What makes the Good Friday Agreement so good?

Alwyn Jimmy

An analysis of the Troubles and the agreement which ultimately brought peace to Northern Ireland 

Upon its negotiation, this agreement represented a ‘truly historic opportunity for a new beginning’. To comprehend the gravity of this agreement, one must familiarise themselves with the Northern Ireland that existed prior to its signing.  

The UK has become less peaceful in the last decade, and Northern Ireland is no exception. Having an average Peace Index score of 3.18, there has been notable decline in certain areas with the Police Force Area (PFA) of Mid Ulster overseeing the third greatest score deterioration within the UK. Despite this, the situation remains far less severe than seen historically. Northern Ireland has had a troubled history from its inception in 1921, after the partition of Ireland. The split of the island brought with it a split in the population between unionists, who wish to see Northern Ireland stay within the UK, and nationalists, who want it to become part of the Republic of Ireland.  However, the differences between the opposing sides ran much deeper, and a boiling point was reached in 1969, as the British army was deployed following the Battle of the Bogside, marking the beginning of the Troubles.  

Northern Ireland symbolised a ‘meta-conflict,’ where there was conflict about what the conflict itself was exactly about. Accepted driving factors ranged from this being an ethnic clash, an anticolonial struggle or a campaign of terrorism. The issue of self-determination and religious sectarianism played their part as both sides committed a range of violent acts. Such violence did not erupt without notice, as the years prior to the outbreak of the Troubles included numerous harrowing events which stoked communal tensions beyond breaking point. Police brutality conducted by the Royal Ulster Constabulary (RUC) at protests led to numerous injuries while their subsequent inaction during the People's Democracy movement march on New Year's Day 1969 led to more violence. The Northern Ireland cabinet met in emergency session later in August, after Sammy Devenney died in hospital after being beaten by the RUC. Rioting soon spread across Northern Ireland, prompting the Irish army to establish four field hospitals along the border as then Taoiseach Jack Lynch called for a UN peacekeeping force in Northern Ireland which the British government firmly rejected.  

After decades of injustice, violence and tragedy, where over 3,500 lives were lost, a solution to the conflict became the top priority. A generation who had grown up not knowing peace, had grown weary. Initial peace talks were aided by the efforts of President Clinton and the former American Senate majority leader George Mitchell. It has also been suggested that the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, may have encouraged the Irish Republican Army (IRA) to lay down arms. The influence of the United States in the creation of the Good Friday Agreement is clear to see. As a result of its massive political and financial power, the US proved to be the catalyst for a historic agreement which gave the Catholic minority and the Republic of Ireland a greater voice in Northern Ireland. This highlights a key feature of the negotiations which led to the Good Friday Agreement, a balanced power-dynamic between the main parties. 

In addition to halting the immediate violence and bloodshed, the Good Friday Agreement ensured that the future of Northern Ireland could be decided through democratic methods while granting self-determination to the people. It stipulated that Northern Ireland would remain part of the United Kingdom but offered the option of reunification should a vote be held in which a majority of the population in the North and Republic of Ireland voted for a united Ireland. The Irish’s long-standing constitutional claim to the whole island was dropped as Stormont was reinstated in a new form. Mandatory power sharing between nationalists and unionists and a mechanism known as a Petition of Concern, which would require a potentially discriminatory piece of legislation to require a majority of support from nationalist and unionist communities. Importantly, practical issues that affected the population were discussed and plans were put in place to rectify existing injustice. One such issue regarded the policing of Northern Ireland. Catholics comprised 40% of the population but represented a mere 7% of the RUC. Most importantly, people born in Northern Ireland could now decide to be either an Irish or British citizen or both or neither. Finally, the Good Friday Agreement gained further legitimacy through democratic means as it was put to the people in referendums both North and South of the border. The landslide support for the agreement formed the foundation for paving the way to peace.   

It cannot be ignored that there was also an element of luck which brought about the Good Friday Agreement. However, this merely aided the volition of the negotiating parties to come together and form an agreement based on majority consent, minority safeguards and confidence-building measures. The importance of learning from the previous failed attempts to foster peace, ranging from the Sunningdale Agreement of 1973 to the Anglo-Irish Agreement of 1985, cannot be overlooked either. In his State of the Union Address, President Clinton stated ‘all Americans can be proud that our leadership helped to bring peace in Northern Ireland. That sentiment should be shared by all, as the Good Friday Agreement remains paramount to peace on this island.