HISTORICAL EMPATHY Write an account of the role the parliamentary politician John Hume played in Northern Ireland. Use the following headings as a guide: • His early life • The political parties he was associated with and the political positions to which he was elected
• His role in the Civil Rights movement • His role in the peace process • The awards he received for his political work
Northern Ireland at peace
The Good Friday Agreement was passed in Northern Ireland by 71% and in the South by 94%. Over the following number of years there were many challenges. Several power-sharing governments collapsed because of unionist demands that the IRA destroy its weapons. In 2005, the Independent International Commission on Decommissioning (IICD) stated that the IRA had put all its weapons beyond use. A power-sharing government
was established
with Ian Paisley (Democratic Unionist Party) as First Minister (Prime Minister) and Martin McGuinness (Sinn Féin) as Deputy First Minister.
Weblink
You can find out more about John Hume by searching online for: RTÉ – archives – John Hume
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Fig 16.19 Former enemies Ian Paisley (left) and Martin McGuinness share a joke after being sworn in as ministers in the power-sharing government in 2005.
RECALL
1. In your opinion, why did nationalist prisoners not want to be seen as criminals? 2. What effect did the hunger strikes have on support for the IRA among the nationalist community? Give reasons for your answer.
3. What did the Anglo-Irish Agreement of 1985 state? 4. What benefit did the government of the Republic enjoy as a result of the Anglo-Irish Agreement? 5. Outline the main proposals of the Good Friday Agreement. 6. Look at the proposals for the Good Friday Agreement and the Sunningdale Agreement. What are the main differences?
7. Why was it important to unionists that Articles 2 and 3 of the Irish Constitution were removed? 8. Why was Britain’s statement that it had ‘no strategic or economic interest’ in Northern Ireland of great importance to nationalists?