BBC - History - The Troubles - Peace The Troubles Good Friday Agreement Denis Murray recalls the difficult birth of the Good Friday Agreement in Northern Ireland. Denis Murray, the BBC's Ireland Correspondent between 1988 and 2008, recalls how some sort of consensus around Northern Ireland emerged with the Good Friday Agreement. Downing Street Declaration British & Irish governments issue declaration outlining terms for Northern Ireland peace. The British and Irish governments issue a joint declaration outlining the terms they hoped would bring about peace in Northern Ireland. Anglo-Irish Agreement Co-operation between Dublin and London over Northern Ireland meets unionist opposition. Greater co-operation between the British and Irish governments over affairs in Northern Ireland leads to escalating opposition from the unionist and loyalist community. Sunningdale Agreement Proposed power sharing in Northern Ireland brought down by a widespread workers' strike. A proposed power sharing government in Northern Ireland is brought down by a widespread industrial strike supported by large numbers of the unionist community. Direct rule returns to Northern Ireland The British government took over direct rule of Northern Ireland in March 1972. The British government decided to take over direct rule of Northern Ireland after the violent bloodshed of early 1972.

More information about: Peace in the Troubles Some would argue the fight for peace started as soon as the Troubles began. Such is the nature of Northern Ireland, born out of bloodshed, that there is no agreement about when precisely peace gave way to conflict, or conflict to peace. Civil rights Some pinpoint the start of the conflict to 5 October 1968, when a civil rights march in Londonderry ended in violence. It's perhaps not surprising that the Troubles began in a place whose very name has been bitterly disputed by both sides: Derry for Irish nationalists, Londonderry for British unionists. Peaceful reform had been the aim of the civil rights movement in Northern Ireland, inspired by the African American civil rights leader Martin Luther King. Its 'five demands' included an end to discrimination against Catholics in jobs and housing. The 5 October march had been banned and images of the mainly nationalist demonstrators being beaten by police were beamed around the world, drawing widespread condemnation. The unionist government in Northern Ireland began to grant reforms. This was too little too late for many nationalists and too much too soon for many unionists.

British intervention By 1969, peaceful protest had given way to street violence fuelled by bitter sectarian divisions. The British Army was brought in to quell the disorder, but conflict escalated and soon the armed groups and political parties who would do battle, violently and verbally, for decades to come, were born. Cries for peace came in waves of revulsion at the violence, but events made opportunities for peace more difficult. Even so, no one foresaw the Troubles lasting so long. The early years were the bloodiest period, marked by death and destruction, and the fall of the unionist-dominated parliament to be replaced by 'direct rule' by the British government in London. In 1972, the government made an early bid for peace with the Provisional Irish Republican Army (PIRA). The 'Provisionals' were routinely referred to as the Irish Republican Army (IRA) after a split from the 'Officials' in 1969. IRA leaders were secretly flown to London for talks, but their demands for a new Irish republic were not realistic and were rejected.

Power-sharing proposal In 1973, the promise of peace came in a power-sharing deal hammered out by unionists, nationalists and others at Sunningdale in Berkshire, England. The agreement involved a formal link with the Republic of Ireland through a Council of Ministers. This "Irish dimension" was too much for the loyalists but didn't go far enough for republicans. The agreement soon collapsed amid paramilitary violence and the chaos of the Ulster Workers' Council (UWC) strike, which had brought Northern Ireland to a standstill. A subsequent IRA truce in 1975 floundered on mistrust and unrealistic expectations. In an attempt to keep the peace, the government pursued a tough security policy, but the violence continued. Peace People Hope seemed lost when in 1976, communities in Northern Ireland were shocked by a tragic event in West Belfast. Three children were killed and their mother injured by a speeding car. The driver was an IRA man who had been fatally wounded in a chase by the British Army. The children's aunt made an impassioned plea for peace and a groundswell of support led to the formation of a group called the Peace People.

Winning attention at home and broad, they marched for peace in Belfast and other towns. Ten thousand people gathered in London's Trafalgar Square to hear folk singer Joan Baez sing "We Shall Overcome". In the end, the desire for peace was overcome by anger, fear and hatred. The Peace People did win the Nobel Peace Prize in 1976, but their reputation diminished over rows about the money. A deeply divided Northern Ireland was not, it seemed, ready for peace. The Peace People had tapped into a desire for peace, a desire that would again be articulated in the 1980s by rallies led by the trade union movement. But their simple message was no match for the complexities of the conflict. What was peace without justice and equality? What represented equality? How could you achieve peace when people couldn't agree on the causes of the conflict? In simple terms, unionists believed the IRA was the problem, and peace would be restored if it went away. For nationalists and republicans, the problem was British rule and unionist failure to compromise and share power on equal terms.

Anglo-Irish Agreement In 1985, the British and Irish governments tried to impose their own settlement through the Anglo-Irish Agreement. The treaty gave the Irish government an advisory role in Northern Ireland affairs, under-pinned by the principle that a united Ireland would only become possible with the consent of the people. Unionists were not reassured by this "consent principle" and felt betrayed. Nationalists welcomed the deal and even hard-line republicans were privately intrigued by the Irish dimension in a potential settlement. In some ways, the deal sowed the seeds of peaceful political consensus. Unionists recognised that saying "no" would not block change. Nationalists saw hope that change was possible. Extreme to mainstream By the late 1980s, even leaders of republican and loyalist paramilitaries were reconsidering their strategies. The IRA's political wing, Sinn Féin, had undergone significant changes and was contesting elections as part of a two-stranded republican plan embracing both "the armalite and the ballot box". This new-found electoral success for Sinn Féin was, however, continually stunted by IRA violence as the majority of nationalist votes remained with the non-violent Social Democratic and Labour Party (SDLP).

Behind the scenes, Roman Catholic clergymen were facilitating dialogue between the SDLP leader John Hume and the Sinn Féin leader Gerry Adams about how to end the violence and achieve a political settlement. Significantly there was also a secret back channel between the British government and the IRA. Peace process By 1993, the British and Irish governments had signed the Downing Street Declaration, setting out a series of principles on how a settlement could be achieved. It had something for everyone. Northern Ireland's status was dependent on the will of the people, while there was also recognition that the Irish people as a whole had the right to a negotiated settlement. Unionists were nervous, but republicans saw a political path towards compromise involving an all-Ireland dimension. In August 1994, to the surprise of many, the IRA called a ceasefire. Loyalist paramilitary groups - the Ulster Defence Association (UDA) and the Ulster Volunteer Force (UVF) - followed suit in October of that year. Internationally, Irish American politicians in Washington used their influence with US President Bill Clinton, who was keen to encourage peace.

