Key Dates in the

Irish Peace Process

This is a DRAFT (v2) OUTLINE of the key dates in the Irish Peace Process from 1988 to the present. Each entry in the following page consists of a brief note. Fuller details of events for any of the days listed below can be found in the appropriate year in the main chronology.

Information on relevant organisations can be found in 'Abstracts on Organisations' and information on key individuals can be found in 'Abstracts on Individuals'. The text of publications (reports, statements, etc.) referred to in the chronology will be available through links or on the page of 'Source Documents'.

There is no general agreement among commentators on the start date of the current 'Peace Process'. The announcement of the IRA "cessation" of military action on 31 August 1994 was the end of one part of the process and the beginning of another phase. For the purpose of the CAIN Archive the date taken as the start of the process will be the 11 January 1988. Although some have argued that the Peace Process came to an end with the IRA bomb in Canary Wharf in February 1996 it is assumed that the present (October 1996) Stormont talks are part of the same process.

This chronology has been compiled from a number of sources.

1988

January 1988 to August 1988
A series of talks were held between John Hume, the leader of the Social Democratic and Labour Party (SDLP), and Gerry Adams, the President of Sinn Féin (SF).

11 January 1988
John Hume, the leader of the Social Democratic and Labour Party (SDLP), met with Gerry Adams, the President of Sinn Féin (SF). This was the first in a series of discussions between the two men.

1 August 1988
An Irish Republic Army (IRA) bomb killed one soldier and injured nine at an army barracks in London. It was the first IRA bomb in Britain since the 'Brighton' bombing on 12 October 1984.

30 August 1988
Last in a series meetings between John Hume, the leader of the Social Democratic and Labour Party (SDLP) and Gerry Adams, the President of Sinn Féin (SF).

14 October 1988
Members from four Northern Ireland political parties met for talks in Duisburg, West Germany. The parties involved were; Alliance Party of Northern Ireland (APNI), Social Democratic and Labour Party (SDLP), Ulster Unionist Party (UUP) and Democratic Unionist Party (DUP). Little progress was reported from the meetings.

19 October 1988
The British government introduced broadcasting restrictions on certain organisations proscribed in Northern Ireland and Britain. The groups concerned were, Sinn Féin (SF), Republican Sinn Féin (RSF), and the Ulster Defence Association (UDA).

1989

5 March 1989
Gerry Adams, the President of Sinn Féin (SF), made a speech ??.

24 July 1989
Peter Brooke was appointed as Secretary of State for Northern Ireland.

3 November 1989
Speech by Peter Brooke, the then Secretary of State for Northern Ireland.

1990

9 November 1990
Peter Brooke, the then Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, makes a major speech on the British position to an audience in London. In the speech he said that Britain had no "strategic or economic interest" in Northern Ireland and would accept unification of Ireland if that was the wish of the people of Northern Ireland.

15 ? November 1990
Gerry Adams, the President of Sinn Féin (SF), made a response to Peter Brooke's speech of the 9 November 1990.

1991

29 April 1991
A ceasefire announced by the Combined Loyalist Military Command (CLMC) began on midnight.

14 March 1991
Peter Brooke, the then Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, announced to the House of Commons that talks involving the four main parties in Northern Ireland would take place during a gap in the operation of the Anglo-Irish Conference meetings. These talks were the first of a series lasting from March 1991 to November 1992 which became known as the Brooke / Mayhew Talks.

25 March 1991
All the parties involved in the Brooke / Mayhew Talks agreed to the arrangements for the talks.

26 March 1991
Peter Brooke, the then Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, announces that the Brooke / Mayhew Talks will involve a three-strand process. This process involves relationships within Northern Ireland, between Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland, and between the British and Irish Governments.

3 July 1991
Peter Brooke, the then Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, announced at Westminster that he was bringing this stage of the Brooke / Mayhew Talks to an end.

4 July 1991
The Combined Loyalist Military Command (CLMC) announced the end of the ceasefire, as of midnight, that had begun on 29 April 1991.

16 September 1991 - 20 September 1991
Peter Brooke, the then Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, held a series of meetings with leaders of the political parties in Northern Ireland to try to restart the talks process.

4 December 1991
Peter Brooke, the then Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, again met the leaders of the political parties in Northern Ireland to try to begin all-party talks.

