UAE | Heritage and Culture

Good Friday Agreement 'is here to stay'

Irish expatriates talk about effects of historic pact on its tenth anniversary.

  • By Kevin Scott, Staff Reporter
  • Published: 00:07 May 22, 2008
  • Gulf News

  • Neil Quinn (left), a 28-year-old engineer originally from County Tyrone in Northern Ireland and Bobbie Baker, a 28-year-old project manager originally from Westmeath in the Republic of Ireland.
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Dubai: A decade has passed since voters in Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland endorsed the Belfast agreement in separate referenda on May 23, 1998.

Irish expatriates in the UAE spoke to Gulf News on the historic anniversary of the accord, widely known as the Good Friday Agreement, about how their home country has changed over the last decade.

The Good Friday Agreement was a major political development in the Northern Irish peace process. It was signed in Belfast on Good Friday (April 10, 1998) by the British and Irish governments and endorsed by most political parties in Northern Ireland.

Tadhg Flahive, President of the Abu Dhabi Irish Society, thinks the Agreement has been good politically but says it has noy yet made much impact socially in Northern Ireland.

Flahive, from County Kerry, a southwestern county in the Republic of Ireland, said: "It is good to see peace on the island at last and I approve of political establishments such as the British-Irish Council and the North South Ministerial Council. I also agree with the creation of a Northern Ireland Assembly with devolved powers.

"However, it will take some time for the political developments to benefit people socially. I don't think the Good Friday Agreement has achieved social, economic and cultural rights for every ethnic community in the north.

"Northern Ireland is suffering from the offset of an economic recession. The manufacturing industry has been decimated and people are receiving the lowest wages in the whole of the United Kingdom."

Jason Smith, 28, Manager of the Irish Village in Dubai, said people around the world now spoke of Ireland for all the right reasons, instead of having the troubles at the back of their minds.

Smith, from County Louth in the Republic of Ireland, said: "Anything that brings us closer together is a good thing. There was a lot of trepidation going into it [the Good Friday Agreement] and people wondered if it would last. But now people can see that it is here to stay. Politicians who once could not look at each other are now working together for a better future.

Seeking harmony

"Politically we are moving away from the blame culture and working together. People all over the world want harmony, not conflict. The only way to achieve this is through understanding."

The final version of the Good Friday Agreement was posted to every household in Northern Ireland and put to a referendum on May 22, 1998. A referendum was also held in the Irish Republic.

The result was overwhelmingly in favour of the Agreement: 71.2 per cent of people in Northern Ireland and 94.39 per cent in the Republic voted "Yes" to accepting the Agreement.

Bobbie Baker, a 28-year-old project manager originally from Westmeath in the Republic of Ireland, told Gulf News he thought the north and south had become a little more united over the last ten years.

"One of my earliest memories is of my parents driving from the south to the north. They kept telling my brother, sister and I to pretend to be asleep so that we wouldn't get stopped by the border patrol. Since the Agreement, the transition from one country to another is virtually unrecognisable."

Neil Quinn, a 28-year-old engineer originally from County Tyrone in Northern Ireland, thinks the Good Friday Agreement helped put things into perspective for a lot of people.

He said: "People integrate a lot more now than they used to. It's not just a political thing; people have moved on and are generally a lot more educated.

"Life in Northern Ireland has improved since the Good Friday Agreement was signed. I think there is more equality and better job opportunities. However, I think things would have improved regardless because the younger generation realise there is a lot more to life."

"I believe the constitutional future of Northern Ireland should be determined by the majority vote of its citizens. I think many people felt a strong resistance against the British hold on Northern Ireland but relations have improved since the Good Friday Agreement."

Do you think that Belfast agreement has been successful? How has it affected the political atmosphere? Tell us at letter2editor@gulfnews.com or fill in the form bellow to send your comments.

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