Clinton hosted an economic conference in Washington, and made an influential visit to Belfast in 1995, but the IRA ceasefire broke down in 1996 over the failure to make progress through talks. It took another year for the ceasefire to be restored, paving the way for the most inclusive talks ever held on Northern Ireland’s future. These talks were chaired by Clinton's ally, US senator George Mitchell. Good Friday Agreement In April 1998, the Good Friday Agreement was signed. It was very similar to the Sunningdale Agreement of 1973 and was branded "Sunningdale for slow learners" by SDLP deputy leader Seamus Mallon. Nevertheless, an overwhelming desire for peace across the political community, combined with a willingness to compromise, saw the return of self-government to Northern Ireland through the adoption of a power-sharing Executive. The political institutions set out in the Good Friday Agreement still stand, albeit interrupted by another long spell of direct rule from London and the amendments of the St Andrews Agreement of 2006. But as a direct result of the events of Easter 1998, a fragile peace still holds in Northern Ireland.

Martina Purdy was writing in February 2013 Good Friday Agreement By Bernd Biege The Good Friday Agreement (or Belfast Agreement) was the most important political development during the Peace Process in Northern Ireland during the 1990s. The constitutional status of Northern Ireland as part of the United Kingdom is based on the agreement. At the same time, Northern Ireland's devolved system of government is established in the Good Friday Agreement. The Good Friday Agreement also facilitated the (sometimes slow) creation of a number of institutions that act as permanent connections between Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland and between the Republic of Ireland and the United Kingdom. The Good Friday Agreement is not one single agreement, but consists of of two inter-related documents, both of which were signed in Belfast on April 10th, 1998 - Good Friday (hence the names Good Friday Agreement and/or Belfast Agreement). One document lay down a multi-party agreement signed by most of Northern Ireland's political parties, this could be seen as paving the internal way towards devolution under cooperation.

continue reading below our video Long-Haul Flight Survival Tips The second document was an international agreement between the British and Irish governments (also called the British-Irish Agreement, which leads to confusion with the Anglo-Irish Agreement of 1985 at times ... which in turn may be confused with the Anglo-Irish Treaty of 1921 ). Let it not be said that keeping track of Irish history and politics is easy ... The Good Friday Agreement described a stunningly complex array of provisions relating to the future of Northern Ireland including: The status and system of government of Northern Ireland within the United Kingdom. The relationship between Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland. The relationship between the Republic of Ireland and the United Kingdom. The justice system of Northern Ireland. The police system of Northern Ireland. The treatment/release of prisoners convicted for crimes committed as part of a paramilitary force during the "Troubles" . The decommissioniung of arms by the paramilitary forces. A sweeping commitment to civil and cultural rights, human rights, religious liberty, languages (English, Irish and Ulster-Scots) and, most confusingly, "mutual respect of everyone in the community" (as if this could be achieved by an agreement).

While the Good Friday Agreement was officially signed in Belfast on Good Friday 1998, it was only approved by voters on both sides of the border in two parallel referenda held in late May of the year. In Northern Ireland, voters were basically only asked whether they supported the (internal) multi-party agreement. In the Republic of Ireland, voters had to be asked whether they would allow the state to sign the agreement and therewith also allow the necessary constitutional changes to put the Good Friday Agreement into practice. The Republic of Ireland effectively had to remove the claim on the whole island from the constitution (Articles 2 and 3), which was substituted by a rather nebulous wish to unite the island of Ireland as one nation, but by peaceful and democratic means. The Good Friday Agreement was accepted by larger majorities in both Northern Ireland (71.1%) and the Republic (94.4%). Thus it came into force on December 2nd, 1998. Of the major political parties then active (or major) in Northern Ireland, only the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) openly opposed the Good Friday Agreement.

By playing the role of hardline "no-compromises-with-terrorist" guardians of some parts of the status quo, the DUP managed to become the most important Unionist party in Northern Ireland. Which, ironically, put them into a government shared with Sinn Fein . The very image of former hardliners Ian Paisley (DUP) and Martin McGuinness (Sinn Fein) working together and attending official functions with smiles on their respective faces brought about the moniker "the Chuckle Brothers". Also Known As: Belfast Agreement, Comhaontú Bhéal Feirste (Irish for Belfast Agreement), Comhaontú Aoine an Chéasta (Irish for Good Friday Agreement), Bilfawst Greeance (Ulster-Scots for Belfast Agreement), Guid Friday Greeance (Ulster-Scots for Good Friday Agreement) Northern Ireland | History of a Conflict and the Peace Process Northern Ireland - History of a Conflict and the Peace Process The island of Ireland is divided into two parts. Northern Ireland, in the northeast, is a part of the United Kingdom. The Republic of Ireland is an independent country.

A conflict between the two main religious groups, the Protestants and the Catholics , has been going on for over four hundred years. In the second half of the 20th century violent clashes between the two groups killed over 3,000 people. Towards the end of the century a new peace agreement was signed that was expected to bring peace to Northern Ireland. Land and Climate Northern Ireland covers an area of about 14 000 square kilometres, about one-sixth of the island’s total area. The land is hilly, with low mountains, plains and valleys. It has many lakes, or loughs, embedded in the landscape. The climate is influenced by the sea. Summers are cool and windy, winters are mild. Rain falls throughout the year. People Northern Ireland’s population consists of two main groups. Half of the people are Protestants. They are descendants of Scottish and English settlers who came to the area in the 17th century. About 40% are Irish Catholics. The two groups live separately in their own neighbourhoods. Northern Ireland's capital is Belfast, a city of about 500,000. Londonderry in the northwest is Northern Ireland’s second largest city.