October 1991
Douglas Hurd, the then British Foreign Secretary, made a speech which included a section devoted to Northern Ireland.

1992

?? February 1992
Sinn Féin held their annual conference - Árd Fheis - in a community hall in Ballyfermot, Dublin. A document, Towards a Lasting Peace in Ireland (Sinn Féin, 1992), was launched.

9 April 1992
A general election was held in the United Kingdom (UK). Gerry Adams, the President of Sinn Féin (SF), lost his seat in West Belfast to Dr Joe Hendron of the Social Democratic and Labour Party (SDLP).

11 April 1992
Patrick Mayhew replaced Peter Brooke as Secretary of State for Northern Ireland.

27 April 1992
There was an announcement at the Angol-Irish Intergovernmental Conference that there would be a three month break in its meetings to allow the Brooke / Mayhew Talks to recommence.

29 April 1992
The Brooke / Mayhew Talks recommenced at Stormont.

12 June 1992
The parties involved in the Brooke / Mayhew Talks agree to begin work on Strand Two and Strand Three of the process even though discussions on Strand One were at a standstill.

19 June 1992
There was a meeting between representatives of the British and Irish Governments and the Northern Ireland parties to discuss an agenda for Strand Two of the Brooke / Mayhew Talks.

30 June 1992
Further meetings were held in London as part of the Brooke / Mayhew Talks.

1 July 1992
In a significant shift in approach the Unionist parties agree to talks with politicians from the Republic of Ireland under Strand Two of the Brooke / Mayhew Talks.

6 July 1992 - 8 July 1992

As part of the Brooke / Mayhew Talks there are discussions in London between the British and Irish Governments and the Northern Ireland political parties.

24 July 1992
There is a summer adjournment in Strand Two of the Brooke / Mayhew Talks. The talks recommence on 2 September 1992.

10 August 1992
Patrick Mayhew, the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, announces that the Ulster Defence Association (UDA) is to be banned from midnight.

2 September 1992
Following the summer adjournment, Strand Two of the Brooke / Mayhew Talks resume.

9 September 1992
Ian Paisley, the leader of the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP), walks out of the Brooke / Mayhew Talks.

21 - 23 September 1992
Jim Molyneaux, the then leader of the Ulster Unionist Party (UUP), led a delegation from the UUP to talks in Dublin with the Irish Government. The talks are based on Strand Two. The Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) did not attend the talks in Dublin.

26 September 1992
The Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) return to the resumed Brooke / Mayhew Talks at Stormont.

6 November 1992
The Irish Coalition Government collapses and a general election is held on 25 November 1992.

10 November 1992
Unionists withdraw from the Brooke / Mayhew Talks and bring the process to an end. Their action was provoked by the restart of work of the Maryfield secretariat, set up as a result of the Anglo-Irish Agreement.

24 December 1992
The Irish Republican Army (IRA) calls a three-day ceasefire.

1993

Wednesday 7 April 1993
Gordon Wilson met with representatives of the Irish Republican Army (IRA) to try to persuade them to stop their military campaign.

Friday 9 April 1993
The Irish Republican Army (IRA) issued its Easter message.

Saturday 10 April 1993
Gerry Adams, the President of Sinn Féin (SF), was seen visiting the home of John Hume, the leader of the Social Democratic and Labour Party (SDLP), in Derry. The two men met for discussions in their capacities as leaders of their respective parties.

Sunday 11 April 1993
The secret talks held between John Hume, the leader of the Social Democratic and Labour Party (SDLP), and Gerry Adams, the President of Sinn Féin (SF), became public knowledge when the "Sunday Tribune" newspaper ran a story. The talks were criticised by a number of parties and individuals.

23 April 1993
John Hume, the leader of the Social Democratic and Labour Party (SDLP), and Gerry Adams, the President of Sinn Féin (SF), held another meeting. Patrick Mayhew, the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, made a major speech on Northern Ireland to an audience in Liverpool.

24 April 1993
John Hume, the leader of the Social Democratic and Labour Party (SDLP), and Gerry Adams, the President of Sinn Féin (SF), issued a first joint statement.

4 September 1993 to 11 September 1993 ??
There was a suspension in IRA activities for one week. Commentators believed this was done to coincide with a visit to Ireland by Bruce Morrison (former US Democratic congressman).

