There are rare, even magical, occasions when politicians with opposing beliefs and backgrounds come together to do something great for their country. They focus on crucial issues like giving peace and stability a chance to change the lives of people tired of decades of violence. They put aside long-term political expediency to promote immediate peace.

The signing of the Good Friday Agreement on April 10, 1998 was one such moment.

The Good Friday Agreement ended decades of sectarian violence on the island of Ireland known as ‘The Troubles’. The Troubles created 1,971 political prisoners and many deaths, the most infamous being Bloody Sunday in 1972, when 14 people were shot during a civil protest.

In 1979 an IRA volunteer assassinated Lord Louis Mountbatten, a member of the royal family and mentor of now King Charles III.

Politicians from diverse backgrounds included Gerry Adams, president of Sinn Fein when the party still had ties to the IRA.

David Trimble was the leader of the Ulster Unionist Party (UUP). Ian Paisley was the once inflexible leader of the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP).  John Hume was the leader of moderate nationalist SDLP.

Bertie Ahern was the Irish prime minister, while Tony Blair was the UK’s Labour prime minister. Despite their differences, a sense of history became more pronounced as these leaders, helped by US mediation, realised that the moment could slip away forever if they did not strike a peace deal.

In the words of former Northern Ireland secretary Peter Hain, “The Good Friday Agreement was a masterpiece of constructive ambiguity and pragmatic generosity, the result of focused and intensive negotiations.” It was not a perfect agreement, but it gave a new generation of Irish people a chance to enjoy peace and prosperity, a privilege denied to their parents.

The political solution in the agreement is that Northern Ireland has a devolved government that must comprise both Unionists and Republicans on a power-sharing basis. While the deal did not mention anything specific about an open border, it clearly encourages a situation in which as little friction as possible exists on the land border between Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland.

US President Joe Biden speaking at Ulster University on Wednesday, argued, “Peace and economic opportunity go together”. He expressed his wish for Northern Ireland’s political parties to continue with the power-sharing process, which is currently suspended because the DUP, the largest unionist party, is boycotting it. Biden is right in commenting that “The Windsor Framework protects peace”.

The durability of the Good Friday Agreement in its 25th anniversary year faces formidable challenges. The agreement may need to be amended to reduce the risks that could emanate if the DUP refuses to continue to form part of the Northern Ireland devolved government. The last thing most Irish people want is a return to violence.

Attacks still happen but have been reduced to small splinter groups of effectively organised crime gangs.

There is no longer the ideology of militia that existed during The Troubles. Martina Anderson, a former IRA volunteer-turned Sinn Fein politician, argues, “We were born into a state that did not want us, and we had no civil rights, no equality, no human rights, no democratic and peaceful part to self-determination. We have now”. 

The Good Friday Agreement deserves to be kept alive by addressing the new challenges threatening the well-being of all the people of Ireland.