Chronology of Events Leading to Peace Process (January 1988 - April 1993)

1988

January 1988 to August 1988
A series of talks were held between John Hume, then leader of the Social Democratic and Labour Party (SDLP), and Gerry Adams, then President of Sinn Féin (SF).

11 January 1988
John Hume, then leader of the Social Democratic and Labour Party (SDLP), met with Gerry Adams, then President of Sinn Féin (SF). This was the first in a series of discussions between the two men.

1 August 1988
An Irish Republic Army (IRA) bomb killed one soldier and injured nine at an army barracks in London. It was the first IRA bomb in Britain since the 'Brighton' bombing on 12 October 1984.

30 August 1988
Last in a series meetings between John Hume, then leader of the Social Democratic and Labour Party (SDLP) and Gerry Adams, then President of Sinn Féin (SF).

14 October 1988
Members from four Northern Ireland political parties met for talks in Duisburg, West Germany. The parties involved were; Alliance Party of Northern Ireland (APNI), Social Democratic and Labour Party (SDLP), Ulster Unionist Party (UUP) and Democratic Unionist Party (DUP). Little progress was reported from the meetings.

19 October 1988
The British government introduced broadcasting restrictions on certain organisations proscribed in Northern Ireland and Britain. The groups concerned were, Sinn Féin (SF), Republican Sinn Féin (RSF), and the Ulster Defence Association (UDA).

1989

5 March 1989
Gerry Adams, then President of Sinn Féin (SF), made a speech in which he said that he sought a "non-armed political movement to work for self-determination" in Ireland.

24 July 1989
Peter Brooke was appointed as Secretary of State for Northern Ireland.

3 November 1989
Speech by Peter Brooke, then Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, in which he admitted that the Irish Republican Army (IRA) could not be defeated militarily. He also said that he could not rule out talks with Sinn Féin (SF) if there was an end to violence.

1990

9 November 1990
Peter Brooke, then Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, made a major speech on the British position to an audience in London. In the speech he said that Britain had no "strategic or economic interest" in Northern Ireland and would accept unification of Ireland if that was the wish of the people of Northern Ireland.

15 ? November 1990
Gerry Adams, then President of Sinn Féin (SF), made a response to Peter Brooke's speech of the 9 November 1990.

1991

29 April 1991
A ceasefire announced by the Combined Loyalist Military Command (CLMC) began on midnight.

14 March 1991
Peter Brooke, then Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, announced to the House of Commons that talks involving the four main parties in Northern Ireland would take place during a gap in the operation of the Anglo-Irish Conference meetings. These talks were the first of a series lasting from March 1991 to November 1992 which became known as the Brooke / Mayhew Talks.

25 March 1991
All the parties involved in the Brooke / Mayhew Talks agreed to the arrangements for the talks.

26 March 1991
Peter Brooke, then Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, announced that the Brooke / Mayhew Talks will involve a three-strand process. This process was to include relationships within Northern Ireland, between Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland, and between the British and Irish Governments.

3 July 1991
Peter Brooke, then Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, announced at Westminster that he was bringing this stage of the Brooke / Mayhew Talks to an end.

4 July 1991
The Combined Loyalist Military Command (CLMC) announced the end of the ceasefire, as of midnight, that had begun on 29 April 1991.

16 September 1991 - 20 September 1991
Peter Brooke, then Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, held a series of meetings with leaders of the political parties in Northern Ireland to try to restart the talks process.

4 December 1991
Peter Brooke, then Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, again met the leaders of the political parties in Northern Ireland to try to begin all-party talks.

October 1991
Douglas Hurd, then British Foreign Secretary, made a speech which included a section devoted to Northern Ireland.

1992

17 February 1992
Sinn Féin held their annual conference - Árd Fheis - in a community hall in Ballyfermot, Dublin. A document, Towards a Lasting Peace in Ireland (Sinn Féin, 1992), was launched.

9 April 1992
A general election was held in the United Kingdom (UK). Gerry Adams, then President of Sinn Féin (SF), lost his seat in West Belfast to Dr Joe Hendron of the Social Democratic and Labour Party (SDLP).

11 April 1992
Patrick Mayhew replaced Peter Brooke as Secretary of State for Northern Ireland.

27 April 1992
There was an announcement at the Anglo-Irish Intergovernmental Conference that there would be a three month break in its meetings to allow the Brooke / Mayhew Talks to recommence.

29 April 1992
The Brooke / Mayhew Talks recommenced at Stormont.

12 June 1992
The parties involved in the Brooke / Mayhew Talks agreed to begin work on Strand Two and Strand Three of the process even though discussions on Strand One were at a standstill.

19 June 1992
There was a meeting between representatives of the British and Irish Governments and the Northern Ireland parties to discuss an agenda for Strand Two of the Brooke / Mayhew Talks.

30 June 1992
Further meetings were held in London as part of the Brooke / Mayhew Talks.

1 July 1992
In a significant shift in approach the Unionist parties agreed to talks with politicians from the Republic of Ireland under Strand Two of the Brooke / Mayhew Talks.

6 July 1992 - 8 July 1992
As part of the Brooke / Mayhew Talks there were discussions in London between the British and Irish Governments and the Northern Ireland political parties.

24 July 1992
There was a summer adjournment in Strand Two of the Brooke / Mayhew Talks. The talks recommenced on 2 September 1992.

10 August 1992
Patrick Mayhew, then Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, announced that the Ulster Defence Association (UDA) was to be banned from midnight.

2 September 1992
Following the summer adjournment, Strand Two of the Brooke / Mayhew Talks resumed.

9 September 1992
Ian Paisley, then leader of the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP), walked out of the Brooke / Mayhew Talks.

