On Good Friday, 1998, something that only the grace of God could make possible occurred in Ireland: the Belfast (Good Friday) Agreement. Most of the political parties in Northern Ireland, including the parties that were fronts for paramilitary terrorist groups, as well as the Irish and British governments, came to an agreement, a compromesso storico as a famous Italian communist would have described it.
The Agreement did three things. (1) It established a constitutional and legal framework for power-sharing between the elected representatives of the two communities in Northern Ireland. (2) It included a formal treaty between Britain and Ireland to support and maintain the power-sharing arrangements. (3) It confirmed the end of the 1970-1998 intercommunal violence, Ireland’s “Thirty Years’ War” that was cultural, religious and political. Recognizing that a solid peace had to be more than the absence of violence, it registered the commitment of both sides to change their cultures toward being less identity-fixated and hostile to the Other, and more inclusive and tolerant. Why did it take so long to make peace?
How it started…
In the late 19th century, Irish nationalism (like other European nationalisms) flourished. There were two groupings within Irish nationalism: the mass-movement democratic and constitutional groups and the small, clandestine and violent groups (the ancestors of the IRA, the Irish Republican Army). Ireland was part of the United Kingdom, sending elected representatives to the London parliament, unlike other countries in the empire such as Canada or India. Around 1900, Britain’s Liberal party was persuaded to support Home Rule, involving a limited devolved government for Ireland. At the high tide of European imperialism, that was a remarkable achievement. In 1912, the British parliament legislated for Home Rule.