The Good Friday Agreement
“A political agreement is reached in Northern Ireland after nearly two years of talks.”
The agreement was finally made on Friday, April 10, 1998 and was named The Belfast Agreement. Coincidentally, the agreement was made on Good Friday which is the reasoning behind the event’s nickname “The Good Friday Agreement.” The agreement contained proposals for the Northern Ireland Assembly. The Republic of Ireland agreed to drop its constitutional claim to the six counties which Northern Ireland is comprised of. Other proposals within the agreement included the act of decommissioning of paramilitary weapons, future policing in Northern Ireland, and an early release of paramilitary prisoners.
As stated in the agreement, Northern Ireland agreed to elect a new power-sharing executive on June 25, 1998. With this, they elected a new assembly, comprised of 108 people, to sit in Parliament Buildings at Stormont. Northern Ireland then elected their new power-sharing executive. Northern Ireland decided to adapt to unconventional rules which meant that single parties would have have control over the assembly. All decisions would be made on parallel consent which required a favoring vote from the both the nationalist and the unionists.
The conflict didn’t end with the agreement. When the agreement took effect in December 1998, disagreements over issues such as the annual unionist/loyalist Orange Order marches and the policing and decommissioning of paramilitary weapons arose. Northern Ireland pushed through three suspensions until rule from London was re-introduced beginning in October 2002. Power was eventually returned to Northern Ireland in 2007 following the St. Andrew’s Agreement, which was an amendment that was made in 2006.
“It was a political alignment of a 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.”
“A political agreement is reached in Northern Ireland after nearly two years of talks.”
The agreement was finally made on Friday, April 10, 1998 and was named The Belfast Agreement. Coincidentally, the agreement was made on Good Friday which is the reasoning behind the event’s nickname “The Good Friday Agreement.” The agreement contained proposals for the Northern Ireland Assembly. The Republic of Ireland agreed to drop its constitutional claim to the six counties which Northern Ireland is comprised of. Other proposals within the agreement included the act of decommissioning of paramilitary weapons, future policing in Northern Ireland, and an early release of paramilitary prisoners.
As stated in the agreement, Northern Ireland agreed to elect a new power-sharing executive on June 25, 1998. With this, they elected a new assembly, comprised of 108 people, to sit in Parliament Buildings at Stormont. Northern Ireland then elected their new power-sharing executive. Northern Ireland decided to adapt to unconventional rules which meant that single parties would have have control over the assembly. All decisions would be made on parallel consent which required a favoring vote from the both the nationalist and the unionists.
The conflict didn’t end with the agreement. When the agreement took effect in December 1998, disagreements over issues such as the annual unionist/loyalist Orange Order marches and the policing and decommissioning of paramilitary weapons arose. Northern Ireland pushed through three suspensions until rule from London was re-introduced beginning in October 2002. Power was eventually returned to Northern Ireland in 2007 following the St. Andrew’s Agreement, which was an amendment that was made in 2006.
“It was a political alignment of a 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.”