Saturday/Sunday:
The IRA admitted responsibility for Friday's mortar attack on the British army base at Osnabruck in Germany.
The Taoiseach, Mr Bruton, appealed to the IRA to consider the effect they were having on Sinn Fein's progress towards the talks table.
The Minister for Justice, Mrs Owen, said she was willing to accept Fianna Fail proposals for a law to allow the freezing of assets of suspected drug dealers. The Bill suggested the word of a senior garda or the Revenue Commissioner would be enough to persuade the courts the assets were earned illegally. Mrs Owen said she hoped it could be passed at the special sitting of the Dail to debate organised crime on July 25th.
At the funeral of murdered journalist, Veronica Guerin, in Dublin, her husband, Graham Turley, talked about the small happy group the couple had made with their son, Cathal. "We promised each other we'd have great fun, and we really did." The President, Mrs Robinson, Government Ministers, journalists, family and friends attended the funeral.
A rank outsider won the biggest prize in Irish racing. Trained by Dermot Weld and ridden by Pat Shanahan, Zagreb came in at 20 to 1, six lengths ahead of the other horses in the Budweiser Irish Derby at the Curragh in Kildare.
Monday:
A convicted criminal told the High Court Veronica Guerin had been about to publish an article saying he was a drug dealer. Mr John Traynor, a garage owner who lives in Templeogue, was seeking an injunction to prevent publication of the article in the Sunday Independent.
In an affidavit, Mr Traynor told the court he was not a drug dealer and the article could put him "at risk of my life from vigilante types".
Meanwhile, gardai said they were receiving a substantial flow of information about Ms Guerin's murder, some of it coming from criminals said to have been shocked at the murder. At 1 p.m., a minute's silence was held in offices, factories, streets, courts and newsrooms in a tribute to Ms Guerin.
Figures from the Central Statistics Office showed that suicides last year caused as many deaths as road accidents.
European Commissioners dined on seafood and prime Irish beef and listened to an open air concert in Dublin's Temple Bar, as the Irish EU Presidency was launched on three types of French wine.
Tuesday:
The Government announced its anti crime package including a full efficiency review of the Garda, 400 extra gardai, a special unit to target suspects' assets, and a new remand prison at Wheatfield in Dublin.
Judge Catherine McGuinness and barrister, Mr Thomas S. Smyth SC, were nominated for appointment to the High Court and arrangements were made to extend the sitting of the Central Criminal Court and Circuit Court by three weeks.
Mr John Traynor was granted an injunction in the High Court preventing publication of an article in the Sunday Independent. Mr Justice Barron told counsel for Independent Newspapers that he was not sure the death of Ms Guerin was a fair excuse for its failure to go into evidence and swear an affidavit.
Mr Conor Killeen, former partner of Irish Press director, solicitor Elio Malocco, was jailed for one year for helping to defraud the company of more than £64,000.
Sinn Fein president, Mr Gerry Adams, asked British Prime Minister, Mr Major, to say how he would respond to a new ceasefire. In a column in the Irish Voice, Mr Adams said the IRA leadership "once bitten appears to be twice shy".
The US aircraft carrier, the USS John F Kennedy (known as Big John), arrived in Dublin Bay. It brought traffic chaos to Dun Laoghaire and embarrassment to the nude gentlemen bathers at the Forty Foot who became part of the sights for sightseers.
RTE confirmed that it will stage the Eurovision Song Contest next year at a cost of around £5 million.
Wednesday:
The Government's anti crime package came under fire. The Garda Commissioner, Mr Patrick Culligan, said he would prefer that the review of the Garda be carried out by independent consultants, rather than senior civil servants with a limited knowledge of policing.
He said international management consultancy, Andersen, has been working on a review of the force for the past two years.
Meanwhile, the Government disclosed that the funding for the Wheatfield remand prison would cot be available for two years.
Fine Gael party chairman, Mr Phil Hogan, accused his party colleagues of "hanging out to dry" the Minister for Justice, Mrs Owen, in the face of public criticism and of not supporting her before on anti crime measures.
The Constitution Review Group recommended significant amendments to more than 30 Articles and clauses in its final controversial report to Government. It proposed legislation to define the term "unborn", extend constitutional protection to non-marital families and the strengthening of children's rights.
The mighty "Big John" met a kind of Waterloo at anchor off Dun Laoghaire when 6,000 sightseers hoping to go on board had to make do with circling the vessel. The previous night high winds had caused it to be holed in two places.
Thursday:
The Taoiseach, Mr Bruton, hit back at criticism of the Government's anti crime package. He announced the appointment of Minister of State, Mr Hugh Coveney, to take personal charge of prison projects and see if target dates for completion could be improved. He said the Government review of the Garda would not duplicate the Andersen report, and said work on Wheat field Prison would start next year and not in 1998 as originally stated.
The Supreme Court reserved judgement in an appeal by the Adoption Board against the High Court decision to allow the adoption of Chinese babies by Irish couples.
The battered JFK hosted a Fourth of July party for more than 1,000 invited guests, with a fireworks display over Dublin Bay.
