ON April 10, 1998, an agreement between the British and Irish Governments and the majority of political parties in Northern Ireland changed the Irish political landscape forever.
The Good Friday Agreement ended 30 years of violent sectarian conflict and provided the first significant step towards peace in the region.
It brought about lasting change for many. Here are just a few of the ways in which the Good Friday Agreement changed Northern Ireland forever.
9. Nearly 1,500 people died during the 20-year-period prior to the signing of the agreement. There have been fewer than 150 victims of conflict-related violence in the two decades since.
8. According to the Northern Ireland Mixed Marriage Association (NIMMA) before the Troubles, one in 10 marriages were mixed. These figures dropped during the Troubles but have since risen to around the pre-Troubles level and are projected to rise higher.
7. The number of tourists visiting Belfast moved from 400,000 in 1999 to 1.7m in 2011, while venue has gone from £100m to £451m over the same period, with both figures likely to have increased in the years since.
6. There were more than two and half times as many pupils in integrated schools in 2014 as there were in 1998…even though the overall school-age population fell during this period.
5. The agreement gave prominence to the "principle of consent" which affirmed the legitimacy of a United Ireland while also recognising the wish of the majority to remain part of the UK.
Taoiseach and Fianna Fail leader Bertie Ahern with Senator George Mitchell and British Prime Minister Tony Blair at Castle Buildings Belfast, after they signed the Good Friday Agreement (Picture: RollingNews.ie/Pool)4. Researchers say the Good Friday principle that 'nothing is agreed until everything is agreed' has become a common feature of other peace negotiations. Such an approach was used in negotiations in South Africa, Bosnia and after the Northern Ireland peace process, in Sudan and Colombia and is now framing the UK's Brexit process.
3. The Northern Ireland peace process is celebrated for its inclusion of women, in particular the creation of the Northern Ireland Women's Coalition, an all-woman party elected to the peace talks. The group championed the adoption of a clause in the Good Friday Agreement supporting the participation of women in politics and public life. As of March 2017, women's political participation in the (currently defunct) Northern Ireland Assembly stands at 30 per cent. Women also lead three of the main political parties.
2. Northern Ireland has an unbreakable bond with the United States, helped by Bill Clinton's crucial role in the Good Friday Agreement. Clinton visited Belfast and Dublin three times during his presidency - three times more than any other president.
1. The establishment of the Northern Ireland Assembly and the power to legislate in a wide range of areas that are not explicitly reserved to the Parliament of the United Kingdom, and to appoint the Northern Ireland Executive.
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