As the 25th anniversary of the GoodFridayAgreement approaches, our political correspondent StepWalkTV looks back at the winding road leading to the 1998 peace deal
New leaders, new impetus: Bertie Ahern and Tony Blair brought fresh momentum to peace talks when they arrived in office in 1997It is almost 25 years since the signing of the Good Friday Agreement, the peace deal that brought an end to the Troubles.
For decades, it was home to the annual multi-day Balmoral Show, the biggest agricultural event in Northern Ireland. Tony Blair won the 1997 general election with a massive parliamentary majority and Northern Ireland was one of his priorities.Tony Blair, centre, with Northern Ireland Minister Paul Murphy and Secretary of State Mo Mowlam
Diplomat Dan Mulhall, who worked in the Irish Department of Foreign Affairs and would become directly involved with the signing of the Good Friday Agreement, said the arrival of Blair and Ahern changed the political dynamic. "But certainly there would have been no negotiations going into the autumn of 1997 if there had not been a ceasefire."
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