The year that was...

The paper lost an old friend when former GAA correspondent and columnist John Byrne passed away at age 90. In the early days of the election year, President Bush outlined a plan for changes in immigration law, but while jobs were promised there was no mention of green cards.

The McAllister family celebrated another Christmas in New Jersey and early in the New Year won a reprieve from deportation. The Colombia Three continued to await a verdict in Bogota. Rugby ruled the roost in Irish sport with Ulster, Leinster and Munster all posting successes.

Sinn Féin leader Gerry Adams said that any review of the Good Friday agreement had to be short and sharp.

Democratic presidential hopeful Wesley Clark attacked the Bush administration's record on Northern Ireland. With a bunch of Ulster Unionist Party defectors, including Jeffrey Donaldson, now on his side, the Rev. Ian Paisley had the David Trimble-led party right in his crosshairs.

A financial relief package was drawn up to bail out the troubled rose of Tralee contest. World War II Marine Corps veteran Tommy Gleason was named as grand marshal of the New York St. Patrick's Day Parade. At the tail end of the month, Belfast man Ciaran Ferry, fighting deportation from the U.S., marked a year in various Colorado prisons.

FEBRUARY

Mike Rafferty was named the Echo's top traditional musician for 2003. Plans for the Bertie Bowl stadium in Dublin took a nosedive after a rival plan for a revamped Lansdowne Road was unveiled.

Former taoiseach John Bruton was tipped to be the new European Union ambassador to the U.S.

Democratic presidential favorite John Kerry had an Irish statement but it was somehow lost in all the growing primary hubbub. As a result, his campaign came out with a bigger, better and bolder version. Irish American Republicans shot back at Wesley Clark's criticism of the Bush record on Northern Ireland. In rugby, Munster advanced to the quarter final of the European Cup but Leinster's hopes bit the dust.

Taoiseach Bertie Ahern was on the hot seat as his Fianna Fáil party was roiled by a new round of corruption and sleaze allegations. John Hume, for many a figure of heroic stature in Northern Ireland politics, announced his retirement. In GAA, Mayo gave early warning of their intent by beating Dublin in the National League.

The art world was stirred when Italian art experts questioned the authenticity of Caravaggio's "The Taking of Christ," on display at the National Gallery in Dublin. The long-running Bloody Sunday inquiry wound up after hearing testimony from the 919th witness. Undefeated Derry Boxer John Duddy's career hit the canvas when U.S. immigration authorities denied him a visa.

Tragedy struck in Dublin when a runaway bus killed five people on a sidewalk by the River Liffey. Mercurial soccer star Roy Keane hinted at a return to the Republic's team. The Irish rugby team went down badly to France in their opening Six Nations championship game in Paris but quickly bounced back by trouncing Wales in Dublin.

MARCH

The review of the Good Friday agreement hit a snag when UUP leader David Trimble walked out. The Irish sports world was stunned by the sudden death of Tyrone football captain Cormac McAnallen. Plans for a visit by President Bush to Ireland in June gathered momentum. There was concern that the visit would be disrupted by protestors.

The Echo marked 75 years of continuous publishing with a special anniversary issue. In New York, Mayor Bloomberg proclaimed "Irish Echo Day." In their first game after Cormac McAnallen's death, Tyrone showed their mettle by beating Mayo. In one of the biggest rugby upsets in years, Ireland shocked world champions England, beating them at Twickenham.

St. Patrick's Day was marked by parades and parties all across the world, war-torn Iraq included. In Washington, D.C., Taoiseach Bertie Ahern presented the traditional bowl of shamrock to President Bush. In New York, the parade was led under snowy skies by grand marshal Tommy Gleason.

Meanwhile, in Savannah, Ga., where America's second largest parade takes place, eight spectators were injured by a runaway car. Ireland braced itself to embrace a new smoking ban in public places, including pubs.

Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton offered her support to the McAllister family and their effort to avoid deportation. Ireland continued with winning ways in Six Nations rugby by beating Italy.

As the month closed, there was a sharp intake of collective breath in Ireland as something long thought unthinkable actually happened: cigarette smoking was banned in pubs and all other public buildings.

APRIL

Political reverberations continued in the wake of an ad in the New York Times taken out on behalf of Sinn Féin. President Bush's North envoy, Mitchell Reiss, lambasted the ad and Sinn Fein responded angrily to the criticism in the main Irish-American papers.

