When was the Good Friday Agreement made up?
The agreement is made up of two inter-related documents, both agreed in Belfast on Good Friday, 10 April 1998: a multi-party agreement by most of Northern Ireland's political parties (the Multi-Party Agreement); an international agreement between the British and Irish governments (the British–Irish Agreement).
What was the 1998 Northern Ireland Good Friday Agreement?
The agreement was approved by voters across the island of Ireland in two referendums held on 22 May 1998. In Northern Ireland, voters were asked in the 1998 Northern Ireland Good Friday Agreement referendum whether they supported the multi-party agreement.
How many prisoners have been freed from Long Kesh?
A total of 428 prisoners have been freed under the terms of the early release programme, including 143 who were serving life sentences. The remaining prisoners will be transferred to other jails and the complex, which began as Long Kesh internment camp in 1971, will be closed, although no decision has been taken about its future use.
Are paramilitary organizations eligible for release from prison?
According to this bill, prisoners affiliated with paramilitary organizations that had established and maintained “a complete and unequivocal case-fire (Article 8 (a) and (b)) are eligible for release.
See more
What was the result of the Good Friday Agreement?
The agreement thus left the issue of future sovereignty over Northern Ireland open-ended. The agreement reached was that Northern Ireland was part of the United Kingdom, and would remain so until a majority of the people both of Northern Ireland and of the Republic of Ireland wished otherwise.
How many people voted in Good Friday Agreement?
The Good Friday Agreement referendum, 1998 was a referendum held in Northern Ireland over whether there was support for the Good Friday Agreement. The result was a majority (71.1%) in favour.
What did the 1998 Good Friday Agreement do?
It was an agreement between the British and Irish governments, and most of the political parties in Northern Ireland, on how Northern Ireland should be governed. The talks leading to the Agreement addressed issues which had caused conflict during previous decades.
Did the Good Friday Agreement release prisoners?
Each prisoner was released on a licence that could be revoked if the Commissioners and Secretary of State for Northern Ireland decided that they had rejoined a paramilitary organisation or supported paramilitary activity. The early release of prisoners is one of the most difficult parts of the Good Friday Agreement.
Did people vote on the Good Friday Agreement?
Every household in Northern Ireland received a copy of the Agreement. In a referendum on 22 May 1998, over 71 percent of those who voted supported the Agreement. There was an 82 percent turnout of registered voters.
Is the IRA still active in Ireland?
Several splinter groups have been formed as a result of splits within the IRA, including the Continuity IRA and the Real IRA, both of which are still active in the dissident Irish republican campaign.
What was the outcome of the troubles?
The Troubles were brought to an uneasy end by a peace process that included the declaration of ceasefires by most paramilitary organisations, the complete decommissioning of the IRA's weapons, the reform of the police, and the withdrawal of the British Army from the streets and sensitive Irish border areas such as ...
Was the Anglo Irish Agreement successful?
The Agreement failed to bring an immediate end to political violence in Northern Ireland; neither did it reconcile the two communities. The devolved power-sharing government envisaged by the Agreement would not become a reality for many years, and then in quite a different form.
What ended the troubles in Ireland?
1968 – 1998The Troubles / Period
Why did the IRA agree to peace?
The IRA statement said that the ceasefire was ended because "the British government acted in bad faith with Mr Major and the unionist leaders squandering this unprecedented opportunity to resolve the conflict" by refusing to allow Sinn Féin into the talks until the IRA decommissioned its arms.
How many prisoners were released from Maze Prison?
Jailed Loyalists and Republicans were freed from prison today, as the final wave of prisoner releases got underway in Northern Ireland. 78 prisoners were freed from the Maze prison. First out were 8 members of the UVF, followed by a group of the UDA/UFF men the LVF and the INLA. 46 members of the Provisional IRA were the last due to be freed.
Who was the spokesman for the Progressive Unionist Party Prisons?
The Progressive Unionist Party Prisons' Spokesman, William Smyth, said that it was a historic day, as they witnessed the imminent closure of what he said was an infamous prison camp. He said that they acknowledged the release of prisoners would not be welcomed by every one and they understood and sympathised with that view. He said it was not their intention to glorify the occasion, and the eight men were driven away at speed in a convoy.
Who was the LVF member who was jailed for murder?