25 September 1993
John Hume, the leader of the Social Democratic and Labour Party (SDLP), and Gerry Adams, the President of Sinn Féin (SF), issued a second joint statement. The statement outlined the Hume/Adams Initiative "aimed at the creation of a peace process". The Hume/Adams Initiative has never been published.
The Ulster Defence Association (UDA) issued a statement.

27 September 1993
John Hume, the leader of the Social Democratic and Labour Party (SDLP), and Gerry Adams, the President of Sinn Féin (SF), suspended their talks while a report from them was being considered by the British and Irish Governments.

3 October 1993 ??
Irish Republican Army (IRA) issued a statement.

6 October 1993 ??
Speech by Gerry Adams, the President of Sinn Féin (SF).

7 October 1993
John Hume, the leader of the Social Democratic and Labour Party (SDLP), met Albert Reynolds, the then Taoiseach (Irish Prime Minster), and Dick Spring, the Tánaiste (deputy Irish Prime Minister and Minister for Foreign Affairs), and gave them a report on the current situation.

19 October 1993
James Molyneaux, the then leader of the Ulster Unionist Party (UUP), told John Major, the British Prime Minister, of his party's opposition to the Hume/Adams initiative.

Saturday 23 October 1993
Ten people were killed when a bomb being planted by the Irish Republican Army (IRA) exploded prematurely in a shop on the Shankill Road, Belfast. With the exception of one of the bombers who was also killed, the rest of those who died were Protestant civilians. The bombing represented the greatest loss of life in Northern Ireland in a single incident since the Enniskillen bombing on 8 November 1987. There was a wave of condemnations of the attack.
Loyalist paramilitaries reacted immediately shooting two Catholic men one of whom died later from wounds.

27 October 1993
Dick Spring, the Tánaiste (deputy Irish Prime Minister and Minister for Foreign Affairs), outlined proposals for Northern Ireland.

29 October 1993
John Major, the British Prime Minister, and Albert Reynolds, the then Taoiseach (Irish Prime Minister), issued a joint statement from a meeting they held in Brussels.

30 October 1993
The Ulster Freedom Fighters (UFF) killed six Catholics and one Protestant in an attack on the 'Rising Sun' bar in Greysteel, County Derry. There was widespread condemnation of the attack.

14 November 1993
Sinn Féin (SF) held a convention in Belfast.

15 November 1993
John Major, the British Prime Minister, made a keynote speech on Northern Ireland to an audience in London.

16 November 1993
Story appears in the media disclosing that the British Government and Sinn Féin (SF) have been having a series of secret talks.

27-28 November 1993
The fact that there had been a series of secret talks between the British Government and Sinn Féin (SF) was confirmed.

Wednesday 15 December 1993
John Major, the British Prime Minister, and Albert Reynolds, the then Taoiseach (Irish Prime Minister), issued a joint declaration from 10 Downing Street, London (the document became known as the Downing Street Declaration).

Thursday 16 December 1993
Tony Newton, the then leader of the House of Commons, announced a decision to create a cross-party parliamentary committee at Westminster on Northern Ireland affairs.

1994

Wednesday 19 January 1994
The broadcasting ban under section 31 of the Broadcasting Act was lifted in the Republic of Ireland. This allowed Sinn Féin (SF) access to the Irish media.

Saturday 29 January 1994
Bill Clinton, the President of the United States of America (USA), ordered that Gerry Adams, the President of Sinn Féin (SF), should be given a visa to enter the USA to address a peace conference.

Wednesday 6 April 1994 - Friday 8 April 1994
The Irish Republican Army (IRA) called a three-day ceasefire.

Thursday 19 May 1994
The Northern Ireland Office (NIO) published a 21 page clarification of Sinn Féin (SF) questions that arose from the Downing Street Declaration.

Saturday 18 June 1994
The Ulster Volunteer Force (UVF) killed six Catholic men in a gun attack on a bar in Loughlinisland, County Down. The attack was widely condemned.

Sunday 24 July 1994
Sinn Féin (SF) held a special conference in Letterkenny, County Donegal to consider the Downing Street Declaration. SF were critical of the document and most observers took this to mean that the proposals had been rejected.