Undocumented Irish immigrants were becoming increasingly worried over plans to tighten up the rules for obtaining driver's licenses in New York and other states.

The Irish banking industry in the U.S. lost a respected member with the death of AIB's Brian Oliver in New York. Fordham University's "Ceol na nGael" marked 30 years on the airwaves. Ireland beat Scotland in rugby, securing the Triple Crown and finishing runner-up in the Six Nations championship.

Gerry Adams dubbed the North political talks a farce. Uproar followed the British government's rejection of a full public inquiry into the 1989 murder of Belfast lawyer Pat Finucane. The inquiry was recommended by the Cory Report on collusion.

The Republic's soccer players defeated the always rated Czechs, 2-1, in a friendly at Lansdowne Road. The win was soon followed by news that Roy Keane would indeed agree to wear the green jersey again.

Taoiseach Bertie Ahern gave evidence to the Mahon tribunal, which continued its probe into planning corruption. Irish activist and U.S. citizen Sean Mackin was detained by police while on a visit to his native Belfast. He was later released. The McAllister family faced a new struggle as Bernadette McAllister was diagnosed with cancer.

Munster's rugby heroes made the semifinal of the European Cup, but that was as far as they got. The new North American GAA season got under way. Padraig Harrington did not win the Masters at Augusta, but he did score a final round hole-in-one at the famed 16th.

The number of U.S. troops passing through Shannon airport surged. And President Bush would soon be among their number as plans were revealed for a presidential visit to County Clare in June. The Colombia Three were cleared of the most serious charge they faced in Bogota, that of aiding the FARC guerrillas. But they remained in custody pending an appeal by the Colombian government.

MAY

May brought Mayo footballers to Gaelic Park in the Bronx. Their presence turned out to be a little too warm for New York, who went down to the visitors in a Connacht Championship clash. A hoped-for Irish-American museum in Washington, D.C., began to gather political support.

Judge Peter Cory came to Washington, where he repeated his view that there should be a full inquiry into the murder of Pat Finucane. Still-grieving families marked the 30th anniversary of the Dublin and Monaghan bombings. Galway defeated Waterford in the National Hurling League final. After years battling deportation proceedings alongside her husband, Malachy, Bernadette McAllister succumbed to cancer on her 46th birthday.

The month of May was to be a particularly tragic time for the Irish Echo. The paper lost part of its present and past. Jack Holland, senior editor and longtime columnist, died from cancer at age 56. And former editor-in-chief John Thornton also died from cancer. He was 72.

Irish Foreign Minister Brian Cowen met with President Bush in the White House. An appeals court confirmed a lower court denial of political asylum to former IRA man Ciaran Ferry.

New York's hurlers entertained Down at Gaelic Park. The home side impressed but couldn't match the power of the visitors. Former Rep. Bruce Morrison became embroiled in the debate over citizenship and the Irish Constitution in advance of an upcoming June 11 referendum in the Republic.

The Republic beat Romania in a soccer friendly in Dublin. But the result was less of a headline than the return to the Irish team of Roy Keane.

JUNE

Catholics in the Boston archdiocese, many of them Irish American, were shocked to learn that 60 churches would be closed in a reorganization plan. Dr. James Lyons, a former advisor on Ireland to President Clinton, accused President Bush of ignoring the North.

Former President Ronald Reagan died aged 93. Reagan had visited Ireland and his family's native Tipperary in 1984.

Frank Carvill, a popular figure in the tri-state Irish-American community, was killed in Iraq, where he was serving with the New Jersey Army National Guard.

The Republic beat Holland in a soccer friendly in Dublin, this time without Roy Keane.

European and local elections took place on both sides of the border. Sinn Féin polled strongly throughout the island, while Fianna Fáil in the Republic and the SDLP in the North lost ground. Voters in the Republic voted in a referendum to remove the automatic right to citizenship for those born on the island of Ireland.

James Joyce's Bloomsday marked 100 years of reading, writing and walking. Bill Clinton's memoirs hit the bookstores. The book revealed how much high-level opposition Clinton faced over a visa for Gerry Adams.

