The BBC's Mark Devenport: "IRA convention meetings are rare"

The paramilitary group reportedly held the meeting over the weekend in County Cavan, not far from the Irish Republic's border with Northern Ireland.

The IRA recently denied that it was planning such a meeting, and rejected reports that it would discuss decommissioning.

The failure of groups including the IRA to dispose of their arms has led to fears that the peace process in the province may falter.

Last week talks between Northern Ireland parties at Stormont Castle on the establishment of cross-border bodies and an executive body on the new Northern Ireland Assembly stalled amid wrangling over arms decommissioning.

Northern Ireland First Minster David Trimble has said he we will not allow Sinn Fein to take up seats in the executive, until the IRA begins to give up weapons.

David Trimble: No arms, no seats

Sinn Fein is equally adamant that it has a right to sit on the executive regardless of what the IRA does.

BBC Ireland Correspondent Mark Devenport says the timing of the IRA meeting is significant.

It comes days before Mr Trimble and the SDLP leader John Hume receive their Nobel Peace Prize in Oslo.

Mark Devenport: "Speculation that the location was close to the Irish border"

Mark Devenport says the last known Army Council, which draws people from across the province to discuss major policy issues, was late last year.

At other times the IRA is run by a seven-strong council.

In a separate development, UK Prime Minister Tony Blair and his Irish counterpart Bertie Ahern had a 15-minute telephone discussion on Monday about the hold-up in the peace deal.

Paramilitaries on all sides have kept their weapons

The two leaders plan to contact the various parties over the next few days in a bid to force progress before Christmas.

Mr Blair and Mr Ahern are expected to meet briefly for further peace process exchanges at the weekend, when they will both be in Vienna for a European Union summit.

Meanwhile, Mr Trimble has warned that the peace process also faces another threat.

The Good Friday Agreement could collapse if the nationalist community pressed too hard for too many of the UK Government's powers to be devolved to the cross-border bodies, he said.

He said this was the reason why the attempt at power-sharing had failed in 1974.

"There is in our view a very serious danger of history repeating itself in this respect," he said.