8 December - Negotiated proposals to restore the power-sharing institutions to Northern Ireland by March fail to reach finality. The main sticking point is a refusal by the Provisional Irish Republican Army to allow photographs be taken of arms decommissioning and a refusal by the DUP's Ian Paisley to witness disarmament himself.
Ireland win the Triple Crown for the first time since 1985. The team also becomes the first to beat England since their World Cup win. The results in full are as follows: