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The Irish Peace Process
- Chronology of Key Events (April 1993 - April 1998)
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Text and Research: Martin Melaugh
Material is added to this site on a regular basis - information on this page may change
This is a draft (v3) of the chronology of the key events
in the Irish Peace Process from 1993 to 1998. This chronology
has been compiled from a number of sources.
Chronology (1) of events leading up to the Peace Process (January 1988 - April 1993)
Chronology (2) of events during the Peace Process (April 1993 - April 1998)
Chronology (3) of events during the Peace Process (April 1998 - December 1999)
for more recent events see the draft chronologies for 2000 and 2001
1993
Saturday 10 April 1993
Gerry Adams, then President of Sinn Féin (SF), was
seen visiting the home of John Hume, then 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, then leader of the
Social Democratic and Labour Party (SDLP), and Gerry Adams, then
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, then leader of the Social Democratic and Labour
Party (SDLP), and Gerry Adams, then President of Sinn Féin
(SF), held another meeting. Patrick Mayhew, then Secretary of
State for Northern Ireland, made a major speech on Northern Ireland
to an audience in Liverpool.
24 April 1993
John Hume, then leader of the Social Democratic and Labour
Party (SDLP), and Gerry Adams, then 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 United States Democratic congressman).]
25 September 1993
John Hume, then leader of the Social Democratic and Labour
Party (SDLP), and Gerry Adams, then President of Sinn Féin
(SF), issued a second joint statement. The statement outlined
the Hume/Adams Initiative which "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, then leader of the Social Democratic and Labour
Party (SDLP), and Gerry Adams, then President of Sinn Féin
(SF), suspended their talks while a report from them was being
considered by the British and Irish Governments.
4 October 1993
Irish Republican Army (IRA) issued a statement welcoming
the Hume/Adams Initiative.
6 October 1993 ??
Speech by Gerry Adams, then President of Sinn Féin
(SF).
7 October 1993
John Hume, then leader of the Social Democratic and Labour
Party (SDLP), met Albert Reynolds, then Taoiseach (Irish Prime
Minster), and Dick Spring, then Tánaiste (deputy Irish
Prime Minister and Minister for Foreign Affairs), and gave them
a report on the current situation.
19 October 1993
James Molyneaux, then leader of the Ulster Unionist Party
(UUP), told John Major, then 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 his wounds.
27 October 1993
Dick Spring, then Tánaiste (deputy Irish Prime Minister
and Minister for Foreign Affairs), outlined proposals for Northern
Ireland.
29 October 1993
John Major, then British Prime Minister, and Albert Reynolds,
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, then British Prime Minister, made a keynote speech
on Northern Ireland to an audience in London.
16 November 1993
A story appeared in the media alleging that the British Government
and Sinn Féin (SF) had 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, then British Prime Minister, and Albert Reynolds,
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, 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, then President of the United States of America
(USA), ordered that Gerry Adams, then 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, then Secretary of State for Northern Ireland,
and Michael Ancram, then Political Development Minister at the
Northern Ireland Office (NIO), held a secret meeting in Derry
with Gerry Adams, then 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; see Irish Times.]
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, then Taoiseach (Irish Prime Minister), John
Hume, then leader of the Social Democratic and Labour Party (SDLP),
and Gerry Adams, then President of Sinn Féin (SF), publicly
shook hands following a meeting in Dublin. John Major, then British
Prime Minister, cut short a meeting he was having with Ian Paisley,
then 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, then Taoiseach
(Irish Prime Minister), pledged there would be a 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, issued a statement
which announced a ceasefire as from midnight (CLMC, 1994).
Friday 21 October 1994
John Major, then 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, then 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, 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 Ireland Office 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 Ireland Office officials on behalf of
the British Government.
1995
Wednesday 22 February 1995
John Major, then British Prime Minister, and John Bruton,
then Taoiseach (Irish Prime Minister), held a press conference
in Belfast to launch the Framework Documents.
7 March 1995
Patrick Mayhew, then 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, then Secretary of State for Northern Ireland,
had an 'informal' private meeting with Gerry Adams, then 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, then 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, then Secretary of State for Northern Ireland,
and Gerry Adams, then 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, the Mitchell report,
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, then British Prime Minister, and John Bruton,
then Taoiseach (Irish Prime Minister), announced a date (10 June
1996) for the start of all-party talks.
Thursday 29 February 1996
The Irish Republican Army (IRA) issued a statement
following talks between John Hume, then leader of the Social Democratic
and Labour Party (SDLP), Gerry Adams, then 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, then 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 forum and all-party
negotiations were held across Northern Ireland. The most significant
outcome was that Sinn Féin attracted a record vote of 15.5
per cent.
Monday 10 June 1996
All-party negotiations began in Stormont, Belfast.
