Good Friday Agreement
The Good Friday Agreement was signed, bringing peace to Northern Ireland after 30 years of conflict
April 10, 1998
Ending Decades of Conflict
On April 10, 1998 — Good Friday — political parties in Northern Ireland and the governments of the United Kingdom and Ireland signed a landmark peace agreement that ended thirty years of violent conflict known as "the Troubles." The conflict had claimed over 3,500 lives as Republican groups seeking unification with Ireland clashed with Loyalist groups wanting to remain part of the United Kingdom, with the British security forces caught in between. Bombings, assassinations, and sectarian violence had scarred Northern Ireland and spilled into Britain and Ireland for three decades.
What the Agreement Said
The Good Friday Agreement, also called the Belfast Agreement, created a power-sharing government in Northern Ireland where both Unionist and Nationalist parties would serve together. It established cross-border institutions between Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland and set up bodies connecting both governments to the broader British Isles. It committed all parties to exclusively peaceful means of pursuing their goals. Crucially, it allowed people in Northern Ireland to identify as British, Irish, or both. Paramilitary organizations on both sides committed to disarming.
A Model for Peace
The Good Friday Agreement was approved by referendums in both Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland, giving it strong democratic legitimacy. U.S. Senator George Mitchell played a key mediating role, and U.S. President Bill Clinton's engagement was widely credited as decisive. The agreement has held, with major flare-ups of political crisis but no return to widespread violence. It has been studied as a model for resolving similar conflicts elsewhere in the world. Use the date calculator to see how many years of peace the agreement has helped protect.