Good Friday Agreement

‘Christians should lead in healing Northern Ireland’

Paul Gosling on April 19, 2019, 7:00 am

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Christians should take a leading role in healing Northern Ireland, says Bishop Ken Good, the Church of Ireland bishop for the cross-border diocese of Derry and Raphoe. He also says that politicians should speak less and that civil society should find its voice. Bishop Ken Good was interviewed in the first of a series of more than 30 Forward Together podcasts recorded with leading figures across Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland to mark 21 years since the signing …

We Are Irish Too – Fact Checked

Emma DeSouza on April 4, 2019, 10:49 pm

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I somewhat accidentally uncovered a change to the UK immigration rules recently that will have a serious impact on the people of Northern Ireland. On March 7th the UK Government changed the definition of an EEA national. The new definition states that EU citizens that also hold British citizenship will not meet the definition of an EEA national under the UK’s immigration rules, and will be unable to apply under the EU settlement scheme. In essence, they will be regarded …

Rumbled! Theresa May’s secret plan to extend Article 50 and stay close to the customs union long term.

Brian Walker on February 13, 2019, 12:28 am

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Theresa May will not mind being forced to extend Article 50 in fifteen day’s time by a cross parliamentary vote, if Tory Brexiteers try to veto whatever she brings back from Brussels. Long suspected as inevitable despite her constant denials, the evidence for this comes – would you believe it ? from that old faithful of hacks’ sources,” overheard in a bar” – in this case by ITN correspondent in Brussels , Angus Walker. Last night, I’d been reporting …

Future Ireland / Breaking waves – Considering a New Ireland in 2019

Chris McKee on February 3, 2019, 10:00 am

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As the drama in Westminster continues, it’s fair to say that in 2019 and beyond, Northern Ireland’s often petty and tedious politics will be interesting, as an international spotlight passes over old scars and immense change looms once again. At times, it feels like we are back on a familiar shore, where the waves grow bigger and the very sand is moving below our feet. Brexit, now, is like a meteor landing in the distant sea. Suddenly, many of the …

A New Deal for Northern Ireland

Philip Smith on November 22, 2018, 1:03 pm

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Politics needs to change in Northern Ireland. How we govern needs to change. Our political culture must transform or our future will be at best no different to our present – political stalemate with a sluggish, dependency economy; limited investment and failing public services. Optimistically our current zombie government will continue to tick over, at worst we descend into a sectarian spiral and we all know where that can lead if unchecked. We need politics to work. But it can’t …

The Agreement can only be amended with cross-community support

Sarah Creighton on October 4, 2018, 8:14 am

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Eyebrows were raised on the 2nd October when Arlene Foster commented that the Good Friday Agreement wasn’t sacrosanct, hinting that she would like to amend it to accommodate Brexit. Her words been praised but also widely condemned. Leo Varadkar responded by saying that “the Good Friday Agreement is not up for renegotiation” in the Dail. Anyone paying close attention will notice that Foster’s comments are very similar to statements made by her party colleagues, Jim Allister and Jamie Bryson over the …

‘The Good Friday Agreement’ by Siobhán Fenton: a reminder of the sheer scale of the mountain still to be climbed

Alex Kane on September 3, 2018, 8:30 am

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This very readable, thoughtful book reminds us of the sheer scale of the mountain still to be climbed in Northern Ireland. More worryingly, though, it left me with the feeling (although that may be more to do with my professional cynicism than with Fenton’s own belief) that we haven’t a hope in hell of getting much beyond first base on the mountain.

Perspectives on Change from a Dublin-dwelling northern Prod

Soapbox on July 11, 2018, 8:41 am

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I am a Northern Irish Protestant who has lived in Dublin for the past twenty five years. I am proud to be from the Protestant community and proud to be from Northern Ireland. But I have never been so proud to be part of a society, as I have been to be part of the Republic of Ireland in recent years. A society that voted, myself included, in favour of marriage equality and a woman’s right to choose. I have a friend …

UUP Advisor recalls how the party eventually backed the Good Friday Agreement

David McCann on April 12, 2018, 7:45 pm

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Final word on the Agreement 20th anniversary.The highlight of the week.An eyewitness account told to @MarkCarruthers7 on @bbctheview about exactly what happened inside the UUP room on Good Friday 1998. pic.twitter.com/PIltKjVdL7 — Mark Simpson (@BBCMarkSimpson) April 12, 2018 More here After Tuesday night’s appearance on @bbctheview I thought I would share a personal letter I wrote to Ken Maginnis after his untimely departure from the UUP in 2012. It relates back to Good Friday 1998 and I meant every word …

Clinton: “Keep the cranes up. Keep the voices free. Keep the votes fair. You’ll figure it out.” #GFA20

Alan Meban (Alan in Belfast) on April 10, 2018, 5:31 pm

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Political leaders of old and today gathered at Queen’s University, Belfast for a day of events focussed on the 20th anniversary of the Good Friday Agreement. Former UK Prime Minister Tony Blair said that people “should realise that this agreement was never going to support all the problems of Northern Ireland” while former US President Bill Clinton had a triptych of advice for NI: “Keep the cranes up. Keep the voices free. Keep the votes fair. You’ll figure it out.”