Friday 14 June 1996
The Northern Ireland Forum 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) announced 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 thought 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 by Loyalists 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). [The bomb was later believed to be the
work of a new group called the Continuity Irish Republican Army
(CIRA).]
Friday 6 September 1996
The Northern Ireland Forum met for business after a break
for the summer. The Social Democratic and Labour Party (SDLP)
and Sinn Féin (SF) did not attend. Neither party was to
return to the Forum.
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.
1997
Monday 13 January 1997
The multi-party talks resumed at Stormont following the Christmas
break.
Wednesday 12 February 1997
The Irish Republican Army (IRA) shot dead Stephen Restorick,
then a British soldier, at an Army checkpoint in Bessbrook, County
Armagh. [Lance Bombardier Stephen Restorick was, to date, the
last soldier to be killed in the current Northern Ireland conflict.]
Wednesday 5 March 1997
The multi-party talks at Stormont were adjourned until 3 June
1997. This break was to allow the parties to contest the forth-coming
general election.
Thursday 3 April 1997
There was widespread disruption on the motorways of England
when the Irish Republican Army (IRA) warned of bombs on the M1,
M5 and M6.
Saturday 5 April 1997
The Irish Republican Army (IRA) issued a number of bomb threats
which forced the postponement of the Grand National horse race
at Aintree England.
Thursday 1 May 1997
The Labour Party were elected to power in British General
Election. Tony Blair, then leader of the Labour Party became Prime
Minister. Marjorie (Mo) Molam, was appointed as Secretary of State
for Northern Ireland in the new Labour government. Gerry Adams,
then President of Sinn Féin (SF), was elected for West
Belfast and Martin McGuinness, the Vice-President of Sinn Féin
(SF), was elected to Mid-Ulster.
Friday 16 May 1997
Tony Blair, then British Prime Minister, paid a visit to Northern
Ireland and gave the go ahead for exploratory contacts between
government officials and Sinn Féin (SF).
Monday 16 June 1997
Tony Blair, then British Prime Minister, baned further contact
between senior civil servants and Sinn Féin (SF) following
the shooting of two Royal Ulster Constabulary (RUC) officers in
Lurgan, County Armagh, by the Irish Republican Army (IRA).
Wednesday 25 June 1997
The British and Irish governments issued proposals on decommissioning.
Sunday 6 July 1997
There was violence in Portadown, which later spread to other
Nationalist areas, after the Royal Ulster Constabulary (RUC) moved
in the early hours to seal off the Garvaghy Road to allow the
Orange march through the Catholic area.
Friday 18 July 1997
John Hume, then leader of the Social Democratic and Labour
Party (SDLP), and Gerry Adams, then President of Sinn Féin
(SF), issued a joint statement.
Sunday 20 July 1997
Following an approach from Gerry Adams, then President of
Sinn Féin (SF), and other SF members, the Irish Republican
Army (IRA) declared a renewal of its ceasefire.
Tuesday 26 August 1997
An international body, the Independent International Commission on Decommissioning (IICD), was established to oversee the decommissioning of paramilitary weapons.
Friday 29 August 1997
Marjorie (Mo) Molam, then Secretary of State for Northern Ireland,
announced that the Irish Republican Army (IRA) ceasefire had been
sufficiently well observed for Sinn Féin (SF) to enter
the multi-party talks.
Tuesday 9 September 1997
Sinn Féin (SF) signed up to the Mitchell Principles
and entered the multi-party-talks at Stromont.
Wednesday 17 September 1997
The Ulster Unionist Party (UUP) joined the multi-party talks
at Stromont. The Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) boycotted the
talks because of the presence of SF, as did the United Kingdom
Unionist Party (UKUP).
Monday 13 October 1997
Gerry Adams, then President of Sinn Féin (SF), and
Martin McGuinness, then Vice-President of SF, met Tony Blair,
then British Prime Minister, for the first time.
Saturday 27 December 1997
Members of the Irish National Liberation Army (INLA) shot
and killed Billy Wright (age), then leader of the Loyalist Volunteer
Force (LVF), within the Maze Prison. Wright was sitting in a prison
van waiting to be driven to the visiting block when three INLA
inmates climbed across the roof of a 'H Block' and shot him several
times. [This incident was followed by a series of killings of
Catholics across Northern Ireland. A number of the incidents were
subsequently blamed on the Ulster Freedom Fighters (UFF) / Ulster
Defence Association (UDA).]
1998
Saturday 3 January 1998
Loyalist prisoners voted to withdraw their support for the
peace process. They expressed anger at the British government's
handling of the process and insisted that concessions were being
made to Republicans. The political leaders of the Loyalist paramilitary
groups insisted that the 1994 ceasefire was still intact.