21 - 23 September 1992
Jim Molyneaux, then leader of the Ulster Unionist Party (UUP), led a delegation from the UUP to talks in Dublin with the Irish Government. The talks were based on Strand Two. The Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) did not attend the talks in Dublin.

26 September 1992
The Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) returned to the resumed Brooke / Mayhew Talks at Stormont.

6 November 1992
The Irish Coalition Government collapsed and a general election was called for 25 November 1992.

10 November 1992
Unionists withdrew from the Brooke / Mayhew Talks and brought the process to an end. Their action was provoked by the restart of work of the Maryfield secretariat, set up as a result of the Anglo-Irish Agreement.

24 December 1992
The Irish Republican Army (IRA) called a three-day ceasefire.

1993

Wednesday 7 April 1993
Gordon Wilson met with representatives of the Irish Republican Army (IRA) to try to persuade them to stop their military campaign.

Friday 9 April 1993
The Irish Republican Army (IRA) issued its Easter message.

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
Multi-Party Talks Began
Multi-party talks / negotiations began at Stormont, Belfast. Unionist parties objected to the extent of the role of one of the proposed Chairmen, US Senator George Mitchell. [The multi-party talks (/Mitchell Talks) would lead to the Belfast / Good Friday Agreement on 10 April 1998.]
See also: Sean Farren Papers - Mitchell Talks (1996-1998)

Tuesday 11 June 1996
The second day of the multi-party talks at Stormont, Belfast were also taken up by a continuing diagreement about the extend of the role of US Senator George Mitchell.

Wednesday 12 June 1996
The opening Plenary Session (PS1) of the multi-party talks at Stormont, Belfast took place (at 00:32) and were conducted by three Independent Chairmen: Senator Mitchell, General de Chastelain, and Mr Holkeri. There were teams from the British and Irish governments. Representatives of the political parties were also present: Alliance Party (APNI); Labour Party (LP); Northern Ireland Women's Coalition (NIWC); Progressive Unionist Party (PUP); Social Democratic and Labour Party (SDLP); Ulster Democratic Party (UDP); Ulster Democratic Unionist Party (DUP); United Kingdom Unionist Party (UKUP); and the Ulster Unionist Party (UUP). After complaining about the appointment of Senator Mitchell, the DUP and the UKUP representatives left the room.

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).

Wednesday 19 June 1996
A Plenary Session (PS2) of the multi-party talks was held (at 12:03) at Stormont, Belfast.

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).]

Monday 29 July 1996
A Plenary Session (PS3) of the multi-party talks was held (from 10:07 to 10:54) at Stormont, Belfast.
A second Plenary Session (PS4) was held (from 18:47 to 20:48).

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 9 September 1996
A Plenary Session (PS5) of the multi-party talks was held (from 10:10 to 11:00) at Stormont, Belfast.
A second Plenary Session (PS6) was held (from 12:08 to 12:46).

Tuesday 10 September 1996
A Plenary Session (PS7) of the multi-party talks was held (from 10:08 to 10:14) at Stormont, Belfast.
A second Pleanary Session (PS8) was held (from 11:18 to 14:29).

Wednesday 11 September 1996
A Plenary Session (PS9) of the multi-party talks was held (from 14:33 to 15:35) at Stormont, Belfast.

Monday 16 September 1996
A Plenary Session (PS10) of the multi-party talks was held (from 10:12 to 11:08) at Stormont, Belfast.

Wednesday 18 September 1996
A Plenary Session (PS11) of the multi-party talks was held (from 10:10 to 10:44) at Stormont, Belfast.

Monday 23 September 1996
A Plenary Session (PS12) of the multi-party talks was held (from 14:33 to 15:20) at Stormont, Belfast.
A second Pleanary Session (PS13) was held (from 15:47 to 17:29).

Tuesday 24 September 1996
A Plenary Session (PS14) of the multi-party talks was held (from 14:06 to 15:28) at Stormont, Belfast.

Tuesday 1 October 1996
A Plenary Session (PS15) of the multi-party talks was held (from 11:10 to 15:00) at Stormont, Belfast.
A second Pleanary Session (PS16) was held (from 15:12 to 16:46).
A third Pleanary Session (PS17) was held (from 17:25 to 18:37).

Wednesday 2 October 1996
A Plenary Session (PS18) of the multi-party talks was held (from 12:11 to 12:32) at Stormont, Belfast.
A second Pleanary Session (PS19) was held (from 15:39 to 17:16).

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.

Tuesday 8 October 1996
A Plenary Session (PS20) of the multi-party talks was held (from 12:07 to 13:47) at Stormont, Belfast.

Monday 14 October 1996
A Plenary Session (PS21) of the multi-party talks was held (from 12:09 to 12:20) at Stormont, Belfast.
A second Pleanary Session (PS22) was held (from 18:09 to 19:04).
A third Pleanary Session (PS23) was held (from 19:28 to 22:02).
A forth Pleanary Session (PS24) was held (from 22:41 to 01:30 on Tuesday 15 October).

Tuesday 15 October 1996
A Plenary Session (PS25) of the multi-party talks was held (from 12:13 to 13:18) at Stormont, Belfast.
A second Pleanary Session (PS26) was held (from 15:13 to 17:00?).

Wednesday 16 October 1996
A Plenary Session (PS27) of the multi-party talks was held (from 10:10 to 12:05) at Stormont, Belfast.
A second Pleanary Session (PS28) was held (from 12:34 to 13:19).

Monday 21 October 1996
A Plenary Session (PS29) of the multi-party talks was held (from 12:08 to 12:59) at Stormont, Belfast.
A second Pleanary Session (PS30) was held (from 14:37 to 16:01).
A third Pleanary Session (PS31) was held (from 16:30 to 17:02).

