Northern Ireland Peace Process

While most historians and journalists say that Northern Ireland's "Troubles", a truly inadequate label for such a terrible period in Irish history, began in 1969; in truth, the "Troubles" began in 1609. Historically, the mighty Clan O'Néill and its vassals had ruled Ulster, which includes the six counties of Northern Ireland, for more than 1,000 years. Even the arrival of the English Normans on Ireland's southern shores did little to disturb the power of the O'Néills. However, after 400 years of fighting to dislodge the English from Irish soil, even the mighty O'Néills were close to defeat.

As a last great attempt to drive the English back to England, Hugh O'Néill, earl of Tyrone, and Red Hugh O'Donnell, earl of Tyrconnell, and their followers launched the Nine Years' War, which lasted from 1594 to 1603. Considering the superior military power that the O'Néills faced, it was inevitable that their forces were defeated. At first, the terms of surrender given to the O'Néills and their vassals were generous but that situation quickly changed. O'Néill, O'Donnell and their followers were stripped of their lands, their titles, and their possessions by order of King James I so they fled to Europe in 1607 rather than remain in Ireland under the English boot. This exodus is much remembered in song and story as the Flight of the Earls.

By 1609, the English had begun the resettlement of Ulster with English and Lowland Scots farmers and peasants, granting away the lands confiscated from the O'Néills and their followers plus the lands occupied by the native Irish Catholics who remained. In this mixture of English, Scots and Catholics, the seeds of the modern "Troubles" began to sprout. The discontent continued to grow through the centuries that the Protestants were in power and grew even stronger when Ireland was partitioned into Northern Ireland and the Irish Free State in 1918. The discontent became a war in 1969, when the Catholic demand for civil rights ran head-on into the might of the British Army in Co. Derry.

Throughout the '60s, 70s, and 80s, the Loyalist paramilitaries, the RUC [Royal Ulster Constabulary], and the British Army engaged in a war against the Northern Irish Catholics and the I.R.A.[Irish Republican Army]. Various attempts during these decades to bring peace to Northern Ireland were abysmal failures because the Unionist Protestants never wanted peace; they wanted submission and a return to the glory days of the Protestant Ascendancy, when the Protestants ruled all of Ireland.

Finally, in 1994, the Provisional I.R.A., the primary group of Catholic paramilitaries, went on unilateral ceasefire to support the efforts of Sinn Fein, the I.R.A.'s political wing, to find a peaceful solution to the Troubles. Then as now, Sinn Fein was guided by its President, Gerry Adams, whose bearded, bespectacled face became the familiar face of the Northern Ireland struggle to find peace. Although this first ceasefire did not hold, the I.R.A. returned to ceasefire status in 1997 and has remained on ceasefire to the present day.

Throughout 1997, negotiations continued under the leadership of U.S. Senator George Mitchell to find a solution to Northern Ireland's "Troubles", and eventually all parties involved in the talks agreed to a three-part agenda. The historic significance of these multi-party talks was exemplified by the unprecedented
handshake between British PM Tony Blair and Sinn Féin President Gerry Adams on October 13, 1997. Seventy-six years had passed since the last time that a British Prime Minister, David Lloyd George, had shaken hands with a leader of Sinn Féin, Michael Collins. While the meeting was described as cordial, Adams did report telling Blair that he hoped Blair "would be the final Prime Minister with jurisdiction over our country to visit here."

Talks continued into the spring of 1998, and finally, the chairmen set a deadline of April 9, 1998 for the drafting of an agreement. As the days closed on April 9th without an agreement in place, the negotiating teams of the two governments were headed by their respective chiefs, Taoiseach Bertie Ahern for the Republic of Ireland and Prime Minister Tony Blair for the United Kingdom.

On April 9th, the world tuned in their televisions to catch glimpses of the worried faces and tight huddles of peace talk participants as the hours ticked away to midnight. The witchin' hour came and went while the talks continued, but all that dedication paid off when Ahern and Blair emerged in the early hours of Good Friday, April 10, 1998, to announce that an agreement had been reached.

After the announcement of the Good Friday Agreement, Irish breaths were collectively held around the world until the designated referendum date of May 22, 1998, arrived. By the time that momentous day was over, the citizens of both the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland had voted, for the first time since 1918, to approve an Agreement that would govern their collective political futures. In the Republic, citizens voted 94.4 per cent to ratify their government's participation in the Agreement, and in Northern Ireland, 71.1 per cent of the people voted their approval of the same Agreement. Additionally, the citizens in the Republic approved amendments to the Republic's constitution as stipulated in the Good Friday Agreement. These amendments relinquished the Republic's constitutional claim to the Six Counties of Northern Ireland. Once the referendum vote was in, and the terms of the Good Friday Agreement were so resoundingly approved north and south of the Border, new hope could be seen at last on the faces of ordinary men and women in Northern Ireland.

Once the people of Ireland, North and South, had spoken, the task fell to the British and Irish governments to hear their voices and to fulfill the mandate given to them by the people. The May 22, 1998, referendum was the purest form of democracy, and the future of Ireland will depend on the courage and the vision displayed by the governmental leaders chosen to fulfill the people's mandate. Tragically as of this writing in August, 2006, neither the British or the Irish governments have shown the leadership and determination necessary to fulfill the terms of the Good Friday Agreement as was mandated by the people of Ireland.

For a complete discussion of the search for peace in Northern Ireland, please read our new book, From Irish Kings to the I.R.A., which is available through this website.