President Bush and the first lady, Laura Bush, flew to Ireland to attend the U.S./EU summit at Dromoland Castle in County Clare. The visit sparked protests and also some uproar over a confrontational television interview of the president carried out before the visit by RTE correspondent in Washington, Carole Coleman.

JULY

The marching season in the North led to rioting in Belfast as Catholics expressed fury over a decision to allow an Orange Order march through the Ardoyne area of the city.

A former IRA man, Joe Black, was arrested at Philadelphia airport en route to a wedding in Pittsburgh. Irish aid groups had to increase their workload as the situation in war-torn western Sudan worsened. New car insurance regulations in Massachusetts threatened to take away the driver's licenses of many undocumented Irish.

The Democratic Party platform paid minimal attention to the North as Democrats convened in Boston. Pennsylvania's Ned McGinley won a second two-year term as national president of the Ancient Order of Hibernians.

Chris and Mimma Kane, separated by an ocean and more than a year in time due to an immigration snafu, were emotionally reunited at Kennedy Airport. Republican Sinn Féin cried foul as it was added by the U.S. State Department to its list of foreign terrorist organizations. Veteran IRA leader Joe Cahill, who was crucial in selling the peace process to supporters in Irish America, died at 84.

Westmeath footballers ended a 100-year-long drought by capturing the Leinster football title at Croke Park in Dublin.

AUGUST

Stung by criticism that their platform statement on Ireland had come up short, the Democratic ticket of John Kerry and John Edwards pledged a hands-on approach to the North peace process. Scandal-tainted former Taoiseach Charles Haughey gained millions from the sale of his north Dublin mansion. Most of the money was said to be destined for his four children.

Thirty-five years after the Battle of the Bogside, the British army was still visible on the streets of the North. The U.S. North envoy, Ambassador Mitchell Reiss, raised hackles after calling some Orange Order parades "foolish" and "malicious."

A big dig began in a Philadelphia suburb where Irish railroad workers from the 1830s were known to be buried. In a sign of worse to come, an Irish athlete heading to the Olympics in Athens was stopped in his tracks after failing a drug test. Cathal Lombard was the main Irish hope in the 5,000 and 10,000 meters.

The All-Ireland hurling final had a familiar ring to it with Kilkenny and Cork making it all the way to the big game. Weeks after being detained on his way to a wedding, former IRA man Joe Black was deported from the U.S.

In what amounted to something of a high summer shocker, New Jersey Gov. Jim McGreevey, one of the country's most prominent Irish-American politicians, announced that he had been involved in a gay affair and would be resigning from office.

Sonia O'Sullivan faltered in Athens, where medals of any color were proving elusive for the Irish team. But gold came up trumps at the very end when show jumper Cian O'Connor tasted triumph. Bill Clinton went to Dublin to sell his book and play golf.

Ten years after the first IRA cease-fire, the North was still short of being able to call itself a normalized society.

SEPTEMBER

The Republicans came to New York for their convention feeling upbeat and confident. The convention included a floor time speech on Ireland and events that played up President Bush's record on the North. But controversy flared when top Bush adviser Karl Rove apparently compared the IRA to al-Qaeda.

Concern was growing over the health of North firebrand Ian Paisley and his ability to play a part in the planned talks aimed at restoring devolved government. Kerry and Mayo reached the All-Ireland football final.

In soccer, the Republic opened its World Cup qualifying campaign with a win over Cyprus in Dublin. Three Irish golfers -- Padraig Harrington, Paul McGinley and Darren Clarke -- made the European Ryder Cup team and all three played key roles in their team's eventual victory over the U.S.

Cork ended Kilkenny's hopes of three titles in a row by winning the All-Ireland hurling final at Croke Park.

Former loyalist informer Ken Barrett admitted to involvement in the murder of Pat Finucane. But the confession failed to quell calls for a full public inquiry. Former taoiseach John Bruton was confirmed as the next EU ambassador to the U.S. The population of the Republic topped 4 million for the first time since 1871, census figures revealed. Wall Street executive and Kerry native Dennis Kelleher was named grand marshal of the 2005 New York St. Patrick's Day Parade.

Taoiseach Bertie Ahern announced a cabinet reshuffle. Foreign Minister Brian Cowen announced increased Irish government funding for immigration advice centers around the U.S. Controversy swirled around an Ulster Unionist Party fundraising event in New York. Aer Lingus signaled its intention of becoming a low-cost carrier over the Atlantic.

