David Trimble and Gerry Adams sit at the same table at Stormont for the first time.
Discussions begin on working out the logistics of how the Stormont Assembly will govern Northern Ireland.
For the first time, First Minister David Trimble and Sinn Féin President Gerry Adams addressed each other across the negotiating table. The main point of controversy was the thorny issue of decommissioning.
Sinn Féin was adamant there will be no weapons handed in before the new cabinet has formed. The Ulster Unionists said there has to be.
Republican sources say that the Unionists were asking Sinn Féin to do something that they can not deliver. They think it unlikely that the IRA will hand in weapons while British security forces are still on the ground in Northern Ireland.
Despite these obstacles, Gerry Adams was positive about the outcome of today's meeting as a good first step as part of the process.
The SDLP was confident that whatever problems exist can be overcome through dialogue.
Sixty miles away in Omagh, County Tyrone, there was a tragic reminder of the alternative to political progress as the funeral of Sean McGrath who was injured in the Omagh bombing took place.
Sean McGrath died three weeks after the bombing becoming the twenty-ninth victim of the massacre.
The new assembly is due to meet in Stormont chambers next week with a lot of tough talking still to come.
An RTÉ News report broadcast on 7 September 1998. The reporter is Michael O'Kane.