Economy Northern Ireland’s economy is closely connected with Great Britain. Unemployment is higher than in other areas of Britain. In former times the production of linen and shipbuilding were the two traditional industries. In the past decades manufacturing has decreased mostly because companies feel they are not safe on the island. Farming still plays a major role in Northern Ireland. Pigs and chicken are raised for meat and eggs. Dairy farms produce milk and fish are caught in the waters around Northern Ireland. Early history In about 300 B.C. Celtic tribes invaded Ireland. They founded 5 kingdoms on the island . The northernmost kingdom, today’s Northern Ireland, was called Ulster. Although the Romans did not take control of Ireland their influence was very strong. The Irish probably used Roman coins and the language spoken in parts of Ireland may have been influenced by Latin. In about 400 A.D. Saint Patrick brought Christianity to the Irish population. He set up churches and other missionaries. Between 800 and 1000 A.D. Vikings raided Ireland. When the Normans invaded Ireland in the 12th century the island was divided into many smaller kingdoms. As time went on English kings started to take control the island.

Beginning of the conflict When Henry VIII turned England into a Protestant country in the 16th century most Irish people remained Roman Catholic . The following English monarchs sent soldiers to Ireland to make them protestant as well. In the course of time the landowners in the northern part of Ireland fled their land and left it to the English king. James I sent thousands of protestant colonists to settle on the land that belonged to the Catholic people. These settlements were called plantations. The Catholics rebelled against this policy but by the middle of the 17th century they had been finally defeated . the Catholics were left without land and power. By the beginning of the 19th century Britain had gained control of the whole island. Ireland joined Wales England and Scotland to become the United Kingdom. The division of Ireland Throughout the 19th and the beginning of the 20th century more and more Irish groups began fighting for their independence. But the Protestants who lived in the northern part of the island wanted to stay with Great Britain. in 1922 the island was divided. Six, mostly protestant, counties in the north stayed a part of the UK.

The rest of the island , mostly Catholic, became the Irish Free State and an independent republic in 1949. Up to 1972 Northern Ireland was allowed to rule itself . During this time the Catholics, who lived in the Protestant province had no easy life. They did not have the same rights and opportunities that the Protestants had. They were discriminated against in all aspects of life. They barely found jobs, got less money from the government and were often harassed by the police. The Troubles In the late 1960s riots broke out between Protestants and Catholics in Belfast and Londonderry. The violent decades that followed became known as “the Troubles”. At the beginning of the 1970s The British government sent soldiers to Northern Ireland to restore peace and decided to rule Northern Ireland directly from London . Events escalated when 13 unarmed demonstrators were shot during a protest march in the streets of Londonderry on January 31, 1972. The incident became known as “Bloody Sunday”. Both religious groups started to build up paramilitary organizations. On the Catholic side the Irish Republican Army (IRA) carried out attacks on Protestants in the North.

It wanted to force the British out of Northern Ireland and create a single Catholic state on the island. On the Protestant side the Ulster Defence Association and others terrorized the Catholic population living in Ulster. In the 1980s the IRA started attacking the British in England. They planted bombs in London, kidnapped and killed high-ranking officials. Activists were arrested and thrown into prison. During the 80s some of them died during hunger strikes. In the 1990s the British government started working on a peaceful solution to end the Troubles. In over 30 years of violence over 3,000 people were killed in the conflict. The peace process As time went on both sides realized that violence could not lead to a solution in the conflict. The British and Irish governments tried to get political and paramilitary sides to the conference table. In addition, the IRA promised to end all violent activities. Finally, talks ended in a historic agreement signed on Good Friday 1998. The main points are: The future of Northern Ireland should be determined by the people.

All political groups must share power in Northern Ireland the creation of a northern Irish Assembly with law-making powers Britain and the Republic of Ireland agree to a council that discuss the problems in Northern Ireland All prisoners are to be released. All weapons of paramilitary groups must be given up within two years. The Republic of Ireland will not seek reunification with Northern Ireland. In a referendum the people of Northern Ireland agreed to accept the treaty and in June 1998 the new assembly was elected. However not everything went according to plan in the following years. The paramilitary groups didn’t trust each other and when the IRA refused to give up its weapons the British government reimposed direct rule. Finally, after years of quarrel and disagreement, the IRA announced in 2005 that it would give up all of its weapons. In 2007 the leaders of the Catholic party, Sinn Fein and the protestant Democratic Unions Party came to a historic agreement to share power in the Northern Irish government. The assembly got together again. In July 2007 the British government ended its military presence in Northern Ireland. The cooperation between the two groups is a sign that a lasting peace may finally have come to Northern Ireland.

The Parliament Building Stormont in Belfast A.D.

= after the birth of Christ according to plan = as it should activist = here: active member of the IRA agree = to have the same opinion agreement = when two or more parties promise to do something although = while area = the space that an object covers arrest = to take someone to a police station because they have done something wrong aspect = field, area assembly = a group of people who are elected and get together to make laws attack = violence against someone carry out = to do something that has to be planned and organized Celtic = people who lived in Western Europe and Great Britain before the Romans came century = a hundred years coin = a round flat piece of metal used as money conference table = here: to get all parties to talk to each other connect = link with consist of = is made up of cooperation = to work together council = meeting with two or more parties county = region, district dairy farm = a farm that has cows and produces and sells milk decade = ten years defeat = to win against someone descendant = someone who is a member of a family that lived a long time ago determine = decide disagreement = differences , arguments you have discriminate against = to treat a person or a group of people in an unfair way economy = the system by which a country’s money and goods are

 produced elect = choose by the people embed = to put into something else escalate = to get worse flee– fled = to run away from because you are followed force = to make someone do something former = in the past gain control of = to be in power Good Friday = the Friday before Easter Sunday harass = to trouble or someone or make them afraid high-ranking official = high member of a state or government in addition = also independent = free ; it governs itself influence = to affect the way something develops or grows invade = to take control of a country with an army kingdom = a country ruled by a king or queen lasting = permanent , long term lough = a lake in Ireland main = most important manufacturing = the production of goods and products in a factory missionary = someone who goes to another country and teaches people about Christianity monarch = king or queen opportunity = chance to do something paramilitary = an illegal group that is organized like an army peace agreement = two or more parties promise not to fight with each other any more plain = a large area of flat land plant = place, put population = the people of a country promise = to say that you will do something quarrel =argue, fight raid = to go to a place and steal things raise = to look after and feed

 animals so that they can be sold as food realize = understand, find out referendum = people vote and make a decision on a special topic refuse = to say no reimpose = here: to bring back again release = to set free reunification = to bring two parts of a country together again riot = violent demonstration , rebellion seek = ask for; try to get separately = apart from each other settle = to go and live in a place where not many people have before settlement = a new town or village settler = someone who goes to live in a place where not many people have lived before share = to have something with others sign = to put your name on a document single = only one solution = answer; the way of solving a problem throughout = in all of, the whole towards = near tribe = group of people of the same race , who have the same language and traditions trust = to believe that someone is honest and you can depend on them unarmed = without guns unemployment = people who do not have a job United Kingdom = England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland violence = when you hurt people physically violent = aggressive , brutal Irish Peace Process — Important People Leader of Sinn Fein , political wing of the Irish Republican Army .