And who would be All-Ireland football champs? In the year of a presidential candidate named Kerry and a Kerry-born New York parade grand marshal, it had to be the county of the same name. Kerry trounced Mayo in the final at Croke Park.

OCTOBER

Ambassador Mitchell Reiss, speaking in New York, said he was heartened by what he saw as political progress in the North but was still wary about making bold predictions.

The colorful and sometime controversial executive secretary of the New York St. Patrick's Day Parade, James Barker, died at 69. Connecticut won its first-ever New York GAA senior hurling title at Gaelic Park. A row erupted after Cavan forfeited the football final following the death of a club member, John Moore.

Nay it ain't so. Cian O'Connor's wonder horse Waterford Crystal failed a drug test and a shadow fell over Ireland's sole Olympic gold medal.

Ireland drew with France in a soccer World Cup qualifying tie.

The struggle ended for lifetime Irish activist George Harrison, dead at 89. The U.S. ambassador to Ireland, James Kenny, said that ties remained strong between both countries despite tensions arising from issues such as the war in Iraq. The Republic's soccer stars continued their winning ways with an expected World Cup qualifier win over the Faeroe Islands.

Garda William Geary, who battled most of his life to clear his name following a bribe taking charge -- and finally did so -- died at 105 at his home in Queens, N.Y.

A report that the U.S.-based Fitzpatrick hotel chain was sold to a consortium of buyers was denied.

Irish GAA players dominated Australia in their compromise rules series. Irish-American backers of both the Republican and Democratic parties used up the last days before the presidential election to boost each ticket's chances with Irish American voters.

NOVEMBER

President Bush secured a second term in the White House with a clear popular vote and Electoral College win over Democrat John Kerry.

North political progress appeared to stall as the DUP stiffened its demands for "visible" IRA weapons decommissioning. The B blood sample from Olympic horse Waterford Crystal tested positive for two banned substances in a test carried out in New York.

In a shocking twist to the practice of taking hostages in Iraq, a militant group claimed it had executed Irish-born aid worker Margaret Hassan.

In a sign of uncertainty over the future of Aer Lingus, the top three executives in the airline said they would quit in 2005. The three had unsuccessfully attempted a management buyout of the carrier.

The Irish and British governments gave the warring North political parties a week to agree on a power sharing deal. A Colorado court turned aside a habeas corpus plea by jailed Belfast man Ciaran Ferry.

Ireland's winning ways in rugby picked up where they left off earlier in the year with a win over mighty South Africa at Lansdowne Road. The U.S. Eagles were next on the list of Ireland's victims. In Gaelic games, the GAA in Ireland gave a thumbs-up to the Randalls Island stadium project in New York.

Marlon Mullings, one of four men accused in the 1999 murder in Philadelphia of Donegal native Neil Martin McConigley, was found guilty and sentenced to life imprisonment without parole. There was much ado and critical praise in the music world for the new U2 CD/iPod, "How to Dismantle an Atomic Bomb."

DECEMBER

With a North deal seemingly within reach, President Bush phoned the Rev. Ian Paisley and Gerry Adams and urged them to embrace the plan being offered by the Irish and British governments.

The Walsh visa program was extended through 2008. The Irish rugby team continued on the winning trail with a hard-earned victory over Argentina.

Hopes for a North deal collapsed in a standoff over IRA decommissioning and DUP demands for photos of weapons being destroyed.

With Christmas coming, undocumented Irish immigrants had to decide whether to stay put in the U.S. or risk a visit to family in Ireland. The Canadian border, once considered a relative easy exit and entry point, suddenly looked like a far tougher option as a result of tighter enforcement by both American and Canadian immigration officials.

The Colombia Three faced jail after the Colombian government won a court appeal but the three Irishmen were nowhere to be found. Bank robbers in Belfast netted a record $39 million in cash. Ciaran Ferry gave up his legal fight and was deported.

The Irish government and aid agencies rushed help to Asian countries stricken by a huge earthquake off the coast of Indonesia and tsunamis that raced across the Indian Ocean. Hundreds of Irish and American holidaymakers were in stricken coastal areas at the time of the disaster, particularly resorts in Thailand.