Events to be held in Northern Ireland to reflect on Good Friday Agreement

By Gráinne Ní Aodha and David Young, PA

Several events are to take place in Northern Ireland as people reflect on the significance of the Good Friday Agreement.

While the 25th anniversary takes place on April 10, many will associate the holy day of Good Friday with the diplomatic feat that brought 30 years of bloodshed largely to an end.

Victims of the Troubles are set to gather in Co Down to watch the sunrise as they look back on the deal that changed the region’s future and became a blueprint for resolving global conflicts.

The Dublin Unitarian Church in Ireland’s capital is to hold its annual service to commemorate all those who died in the conflict, and in the time that followed.

More than 3,600 names of the people killed in Northern Ireland between 1966 and 2019 will be read out from noon until 3pm, and will include journalist Lyra McKee.

The anniversary of the historic deal comes as Northern Ireland’s powersharing institutions remain collapsed, in a protest by the DUP over post-Brexit trading arrangements.

Despite a fresh framework struck between the EU and the UK Government earlier this year that looked to tweak the operation of the protocol, Stormont has not returned.

Next week, US President Joe Biden will visit Belfast in a trip to commemorate a quarter of a decade since the US-brokered peace accord.

The following week, further events will be held which are to be attended by former US president Bill Clinton and his wife, former US secretary of state Hillary Clinton.

Harking back to the reaction to the GFA in 1998, Gerry Murphy, the Irish Congress of Trade Unions’ assistant general secretary, said that the agreement is still the way forward.

He said: “When Congress reacted to the agreement signed on April 10 1998, it stated that ‘Congress believes that overall it represents an important step towards peace and reconciliation.

“‘In the unprecedented circumstances now prevailing, Congress is therefore uniquely recommending that trade union vote Yes in the referenda on May 22.’

“The we pledged then is still in place. The agreement remains the road map to a decent future for all.”