LVF member, Norman Coopey, who was jailed for life for the abduction, torture and murder of James Morgan, a Catholic teenager from County Down, will also be freed. The victim's mother, Philomena, said that she dreaded ever meeting his attacker again, but she had to accept the release.
When was the Good Friday Agreement approved?
The agreement was approved by voters across the island of Ireland in two referendums held on 22 May 1998. In Northern Ireland, voters were asked in the 1998 Northern Ireland Good Friday Agreement referendum whether they supported the multi-party agreement.
What is the Good Friday Agreement?
The Good Friday Agreement ( GFA ), or Belfast Agreement ( Irish: Comhaontú Aoine an Chéasta or Comhaontú Bhéal Feirste; Ulster-Scots: Guid Friday Greeance or Bilfawst Greeance ), is a pair of agreements signed on 10 April 1998 that ended most of the violence of the Troubles, a political conflict in Northern Ireland that had ensued since the late 1960s. It was a major development in the Northern Ireland peace process of the 1990s. Northern Ireland's present devolved system of government is based on the agreement. The agreement also created a number of institutions between Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland, and between the Republic of Ireland and the United Kingdom .
How many articles are in the Belfast Agreement?
The former text has just four articles; it is that short text that is the legal agreement, but it incorporates in its schedules the latter agreement. Technically, this scheduled agreement can be distinguished as the Multi-Party Agreement, as opposed to the Belfast Agreement itself.
Why is Good Friday important?
Because the Good Friday Agreement binds the British government on several points of law in Northern Ireland, it has de facto become a part of Constitution of the United Kingdom. Legal commentator David Allen Green described it as "a core constitutional text of the UK, and of Ireland [...] of more everyday importance than hallowed instruments such as, say, Magna Carta of 1215 or the 1689 Bill of Rights ".
Did the loyalists decommissioned weapons?
Of the loyalist paramilitaries, only the Loyalist Volunteer Force had decommissioned any weapons. Further negotiations took place in October 2006, leading to the St Andrews Agreement . In May 2007, a power-sharing executive was again established to govern Northern Ireland in devolved matters.
What was the Good Friday Agreement?
The Good Friday Agreement (GFA), agreed on April 10th 1998 and ratified by popular vote on May 22nd 1998, was an agreement that brought about the end of a period of violent conflict in Northern Ireland known as 'The Troubles' . The Troubles refers to decades of violence where Nationalists (usually Catholic) were locked into bitter and deadly dispute with Unionists (usually Protestant) in Northern Ireland. The GFA established a new government that would be a power share between the Unionists and the Nationalists, therefore helping to establish a tentative peace. One of the most controversial aspects of the agreement, however, was the early release of prisoners. Some have argued that this permitted many to simply get away with murder.
Why was the Good Friday Agreement controversial?
One of the most controversial aspects of the Good Friday Agreement (GFA) was the early release of paramilitary prisoners, some of whom had been involved in the most horrific murders of the Troubles. While some argued that this release was necessary in order to engender good will towards the GFA, many have opposed this specific clause of the Agreement, arguing the GFA has been a failure due to the fact it has allowed convicted murderers to walk free. Under the terms of the Agreement, just under 500 Loyalist and Republican paramilitaries, whose affiliated organisations had agreed to lay down their weapons, were granted early release. Those whose organisations had not announced a ceasefire were not eligible for this early release scheme. Some of the most notorious murderers released included Patrick Magee, responsible for the 1984 Brighton Hotel bombing in which five people were killed. [1] Even Tony Blair, the British Prime Minister and one of the key architects of the GFA, admitted that the releases were 'very hard to stomach'. The people who were most shocked by the early release of the prisoners were family members of the victims. One man who lost his father, two uncles, two cousins and many friends in the Troubles proclaimed "We have prisoners getting out here today who are serial killers, who believe they have the right to murder people in the name of their cause." [2] . This sentiment is still echoed in many parts of Northern Ireland as a recent questionnaire showed. One native of Ballymena argued in 2018, on the 20th Anniversary of the Agreement that, 'at the time I thought SF got far too much for far too little in return. Murderers are out walking our streets after cowardly murders. As Gerry (Adams, right) said in Germany, he believes that the gun and bomb is the way to obtain political advantage. So a leopard will never change its spots.' [3] Due to the deep hurt and pain caused by many of the released prisoners to so many families in Northern Ireland, on both sides of the political divide, some have argued that the Good Friday Agreement has been a failure as it allowed those responsible to walk free. Although many Northern Irish citizens questioned on the 20th Anniversary of the Agreement agree that the GFA was broadly positive, the release of the prisoners is still seen by some as too high a price to pay for the GFA.