Tuesday 16 August 1994 ??
Patrick Mayhew, the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, and Michael Ancram, the Political Development Minister at the Northern Ireland Office (NIO), held a secret meeting in Derry with Gerry Adams, the President of Sinn Féin (SF), and Martin McGuinness, the Vice-President of Sinn Féin (SF). News of the meeting was not broken until 24 July 1995.

Wednesday 31 August 1994
The Irish Republican Army (IRA) announced a "complete cessation of military activities" in a statement to the media (IRA, 1994).

6 September 1994
Albert Reynolds, the then Taoiseach (Irish Prime Minister), John Hume, the leader of the Social Democratic and Labour Party (SDLP), and Gerry Adams, the President of Sinn Féin (SF), publicly shook hands following a meeting in Dublin. John Major, the British Prime Minister, cut short a meeting he was having with Ian Paisley, the leader of the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP), at Downing Street following a disagreement.

16 September 1994
The broadcasting ban was lifted on prescribed organisations including Sinn Féin (SF). Albert Reynolds, the then Taoiseach (Irish Prime Minister), pledges there will be referenda north and south on any constitutional settlement.
Ten border roads were reopened.

Thursday 13 October 1994
The Combined Loyalist Military Command (CLMC), speaking on behalf of all Loyalist paramilitary organisations, announced a ceasefire as from midnight (CLMC, 1994).

Friday 21 October 1994
John Major, the British Prime Minister, speaking in Belfast said that he was making a "working assumption" that the Irish Republican Army (IRA) intended its ceasefire to be permanent. He also announced that exclusion orders on Gerry Adams, the President of Sinn Féin (SF) and Martin McGuinness, the Vice-President of SF, would be lifted, all border roads would be reopened, and that exploratory talks between the British Government and SF would begin before Christmas.

Thursday 10 November 1994
Frank Kerr (54), a Post Office worker in a sorting office, was shot dead during a robbery. The Irish Republican Army (IRA) later admitted that some of its members had been responsible though it claimed the killing had not been sanctioned by the Army Council of the IRA.

Thursday 17 November 1994
Albert Reynolds, the then Taoiseach (Irish Prime Minister), and his Fianna Fáil (FF) ministers were forced to resign ending the coalition Government of FF and the Labour Party (LP).

Friday 9 December 1994
A first meeting took place between a Sinn Féin (SF) delegation, led by Martin McGuinness, the Vice-President of SF, and Northern Irish officials on behalf of the British Government.

Thursday 15 December 1994
A new coalition Government was formed in the Republic of Ireland. The coalition was formed from Fine Gael (FG), the Labour Party (LP), and Democratic Left (DL). John Bruton, leader of FG, was elected Taoiseach.
A first meeting took place between delegations from the Progressive Unionist Party (PUP) and Ulster Democratic Party (UDP), and Northern Irish officials on behalf of the British Government.

1995

Wednesday 22 February 1995
John Major, the British Prime Minister, and John Bruton, the Taoiseach (Irish Prime Minister), held a press conference in Belfast to launch the Framework Document.

7 March 1995
Patrick Mayhew, the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, during a visit to Washington said that Republicans could only enter into substantive negotiations when they showed a willingness to disarm by decommissioning some of their arm in advance of talks. The conditions laid down in what was said became known as the 'Washington 3' conditions. This statement signaled a period of deadlock over the issue of decommissioning of paramilitary weapons.

Wednesday 10 May 1995
Michael Ancram, the Political Development Minister at the Northern Ireland Office (NIO), met with Martin McGuinness, the Vice-President of Sinn Féin (SF), for talks at Stormont. This was the first official meeting between SF and the British Government in 23 years.

Thursday 17 May 1995
Patrick Mayhew, the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, had an 'informal' private meeting with Gerry Adams, the President of Sinn Féin (SF), at an investment conference in Washington, USA.

Monday 3 July 1995
Lee Clegg, a paratrooper with the British Army, was released from prison on the orders of Patrick Mayhew, the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland. Clegg had served four years for the killing of Karen Reilly in 1990. The decision sparked serious rioting in nationalist areas of Northern Ireland.

Sunday 9 July 1995
The Royal Ulster Constabulary (RUC) blocked an Orange parade from returning from Drumcree Church to Portadown along the Garvaghy Road, a Catholic area. The decision sparked a stand-off between the RUC and the Orange Order. There were disturbances and blocked roads across Northern Ireland as protests were organised by loyalists in support of the Orange Order.

