Things looked positive at the Constitutional Convention two years later, the same proposal was made but every group kept the same stance as they had at Sunningdale, meaning with the Unionists the only group unhappy with power sharing they were unable to come to a consensus on both what powers should be shared and the level of Irish involvement. After this disagreement the groups did not speak again for 7 years and the violence and direct rule continued throughout this period of time. The Nationalists and Unionists were at a stalemate and there was little chance of them coming to a peaceful agreement soon.
People were optimistic when the British and Irish Governments set up new proposals in 1982. They attempted to coax the political groups in to cooperation, in return for a return of power to a devolved administration and a Northern Ireland Assembly. The Nationalists, Republicans and the Unionists all had the opportunity to enter the Assembly, however only the Unionists joined along with the Alliance party. Both of the other two groups boycotted the assembly giving no support whatsoever. This made hopes for peace in the near future look bleak as with the Nationalists and Republicans pulling out of the Assembly it further separated them from the Unionists making them less likely to come to any kind of agreement.
Two years later hopes rose again thanks to the New Ireland Forum, which was suggested by the Nationalists. As the Nationalists were the ones associated with the IRA who were causing most of the sectarian violence it looked well on their part as it showed they were willing to try for a peaceful political alternative. They proposed three options either a united Ireland, a confederate Ireland or a joint authority in London and Dublin. The Irish Government saw this would please both the Nationalists and the Unionists and so backed the proposals, the Nationalists and Republicans both supported a united Ireland and the Unionists supported the other two so it looked as if a compromise might have been possible. However, Margaret Thatcher was unhappy with the Nationalists proposals, possibly because she did not want to take instructions from a group that advocated terrorism. Whatever her problem with them was she rejected all three proposals and the talks did not go ahead.
At this stage the peace process had got nowhere in the decade that they had been taking place and each group needed to change themselves or be willing to compromise something in order for them to come to any kind of agreement. The Unionists needed to allow for more of an Irish dimension and Nationalist power sharing, which would require them to give up the absolute power that they had enjoyed in Northern Ireland for so many years. The Republicans who were politically representing the IRA needed to make more of an effort politically previously they were far too quick to use violence to try and get their way. They needed to use different methods if they were to get anywhere. Alongside this the British and Irish Governments still needed to be involved as it was their job to make sure that the situation did not dissolve into violence once more. The British Government needed to push the Unionists towards the talks but also lets them warring groups decide between themselves when they did get to talking, not ruin the chances of peace for another few years like Thatcher had. Finally, they also needed to convince the Republicans that they were neutral and not pro-Nationalist as the Republicans were reluctant to trust the British Government as they had the same views as the Unionists. The Irish Government needed to do the same but vice versa as the Unionists were also reluctant to trust them due to their original views being the same as the Nationalists and Republicans, without the violence of course.
In conclusion there was very little hope for peace prior to the Good Friday Agreement as the factions were moving further apart all the time also with their lack of trust of the Governments involved chances looked even slimmer. If all of the groups could make the changes that I mentioned then they would be in a situation to begin peace talks, but there would still be many obstacles to face before they came to any kind of agreement.