Tuesday 22 October 1996
A Plenary Session (PS32) of the multi-party talks was held (from 10:11 to 10:45) at Stormont, Belfast.
A second Pleanary Session (PS33) was held (from 11:08 to 16:01).
A third Pleanary Session (PS34) was held (from 14:37 to 17:02).

Monday 28 October 1996
The first meeting of the Business Committee of the multi-party talks was held (from 10:30 to 12:00?).
A Plenary Session (PS35) of the multi-party talks was held (from 12:10 to 14:00) at Stormont, Belfast.

Tuesday 29 October 1996
A Plenary Session (PS36) of the multi-party talks was held (from 10:10 to 12:29) at Stormont, Belfast.

Wednesday 30 October 1996
A Plenary Session (PS37) of the multi-party talks was held (from 10:00 to 11:35?) at Stormont, Belfast.
A second Pleanary Session (PS38) was held (from 12:00 to 12:55?).
A third Pleanary Session (PS39) was held (from 14:00 to 15:40).

Monday 4 November 1996
A Plenary Session (PS40) of the multi-party talks was held (from 13:10 to 14:05) at Stormont, Belfast.
A second Pleanary Session (PS41) was held (from 15:10 to 17:24).
A third Pleanary Session (PS42) was held (from 18:22 to 20:08).

Tuesday 5 November 1996
A Plenary Session (PS43) of the multi-party talks was held (from 10:10 to 13:01) at Stormont, Belfast.
A second Pleanary Session (PS44) was held (from 14:10 to 16:08).
A third Pleanary Session (PS45) was held (from 16:38 to 18:00).

Wednesday 6 November 1996
A Plenary Session (PS46) of the multi-party talks was held (from 10:00 to 10:14) at Stormont, Belfast.
A second Pleanary Session (PS47) was held (from 10:30 to ?).
A third Pleanary Session (PS48) was held (from 13:45 to 17:50).

Monday 18 November 1996
A Plenary Session (PS49) of the multi-party talks was held (from 12:10 to 12:26) at Stormont, Belfast.

Monday 25 November 1996
A Plenary Session (PS50) of the multi-party talks was held (from 12:10 to 13:03) at Stormont, Belfast.

Wednesday 27 November 1996
A Plenary Session (PS51) of the multi-party talks was held (from 11:15 to 12:35) at Stormont, Belfast.

Monday 2 December 1996
A Plenary Session (PS52) of the multi-party talks was held (from 12:10 to 12:53) at Stormont, Belfast.

Tuesday 3 December 1996
A Plenary Session (PS53) of the multi-party talks was held (from 12:09 to 12:19) at Stormont, Belfast.
A second Plenary Session (PS54) was held (from 13:25 to 14:38).

Tuesday 10 December 1996
A Plenary Session (PS55) of the multi-party talks was held (from 12:10 to 12:42) at Stormont, Belfast.

Monday 16 December 1996
A Plenary Session (PS56) of the multi-party talks was held (from 12:08 to 13:17) at Stormont, Belfast.

Wednesday 18 December 1996
A Plenary Session (PS57) of the multi-party talks was held (from 11:12 to 12:55) at Stormont, Belfast. This was the last Plenary Session of 1996 because of the break for the holidays. The next Plenary Session was on 27 January 1997.

1997

Monday 13 January 1997
The multi-party talks resumed at Stormont following the Christmas break. The first Plenary Session of the year was held on 27 January 1997.

Monday 27 January 1997
A Plenary Session (PS58) of the multi-party talks was held (from 12:10 to 13:45) at Stormont, Belfast. This was the first Plenary Session of 1997.
A second Plenary Session (PS59) was held (from 14:55 to 17:17).

Tuesday 28 January 1997
A Plenary Session (PS60) of the multi-party talks was held (from 10:11 to 11:36) at Stormont, Belfast.

Tuesday 4 February 1997
A Plenary Session (PS61) of the multi-party talks was held (from 12:12 to 14:27) at Stormont, Belfast.

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. [Following the killing of Lance Bombardier Stephen Restorick, there was a gap of 12 years to the next shooting of British soldiers on 7 March 2009 by the Real IRA.]
A Plenary Session (PS62) of the multi-party talks was held (from 10:11 to 11:25) at Stormont, Belfast.

Wednesday 19 February 1997
A Plenary Session (PS63) of the multi-party talks was held (from 10:12 to 11:02) at Stormont, Belfast.

Wednesday 26 February 1997
A Plenary Session (PS64) of the multi-party talks was held (from 10:10 to 10:48) at Stormont, Belfast.

Wednesday 5 March 1997
A Plenary Session (PS65) of the multi-party talks was held (from 12:10 to 15:44) at Stormont, Belfast.
At the end of this Session the talks were adjourned until 3 June 1997. This break was to allow the parties to contest the forthcoming general election.

Tuesday 24 March 1997
A Review Plenary Session (RePS/24March.01) of the multi-party talks was held (from 15:11 to 18:05) at Stormont, Belfast.
A second Review Pleanary Session (RePS/24March.02) was held (from 19:25 to 20:23).
A third Review Pleanary Session (RePS/24March.03) was held (from 21:19 to 21:30).

Monday 30 March 1997
A Review Plenary Session (RePS/30March) of the multi-party talks was held (from 10:30 to 12:18) at Stormont, Belfast.

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).

Tuesday 3 June 1997
A Plenary Session (PS66) of the multi-party talks was held (from 14:10 to 16:38) at Stormont, Belfast.

Tuesday 10 June 1997
A Plenary Session (PS67) of the multi-party talks was held (from 14:10 to 15:11) at Stormont, Belfast.