Wednesday 7 January 1998
Marjorie (Mo) Mowlam, then Secretary of State for Northern
Ireland, announced that she would go into the Maze Prison to meet
Ulster Defence Association (UDA) and Ulster Freedom Fighters (UFF)
prisoners in an attempt to change their decision to end their
support for the peace process. The Democratic Unionist Party (DUP)
described the decision by Mowlam as "madness". The Ulster
Unionist Party (UUP) welcomed the decision.
Friday 9 January 1998
Marjorie (Mo) Mowlam, then Secretary of State for Northern
Ireland, went into the Maze Prison to meet Ulster Defence Association
(UDA) and Ulster Freedom Fighters (UFF) prisoners in an attempt
to change their decision to end their support for the peace process.
This strategy worked and the prisoners subsequently restated
their support for the peace process.
Monday 12 January 1998
The multi-party talks resumed at Stormont following a break
for the Christmas holidays. The British and Irish governments
issued a document, the "Propositions of Heads of Agreement",
in an attempt to add impetus to the multi-party Stormont talks.
Most parties at the talks welcomed the document but Sinn Féin
(SF) said it had reservations about the proposals.
Saturday 17 January 1998
Sinn Féin (SF) rejected the "Propositions
of Heads of Agreement" as a basis for agreement.
Sunday 18 January 1998
Gerry Adams, then President of Sinn Féin (SF), met
with Tony Blair, then British Prime Minister, at Downing Street
in London.
Thursday 22 January 1998
Ronnie Flanagan, then Chief Constable of the Royal Ulster
Constabulary (RUC), stated that the Ulster Freedom Fighters (UFF)
were involved in the recent killings of three Catholics. This
despite the fact that the UFF was supposed to be on ceasefire.
The UFF is believed to be a covername used by the Ulster Defence
Association (UDA). David Adams, then a spokesman for the Ulster
Democratic Party (UDP), denied that the UFF were behind the recent
killings.
Friday 23 January 1998
The Ulster Freedom Fighters (UFF), a covername for the Ulster
Defence Association (UDA), issued a statement saying that
they were reinstating their ceasefire. [The statement was seen
as an admission that they had been responsible for a number of
recent deaths of Catholics.]
Monday 26 January 1998
The multi-party talks switched venue from Stormont in Belfast
to Lancaster House in London in an attempt to inject impetus to
the search for a political settlement. However, following the
revelation that the Ulster Freedom Fighters (UFF) had been involved
in the killing of, at least, three Catholics, in the past couple
of weeks, there were calls for the expulsion of the Ulster Democratic
Party (UDP) which is politically associated with the UFF. The
British and Irish governments, at the insistence of some of the
other political parties, took the final decision to expel the
UDP. By this time the UDP had already left the talks venue. The
two governments issued a document on UDP participation.
This indicated that the UDP could re-enter the talks process if
the UFF maintained its renewed ceasefire.
Tuesday 27 January 1998
Second day of multi-party talks at Lancaster House in London.
The British and Irish governments introduced a new discussion
document on the proposed nature of cross border bodies.
While the Social Democratic and Labour Party (SDLP) and Sinn Féin
(SF) welcomed the document, the Ulster Unionist Party (UUP) rejected
the proposals as a move back to the Framework Documents.
The two governments said that it was now up to the parties to
hammer out an agreement on the basis of the papers before them.
Following the main session of the day, Tony Blair, then British
Prime Minister, went to Lancaster House in the evening to meet
with all the parties and to urge them to engage with each other
and to reach a compromise.
Tuesday 17 February 1998
A number of security sources blamed the Irish Republican Army
(IRA) for the killing of Kevin Conway.
Friday 20 February 1998
Sinn Féin (SF) was expelled from the multi-party talks
because of the assessment by the Royal Ulster Constabulary (RUC)
that the Irish Republican Army (IRA) had been involved in the
recent deaths of two men. SF was told that it could re-enter
the talks in two week if there was no further breach of the IRA
ceasefire.
Monday 23 February 1998
The Ulster Democratic Party (UDP) rejoined the multi-party
talks following the party's suspension.
Thursday 12 March 1998
Gerry Adams, then President of Sinn Féin (SF), had
a meeting with Tony Blair, then British Prime Minister.
Monday 23 March 1998
Sinn Féin (SF) rejoined the multi-party talks following
the party's suspension and the break over the Saint Patrick's
Day holiday.
Thursday 26 March 1998
George Mitchell, then independent chairman of the multi-party
talks, set a deadline of 9 April for the finding of an agreement
between the parties.
6 April 1998
George Mitchell, then independent chairman of the multi-party
talks, gave each of the parties his version of a possible draft
agreement based on the talks to that date.
Thursday 9 April 1998
The deadline that was set for the completion of the multi-party
talks at Stormont. Negotiations continued through the last day
and into the night.
Friday 10 April 1998
'Good Friday'. All the parties talking place in the multi-party
talks at Stormont sign an Agreement. The talks are brought to
an end by George Mitchell, the independent chairman.
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