Prisoner Release – 1998
- As provided in the accord, British government introduced a bill to release prisoners and the bill had a second reading on 10 June 1998. The bill, Northern Ireland (Sentences) Act 1998, received Royal Assent on 28 July 1998. According to this bill, prisoners affiliated with paramilitary organizations that had established and maintained “a complete and unequivocal case-fire (Articl…
Prisoner Release – 1999
- Prisoner release continued in 1999. During Christmas and New Year time, 131 prisoners were granted extended home leave. As of 16 December, 308 prisoners were released.1 evertheless, with the release of high profile prisoners, public support for prisoner release dropped, according to a Belfast Telegraph opinion poll.2“The Good Friday Agreement — Prisoners,” BBC News, http://w…
Prisoner Release – 2000
- The final batch of prisoners was released on 28 July. A total of 428 pro-British Loyalist and pro-Irish Republican guerrillas were released early under the terms of the Good Friday Agreement.1 1. “Britain Frees Northern Irish Prisoners,” ABC News, July 28, 2000, http://abcnews.go.com/International/story?id=83044&page=1; Keesing’s Record of World Ev...
Prisoner Release – 2007
- The Sentence Review Commission continuously received applications for release of prisoners. Between 1998 and 2012, the commission received a total of 636 applications, of which 506 applications were granted release.1 1. “Annual Report 2011/2012,” Sentence Review Commissioners, accessed February 1, 2013, http://www.sentencereview.org.uk.
Overview
The Good Friday Agreement (GFA), or Belfast Agreement (Irish: Comhaontú Aoine an Chéasta or Comhaontú Bhéal Feirste; Ulster-Scots: Guid Friday Greeance or Bilfawst Greeance), is a pair of agreements signed on 10 April 1998 that ended most of the violence of The Troubles, a political conflict in Northern Ireland that had prevailed since the late 1960s. It was a major development in t…
Structure of agreement
The agreement is made up of two inter-related documents, both agreed in Belfast on Good Friday, 10 April 1998:
1. a multi-party agreement by most of Northern Ireland's political parties (the Multi-Party Agreement);
2. an international agreement between the British and Irish governments (the British–Irish Agreement).
History and process
When the Irish Free State was established in 1922 (under the Anglo-Irish Treaty of December 1921), six of the island's northern counties remained part of the United Kingdom. For Northern Ireland the decades that followed were marked by tensions and controversies, sometimes spilling over into violence, between unionists who favoured remaining with Britain and nationalists who favoured unification with the Irish Free State (later the Republic of Ireland). Starting in the late 1960s this …
Parties and structure of government
The agreement was made between the British and Irish governments and eight political parties or groupings from Northern Ireland. Three were representative of unionism: the Ulster Unionist Party which had led unionism in Ulster since the beginning of the 20th century, and two smaller parties associated with Loyalist paramilitaries, the Progressive Unionist Party (linked with the Ulster Volunteer Force (UVF)), and Ulster Democratic Party (the political wing of the Ulster Defence Asso…
Status of Northern Ireland
The agreement acknowledged:
• that the majority of the people of Northern Ireland wished to remain a part of the United Kingdom;
• that a substantial section of the people of Northern Ireland, and the majority of the people of the island of Ireland, wished to bring about a united Ireland.
New institutions
The agreement sets out a framework for the creation and number of institutions across three "strands".
Strand 1 dealt with the democratic institutions of Northern Ireland and established two major institutions:
• Northern Ireland Assembly
Decommissioning and normalisation
Against the background of political violence during the Troubles, the agreement committed the participants to "exclusively democratic and peaceful means of resolving differences on political issues". This took two aspects:
• decommissioning of weapons held by paramilitary groups;
• the normalisation of security arrangements in Northern Ireland.
Equality and human rights
The agreement affirmed a commitment to "the mutual respect, the civil rights and the religious liberties of everyone in the community". The multi-party agreement recognised "the importance of respect, understanding and tolerance in relation to linguistic diversity", especially in relation to the Irish language, Ulster Scots, and the languages of Northern Ireland's other ethnic minorities, "all of which are part of the cultural wealth of the island of Ireland".