Previous attempts to bring peace to Northern Ireland have failed. What problems will need to be overcome if the current peace talks are to succeed?

Sinn Fein were unhappy with the Downing Street Declaration, however in 1994 president Bill Clinton allowed Gerry Adams, the Sinn Fein leader, to visit the USA to talk to Irish American Groups who supported the IRA. It was during these talks that Gerry Adams realised that the views put forward by the SDLP leader John Hume, which were pro an agreement with the Unionists, were the views of their main supporters and financial backers in the USA. The IRA in June/July 1994 agreed to a secret document, which outlined a strategy, entitled TUAS (Totally Unarmed Strategy) and this lead to the IRA announcing a total ceasefire on the 31st of August 1994. In October the Loyalist Paramilitaries also declared a ceasefire.. 1995 managed to have the lowest death toll of the troubles and this leads me to believe that the JFD was generally welcomed. However the problems that seemed to bedevil Irelands recent history still were there, Unionist were suspicious of the Council Of Ministers (Could lead to a united Ireland?), the decommissioning of weapons by the IRA was still a major sticking point and there were many Republican and Unionist paramilitary prisoners who would probably have to be released which was good news to their supporters but not good news to the families of victims of the troubles.

To conclude I think that although attempts have been made to bring peace to Northern Ireland there are still obstacles that need to be overcome. The various attempts leading up to the Good Friday Agreement and the elections to the Assembly have gradually created a much more peaceful province. The fact that the Assembly is in abeyance due primarily to hardline Unionist fears of the IRA's slow moves towards full decommissioning and Northern Ireland is run directly from Westminster, does not decry the remarkable advances that have produced the present relatively peaceful situation. The problems that have beset Northern Ireland have not gone away nor have they changed. The IRA although no long bombing or using their arsenal of weapons (supposedly decommissioned) still persist in violence in the form of punishment beating etc, as do Loyalist paramilitaries. There are extreme hardline splinter groups that are trying to wreck the agreement as can be seen in such conflicts as the Drumcree Marches which have produced some very ugly violent confrontations, but both sides have also shown considerable tolerance as with the Orange Order re-routing some marches away from Catholic areas. The release of prisoners on both sides of the political spectrum still causes friction between the supporters of paramilitary organisations and the victims and families of victims of the troubles. The reformed Royal Ulster Constabulary (RUC), which has changed from a sectarian protestant organisation into a well disciplined and professional modern police force, which has gained some credit with the catholic community especially over handling such events as the Drumcree marches, but there are still many nationalist who wish to get rid of at least the title RUC which they see as a symbol of Unionist power and many Unionist who wish to keep it for much the same reasons. Ireland has many deep and varied problems that often reach back into its turbulent history, but considering the level of violence over the past 30 years, although he present situation is still very finely balanced as to whether everybody will agree to a peaceful solution, remarkable progress has been made, and with luck peoples appreciation of living in a peaceful province, with a healthy economy, and their memories of recent violence will persuade them to continue to talk rather than fight.

Luke Buckley-Johnstone