had denied the murder of a man in Cork in December 1994.

A man was charged with the manslaughter of Belfast tennis player Gareth Parker.

The report of the Commission on the Newspaper Industry recommended the removal of VAT on Irish newspapers, leading to a drop in the cover price.