On May 22, 1998, residents of Ireland voted in favor of the Good Friday Agreement. 94% of voters in the Republic of Ireland and 71% of voters in Northern Ireland voted in support of the agreement. The goal of the Agreement was to promote peace and unity between Ireland and Northern Ireland.
In 1801, Ireland became
a part of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland. After that point,
there were several fights for independence from Britain. The Republic of
Ireland, made up of 32 counties, gained independence from Britain in 1922.
However, the six counties in Northern Ireland remain a part of the United
Kingdom to this day.
People in the Republic of Ireland have believed for decades that Northern Ireland should be unified with the rest of the country, while those in Northern Ireland still prefer to be part of the UK. This disagreement is due to religious allegiances, with the Republic of Ireland being predominantly Catholic and Northern Ireland being predominantly Protestant.
These disagreements became violent in the last 25 years of
the twentieth century. The Irish Republican Army, or IRA, fought forces in
Northern Ireland. This period of time, called the Troubles, lasted from the
late 1960s until the Good Friday Agreement in 1998. It was marked by violence
and disagreement. 3,532 people lost their lives, over half of these deaths being of civilians.
The Good Friday Agreement helped put an end to the violence
and called for peace. It removed a clause in the Republic of Ireland’s
constitution that says that the Irish nation has control over the entire
nation. New articles were added, stating that a movement to unify the Republic
of Ireland with Northern Ireland would only happen if both sides agreed to the
change.
The United Kingdom also amended its constitution, acknowledging
that there were issues on the whole island of Ireland that needed to be worked
out between the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland without outside
parties getting involved. Despite overwhelming support, it did take a while for
those with extremist views on both sides to come together and work for peace.
The agreement allowed for Catholics and Protestants to be involved in power
sharing.
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