ON June 16 1997, I was just four months into a three-and-a-half-year reporting term in Belfast.
That particular morning started quietly and my mind was probably less focused on the news than on the fact that it was Bloomsday, a big occasion for James Joyce enthusiasts since his great novel Ulysses is set on that date.
The weather was good at the start of the day, as I recall, with people pottering about everywhere and no doubt thinking of their forthcoming holiday in a sunny location at home or abroad.
Meanwhile in Lurgan, Co Armagh, at 11.45am, RUC Constable John Graham and Reserve Constable David Johnston were patrolling on Church Walk in the course of what must have seemed like an ordinary day's duty.
Suddenly, however, two IRA activists, reportedly disguised as women doing some shopping, came up behind them and shot both men in the head at point-blank range before driving away.
I can still recall the shock when I got news of the killings. In addition to processing the emotions felt at this human tragedy, I had to write the lead story along with an analysis piece for the following day's Irish Times (online journalism had yet to become prevalent).
There was widespread condemnation of the shootings. Given the leadership role of Gerry Adams in the republican movement down through the years, a statement he issued was sharper in tone than one might have expected. "At a personal and at a human level I am shocked," he said. "I think that any death in this situation diminishes all of us."
The victims were both in their early thirties and their deaths left five children aged between two and 10 years without a father. Constable Graham's daughter Abbie recently appealed for anyone with information to come forward and "help us to get justice for our dads".
The IRA ceasefire of August 31 1994 had collapsed on February 9 1996 and it was said that a renewed ceasefire would have taken place by mid-August 1997 had it not been for these RUC killings, which appear to have been a deliberate ploy to keep the conflict going.
Nevertheless, on April 10 1998, less than a year after the Lurgan episode, the Belfast/Good Friday Agreement was concluded.
Just short of two years later there was another shocking and dreadful incident in the town when solicitor Rosemary Nelson was killed by a bomb planted under her car by loyalist paramilitaries.
When you look back at that terrible time, it helps to put today's woes in perspective. Paramilitary violence has greatly decreased – although perhaps I should add the qualification, "at time of writing".
Things could of course be better politically in the north, where the words "stalemate" and "Stormont" are becoming interchangeable.
South of the border, a major row has injected fresh life into the political scene.
Fine Gael and Sinn Féin have never gotten on very well, so, when FG leader and Tánaiste Leo Varadkar was facing SF deputy leader Pearse Doherty across the floor of the Dáil chamber it was always going to be testy. But nobody expected it to turn into such a dramatic confrontation.
The Donegal TD had a go at Leo over a Fine Gael private dinner toasting the party's 10 years in power while so many households were struggling desperately to make ends meet.
Varadkar hit back: "Sinn Féin hosts dinners in America, charging people $1,000 a plate to attend, and the party leader flies first-class to get there."
In his reply, Doherty referred to the fact that a file had been submitted to the Director of Public Prosecutions after a copy of a draft state contract with a general practitioners' organisation had been shared by Varadkar with the leader of another group of doctors.
At this stage the balloon went up and Leo replied that Pearse had been prosecuted and found guilty of abusing a member of the Garda Síochána.
This referred to an episode in 1999 where, along with three other Sinn Féin activists, 21-year-old Doherty was convicted of such an offence but the Probation of Offenders Act was applied to avoid the young people getting a criminal record.
The Tánaiste then finished up with a long list of sins attributed to Sinn Féin. Next day, it was reported in the Irish Independent that Fine Gael had compiled a private 18-page dossier entitled "Sinn Féin Hypocrisy" which highlights controversial elements of the party's history and compares SF to Donald Trump.
The next general election is going to be fascinating for observers but challenging for contestants.
