Northern Ireland Flashcards
what was the situation with N.I leading up to the good friday agreement?
-groundwork for peace settlement laid by major
-leaders of sinn fein (adams and mcguiness) now believed cooperation with unionists was possible
-george mitchell (US) appointed to chair negotiations - he was trusted by both sides
-Blair developed good relations with irish PM Bertie Ahern and with the leader of the ulster unionist party david trimble
-he promoted mo mowlan to secretary of state for N.I and sent her to visit maze prison (where hunger strikes had been) to build trust amongst IRA prisoners
-blair developed the confidence of trimble (UUP) that sinn fein could be trusted
what was the initial reaction to the outline of the good friday agreement?
-ulster unionist were against it
-sinn fein were also against it
-only 13% of people thought the deal would be signed in time
when was the good friday agreement signed?
20th of april 1998
what were the key elements of the good friday agreement?
-UK and irish republic would give up their claim on northern ireland, and it would be up to the people to decide
-an independent commission to oversee reform of policing
-set up a devolved assembly with a power-sharing executive
-early release of prisoners if paramilitaries were committed to peace
-decommissioning of arms
describe the referendum on the agreement:
-22nd of may 1998
-71% in northern ireland voted yes
-94% in the republic of ireland voted yes
but what were the issues with the agreement/ difficulties with implementing it?
-sinn fein leaders were nervous of a republican backlash against them ‘selling out’
-ulster unionsist feared a powerful Ian Paisley - leader of the the hardline DUP
-nearly 1/3rd of all N.I voters rejected the agreement in the referendum
-agreement was vague and unclear in some places e.g. how quickly the decommissioning of arms would happen
-still sectarian violence
what event showed that complete peace hadn’t been achieved?
1998 Omagh bombing - 30 killed - carried out by dissident republicans
overall though was the agreement successful?
yes - very significant achievement
