Saturday/Sunday
At 3.10 p.m. on Saturday afternoon, a car bomb exploded in a crowded shopping area of Omagh, Co Tyrone, killing 28 people and injuring hundreds. Details of the impact of the explosion emerged throughout the afternoon and evening: that the dead included three generations of one family, a woman who was pregnant with twins, her baby, and her mother; that three children from Buncrana, Co Donegal, had died, as had a Spanish child and a Spanish group leader; and that a misleading warning had resulted in people converging in the area where the bomb was about to go off.
The warning had been given by a caller using a recognised code word of the `Real IRA'. The Taoiseach, Mr Ahern, accused the 32 County Sovereignty Movement and the `Real IRA' of responsibility for the attack. He said he made no distinction between the two and that they would be "crushed". The 32 County Sovereignty Movement denied it was involved. The President, Mrs McAleese, visited Omagh on Sunday and condemned the attackers as "a posse of serial killers".
Monday
The bodies of 19 victims of the Omagh bomb were removed from the town's Lisanelly army barracks and returned to their families. More than 100 people remained hospitalised.
At a meeting in Stormont the Northern Secretary, Dr Mo Mowlam, the Minister for Justice, Mr O'Donoghue, the Garda Commissioner and the RUC Chief Constable discussed the security response to the Omagh bombing. Mr Francis Mackey, chairman of the 32 County Sovereignty Movement, which has been linked to the `Real IRA', denied that he or the movement had been involved in in the Omagh bombing.
It emerged that Dr Eamonn Casey, the former bishop of Galway, is likely to take up a post in an English diocese next year. He is believed to be keen to stay in England for two or three years where he is less likely to attract media attention than he would in Ireland.
Tuesday
The first funeral of the Omagh bomb victims took place at Clogher, Co Tyrone, when Ms Avril Monaghan, who was pregnant with twins, and her baby daughter, Maura, were buried. Ms Monaghan's mother, Ms Mary Grimes, was also killed in the blast and was buried on Wednesday morning. Meanwhile, the Government was considering the introduction of "draconian" measures against dissident republican groups.
The Health and Safety Authority began to investigate the collapse of a concrete roof deck which injured five workers at a Dublin building site. The workers fell some 30 feet after the deck collapsed on the site at Wheatfield Prison.
New radio audience figures showed that Today FM has increased its share of listeners to 9 per cent with The Last Word, presented by Eamon Dunphy, its most popular programme.
Wednesday
As victims of the Omagh bomb were buried in Northern Ireland and the Republic, the Government announced tough antiterrorist measures. They include the seizure of land or other property which has been used for storing weapons or making bombs.
The suspect's right to silence is to be withdrawn - refusal to answer Garda questions can be used as corroboration of a chief superintendent's evidence that a defendant is in an illegal organisation. Meanwhile, there was deep anger in Dundalk at two leading dissident republicans, Mr Michael McKevitt and Ms Bernadette Sands-McKevitt, who live and operate a business in the town.
Sonia O'Sullivan returned triumphantly to form when she won the European 10,000 metres championship in Budapest.
Some 64,000 students got their Leaving Certificate results. One of the successes of this year's Leaving was the increased numbers and improved results in the Vocational and Applied programmes.
Thursday
The leader of the Ulster Unionist Party, Mr David Trimble, appealed to the British Prime Minister, Mr Tony Blair, for the urgent recall of parliament to enact new measures to deal with terrorism. A young woman who sustained cuts and blast injuries in the bombing gave birth to a baby girl at the South Tyrone Hospital in Dungannon. Eight funeral services for the remaining victims of the bombing took place in or just outside Omagh.
After a trial lasting almost 10 weeks, a Swiss woman accused in relation to money-laundering was convicted on two charges at Cork Central Criminal Court. The trial was the first of its kind in the State.
Large numbers of Leaving Certificate students believe stress might be reduced if the examination was supplemented by a continuous assessment of their performance through the year. The research, done for the Points Commission, also suggests that the stress felt by parents at examination time significantly increases the stress felt by students.