Saturday/Sunday
Three young boys were murdered when their home in Ballymoney, Co Antrim, was petrol-bombed in a sectarian attack in the middle of the night. Richard (11), Mark (10) and Jason Quinn (9) died in the fire, which started at 4.30 a.m. on Sunday. Their mother, Christine (29), her partner, Mr Raymond Craig (31), and a family friend, Ms Christina Archibald (18), were also in the house when it was attacked. Ms Quinn's fourth son, Lee (13), was staying with his grandmother a few miles away.
Portadown Orangemen defied intense pressure following the murders, insisting that they would remain at Drumcree. The Orange Order Deputy Grand Chaplain, the Rev William Bingham, called for the protest to be called off during a sermon at Pomeroy, Co Tyrone. He said, "a 15-minute walk down the Garvaghy Road by the Orange Order would be a very hollow victory, because it would be in the shadow of three coffins of little boys who wouldn't even know what the Orange Order is".
The Northern Ireland First Minister, Mr David Trimble, and the Church of Ireland Primate, Dr Robin Eames, also asked the Portadown Orangemen to leave Drumcree.
The Irish leg of the Tour de France completed its prologue and first stage in Dublin, with British rider Chris Boardman taking the yellow jersey after Saturday's time trial stage. Sunday's stage was won by Belgian cyclist Tom Steels.
Monday
Two men were arrested in connection with the murders of the three Quinn brothers. The numbers at the Drumcree standoff decreased, although sporadic violence continued into the night. Around 500 Orangemen held a Twelfth march at Drumcree parish church. In Belfast, the Orange parade through the Catholic Lower Ormeau Road went off peacefully. An 11-year-old girl was in critical condition in a Cork hospital after being struck by a Tour de France cyclist as the race passed through Grange, Co Waterford. A seven-year prison sentence imposed on a Dublin girl for the murder of chip shop owner, Franco Sacco, was suspended by the Court of Criminal Appeal. Mr Justice O'Flaherty said there was no appropriate place of detention for young women.
The veteran Fine Gael councillor, Senator Joe Doyle (62), was elected Lord Mayor of Dublin, with the support of 19 Fianna Fail council members. Fianna Fail was accused by a group of Independents of reneging on a voting pact.
Tuesday
Proximity talks between Garvaghy Road residents and Portadown Orangemen broke down despite last-minute efforts by the British and Irish governments. A group of senior Orange Order chaplains backed the call by Mr Bingham for the protest to be called off.
The RUC officer in charge of the Quinn murder investigation, Det Chief Supt Hamilton Houston, dismissed suggestions that the killings were anything other than sectarian. The boys were buried in a single grave in Rasharkin, Co Antrim, after a funeral Mass in Ballymoney.
An English petty criminal who was arrested trying to establish a new heroin-dealing network in Dublin was sentenced to six years in prison. John Miles (23) was caught with heroin worth £50,000. A man who said he had been deserted by his wife lost a Supreme Court case to be paid the same social welfare benefits as deserted wives.
Wednesday
The Drumcree standoff was scaled down considerably after the RUC moved to arrest those involved in violence and seized weapons, including a home-made sub-machinegun, ammunition and explosive devices.
The Church of Ireland's representative church body said it had not given Orangemen permission to use church property at Drumcree. One of the men being held for questioning in relation to the murders of the three Quinn brothers was released without charge.
The Minister for Defence, Mr Smith, announced the sale of six Army barracks, expected to yield about £50 million. The movement of most of the 900 personnel at the barracks was expected to be completed in September.
A serious outbreak of salmonella food poisoning was confirmed in Co Wicklow and Dublin. Forty-one people, including three said to be "seriously ill" in hospital were affected by the outbreak. A local Chinese restaurant was believed to be the source. Irish sprinter Emily Maher (17) from Co Kilkenny became the first Irish athlete to win a World Youth Olympic medal, winning the 100 metres sprint at the games in Moscow in 11.92 seconds. The jury at a Dublin inquest called for research into the anti-acne drug, Roaccutane, after hearing an inquest into the suicide of a young man who had been prescribed the drug.
Thursday
The Irish and British governments responded to British newspaper reports that the IRA was about to hand over weapons saying they had no reason, in spite of "positive noises" to believe such a move was imminent. The head of the international body on decommissioning, Gen John De Chastelain, said he believed decommissioning would be achieved by the target date of May in the year 2000.
The Taxing Master of the High Court cut the legal bill sought by the Workers' Party from Independent Newspapers. The bill for £212,000 was for providing documents on foot of a discovery order during the Proinsias DeRossa libel trial.
The Department of Agriculture confirmed that it had traced contaminated eggs from salmonella outbreaks in Donegal and Wicklow to three farms in Northern Ireland.
