The Good Friday Agreement
April 10th 1998
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- Stormont Parliament
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- Bill CLinton & George Mitchell
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- Poster for Referendum
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- Ahern, Mitchell & Blair
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- Blair, McGuinness & Adams
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- Blair & Ahern sign the Agreement
The negotiations between the Irish & British Governments, Unionist, Nationalist & Republican parties in Northern Ireland finally came to fruition on this day in 1998.
The agreement was ratified by the following parties:
- Irish Government
- British Government
- Sinn Féin
- Ulster Unionist Party
- SDLP
The agreement was opposed by:
- The DUP (Democratic Unionist Party)
Terms of the Agreement:
- Principle of Consent: It was agreed that Northern Ireland would remain part of the UK as long as the majority of Northern Ireland’s citizens wanted it.
- Power-Sharing: The new power-sharing governments of Northern Ireland would have to include represenatatives of both traditions, i.e. Unionist & Nationalist.
- Government: The ‘First Minister’ & ‘Deputy First Minister’ would lead the government of Northern Ireland. They would be elected to a 108-seater Assembly from 18 constituencies.
- North-South Bodies: A North-South body was established to create joint co-operation in areas such as Tourism, Sport, Agriculture & Industry.
- British-Irish Council: A council of the islands of Britain & Ireland, including representatives from Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland and the smaller islands was established to oversee co-operation in agriculture, tourism, security & health.
Ratifying the Agreement
Republic of Ireland: 94.39 % voted in favour
Northern Ireland: 71.2 % voted in favour
A later referendum held in the Republic of Ireland on the Good Friday Agreement, including ratifying changes to Articles 2 & 3 of Bunreacht na hEireann, reflecting the principle of consent in relation to any possible unification of Ireland, was overwhelmingly endorsed by 94.3% of voters in the Republic, while 71% of voters ratified the Good Friday Agreement in Northern Ireland.
