Ireland (Lonely Planet, 9th Edition) - Fionn Davenport [21]
A series of negotiated statements between the Unionists, Nationalists and the British and Irish governments eventually resulted in the historic Good Friday Agreement of 1998. The new assembly, led by First Minister David Trimble of the UUP and Deputy First Minister Seamus Mallon of the nationalist Social Democratic and Liberal Party (SDLP), was beset by sectarian divisions from the outset, which resulted in no less than four suspensions, the last from October 2002 until May 2007.
During this period, the politics of Northern Ireland polarised dramatically, resulting in the falling away of the more moderate UUP and the emergence of the hardline Democratic Unionist Party (DUP), led by Ian Paisley; and, on the Nationalist side, the emergence of the IRA’s political wing, Sinn Féin, as the main torch-bearer of Nationalist aspirations, under the leadership of Gerry Adams and Martin McGuinness.
The hardening of political opinion was almost inevitable. While both sides were eager to maintain an end to the violence, neither side wanted to be accused of having a soft underbelly, especially if both sides’ aspirations could not, despite what was promised, be realised by purely political means. Consequently, the DUP and Sinn Féin dug their heels in, with the main sticking points being decommissioning of IRA weapons and the identity and composition of the new police force ushered in to replace the RUC. Paisley and the Unionists made increasingly difficult demands of the decommissioning bodies (photographic evidence, Unionist witnesses etc) as they blatantly refused to accept anything less than an open and complete surrender of the IRA, while Sinn Féin refused to join the police board that monitored the affairs of the Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI), effectively refusing to change their policy of total noncooperation with the security forces. In the background, now inactive members of the paramilitary groups on both sides were revealed to be involved in all kinds of murky dealings such as drug dealing and turf wars – the most spectacular moment of all came in December 2004 when a £26.5m bank robbery saw the finger of blame pointed directly at Republicans.
But Tony Blair and Bertie Ahern were not about to see their political legacy ruined by northern stubbornness. They continued to turn the screws on both sides, urging them to continue negotiating just as everyone else had begun to despair of ever seeing a resolution. In an effective bit of strong-arming, they set a deadline for resolution and made vague threats to both sides about the consequences of not meeting the deadline. But in a typically Irish bit of face-saving, the Unionists baulked at the deadline of 26 March 2007 and, in a deal agreed with Sinn Féin, announced that they would take their seats in the assembly on 8 May. It was a classic case of ‘we’ll do it, but we’ll do it our way’.
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TIMELINE
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10,000–8000 BC After the last ice age ends, humans arrive in Ireland during the mesolithic era, originally crossing a land bridge between Scotland and Ireland. Few archaeological traces remain of this group.
4500 BC The first Neolithic farmers arrive in Ireland by boat from as far afield as the Iberian peninsula, bringing cattle, sheep, and crops, marking the beginnings of a settled agricultural economy.
700–300 BC Iron technology gradually replaces bronze. The Celtic culture and language arrives, ushering in 1000 years of cultural and political dominance and leaving a legacy still visible today.
300 BC–AD 800 Ireland is divided into five provinces, known in Irish as cúigi (literally, ‘fifth part’): Leinster, Meath, Connaught, Ulster and Munster. Meath later merges with Leinster.
AD 431–2 According to medieval chronicles, Pope Celestine I sends Bishop Palladius to Ireland to minister to those ‘already believing in Christ’; St Patrick arrives the following year to continue the mission.
550–800 The flowering of early monasticism in Ireland. The great monastic teachers begin exporting their knowledge across Europe,