b. 1948, West Belfast, Northern Ireland. Adams became politically active in the 1960s, joining Sinn Fein and working to end discrimination against the Catholics of Northern Ireland in areas such as housing and employment. Interned by the British during the 1970s for suspected terrorism, Adams was elected president of Sinn Fein in 1983. The same year, Adams was also elected a member of the British parliament from West Belfast, but, refusing to take an oath of allegiance to the British queen, he never actually took his seat in Westminster. Although he did not formally renounce violence until 1997, Adams actively sought to involve Sinn Fein in peace talks beginning in the late 1980s. In Jan. 1994 the Clinton administration signaled its belief that Adams was working for peace by granting him a 2-day visa to speak in New York. Some months later, following the declaration of an IRA cease-fire in Aug. 1994, the order prohibiting Adams from speaking on British radio and TV was lifted (previously his statements could only be read on air by actors).

Subsequently Adams achieved international prominence as the chief contact with the IRA during the negotiations leading up to the Good Friday Agreement. In Dec. 1999 Adams received a seat in the 4-party 12-member Northern Irish cabinet. Since then, the Irish parliament has been suspended four times, the last time in Oct. 2002. It remains suspended today. Sinn Fein's reluctance to disarm was a major reason the government faltered. But on July 28, 2005, the IRA announced that it was entering a new era in which it would unequivocally relinquish violence. The statement said that IRA members have been "instructed to assist the development of purely political and democratic programs through exclusively political means" and that "all IRA units have been ordered to dump arms" and "to complete the process to verifiably put its arms beyond use." In late September, the Irish Republican Army made good on its promise to give up all its weapons, and their disarmament was verified by an international mediator. Some Protestant groups, however, continued to doubt the veracity of the IRA's claims. Patrick B. (Bertie) Ahern Prime minister of the Republic of Ireland 1997-. b.

1951, Dublin, Republic of Ireland. Elected to the Dáil Éireann in 1977, Ahern held a number of positions within the Fianna Fáil political party before being unanimously elected leader of the party in 1994. In June 1997 he was elected taoiseach (Gaelic for prime minister) of the Republic of Ireland, following in the footsteps of his mentor Charles Haughey . Ahern has been especially active in pressing for an end to the violence sponsored by the IRA and other paramilitary groups in Northern Ireland. He has also supported the Republic's main concession in the peace agreement, namely that the Republic of Ireland would relinquish its goal of a united Ireland. Tony Blair Prime minister of the United Kingdom 1997-. b. 1953, Edinburgh, Scotland, UK. A practicing lawyer from the mid-1970s, Blair was elected a member of the British parliament for Sedgefield in 1983.

After assuming the leadership of the Labour Party in 1994, he set about reforming the traditionally socialist minority party into a more centrist organization, which won a landslide victory in the May 1997 general election. Consequently Blair was voted in as prime minister, the first Labour Party member to hold that post since 1979. Just two weeks after his election, Blair made a high profile visit to Northern Ireland and gave the go ahead for preliminary talks between government officials and Sinn Fein, giving new momentum to the peace process. He later attended meetings with Sinn Fein president Gerry Adams in Oct. and Dec. 1997. (The Dec. meeting at 10 Downing Street, the prime minister's residence, was the first meeting there between a British prime minister and a leading Irish nationalist since David Lloyd George met with Michael Collins in 1921.) The Good Friday Agreement of 1998 marked the first considerable achievement of Blair's Labour government. John Hume Leader of the mainly Catholic Social Democratic and Labour Party 1979-2001. b. 1937, Derry, Northern Ireland.

A former teacher, Hume became active in the Catholic civil rights movement in Northern Ireland in the 1960s. In 1970 he helped found the moderate Social Democratic and Labour Party (SDLP), the largest Catholic party in Northern Ireland, becoming its leader in 1979. Hume was elected to the European parliament in 1979 and to the British parliament in 1983. A longtime advocate of all-inclusive government in Northern Ireland, he served in a short-lived coalition government during the mid-1970s and helped shape the Anglo-Irish Agreement, which sought to establish another power-sharing government in 1985. He also worked to promote Northern Ireland's economic interests, particularly among American investors, in the hope that more jobs would lead to prosperity and less conflict. In 1988 he began a series of private talks with Gerry Adams of the rival Catholic party Sinn Fein , which led into the peace negotiations of the 1990s. Following the Good Friday Agreement of Apr.

1998, Hume was elected to the new Northern Ireland Assembly; however, he stepped aside for health reasons and let a fellow SDLP member assume his role as first deputy. With David Trimble, Protestant leader of the Ulster Unionist Party, Hume was a co-recipient of the 1998 Nobel Peace Prize. He stepped down as leader of the SDLP in Nov. 2001. John Major Prime minister of the United Kingdom 1990-1997. b. 1943, London, U.K. Formerly employed in the banking industry (1965-1979), Major ran unsuccessfully for parliament twice before winning a seat as a member for Huntingdonshire (now Huntingdon) in 1979. Having served in a number of important posts, including foreign secretary and Chancellor of the Exchequer, he succeeded Margaret Thatcher as Conservative Party leader and prime minister in 1990. Major's government gradually lost popular support, however, despite a win in the national elections in 1992 and an economic recovery in the mid-1990s.

