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Peace declared in Northern Ireland

1998

Peace declared: Northern Ireland

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  • Intro

    Throughout the 1970s and 1980s, bitter conflict killed and injured many in Northern Ireland, as those who wanted a united Ireland fought those who wanted to stay part of the UK. At last, on Good Friday 10 April 1998, representatives from all sides were persuaded to sign a document promising to work with ‘exclusively peaceful and democratic means’ towards a new-look Northern Ireland, to be run by its own assembly of 108 members elected by proportional representation.

     

    The deal was signed by Irish Taoiseach (Prime Minister) Bertie Ahern, British Prime Minister Tony Blair and George Mitchell, the US mediator who chaired the talks. Blair said, ‘A day like today is not a day for soundbites, really. But I feel the hand of history upon our shoulders.’ Progress has since been sporadic and many disputes remain. But bold sectarian murals and street paintings that once declared political allegiance in a Belfast district, are now the focus for tourism rather than terrorism.

     

    Image Copyright: John Frost Newspaper Archive

     

    Shelfmark: British Library Newspaper Archive

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