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).

Tuesday 24 June 1997
A Plenary Session (PS68) of the multi-party talks was held (from 14:08 to 16:28) at Stormont, Belfast.

Wednesday 25 June 1997
The British and Irish governments issued proposals on decommissioning.

Tuesday 1 July 1997
A Plenary Session (PS69) of the multi-party talks was held (from 14:07 to 17:47) at Stormont, Belfast.

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.

Tuesday 8 July 1997
A Plenary Session (PS70) of the multi-party talks was held (from 14:11 to 15:45) at Stormont, Belfast.

Wednesday 16 July 1997
A Plenary Session (PS71) of the multi-party talks was held (from 14:08 to 16:13) at Stormont, Belfast.

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 (see: IRA statement).

Monday 21 July 1997
A Plenary Session (PS72) of the multi-party talks was held (from 14:10 to 15:05) at Stormont, Belfast.

Tuesday 22 July 1997
A Plenary Session (PS73) of the multi-party talks was held (from 13:11 to 13:18) at Stormont, Belfast.

Wednesday 23 July 1997
A Plenary Session (PS74) of the multi-party talks was held (from 14:08 to 17:42) at Stormont, Belfast.

Monday 28 July 1997
A Plenary Session (PS75) of the multi-party talks was held (from 16:10 to 16:21) at Stormont, Belfast.
Following this Session the talks were adjourned until 9 September 1997.

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
A Plenary Session (PS76) of the multi-party talks was held (from 12:08 to 13:02) at Stormont, Belfast.
Sinn Féin (SF) entered the multi-party-talks and affirmed the principles of democracy and non violence as contained in paragraph 20 of the Report of the International Body (the Mitchell Principles).
Due to the presence of Sinn Féin, none of the Unionist parties attended this Plenary Session.

Monday 15 September 1997
A Plenary Session (PS77) of the multi-party talks was held (from 14:11 to 15:52) at Stormont, Belfast.
A second Plenary Session (PS78) was held (from 20:05 to 20:50).
None of the Unionist parties attended these two Plenary Sessions.

Tuesday 16 September 1997
A Plenary Session (PS79) of the multi-party talks was held (from 14:09 to 14:46) at Stormont, Belfast.
None of the Unionist parties attended this Plenary Session.

Wednesday 17 September 1997
A Plenary Session (PS80) of the multi-party talks was held (from 12:13 to 12:45) at Stormont, Belfast.
A second Plenary Session (PS81) was held (from 17:09 to 17:45).
A third Plenary Session (PS82) was held (from 18:12 to 19:05)
None of the Unionist parties attended these two Plenary Sessions.

Tuesday 23 September 1997
A Plenary Session (PS83) of the multi-party talks was held (from 14:09 to 15:53) at Stormont, Belfast.
The Ulster Unionist Party (UUP), the Progressive Unionist Party (PUP), and the Ulster Democratic Party (UDP) rejoined the multi-party talks for this Plenary Session. The Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) boycotted the talks because of the presence of Sinn Féin (SF), as did the United Kingdom Unionist Party (UKUP).

Wednesday 24 September 1997
A Plenary Session (PS84) of the multi-party talks was held (from 16:10 to 16:19) at Stormont, Belfast.
A second Plenary Session (PS85) was held (from 17:40 to 17:50).
A third Plenary Session (PS86) was held (from 21:24 to 21:52). [This represented the completion of the agenda for the opening Plenary Session.]

Tuesday 30 September 1997
A meeting of the Business Committee of the multi-party talks was held (at 10:00).

Wednesday 8 October 1997
A meeting of the Business Committee of the multi-party talks was held (at 10:00).
The first meeting of the Liaison Subcommittee on Decommissioning of the multi-party talks was held (from 12:03 to 12:41).
The first meeting of the Liaison Subcommittee on Confidence Building Measures of the multi-party talks was held (from 13:00 to 13:45).

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.

Wednesday 22 October 1997
A meeting of the Business Committee of the multi-party talks was held (at 10:00).

Wednesday 29 October 1997
A meeting of the Business Committee of the multi-party talks was held (at 11:00).

Monday 17 November 1997
A meeting of the Liaison Subcommittee on Decommissioning of the multi-party talks was held (from 16:08 to 16:43).

Tuesday 18 November 1997
A meeting of the Liaison Subcommittee on Confidence Building Measures of the multi-party talks was held (from 16:07 to 17:55).

Wednesday 19 November 1997
A meeting of the Business Committee of the multi-party talks was held (at 11:00).

Tuesday 25 November 1997
A meeting of the Liaison Subcommittee on Decommissioning of the multi-party talks was held (from 14:05 to 15:35).

Monday 1 December 1997
A meeting of the Liaison Subcommittee on Confidence Building Measures of the multi-party talks was held (from 15:00 to 16:53).

Tuesday 2 December 1997
A Review Plenary Session (RePS/1/97) of the multi-party talks was held (from 13:30 to 14:13) at Stormont, Belfast.

Monday 8 December 1997
A meeting of the Business Committee of the multi-party talks was held (at 10:30).

Monday 15 December 1997
A meeting of the Liaison Subcommittee on Confidence Building Measures of the multi-party talks was held (from 15:00 to 18:10).

Tuesday 16 December 1997
A Review Plenary Session (RePS/2/97) of the multi-party talks was held (from 17:55 to 19:12) at Stormont, Belfast.

Saturday 27 December 1997
Members of the Irish National Liberation Army (INLA) shot and killed Billy Wright (37), 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.
A meeting of the Business Committee of the multi-party talks was held (at 12:00).
A Plenary Session (PS88) of the multi-party talks was held (from 16:25 to 16:34) at Stormont, Belfast. [Note: There is a gap in the Session numbers; there was no record of PS87 in the Sean Farren Papers.]
The British and Irish governments tabled 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.

