Governments try to allay loyalist anger on prisoners

Saturday/Sunday

A "warm and friendly" 45minute meeting between the Taoiseach, Mr Ahern, and the British Prime Minister, Mr Tony Blair, at the Newcastle-Manchester United match in Newcastle failed to change British policy on the release of prisoners.

This meeting followed the threat of a withdrawal by the Progressive Unionist Party from the Stormont talks, based on its claim that the Irish Government was treating republican prisoners more favourably than the British government was treating loyalists.

In Dublin, the US ambassador, Mrs Jean Kennedy Smith, took Holy Communion at Christ Church Cathedral as controversy still raged around the decision by the President, Mrs McAleese, to take Communion at the cathedral two weeks earlier.

The Catholic Archbishop of Dublin, Dr Desmond Connell, said he was "very sorry" for causing offence by using the word "sham" to describe Catholics taking Communion in Protestant churches; he blamed The Irish Times.

Figures released by the Garda showed that 700 motorists were arrested on suspicion of drunken driving since the start of this year's pre-Christmas road safety campaign in late November.

The drivers were arrested under the Road Traffic Acts for failing a breathalyser test for blood alcohol levels or for refusing to do the test at one of the 40,000 checkpoints mounted by the Garda as part of the campaign.

The statistics also showed that 434 people were killed on the Republic's roads by the end of November, 16 more than in the same 11-month period in 1996. The continuing high level of road deaths prompted the Government to prepare a national road safety strategy, involving the Garda, the National Roads Authority, the National Safety Council, local authorities and the courts.

Monday

Christmas 1997 became the busiest on record, with 750,000 people moving through the Republic's ports and airports and Dublin retailers predicting that the unprecedented consumer boom would put at least £600 million in their tills.

Pre-Christmas shoppers coming into town by car caused gridlock in the city centre. Every multi-storey car park was full and motorists had to queue for up to three hours to get in or out.

Another crisis hit the Northern Ireland talks with the news that four Ulster Unionist MPs had urged their party leader, Mr David Trimble, to withdraw from the process on the grounds that it was biased in favour of republicans.

The Northern Ireland Secretary, Dr Mo Mowlam, met representatives of the Progressive Unionist Party at Belfast City Hall in an effort to persuade them to remain at the negotiating table rather than pull out, as they had threatened.

The Garda press office confirmed that a 44-year-old detective had been suspended pending an investigation of a hit-and-run accident on Sunday night on the Naas dual-carriageway, near Newlands Cross, in which a cyclist was killed.

The future of the AST computer plant in Limerick hung in the balance after a surprise announcement by its South Korean owners that it might be closed down in favour of relocating in Britain. The plant employs 430 workers.

Tuesday

Dr Mowlam expressed concern about a UDA statement that it would reassess its participation in the peace process after Christmas. A UDA spokesman described its ceasefire as "very shaky".

After her meetings with the PUP and the Ulster Democratic Party, which are linked respectively with the UVF and the UDA, Dr Mowlam hinted that there might be some movement on the prisoners issue. The pound fell to its lowest level against sterling for almost a decade when it closed at 86.7p, triggering fears that this marked the start of a New Year "sell-off" of pounds against other European currencies.

There was good news for bons viveurs, however. The American Medical Association's Journal reported that the fatty foods usually associated with heart disease and obesity could actually reduce the risk of getting a stroke.

Wednesday

Gale-force winds lashed the country in one of the worst Christmas holiday storms for many years, bringing down ESB power lines and leaving tens of thousands of homes without electricity at the height of the festive season.

Casualties included a young man who was killed in Waterville, Co Kerry, when a wall collapsed and a man, his wife and their daughter returning from England, who were killed when their car collided with a truck near Mountrath, Co Laois.

Thursday

About 100,000 homes were left without electricity for Christmas Day because of severe storm damage to power lines; Cork, Kerry, Limerick and Waterford were the worst affected. A man was stabbed to death in Neilstown, west Dublin.