To Peace

PEACE IN NORTHERN IRELAND — THE BELFAST/GOOD FRIDAY AGREEMENT AND THE UNITED STATES

“Without Irish America, there would be no peace process.” — Niall O’Dowd (Peace Negotiator and Author)

2023 was an important year in Northern Ireland, marking twenty-five years since the signing of the 1998 Belfast/Good Friday Agreement. Northern Ireland, at one point referred to as ‘a place apart’, such was the egregious impact of ongoing violence, is also a place where people tried to live life as normally as possible.

‘The Troubles’ is an anodyne and euphemistic moniker to describe a violent period of political conflict in Northern Ireland between 1969–1998. This period of violent, political conflict had an insidious and porous impact on every fabric of civilian life in Northern Ireland. This was a conflict borne out of centuries of disputation and division between Britain and Ireland, arguably ethno-political in nature, but enduring.

Until 1920, with the signing of the Government of Ireland Act, Ireland as a country had been under British jurisdiction but this Act would change the constitutional landscape. Northern Ireland was established on May 3, 1921, and would remain under the governmental authority of the United Kingdom (UK). The remainder of Ireland, known at this formative stage as Southern Ireland, and later in 1937 as the Republic of Ireland, would be a self-administering, independent State. ‘The Troubles’, arguably was sparked by growing discontent among a Catholic and Nationalist minority in Northern Ireland with regard to unfair treatment by a majority Protestant and Unionist controlled government within areas of employment, education, and electoral practices as part of civil rights entitlements.

The 1960’s was a decade which saw other parts of the world including Europe and the United States (U.S) witnessing street protests and demanding similar levels of equal treatment. Some would argue that Northern Ireland was particularly influenced by the non-violent civil rights protests occurring in the U.S. Against the backdrop of such protestation, violent exchanges in parts of Northern Ireland became the norm between civil rights marchers and state security forces, so much so that the UK government deployed the British Army to restore law and order to the streets of Northern Ireland. The situation, however, increasingly worsened with more sustained violence and the period, now known as ‘The Troubles’ was birthed, and would continue from 1969 until 1998 with the signing of the Belfast/Good Friday Agreement.