Tuesday 13 January 1998
A meeting of the Liaison Subcommittee on Confidence Building Measures of the multi-party talks was held (at 11:10).
A Plenary Session (PS89) of the multi-party talks was held (from 14:13 to 15:55) at Stormont, Belfast.

Wednesday 14 January 1998
A meeting of the Liaison Subcommittee on Decommissioning of the multi-party talks was held (from 10:00 to 11:18).
A meeting of the Business Committee of the multi-party talks was held (at 15:00).

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.

Tuesday 20 January 1998
A meeting of the Business Committee of the multi-party talks was held (at 14:00).

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
A Plenary Session (PS90) of the multi-party talks was held (from 12:39 to 14:08) at Lancaster House, London.
A second Plenary Session (PS91) was held (from 16:45 to 17:00).
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 previous couple of weeks, there were calls for the expulsion of the Ulster Democratic Party (UDP) which was 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.

Wednesday 4 February 1998
A meeting of the Liaison Subcommittee on Confidence Building Measures of the multi-party talks was held (from 14:42 to 13:30).
A meeting of the Business Committee of the multi-party talks was held (at 14:00).

Tuesday 10 February 1998
A meeting of the Liaison Subcommittee on Confidence Building Measures of the multi-party talks was held (at 14:42).

Tuesday 17 February 1998
A Plenary Session (PS92) of the multi-party talks was held (from 15:10 to 15:20) at Dublin Castle, Dublin.
A second Plenary Session (PS17Feb02) was held (from 17:10 to 17:28).
A third Plenary Session (PS17Feb03) was held (from 17:51 to 20:00?).
A number of security sources blamed the Irish Republican Army (IRA) for the killing of Kevin Conway.

Wednesday 18 February 1998
A Plenary Session (PS18Feb01) of the multi-party talks was held (from 09:30 to 10:25) at Dublin Castle, Dublin.
A second Plenary Session (PS18Feb02) was held (from 10:48 to 12:40).
A third Plenary Session (PS18Feb03) was held (from 13:45 to ?).

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.

Wednesday 25 February 1998
A meeting of the Liaison Subcommittee on Confidence Building Measures of the multi-party talks was held (from 10:40 to 12:55).
A meeting of the Business Committee of the multi-party talks was held (at 13:00).
A meeting of the Liaison Subcommittee on Decommissioning of the multi-party talks was held (at 14:40).

Wednesday 4 March 1998
A meeting of the Liaison Subcommittee on Confidence Building Measures of the multi-party talks was held (at 11:25).

Tuesday 10 March 1998
A meeting of the Liaison Subcommittee on Confidence Building Measures of the multi-party talks was held (from 10:40 to 13:00).

Wednesday 11 March 1998
A meeting of the Business Committee of the multi-party talks was held (at 14:00).

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.

Tuesday 24 March 1998
A meeting of the Liaison Subcommittee on Confidence Building Measures of the multi-party talks was held (from 11:00 to 13:10).

Wednesday 25 March 1998
A meeting of the Liaison Subcommittee on Decommissioning of the multi-party talks was held (from 12:12 to 13:49).
A meeting of the Business Committee of the multi-party talks was held (at 14:00).

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.

Tuesday 31 March 1998
A meeting of the Liaison Subcommittee on Confidence Building Measures of the multi-party talks was held (from 14:30 to 16:46).

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
Multi-Party Talks End
Belfast / Good Friday Agreement
A Plenary Session (PSFinal) of the multi-party talks was held (from 17:05) at Stormont, Belfast.
All the parties involved in the multi-party talks at Stormont gave their consent to the Belfast / Good Friday Agreement. The talks are brought to an end by George Mitchell, then an independent chairman of the talks.

Saturday 11 April 1998
In a surprisingly heavy "pro" vote, the Good Friday Agreement overcame its first test with 55 members of Ulster Unionist Party Executive voting for it and 23 voting against. It was anticipated that with so many of party’s Members of Parliament (MPs) against the Agreement (including William Ross and William Thompson), the vote would have been much closer.
There was an overwhelming positive and welcoming response to the news of the Agreement at the multi-party talks in Belfast.

Sunday 12 April 1998
At a series of Sinn Féin (SF) rallies in Ireland to commemorate the Easter Rising in Dublin in 1916, speeches were delivered which appeared to give the Good Friday Agreement a cautious welcome. The Irish Republican Army (IRA) issued a statement which said that it would judge the Agreement "against its potential to deliver a just and durable peace in our country". Republican Sinn Féin (RSF) called for a 'no' vote in the planned referendums on the Agreement.

Monday 13 April 1998
Representatives of Sinn Féin (SF) said that they needed a "period of consultation" with their membership before they could sign the Good Friday Agreement. Bill Clinton, then President of the United States of America (USA), said that he would visit Northern Ireland if it would help ensure the success of the Agreement. Ian Paisley, then leader of the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP), launched a DUP campaign calling for people to reject the Agreement. William Thompson, then Ulster Unionist Party (UUP) MP, announced that he would be supporting the DUP campaign.

Tuesday 14 April 1998
In the Republic of Ireland the Irish authorities released nine Irish Republican Army (IRA) prisoners from Portlaoise Prison. On their release the prisoners pledged their "total support" for the leadership of Sinn Féin (SF).

Wednesday 15 April 1998
The Grand Orange Lodge, the ruling body of the Orange Order, decided not to support the Good Friday Agreement. While not rejecting the Agreement outright the members demanded clarification of a number of issues from British Prime Minister, Tony Blair before it would consider changing its position. [During the referendum campaign the Orange Order came out against the Agreement.]