Tuesday 11 July 1995
A comprise was reached which allowed the Drumcree parade to proceed down the Garvaghy Road in Portadown. The stand-off had begun on 9 July 1995.

Thursday 27 July 1995
Patrick Mayhew, the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, and Gerry Adams, the President of Sinn Féin (SF), met for their first official talks at Stormont.

Friday 8 September 1995
David Trimble was elected as leader of the Ulster Unionist Party (UUP).

28 November 1995
The British and Irish Government issued a Joint Communiqué.

30 November 1995
Bill Clinton, the President of the United States of America (USA), visited Northern Ireland.

1996

Wednesday 17 January 1996
Sinn Féin (SF) met the British and Irish Governments at Stormont. The meeting was for preparatory talks.

Wednesday 24 January 1996
The report of the International Body on arms decommissioning was published in Belfast.

Friday 9 February 1996
The Irish Republican Army (IRA) exploded a large bomb at South Quay in the Docklands area of London, England. The lorry bomb kills two people, injuries many more, causes millions of pounds worth of damage, and marks the end of the IRA ceasefire.

Wednesday 28 February 1996
John Major, the British Prime Minister, and John Bruton, the Taoiseach (Irish Prime Minister), announce a date, 10 June 1996, for the start of all-party talks.

Thursday 29 February 1996
Irish Republican Army (IRA) issued a {statement} following talks between John Hume, the leader of the Social Democratic and Labour Party (SDLP), Gerry Adams, the President of Sinn Féin (SF), and representatives of the IRA.

Monday 3 March 1996
Launch of intensive consultations between the Northern Ireland political parties.

24 March 1996
Sinn Féin (SF) Árd Fheis held in Ambassador Cinema in Dublin.

Tuesday 16 April 1996
The British Government published draft legislation (in the form of a 'Command Paper') for the proposed elections in Northern Ireland on 30 May 1996. The proposals lead to a period of debate before the legislation was rushed through parliament on xx April 1996.

Sunday 28 April 1996
Michael Ancram, the Political Development Minister at the Northern Ireland Office (NIO), said that the Irish Republican Army (IRA) must restore its ceasefire and Sinn Féin (SF) must agree to be bound by the six 'Mitchell principles' before it can join all-party talks.

30 May 1996
Elections to the proposed Northern Ireland forumn and all-party negotiations were held across Northern Ireland. The most significant outcome was that Sinn Féin attracted a record vote of 15.3% ??.

Monday 10 June 1996
All-party negotiations began in Stormont, Belfast.

Friday 14 June 1996
The Northern Ireland Forumn met for the first time in the Interpoint Centre in Belfast. Sinn Féin (SF) was excluded because of the absence of an Irish Republican Army (IRA) ceasefire.

Saturday 15 June 1996
The Irish Republican Army (IRA) exploded a bomb in Manchester, England, which destroyed a large part of the city centre and injured 200 people.
In response to the Manchester bomb the Ulster Freedom Fighters (UFF) anounced that it was putting its members 'on alert'.

Tuesday 18 June 1996
Parts of the centre of Dublin were evacuated in a bomb hoax which was susposed to have been made by the Ulster Freedom Fighters (UFF).

Sunday 7 July 1996
The Royal Ulster Constabularly (RUC) prevented a march by Portadown Orangemen from returning from Drumcree Church via the Garvaghy Road. Protests and roadblocks began to spread across Northern Ireland.

Saturday 13 July 1996
A car bomb exploded outside the Kilyhelvin Hotel, Enniskillen, County Fermanagh, causing substantial damage. The Irish Republican Army (IRA) denied responsibility for the bomb as did Republican Sinn Féin (RSF).

Friday 6 September 1996
The Forumn met for business after a break for the summer. The Social Democratic and Labour Party (SDLP) and Sinn Féin (SF) did not attend.

Monday 7 October 1996
The Irish Republican Army (IRA) exploded two bombs in the British Army Headquarters, Thiepval Barracks, Lisburn, County Antrim. The bombs were the first attack against the security forces in Northern Ireland by the IRA since their ceasefire on 31 August 1994.