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The Good Friday Agreement and Beyond

By Mary Pat Kelly
Irish America Newsletter June 17, 2023

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“I was worried about my cousins getting killed,” Kevin Sullivan, Project Director for the Ad Hoc Committee to Protect the Good Friday Agreement said. “My mother was born in Sixmilecross, County Tyrone. My father was a career Army officer, and we lived abroad quite a bit. I often went back to my mother’s home place. I saw when the violence began and felt my own family was at … [Read more...] about The Good Friday Agreement and Beyond

Good Friday Agreement 25 Years Later
Queens University, Belfast Conference

By Kelly Candaele
IA Newsletter April 29, 2023

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Senator George Mitchell turned out to be the star of the Agreement 25 conference held April 17-19, 2023 in Belfast at Queens University to mark the twenty-five-year anniversary of the signing of the Good Friday Agreement that largely ended the sectarian war that had devastated Northern Ireland. In a keynote address on the first day of the conference he noted that “If history … [Read more...] about Good Friday Agreement 25 Years Later
Queens University, Belfast Conference

Hibernia: Politics

By Tom Deignan
Spring 2023

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Adams and Clinton at Cooper Union Former U.S.  president Bill Clinton and Sinn Féin leader Gerry Adams both spoke at an event in early April celebrating the historic achievements of the Good Friday Agreement, which was signed 25 years ago. “A return to British direct rule is not an option,” Adams said at the event, held at The Great Hall of Manhattan’s Cooper Union … [Read more...] about Hibernia: Politics

Profiles in Courage Awards

By IA Staff
Spring 2023

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On December 7, 1998, a special John F. Kennedy Profile in Courage Award was presented to eight political leaders of Northern Ireland and the American chairman of the peace talks in recognition of the extraordinary political courage they demonstrated in negotiating the historic Good Friday Peace Agreement in April 1998. The presentation of the Profile in Courage Award to a … [Read more...] about Profiles in Courage Awards

Time for Peace

By Tom Deignan
Spring 2023

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The year was 1981, and Irish American elected officials – including the junior U.S. Senator from Delaware, Joe Biden – had plenty of reasons to be concerned. Yes, another festive St. Patrick’s Day in Washington D.C., was approaching. But so were some of the darkest days of the Troubles in Northern Ireland. Amidst rising clashes on the streets of Belfast, an Irish Republican … [Read more...] about Time for Peace