Thursday 16 April 1998
An opinion poll indicated that 73 per cent of people in Northern Ireland were in favour of the Good Friday Agreement.

Friday 17 April 1998
David Trimble, then leader of the Ulster Unionist Party (UUP), delivered a speech to the Northern Ireland Forum. Tony Blair, then British Prime Minister, stated that the Royal Ulster Constabulary (RUC) would not be disbanded and that only those prisoners whose organisations were on ceasefire would be released, on licence, from prison.

Saturday 18 April 1998
The ruling council of the Ulster Unionist Party (UUP) gave the Good Friday Agreement another significant boost when delegates backed it by 540 to 210 (72 per cent). While this was a major boost to David Trimble, then leader of the UUP, six out of the 10 UUP Members of Parliament (MPs) opposed the Agreement.
Gerry Adams, then President of Sinn Féin (SF), addressed the SF Ard Fheis in Dublin. During his address he informed delegates of the news of the UUP vote on the Agreement and said "Well done, David"; there was a round of applause from the delegates at the news. Trimble later said this support by SF was a 'poisoned chalice'.

Monday 20 April 1998
Ian Paisley, then leader of the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP), said that his party aimed to secure a 40 per cent 'no' vote in the forthcoming referendum on the Good Friday Agreement. [The actual 'no' vote was 28.88%.]

Tuesday 21 April 1998
Adrian Lamph (29), a Catholic civilian, was shot dead by the Loyalist Volunteer Force (LVF) at the council yard where he worked in Portadown, County Armagh. Lamph was the first victim of the conflict since the signing of the Good Friday Agreement.
The Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) held the first of a series of anti-Agreement rallies in the run up to the referendum. The 32 County Sovereignty Committee issued a statement rejecting the Agreement as "fundamentally undemocratic, anti-Republican and unacceptable".

Wednesday 22 April 1998
The Irish parliament passed the 19th Amendment to the Constitution Bill which would allow for the necessary changes following the Good Friday Agreement. A ministerial order was also signed to allow for the referendum on 22 May 1998 which would ratify the proposed changes to the Irish Constitution.

Thursday 23 April 1998
Three members of the Ulster Unionist Party (UUP) shared a platform at the Ulster Hall in Belfast with Ian Paisley, then leader of the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP), as part of a rally against the Good Friday Agreement. The three UUP members were: William Ross, William Thompson, and Roy Beggs. Also at the rally was Robert (Bob) McCartney, then leader of the United Kingdom Unionist Party (UKUP), and also representatives of the Orange Order. Two Unionist members of the Parades Commission resigned from the organisation. The reason given for their decision was the level of media attention they had received since their original appointments to the Commission.
The Joint Oireachtas Committee on the Irish Constitution began considering a proposal that Members of Parliament (MPs) elected in Northern Ireland should be entitled to sit in the Daíl. The committee also began considering the possibility of permitting Irish citizens living in the North to vote in presidential elections and referendums.

Friday 24 April 1998
Last Meeting of Forum
The Northern Ireland Forum held its final session as the body was wound up. Only 30 of the original 110 members attended the final session. [The Forum had held 71 plenary sessions since May 1996. Sinn Féin (SF) had never taken any of the 17 seats won by the party and the Social Democratic and Labour Party (SDLP) withdrew its 24 members after 3 weeks of the operation of the Forum.]
The Ulster Defence Association (UDA) and Ulster Freedom Fighters (UFF) issued a statement in support of the Good Friday Agreement saying that it would not lead to a united Ireland.

Saturday 25 April 1998
Ciaran Heffron (22), a Catholic civilian, was killed by Loyalist paramilitaries as he walked through the village of Crumlin, County Antrim. [Members of the Loyalist Volunteer Force (LVF) were blamed for the killing. It was claimed that those responsible for the killing had attended an anti-Agreement rally organised by the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) which had been held earlier in the nearby town of Antrim.]

Sunday 26 April 1998
Bertie Ahern, then Taoiseach (Irish Prime Minister), addressed a commemoration of the Easter Rising (which took place in 1916) in Dublin, and said that Britain had been "effectively ruled out of the equation" in regard to the future of Northern Ireland. The principle of consent, he said, was now the guiding factor in any future developments. [The remarks were thought to have given the 'No' campaign a boost.]

Monday 27 April 1998
Sinn Féin (SF) representatives travelled to London to attend a meeting with Tony Blair, then British Prime Minister, in Downing Street. Afterwards Gerry Adams, then President of SF, described the meeting as "constructive" and said that his party would "keep moving forward" in the search for peace in Northern Ireland.

Wednesday 29 April 1998
Sir Kenneth Bloomfield, then Northern Ireland Victims Commissioner, published his report, We Will Remember Them, on the victims of the conflict in Northern Ireland.

Thursday 30 April 1998
The Irish Republican Army (IRA) issued a statement on the Good Friday Agreement and the issue of decommissioning. The IRA stated that the Agreement "falls short of presenting a solid basis for a lasting settlement" and went on to say: "Let us make it clear that there will be no decommissioning by the IRA".
David Trimble, then leader of the Ulster Unionist Party (UUP), issued an ultimatum to those members of the UUP who publicly expressed opposition to the Agreement to follow the party position on the issue.

May

Friday 1 May 1998
The Orange Order called on its members (estimated at between 60,000 - 80,000) and supporters to vote 'No' in the forthcoming referendum.

Monday 4 May 1998
Bertie Ahern, then Taoiseach (Irish Prime Minister), officially launched the Fianna Fáil (FF) campaign for a 'Yes' vote in the Republic of Ireland. John Bruton, then leader of Fine Gael (FG), called on political leaders, north and south, to step up their campaigns for a 'Yes' vote.