Forgotten ‘rights’ in the Good Friday Agreement? #Agreement20

Alan Meban (Alan in Belfast) on April 10, 2018, 11:30 am

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Gender based violence, impediments to women’s participation in peace-building, a study on whether abortion was a workplace issue, FGM in NI and the LGBT community’s journey to equality in the wake of the Good Friday Agreement were all discussed in a panel at Saturday’s #Agreement20 conference in Manchester.

A Further Shore (Lyric Theatre) #GFA20

Alan Meban (Alan in Belfast) on April 10, 2018, 10:10 am

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A nuanced and at times moving medley of spoken word and song remembrance of past times, incidents and ways of living during the Troubles, gradually working up to the negotiations and the 1998 Agreement. Not so balanced to become boring, but carefully seeded with surprise and honesty in the many perspectives it opened up.

Negotiation theory, conflict humour and understanding the resolution of Crumlin Road parades #Agreement20

Alan Meban (Alan in Belfast) on April 10, 2018, 8:30 am

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DEALING WITH PAST through understanding negotiation techniques, how comedy is used in conflict, and how the long-running Crumlin Road parading dispute was eventually resolved – three papers from a panel at Saturday’s #Agreement20 conference in Manchester.

Máire Braniff: “the spirit & promise of 1998 Agreement has been firmly cast aside” #Agreement20

Alan Meban (Alan in Belfast) on April 9, 2018, 12:00 pm

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Ulster University’s Dr Máire Braniff delivered Saturday’s keynote address at the #Agreement20 conference in Manchester, with her session titled “Progress in Paralysis: Change and Continuity in post-Agreement Northern Ireland”.

Consensus, Red Herrings and Umbrellas – Panel on Post-Agreement Politics at #Agreement20

Alan Meban (Alan in Belfast) on April 9, 2018, 8:30 am

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THREE PAPERS presented at the #Agreement20 conference addressed the topic of post-Agreement politics in NI, looking at political consensus, what can be learned from white elephants like the Girdwood Community Hub, and comparative studies between Hong Kong, post-war Germany and NI.

Thomas Hennessey: The Hand of History: Why was there an Agreement in 1998? #Agreement20

Alan Meban (Alan in Belfast) on April 8, 2018, 7:59 pm

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At the #Agreement20 conference, Professor Thomas Hennessey explains why he thinks there was a political deal in 1998 and looks at the bottom lines of the different parties and governments involved in the negotiations leading up to the Belfast Agreement, and delves into the significance of the three-stranded approach.

Trimble rains on the GFA parade with supposed threat from loyalist paramiltaries over Brexit terms

Brian Walker on April 8, 2018, 1:02 pm

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David Trimble has many qualities but spreading sweetness and light is not prominent among them. He has pricked the bubble of the GFA commemorations with a sinister warning. The one thing that would provoke loyalist paramilitaries is the present Irish government saying silly things about the border and the constitutional issue. If it looks as though the constitutional arrangements of the agreement, based on the principle of consent, are going to be superseded by so-called ‘special EU status’ then that …

GFA 20 Years On: A Community Reflects

David McCann on April 6, 2018, 3:37 pm

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The Tánaiste Simon Coveney TD will be in West Belfast next Tuesday, 10th April, to deliver a keynote opening address at a Féile an Phobail event to mark the 20th anniversary of the Good Friday Agreement. The event, titled ‘The Good Friday Agreement 20 Years On: A Community Reflects’ will take place in St Mary’s University College on the Falls Road beginning at 8.45am, and will also feature keynote speeches and contributions by former Sinn Féin President Gerry Adams TD, …

With or without a good deal on Brexit, EU oversight of an all-island economy is looking likely

Brian Walker on March 29, 2018, 11:34 am

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Jim Allister QC is not the only one to spot the potential extension of north-south areas of cooperation under “the backstop”, the notorious Option 3 of the draft Withdrawal Agreement, as Newton Emerson reports. There’s quite a bit more from Professor Dagmar Schiek of Queen’s University and from human rights organisations north and south. With cooperation, authority follows. It is indeed a wonder that the DUP have not reacted more strongly. They seem to be putting their faith in a …

Twenty years on, the key challenge is how we can make changes that only are seen to be fair and balanced

Soapbox on March 29, 2018, 8:30 am

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Peter Weir is a DUP MLA for Strangford, he writes for Slugger about his thoughts of the Good Friday Agreement. On Good Friday, twenty years ago, I found myself present at a central point in our history, not just as an observer but as a participant, albeit a minor one. I was in Castle Buildings as a junior member of the Ulster Unionist talks team. I was one of the so called baby barristers, a group of younger members of …