He resigned as leader of the Conservative Party after losing the 1997 general election to Tony Blair's Labour Party. It was during Major's tenure, however, that a peaceful dialogue was initiated with Sinn Fein . Major, along with Irish prime minister Albert Reynolds, was also instrumental in engineering the Downing Street Declaration (1993), in which both countries agreed to cooperate in finding a peaceful, mutually agreeable settlement to the conflict in Northern Ireland. Peter Mandelson British secretary of state for Northern Ireland 1999-2001. b. 1953, Hendon, U.K. Elected to parliament in 1992, Mandelson held a variety of posts, including secretary of state for Trade and Industry. He was appointed secretary of state for Northern Ireland in Oct. 1999. The British government's senior official in Northern Ireland, Mandelson suspended the new home rule government in Feb. 2000 after the IRA failed to make significant progress toward disarmament. He resigned his post in Jan. 2001 following allegations of his involvement in a "cash for passports" scandal. Martin McGuinness U.S. lawyer and politician. b.

1933, Waterville, ME. An attorney in government and private practice during the 1960s and 70s, Mitchell ran unsuccessfully for Maine governor and served as a federal district court judge before he was appointed to fill the U.S. senate seat vacated by Edmund Muskie in 1980. Considered a liberal Democrat, he was reelected in 1982 and 1988. He was named to the senate committee that investigated the Iran-contra affair in 1987 and became the senate majority leader in 1989. Following his retirement from the senate in 1995, Mitchell was tapped by President Clinton to serve as economic adviser to Northern Ireland. Mitchell's quiet, patient manner and grasp of the province's political complexities won over Irish and British politicians alike, and Mitchell was asked to chair the multiparty peace talks opening in Belfast in June 1996. After nearly two years at the negotiating table, Mitchell announced that an agreement had been reached on Apr. 10, 1998.

Marjorie (Mo) Mowlam British secretary of state for Northern Ireland 1997-1999. b. 1949, Watford, U.K., d. 2005. A member of the Labour Party since 1969, Mowlam was elected to the British parliament in 1987. Appointed secretary of state for Northern Ireland by Tony Blair when the Labour Party came to power in May 1997, Mowlam's first priority was to obtain another IRA cease-fire (one had lasted from Aug. 1994 until Feb. 1996) so that Sinn Fein , the political wing of the IRA, could participate in multiparty peace talks. A cease-fire was achieved in July 1997. Despite her easy-going manner and popular appeal, Mowlam was subject to the fury of both Catholics and Protestants over the handling of the controversial Orange Order parade through a mainly Catholic area of Portadown, County Armagh. The blockade of the parade route by police and the British Army in July 1998 sparked violent protests across Northern Ireland, and many Catholic homes and businesses were attacked.

She was appointed minister for the Cabinet Office, chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster in 1999. Mowlam was diagnosed with a brain tumor in 1997 and continued on in politics until 2001. Ian Paisley Protestant cleric and leader of the Democratic Unionist Party. b. 1926, Armagh, Northern Ireland. Ordained in 1946, Paisley cofounded the Free Presbyterian Church of Ulster in 1951. During the 1950s Reverend Paisley gained notoriety for speaking out against Roman Catholicism, and during the 1960s, when Catholics began demonstrating for civil rights, he denounced the movement and organized marches in opposition. As a result he served 6 weeks in jail in 1968 for unlawful assembly. In 1971 Paisley cofounded the Democratic Unionist Party, which led the opposition to the coalition government established under the Sunningdale Agreement in 1973-1974.

Similarly Paisley has also staunchly opposed other arrangements that appear to weaken Northern Ireland's union with Britain or give the Republic of Ireland any say in Northern Ireland's affairs, including the 1985 Anglo-Irish Agreement and the 1998 Good Friday Agreement. Paisley has been a member of the British parliament for North Antrim since 1970. Between 1999 and 2002, the rocky power-sharing years of the Northern Irish parliament, Paisley seemed to fade in influence. But in Nov. 2003 legislative elections, his party had a resurgence. Frustrated by the inability of moderate Unionists to create a lasting government, and infuriated by Sinn Fein's seats in the Northern Irish government, the hard-line, uncompromising Unionist was in the ascendency. David Trimble Leader of the mainly Protestant Ulster Unionist Party. b. 10/15/44, Bangor, Northern Ireland. A former university lecturer in law (1968-1990), Trimble joined the Ulster Unionist Party in the 1970s and rose to become its leader in 1995.

Early on in his political career Trimble sought to end British direct rule of Northern Ireland , but he rejected the idea of a power-sharing arrangement with southern Catholics such as the one established by the Anglo-Irish Agreement of 1985. His hardline unionist stance helped him attain the leadership of the UUP, but after the election he agreed to join in peace negotiations chaired by former U.S. senator George Mitchell. Shortly after the signing of the momentous Good Friday Agreement in Apr. 1998, Trimble was named first minister of the new coalition government's executive cabinet. His peace-making efforts were rewarded in Oct. 1998 when he won the Nobel Peace Prize jointly with Catholic leader John Hume. In Nov. 1999 Trimble made a heroic effort to keep the peace process on track by relenting on the unionists' longtime "no guns, no government" policy and agreeing to let the nascent government form before the IRA disarmed. Despite this gesture, the government was suspended by the British from Feb. to May 2000 because the IRA failed to begin turning over their weapons.

Trimble resigned as first minister in the power-sharing government on July 1, 2001, as a protest against the IRA's continued refusal to decommission its weapons. However, on Oct. 23, the IRA announced that it had begun to disarm, and Trimble regained his former post in a vote rerun on Nov. 6, after narrowly losing his reelection bid in the initial vote a few days earlier. Trimble has been a member of the British parliament for Upper Bann since 1990. Click here for the Northern Ireland Primer Did you know? BBC ON THIS DAY | 10 | 1998: Northern Ireland peace deal reached 1998: Northern Ireland peace deal reached The Northern Ireland peace talks have ended with an historic agreement. The accord - dubbed the Good Friday Agreement - was reached after nearly two years of talks and 30 years of conflict. Negotiations on the final day dragged on more than 17 hours after the deadline for an agreement passed. The agreement is a triumph for British Prime Minister Tony Blair and the Republic of Ireland's leader, Bertie Ahern, who have succeeded where all their predecessors failed.