Tuesday 5 May 1998
The United Unionist Campaign (UUC) was launched in Belfast to oppose the Good Friday Agreement in the referendum. The group was made up of representatives of the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP), the United Kingdom Unionist Party (UKUP), and also dissident Ulster Unionist Party (UUP) Members of Parliament (MPs). The UUC used the slogan: "It's Right to say No".

Wednesday 6 May 1998
The Sinn Féin (SF) leadership confirmed its support for the Good Friday Agreement, recommending that members in both the North and the South should vote 'Yes' in the forthcoming referendum. It had been reported that the Irish Republican Army (IRA) had taken the decision to drop the ban on members of the Republican movement taking part in an assembly at Stormont. Tony Blair, then British Prime Minister, and John Major, a former British Prime Minister, travelled to Northern Ireland to lend their support to the campaign for a 'Yes' vote in the referendum.

Thursday 7 May 1998
"real" IRA emerge
It was confirmed that a new Republican paramilitary group had emerged. The group was mainly formed from dissident members of the Irish Republican Army (IRA). [The media reported the name of the group as the "real" IRA (rIRA); the group were thought to refer to themselves as Óglaigh na hÉireann.]
The Northern Ireland (Elections) Act became law. The Act provided for the establishment of an Assembly at Stormont if the Agreement was approved in the forthcoming referendums. The British government announced that funding (estimated at £5 million) was to be made available for support schemes for victims of the conflict.

Friday 8 May 1998
The "real" Irish Republican Army (rIRA) issued a statement saying that the organisation's ceasefire was over and military attacks would resume. In particular the group said that it had declared war on the British Cabinet.

Sunday 10 May 1998
SF End Abstentions
At the party’s Ard Fheis in Dublin, Sinn Fein (SF) members voted to change their constitution to allow candidates to take their places in the proposed new Northern Ireland Assembly. The party was addressed by Gerry Adams, then President of SF. [The removal of the policy of ‘abstentionism’ was a historical move which ended 77 years of refusing to participate in institutions of government in Northern Ireland.]

Tuesday 12 May 1998
The continuing divisions between Unionists in favour of the Good Friday Agreement and those against were evident in personal exchanges between Ian Paisley, then leader of the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP), and David Trimble, then leader of the Ulster Unionist Party (UUP). Trimble accused Paisley of "running away again" after Paisley pulled out of a scheduled television debate between the two men.
The British government announced a £315 million economic package for Northern Ireland. Gordon Brown, then Chancellor of the Exchequer, travelled to Northern Ireland to make the announcement at a gathering of business people and politicians. Brown denied that the package was a bribe to entice voters to support the Good Friday Agreement.

Wednesday 13 May 1998
An anti-Agreement rally was held in Newtownards, County Down. The rally was addressed by representatives of the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) and former Ulster Unionist Party (UUP) members.
[The British government was forced to hand over all its private polling information on the forthcoming referendum to the United Kingdom Unionist Party (UKUP). This followed a protest by Robert (Bob) McCartney, then leader of the UKUP, that the Northern Ireland Office (NIO) was informing the Ulster Unionist Party (UUP) of its poll findings and thus giving the 'Yes' campaign an unfair advantage. News of the British decision was reported in the 'Sunday Tribune' (a Republic of Ireland newspaper) on 17 May 1998.]

Thursday 14 May 1998
Tony Blair, then British Prime Minister, paid another visit to Northern Ireland to continue campaigning for a 'Yes' vote in the referendum. During his visit he delivered a key note speech.

Friday 15 May 1998
LVF Ceasefire
The Loyalist Volunteer Force (LVF) announced an "unequivocal ceasefire" which the organisation hoped would encourage people to vote against the Good Friday Agreement.
Despite attempts by Tony Blair, then British Prime Minister, and David Trimble, then leader of the Ulster Unionist Party (UUP), to win over Jeffrey Donaldson, then UUP Member of Parliament (MP), Donaldson confirmed that he would be voting 'No' in the forthcoming referendum on the Good Friday Agreement. The decision by Donaldson was seen as giving a significant boost to the 'No' campaign. Another poll confirmed that the main reason people were planning to vote 'No' was the planned release of paramilitary prisoners under the Agreement. The Ulster Democratic Party (UDP) held a 'Yes' rally in the Ulster Hall in Belfast. [Michael Stone, then a Loyalist prisoner serving a sentence for the murder of three people, was released from the Maze Prison to attend the rally. As in the case of the Sinn Féin (SF) Ard Fheis on 9 May 1998, the scene of celebration that greeted the appearance of Stone resulted in fresh controversy about the policy of releasing prisoners to appear at rallies.]

Saturday 16 May 1998
There was a rally held in Lurgan, County Armagh, in support of the 'No' campaign. At the rally a message was read out from James Molyneaux, former leader of the Ulster Unionist Party (UUP), who said that he would be voting against the Good Friday Agreement.

Sunday 17 May 1998
Tony Blair, then British Prime Minister, said there was no "plan B" if the Agreement was rejected in the referendum. Blair and Bill Clinton, then President of the United States of America (USA), issued a joint statement urging people to recognise the opportunities offered by the Agreement and to vote 'Yes'.

Tuesday 19 May 1998
John Hume, then leader of the Social Democratic and Labour Party (SDLP), and David Trimble, then leader of the Ulster Unionist Party (UUP), met on the stage at a U2 concert at Belfast’s Waterfront Hall. The concert had been arranged to support the 'Yes' campaign. [Bono, then lead singer with the group U2, joined the two party leaders on stage and held their arms aloft. This event was thought to have given the 'Yes' campaign a much needed boost. Until then the two party leaders had not campaigned together.]

