Blair - Ireland Flashcards
When was the Good Friday Agreement?
April 1998
What role did Senator Mitchell play in the agreement?
he was the primary architect for the 1996 Mitchell principles, Mitchell co-chaired all party talks leading to the Good Friday agreement. He was awarded the Liberty medal and Presidential medal of freedom for his contributions to the settlement.
What role did John Major play in the agreement?
Established multi-party talks - June 1996
Negotiated a cease fire - 1997
Downing Street Declaration - 1993
What role did Blair play in the agreement?
Became the first Pm since 1921 to meet a Sinn Fein leader - Gerry Adams - balanced the 2 parties as they viewed any concessions to the other side as unacceptable.
Negotiated well with Bertie Ahern and the parties to sign up to the Good Friday Agreement
Blair’s personal reassurance was the ultimate consolidation for the UUP to sign the agreement
What role did Mo Mowlan play in the agreement?
Without backing of Blair, she visited the loyalist paramilitaries who were at risk from withdrawing from the talks - her engagement assured them that their worries were under consideration and that they were an important party of the peace process
Credited as being a massive catalyst to the effectiveness of negotiations - straight-forward and friendly
What role did Bertie Ahern play in the agreement?
Taoiseach of the Republic of Ireland. After Mitchell set a deadline for the GFA negotiations, Ahern, along with Blair joined negotiations in Stormont. Formed a close relationship with Blair - invited him to speak November 1998 in the Irish Parliament.
What role did Gerry Adams play in the agreement?
Leader of Sinn Fein. Made Sinn Fein an organised party - strongly campaigned for a political route. Part of negotiations and actively campaigned for the yes vote.
What role did Martin McGuiness play in the agreement?
Chief negotiator for Sinn Fein. Acted as the first “linkman” between the arms decommissioning board and the IRA, allowing a crucial step in the process to occur. Without decommissioning it is likely that negotiations over the GFA would have collapsed.
What role did John Hume play in the agreement?
Leader of SDLP. The “thinker” of many political developments towards peace in NI, including the Sunningdale agreement, the Anglo-Irish agreement and the Belfast agreement. Long time leader of the movement for NI peace, went into secret peace talks with Gerry Adams.
What role did David Trimble play in the agreement?
Leader of the Ulster Unionist Party. He entered negotiations with Sinn Fein. Showed himself to be a sharp tactician keenly judging the mood of his party at key moments in the peace process. He was supported by the wider party for the deal, but he lost the support of 6 of the party’s 10 members of parliament.
What role did Ian Paisley play in the agreement?
Leader of the Democratic Unionist Party. Was initially involved in negotiations but the party withdrew in protest after Sinn Fein was allowed to participate. DUP fought the election to the NI Assembly.
How did 9/11 and the 7/7 bombings help to aid the peace process?
Many Irish-Americans who had previously given moral and financial support to the IRA campaigns now had a graphic example in their own homeland of what terrorism actually meant in practice.
What happened on 28th July 2005?
Sinn Fein pledged itself to the use of ‘exclusively peaceful means’
What forced Unionists to accept the agreement?
Protestant unionists were fast becoming a minority in NI.
What did the UVF announce in May 2006?
Renounced violence and pledged itself to give up its weapons. This opened the way for the St Andrew Agreement between the British and Irish governments.