Speaking at a news conference after the deal was announced Tony Blair said he hoped it marked a new beginning. "Today I hope that the burden of history can at long last start to be lifted from our shoulders," Mr Blair said. I see a great opportunity for us to start a healing process David Trimble Ulster Unionist leader Bertie Ahern said he hoped a line could now be drawn under the "bloody past" . The proposals in the agreement include plans for a Northern Ireland Assembly, new cross-border institutions involving the Irish Republic and a body linking devolved assemblies across the UK with Westminster and Dublin. A copy of the proposals will be posted to every household in Northern Ireland and the Irish Republic and then put to a referendum in May. The chairman of the talks, former US Senator George Mitchell, paid tribute to all those who had taken part. But Sinn Fein President Gerry Adams said there was still a huge gap of distrust between nationalists and unionists. "It must be bridged on the basis of equality. We are here reaching out the hand of friendship," he said.

Ulster Unionist leader David Trimble added: "I see a great opportunity for us to start a healing process." The peace agreement was also welcomed by the UDP and PUP parties, which represent loyalist paramilitary groups. The Northern Ireland Peace Process - Council on Foreign Relations Council on Foreign Relations The Northern Ireland Peace Process Connect With Us: The Northern Ireland Peace Process Author: Mohammed Aly Sergie See More of the Most Viewed Introduction Northern Ireland experienced decades of conflict between the late 1960s and 1990s that claimed more than thirty-five hundred lives, and the era, known as the Troubles, largely pitted the historically dominant Protestants against the Catholic minority. A peace deal struck in 1998 created a power-sharing government that included political forces that had been aligned with armed groups on each side of the conflict. Most of the Belfast Agreement—usually referred to as the Good Friday Agreement—has been implemented, and a devolved national assembly in Belfast is now in place. Some divisive issues related to sectarian and national identity were left unresolved by the accord, however, and contribute to occasional outbursts of disruption and violence. What is the status of the peace process in Northern Ireland?

Northern Ireland's modern period of conflict started in the late 1960s and lasted more than three decades. It involved mostly Protestant "loyalists" who wanted to remain part of the United Kingdom against mostly Catholic "republicans" who wished to unite with the Republic of Ireland. (Protestant "unionists" and Catholic "nationalists" shared their respective communities' goals, but tended not to support violence.) An accord reached in 1998 helped contribute to a sharp reduction in violence, with the annual conflict-related death toll, which peaked at 479 in 1972, dropping to single digits in recent years. The Good Friday Agreement provided a framework for political settlement and was centered on a power-sharing government in Northern Ireland that would require cross-community support for important decisions, ensuring that no single community or party could dominate the assembly. Certain governing authorities were transferred from the UK Parliament at Westminster to the devolved assembly in Belfast, and paramilitary groups committed to abandoning their weapons and joining the political process. Yet distrust persisted.

Political jockeying over devolution—the transfer of police, judicial, and other local government powers from London to Belfast, as well as the decommissioning of paramilitary groups' weapons—hindered the implementation of the Good Friday Agreement and contributed to the electoral losses of moderate parties in 2003, to the benefit of the more hard-line republican—Sinn Féin—and unionist—Democratic Unionist Party (DUP)—parties. London reinstated direct rule of Northern Ireland in late 2002 when the sides failed to agree on implementing important aspects of the Good Friday Agreement. Northern Ireland's assembly wasn't restored until 2007. Compromises have been struck since the Good Friday Agreement, notably a fifty-fifty recruitment scheme between Catholics and Protestants for a police force that had been predominantly Protestant and viewed by Catholics as an enforcer of unionist domination. That program ran from 2001–2011 and increased the percentage of Catholics in the police force from 8 percent to 30 percent. The 2010 Hillsborough Agreement finalized the devolution of policing and justice functions from Westminster to the Northern Ireland assembly—a major achievement.

It also outlined a process for replacing the Parades Commission (the body with the power to regulate parade schedules and routes), which many Protestants saw as biased against their interests. That process was never implemented, however, amid deep political disagreement. In May 2013, the Sinn Féin–DUP governing coalition unveiled the "Together: Building a United Community" strategy, a legislative program for the forthcoming session that seeks to address, among other things, persistent sectarian segregation in education and housing and economic inequality. Intercommunal tensions remain, especially with regard to expressions of religious, political, and community identity and differing interpretations of the past. Are armed republican and loyalist groups still a threat? Yes. Paramilitary organizations on both sides are capable of disrupting the peace, but security experts say they have been significantly weakened since the Good Friday Agreement and lack the capacity to derail Northern Ireland's overall political stability. Security officials say they cannot sustain a violent campaign on the scale of the Troubles from the 1970s to the 1990s.

Politically motivated killings have declined significantly since the peace process began, and the main armed republican group, the Provisional Irish Republican Army (Óglaigh na hÉireann) put its weapons beyond use in 2005. Two other dissident Irish Republican Army (IRA) groups—the Continuity IRA and the Real IRA —appear to have small, overlapping memberships that have mounted occasional attacks on police officers and political opponents. Both republican and loyalist militias are still recruiting members, acquiring weapons, and engaging in criminal activity. The main armed loyalist organizations during the conflict were the Ulster Volunteer Force and Ulster Defense Association. Over the past two decades they gave up their arms, but a number of offshoots emerged, including the Loyalist Volunteer Force, the Red Hand Defenders, and the Orange Volunteers. Northern Ireland police officials blame loyalist groups for violence related to flag protests in December 2012 and parades in July 2013, in which riots blocked off roads in Belfast and dozens of police officers were injured. What are the remaining disagreements in Northern Ireland?

Inequality in housing, education, and employment have persisted, and the Northern Ireland Assembly , deadlocked on contentious issues, has not been able to reach compromises that address these concerns through legislation, according to the 2013 Northern Ireland Peace Monitoring Report [PDF], commissioned by the Community Relations Council . Northern Ireland has the highest percentage of high school dropouts among the four countries in the UK, though Catholics have enjoyed greater educational success than Protestants. This imbalance is reversed when it comes to wealth; 22 percent of Catholic households live in poverty compared to 17 percent of Protestants, according to the report. There are roughly four thousand parades per year in Northern Ireland, with 5 percent of them considered contentious, according to the 2012 annual report of the Parades Commission for Northern Ireland . The majority of these contentious parades occur during the "marching season" in the spring and summer. Some parades attract dozens while others are much larger, such as an August 2013 march by the Apprentice Boys, a Protestant group, which had more than five thousand participants. The majority of the marches, especially the controversial ones, are organized by unionists, the commission says.

