What is Good Friday Agreement? 25 years of the historic agreement that ended NI conflict

The President of the United States, Joe Biden, will be visiting Belfast, Northern Ireland to mark the 25th anniversary of the Good Friday Agreement (GFA). It was this historic agreement that brought an end to the decade of sectarian violence on the island of Ireland, popularly known as “the trouble” and brought peace to Northern Ireland. “The Troubles” also known as the Northern Ireland conflict was an ethno-nationalist conflict in Northern Ireland. While the conflict majorly took place in Northern Ireland, the devastating violence spill over into the parts of the Republic of Ireland, England and mainland England. The agreement which ended the conflict was signed in 1998, it is called the Good Friday agreement since it was signed on Good Friday that year. 

According to the British news outlet, The Guardian, the joint agreement was signed by Nobel Peace Prize winners David Trimble and John Hume, who were the leaders of the Ulster Unionist Party and the SDLP. While the government it established was suspended amid the post-Brexit chaos, the diplomatic feat it managed to achieve and the legacy it holds are the two things which cannot be disregarded. Here’s a look at what the agreement is all about. 

‘The Troubles’: The three decades of violence in Northern Ireland

“The Troubles” was the term which was used to describe the sectarian violence that took place in Northern Ireland. According to the book “Sense of the Troubles: A History of the Northern Ireland Conflict,” written by David McKittrick, the conflict started somewhere in the late 1960s and led to the deaths of over 3,000 people. The attacks were caused by the members of the Irish Republican Army and were mixed with police brutality in the region. 

British troops watch as members of the Ulster Defence Association parade through Belfast, Northern Ireland, on Aug. 1972, Image: AP

The conflict had both historic and ethnic connotations. The violent partition of Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland was considered the root cause of all the evils. What made the conflict get an ethnic undertone is the fact that it was the battle between the Republicans and Unionists. While the Republicans were the people who belonged to the catholic community and supported the unification of the two Irelands, the Unionists were the protestants who had loyalty to the United Kingdom, which Northern Ireland was part of. According to the archival documents of Ulster University, the death of Francis McCloskey, a 67-year-old Republican Catholic a day after being beaten by a police baton, was considered the catalyst of the whole conflict. However, this theory is highly contented since the animosities between the Catholics and the protestants were present way before. The conflict led to heavy devastation in the island nation and IRA was considered responsible for most of it. After decades of conflict, the secret meeting between Gerry Adams, president of Sinn Fein (Which still had ties with the IRA) and John Hume, the leader of the Social Democratic and Labour Party (SDLP) paved the way for an IRA ceasefire in the 1990s, which eventually provided space to formulate the agreement. 

The scene in Falls Road, West Belfast, Northern Ireland after a large car bomb exploded outside the Sinn Fein Headquarters on Sept. 4, 1994, Image: AP

What was the Good Friday Agreement?

On 10 April 1998, the Belfast Agreement also known as the Good Friday agreement was signed between the warring Unionists and the Republicans. Under the agreement, the two sides agreed to share power through a devolved government. According to Ulster University, the agreement acknowledged that in Northern Ireland there is a majority of people who wants to stay with the United Kingdom, however, there is a substantial minority that wants a united Ireland and hence their aspirations should be respected. This means that the agreement provided people with the flexibility to consider themselves either Irish or British. 

Sinn Fein deputy leader Martin McGuinness who will lead the Sin Fein delegation in talks with the British Government, at a rally in Belfast on Dec. 8, 1994, Image: AP

Another important aspect of the agreement was that it allowed the decommissioning of weapons and broader security concerns. It also included the highly controversial clause of the release of prisoners including killers of police officers. The IRA, on the other hand, agreed to the ceasefire proposal. The deal that led to the end of the decade-long conflict, is considered a major diplomatic feat all around the world. 

The impact of Brexit 

Brexit had a negative impact on the agreement. Ever since Brexit, the devolved government that sits at the Northern Ireland assembly which is often referred to as Stormont, did not sit since last year. The reason behind this stall is the fact that the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) which is the unionist faction, is not ready to enter in a power-sharing position amid the Brexit saga. The need for a hard border was one of the major points of contention between the EU and the the UK when it comes to the Brexit negotiation. The ultimate agreement between the EU and the UK to not have hard borders have made the DUP leaders furious as they feel that they were sold out by the UK government. 

A wall painting supporting the Irish Republican Army, seen in the Catholic area of Belfast, Northern Ireland on Nov. 1985, Image: AP

The Republican side on the other hand has persistent animosities against the DUP politician. “We were born into a state that didn’t want us and we had no civil rights, no equality, no human rights, no democratic and peaceful path to self-determination. We have now,” IRA volunteer turned Sinn Eein politician  Martina Anderson told CNN. These animosities are not being addressed since Stormont is not convening its session raising a major challenge for the integrity of the agreement. However, the flexibility provided by the agreement enabled it to evolve over time. As a result, former Northern Ireland secretary Brandon Lewis described the deal as “fraying but not outright broken”. Hence, the hope for a peaceful future on the basis of the agreement still remains prominent.