What Is the Good Friday Agreement?

The Good Friday Agreement is known by other names such as the Belfast Agreement and sometimes as the Stormant Agreement. The name came from the fact that the Agreement was reached and signed on Good Friday in 1998.

The Good Friday Agreement was an agreement signifying an end to the war in Ireland against British Rule and British presence in the country. The agreement was between the British, the Loyalists and the Republicans. Following the war for Independence, Ireland was declared a free state except for six counties in the north. Those were still held by the British.

After the agreement was reached, the British were to remove occupational troops from Ireland. It also began an era of North Ireland and South Ireland working together to unite their country. Since the Agreement, peace has been the political tone of this once war-stricken land.

The Irish Struggle For Freedom

The struggle for freedom in Ireland dated back to the 1920s. The struggle was between the Catholics and Protestants. The Protestants held most of the lands and most of the resources and their actions resulted in a low standard of living among the Catholics.

To put down the violence and fighting during 1921, the British sent troops to Ireland. In 1921, the factions of Protestants and Catholics split on the issue of home rule. Fighting erupted based on the fact that the Catholics favored separation from the United Kingdom and the Protestants feared rule by a Catholic majority. Six counties in the North chose to stay ruled by the United Kingdom.

The Free State of Ireland was created by England when they liberated the southern portion of Ireland, which was predominately Catholic, while the predominately Protestant northern counties choose to remain under British rule.

The Government of Ireland Act granted governmental rule to Ireland with political power given to both parties. Following guerilla fighting, Ireland was granted the Free Irish State in 1921.

Terrorist Wars

Armed Hostilities began again in the 1960s and erupted into a terrorist type war. Bloody riots were commonplace and acts of terrorism such as bombings were frequent. The British were once again sent in to control the violence, but only succeeded in inflaming the situation more because of their presence. The violence and fighting continued unabated into the 1990s.

The main issues of the conflict arose out of the treatment of the Catholics by the Protestants. The long standing poor treatment embedded a resentment and bitterness in the hearts of those involved. The two parties were not willing to give an inch because they felt they had been giving for over a hundred years. The attitudes continued to create an atmosphere of animosity, which was passed on into the next generation.

Peace talks began in the early 90s and resulted in a cease fire and further talks. The Anglo-Irish Peace Proposal resulted but the cease fire broke down as tempers flared again.

The US became involved in the peace process, succeeding in negotiating the gradual disarmament of the Irish Republican Army (IRA) during the course of the peace talks. In 1998, an accord was reached to resolve the differences, known now as the Good Friday Agreement.

Terms of the Agreement

The Agreement included commitments to remove British troops from Ireland and to institute talks between the North Irish and Ireland on setting up a government without resorting to violence. There was an agreement to disarm all paramilitary weapons on both sides of the conflict for a period of two years. There was also the agreement that a Human Rights Commission would be established in north Ireland. Territorial claims by Ireland on the lands of North Ireland were released and the citizens of North Ireland were granted the rights to become citizens of Ireland or United Kingdom or both.

After the Good Friday Agreement was reached, tensions eased but certain issues were still at the forefront. The cease fire has held and disarmament is proceeding. Negotiations between the two parties continue with some progress but there are still many issues to be resolved before there can be any hope of lasting peace.