Protestant marches are viewed as triumphalist by many Catholics. The Orange Order, for example, which holds parades to express loyalty to the British Crown each summer , is seen by most Catholics as hostile. Parades can have heavy sectarian undertones, featuring songs that celebrate Protestant victories in conflicts as distant as the Battle of the Boyne in 1690. Some of these parades, and their routes, are more than two hundred years old, and this deep history makes unionists reluctant to alter their customs. Retaining these cultural expressions is, unionists say, a way to preserve a Protestant heritage that they fear is slowly eroding, first through partial separation from Westminster through devolved government and then through the gradual demographic shift toward a Catholic plurality in Northern Ireland. Protestants make up 48 percent while Catholics comprise 45 percent of the country's population of 1.8 million, according to the 2011 census. Protestants were a majority in 2001, accounting for 53 percent of the population [PDF]. Neither group is expected to regain a pure majority, and both are losing share due to the rising number of people citing no religious affiliation. Political compromise has been difficult to maintain.

In December 2012, for example, the Belfast city council voted to fly the Union flag on fifteen designated days per year, an agreement that offered too little for many unionists and too much for many nationalists. Some loyalists viewed it as the latest affront to British culture and mobilized their supporters for months of protests that further pushed Northern Ireland's communities apart. Republican parades that commemorate their struggle during the Troubles have also led to clashes. And republicans have confronted some loyalist parades that march through or near Catholic neighborhoods. Though the police force has gained the trust of many Catholics over the past decade, it has struggled to manage the violence and sectarian intensity of parades and protests. Addressing the legacy of the past also remains a sensitive issue. As noted above, more than thirty-five hundred people died and thousands more were injured during the conflict in Northern Ireland. In many cases, the authorities have not been able to identify who was responsible for those deaths, and relatives of those who died still hope for a sense of closure. Investigations are difficult, costly, and controversial, however.

In addition to the passage of time, which can make it impossible to uncover evidence or identify credible witnesses, the record keeping of the British police and military was not equaled by the Provisional IRA or loyalist militias. The bigger question remains how to balance calls for truth, justice, fair compensation, and reconciliation for those directly affected by the conflict. Did peace yield an economic dividend? Peace in Northern Ireland helped attract more than $2 billion in foreign investment over the past five years, mainly in the financial services, technology, and pharmaceutical sectors, Reuters reports . Tourism reached 504,000 in 2009 (twice 2001 levels), but has declined in recent years. Londonderry, known to nationalists as Derry, was selected as the 2013 UK City of Culture and held prestigious art exhibitions and festivals, a significant transformation for city that was the scene of much violence during the Troubles. Unemployment rates are lower but a sectarian imbalance remains among men.

Nearly 12 percent of Catholic men were out of work compared to 7.4 percent of Protestant men, according to the 2011 census released by Northern Ireland Statistics and Research Agency , the latest official tally that breaks down data by religion. But the gap is shrinking from the 30 percent Catholic unemployment rate registered in some parts of Northern Ireland during the Troubles. Northern Ireland's overall unemployment was 7.5 percent as of June 2013, slightly below the UK average and much lower than the 13.6 percent rate in the Republic of Ireland. Per capita income has increased after a sharp decline during the 2008 recession, but consumer spending remains depressed and almost one quarter of shops in Northern Ireland are vacant. The economy is overly reliant on the public sector, which has been boosted by subsidies from London, and both the UK and Northern Ireland governments have a shared goal of rebalancing the economy and spurring growth in the private sector. Thus far, the economic dividend from peace has not lived up to the predictions that politicians made when the Good Friday Agreement was signed. What does the Panel of Parties in the NI Executive plan to accomplish?

The Panel of Parties in the NI (Northern Ireland) Executive was established in 2013. It brought together representatives from the five major parties in Northern Ireland—the DUP, Sinn Féin, Ulster Unionist Party, Social Democratic and Labour Party, and Alliance Party—to address disputes that had not been resolved by the peace process, including how to better deal with parades and protests; flags, symbols, and emblems; and Northern Ireland's past. Richard N. Haass , president of the Council on Foreign Relations, chaired the talks, and Meghan L. O'Sullivan , a CFR adjunct senior fellow and professor at Harvard University, served as vice chair. Haass was the U.S. special envoy in support of the Northern Ireland peace process from 2001 to 2003 when he also served as director of policy planning at the State Department. O'Sullivan was his chief adviser as envoy. The panel held consultations with civil society groups, interested individuals, and the five participating parties through the summer and autumn of 2013. In all, Haass and O'Sullivan met with more than five hundred people representing some one hundred civil society groups from across Northern Ireland.

The negotiations among the parties saw considerable progress on mechanisms to contend with the legacy of Northern Ireland's past, as well as steps forward on parades and other events. Flags and emblems proved the most difficult topic; the final text called only for continued discussions on that issue. All five parties did not, however, endorse the final text, so no agreement was reached on how to proceed in any of these areas. Party leaders have pledged to continue their discussions to try to reach accord on outstanding issues and move toward implementation. Additional Resources BBC - History - The Good Friday Agreement Peace deal is done in Northern Ireland Denis Murray reports on the last hours leading up to the Good Friday Agreement in Belfast. The BBC's Ireland correspondent Denis Murray reports on the last, dramatic hours leading up to the Good Friday Agreement in Belfast. More information about: Good Friday Agreement At the beginning of 1998, the prospects for peace in Northern Ireland were poor.

To the untrained eye, plenty of positives had begun to emerge: multi-party talks had been established in June 1996; Irish Republican Army (IRA) paramilitaries had restored their ceasefire in July 1997; and, by September of that year, the political representatives of the republican and loyalist paramilitaries were engaged in the talks at Stormont in Belfast. While all were undoubtedly significant breakthroughs in the peace process, problems were still plentiful and a successful outcome appeared remote. Unionism disunited The Ulster Unionist Party (UUP), the largest political party in Northern Ireland at the time, refused to engage directly with negotiators from Sinn Féin, the political wing of the IRA. This was because the IRA had yet to give up its weapons – a process known as decommissioning. The Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) and the UK Unionist Party (UKUP) had earlier left the talks over the same issue. They also feared the negotiations might weaken Northern Ireland's place within the United Kingdom. Paramilitary problems There was also the very real possibility that negotiators for the loyalist paramilitaries would withdraw from the talks process.

