So, you were paying attention, were you?

It's that time again when we test your knowledge of the news stories of the year. How alert were you in 2001?

1 Dublin West TD Liam Lawlor surprised the press by leaving Mountjoy prison in the back of a what?

a: Helicopter

b: Pantomime horse

c: Gardener's van

2 As fear of a foot-and-mouth gripped the country, the Cabinet expressed solidarity with farmers by meeting where?

a: In a sealed underground bunker

b: The Costa Del Sol

c: Cooley

3 Amid criticisms about the project's taste, the Taoiseach opened what in Dublin's Phoenix Park in July?

a: Deer-shooting season

b: Farmleigh

4 At the G8 Summit in Genoa, Bono caused controversy by embracing:

a: Christianity

b: Larry Mullen Jnr

c: Vladimir Putin

5 There was anger among environmentalists following the discovery of what at a number of sites in Wicklow?

a: Tourists

b: New houses

c: Hospital waste

6 The Taoiseach was said to be alarmed at the National Theatre's plans to move where?

a: Drumcondra

b: Paris

c: The Docklands

7 Irish women made a piece of history in Tehran by attending what?

a: Mass

b: A hen party

c: An international soccer match

8 There was surprise among archaelogists when a time capsule unearthed at the former site of Nelson's Pillar was found to contain:

a: Nelson

b: Nothing at all

9 Cardinal Connell caused controversy by suggesting the Church of Ireland Archbishop of Dublin would not be seen as what within his church?

a: A Protestant

b: An Archbishop

c: A high-flyer

10 Further worrying evidence of global warming emerged, with the discovery in the sea off Donegal of:

a: A swimmer

b: Tory Island

c: Warm-water anchovies

11 Radical trade union leader Mick O'Reilly was controversially suspended from what during the year?

a: The top of Liberty Hall

b: The St Stephen's Green Club

c: The ATGWU

12 Tanaiste Mary Harney and IBEC director Brian Geoghegan surprised friends in November by taking what dramatic step?

a: Endorsing Trocaire's budget submission

b: Recording a duet of Something Stupid

c: Getting married

13 Which Kildare-based facility, trading on the legend of a jolly man famous for his generosity, was the focus of much criticism in December? a: Santa's Kingdom

b: Charlie McCreevy's constituency office

14 Optimistic forecasters predict that the middle of next year will see renewed growth in what?

a: Republic of Ireland striker David Connolly

b: Michael Noonan's hair

c: The economy

15 Which entertainment figure went from strength to strength, ignoring criticisms that he was a shameless self-publicist?

a: Louis Walsh

b: Louis the Fourteenth

16 There was public panic as Joe Jacob unveiled what on live radio?

a: His big hairy chest

b: The fourth secret of Fatima

c: The National Emergency Plan

17 RT╔ axed which long-running Sunday night series, as critics agreed the characters had become tired and irrelevant to many viewers?

a: The Week in Politics

b: Glenroe

18 An understanding judge deferred Liam Lawlor's return to jail to allow him make a prearranged visit to:

a: Confession

b: The dentist

c: New York

19 May I wish a happy new year to:

a: Each

b: Everyone

c: All of the above Of my readers.

fmcnally@irish-times