On 4 January the Ulster Defence Association (UDA) prisoners in the Maze prison took a vote on the matter, with two thirds in favour of withdrawal. The Ulster Unionist leader David Trimble went to the Maze to talk to them but he was unable to persuade them to change their minds. Remarkably, following a request from the leader of the Ulster Democratic Party (UDP), which represented the UDA, the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, Mo Mowlam, made the same journey herself. It later transpired that Mowlam did not consult Prime Minister Tony Blair or any of his aides ahead of this unprecedented step. Blair's chief of staff, Jonathan Powell, recalled: "If she had asked us we would certainly have said no. But in the event she was right and we were wrong." Her engagement with the paramilitary prisoners assured them that their concerns were being taken seriously at the highest level and a potentially show-stopping hurdle was overcome. Missed deadline The involvement of the UDA and IRA in further killings in January and February 1998 led to the exclusion of their political representatives, the UDP and Sinn Féin, from negotiations. Talks were stalled yet again.

Frustrated at the lack of any real progress, the talks' chairman, former US Senator George Mitchell, concluded that a deadline was crucial to securing a settlement. After persuading all the participants to agree, Mitchell set it at the stroke of midnight on Thursday 9 April. The final week was to prove a hectic and dramatic finale to a process which had begun almost two years earlier. At half past midnight on Tuesday 7 April 1998, Mitchell presented the negotiating teams with a 65-page draft document for consideration as the basis for the final round of negotiations. It was rejected by the unionist parties. This prompted British Prime Minister Tony Blair and the Irish Prime Minister Bertie Ahern to join the negotiating parties at Stormont. The Thursday midnight deadline passed as the parties increased pressure on both governments to get the best possible deal. Agreement In the early hours of Good Friday, the Ulster Unionist team was still unhappy with some of the detail, particularly the sections dealing with the decommissioning of paramilitary weapons and the release of paramilitary prisoners. A personal assurance from Tony Blair to UUP leader David Trimble smoothed these last ripples of discontent.

At 5.30pm on Friday 10 April 1998, George Mitchell stated: "I am pleased to announce that the two governments and the political parties in Northern Ireland have reached agreement". The Belfast Agreement (or Good Friday Agreement as it would become known) contained proposals for a Northern Ireland Assembly with a power-sharing executive, new cross-border institutions with the Republic of Ireland and a body linking devolved assemblies across the UK with Westminster and Dublin. The Republic of Ireland has also agreed to drop its constitutional claim to the six counties which formed Northern Ireland. There were also proposals on the decommissioning of paramilitary weapons, the future of policing in Northern Ireland and the early release of paramilitary prisoners. Ratification and referendums Although the Democratic Unionist Party was the only major party in Northern Ireland to oppose the agreement (along with the more marginal UKUP), both the UUP and Sinn Féin said that they would have to refer the document to their wider memberships before signing up to the deal. While UUP leader David Trimble received the support of his wider party for the deal, he lost the support of six of the party's ten members of parliament.

These dissenters joined forces with the DUP and the UKUP to campaign for a 'No' vote in the referendum which was to follow on 22 May 1998. Referendums were held on the same day in both Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland. In the north, voters were asked to ratify the deal. In the south, they were asked to approve a change to the constitution of Ireland. All sides agreed a credible majority was required if the deal was to survive. While most nationalists and republicans were clearly in favour, a unionist and loyalist majority was far from certain. In Northern Ireland, campaigning was fierce as DUP leader Ian Paisley urged a 'No' vote to safeguard the union. The 'Yes' camp, by necessity carrying a more mixed message in attempting to appeal to both sides of the community, only really gathered steam days before the vote. In an iconic moment at a rock concert in Belfast, Irish rock star Bono managed to cajole David Trimble and John Hume (leader of the nationalist SDLP) to appear alongside him onstage, the three linking arms as the crowd cheered.

In Northern Ireland, 676,966 people voted in favour of the deal, while 274,879 voted against. The 'yes' vote was 71.12%. Turnout was a record 81.10%. In the Republic the recorded 'yes' vote was 94.39%, with 1,442,583 people voting in favour and 85,748 voting against. A new assembly Elections to a new 108-member assembly to sit in the Parliament Buildings at Stormont swiftly followed on 25 June 1998. The assembly would be the centre of power in the new Northern Ireland and would elect the new power-sharing executive. Its rules were unconventional. No one party would be able to control the assembly. Decisions would have to be taken on the basis of parallel consent, requiring the endorsement of a majority of nationalists and a majority of unionists. So instead of fighting an election to win control of the assembly, the parties fought a campaign to win over 'their side', with non-aligned parties such as the Alliance Party designated as 'others'.

Sixteen parties, and more than a dozen independents, vied for six seats in each of Northern Ireland's 18 constituencies. The UUP got the most seats with 28, followed by the SDLP with 24, the DUP with 20, Sinn Fein with 18, Alliance with six, UKUP with five, independent (anti-agreement) unionists with three, and two seats each for the Progressive Unionist Party (PUP) and the Women's Coalition. With 58 seats won on the unionist side, David Trimble would become First Minister, with the SDLP’s Seamus Mallon as Deputy First Minister. Post-agreement problems The Good Friday Agreement came into force in December 1998 when Northern Ireland's politicians took their seats at the assembly in Stormont, but it would not be plain sailing from this point on. Disagreements over contentious issues like the annual unionist/loyalist Orange Order marches, policing and the decommissioning of paramilitary weapons occurred on a regular basis.

There were also attacks from dissident paramilitaries who opposed the peace process, the worst of which was the atrocity in Omagh when a Real IRA bomb killed 29 people and unborn twins on a busy shopping street. The assembly stuttered on through three suspensions before a fourth suspension saw the re-introduction of direct rule from London in October 2002. Devolved government only returned to Northern Ireland in 2007 following the amendments known as the St Andrew's Agreement in 2006. When the assembly returned to business in March 2007, it was one of political extremes. The loyalist DUP's Ian Paisley became First Minister and republican Sinn Féin's Martin McGuinness the Deputy First Minister. It was a political alignment of polar opposites that would have been unimaginable in 1998 and a sign of just how far Northern Ireland had come from the darkest days of the Troubles.

Question: On what holiday was an important Northern Ireland peace treaty signed?
Answer: Good Friday