Wednesday 20 May 1998
Blair's Pledges
Tony Blair, then British Prime Minister, delivered a speech at the Coleraine campus of the University of Ulster in which he unveiled a hand-written set of pledges to the people of Northern Ireland in advance of the Referendum on 22 May 1998.
Bill Clinton, then President of the United States of America (USA), sent a personal message to the people of Northern Ireland calling on them to vote 'Yes' in the forthcoming referendum.
In the final hours of campaigning David Trimble, then leader of the Ulster Unionist Party (UUP), and Ian Paisley, then leader of the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP), took part in a live television debate. The 10 minute encounter took place on the BBC's 'Newsline' programme. The debate was heated with Paisley accusing Trimble of being prepared to "break the union".

Friday 22 May 1998
Referendum on The Agreement
There was a huge turnout throughout the island of Ireland as people in Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland voted on the Good Friday Agreement (in the Republic there was a further vote on the Ratification of the Amsterdam Treaty). This was the first all-Ireland poll since the general election of 1918. It was clear from the number of people going to polling stations across Northern Ireland that there had been a high turnout (the figure was 81.10%). [When all the votes were counted the results were as follows: Northern Ireland - Yes 71.12%, No 28.88% (turnout 81.10%); Republic of Ireland - Yes 94.39%, No 5.61% (turnout 56.26%); Ireland overall - Yes 85.46%, No 14.54%, (turnout 53.70%).
In the Republic of Ireland, the Amsterdam Treaty was ratified, with the results as follows: Yes 62%, No 38%.]

25 May 1998
The Ulster Volunteer Force (UVF) named Billy Hutchinson, then a Progressive Unionist Party (PUP) councillor, as its contact with the arms decommissioning body.

Tuesday 26 May 1998
The Ulster Unionist Party (UUP) took the decision not to allow the anti-agreement MP, Jeffrey Donaldson, to stand for election to the new Northern Ireland Assembly. The Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) held a news conference in Belfast and said that the party would not set out to wreck the Assembly.

Wednesday 27 May 1998
In the aftermath of the Good Friday Agreement the issue of the 'decommissioning' of paramilitary weapons began to dominate the political agenda. [Decommissioning was to prove a stumbling block to the full implementation of the Agreement and the issue was still causing problems in November 1999.]

Thursday 28 May 1998
Martin McGuinness, then Vice-President of Sinn Féin (SF), held a meeting with Marjorie (Mo) Mowlam, then Secretary of State for Northern Ireland. Following the meeting McGuinness warned against "falling into the trap of trying to make decommissioning the most important item on the agenda".

June

1 June 1998
Marjorie (Mo) Mowlam, then Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, delivered a speech on the results of the referendum.

4 June 1998
The text of a Northern Ireland Office (NIO) memo on the run-up to the announcement of the Independent Commission on Policing was leaked to the press.

8 June 1998
The fact that the newly established Police Commission in Northern Ireland did not contain any of the people nominated by the Irish government, on behalf of Nationalists in Northern Ireland, was thought to have caused considerable difficulties between the two governments. A leaked # memo indicated that Marjorie (Mo) Mowlam, then Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, had personally contacted the Irish government, the White House, the Social Democratic and Labour Party (SDLP), Sinn Féin (SF), and other interested parties to explain her decision and to seek agreement for it.

Tuesday 9 June 1998
The Ulster Unionist Party (UUP) launched its Assembly election manifesto. David Trimble, then leader of the Ulster Unionist Party (UUP), said that the UUP would not sit down with "unrepentant terrorists".

Wednesday 10 June 1998
David Trimble, then leader of the Ulster Unionist Party (UUP), and nine other Unionist and Conservative Members of Parliament (MPs) voted against the Northern Ireland (Sentences) Bill during the second reading of the Bill in the House of Commons. The proposed act was to allow for the early release of paramilitary prisoners as part of the Good Friday Agreement.

19 June 1998
In a debate in the House of Commons on the Northern Ireland (Sentences) Bill there were divisions over the issue of the release of paramilitary prisoners. David Trimble, then leader of the Ulster Unionist Party (UUP), and John Taylor, then deputy leader of the UUP, abstained from voting but six UUP Members of Parliament (MPs) voted against the bill along with Conservative MPs.

Thursday 25 June 1998
Northern Ireland Assembly Election
An election was held across Northern Ireland to chose representatives for the new Northern Ireland Assembly. The election was contested in the 18 parliamentary constituencies with six people being returned from each of the constituencies making a total of 108 members for the new Assembly. [When the votes were counted the Social Democratic and Labour Party (SDLP) marginally beat the Ulster Unionist Party (UUP) in the number of first preference votes, but the UUP gained 4 more seats that the SDLP (28 seats as opposed to 24). The Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) obtained 20 seats and Sinn Féin (SF) returned 18 candidates.]

Saturday 27 June 1998
Counting in the Northern Ireland Assembly Elections came to a close. [The Ulster Unionist Party (UUP) emerged as the largest party with 28 seats. The Social Democratic and Labour Party (SDLP) had 24, the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) 20, Sinn Féin (SF) 18, Alliance Party of Northern Ireland (APNI) 5, the United Kingdom Unionist Party (UKUP) 5, Progressive Unionist Party (PUP) 2, Northern Ireland Women’s Coalition (NIWC) 2, Independent Unionist 1, UU 1, and the UUU 1. In a major political breakthrough for the nationalist community, the SDLP emerged as the largest gainers of the first preference vote with 22%. They were followed by the UUP on 21.3%, the DUP on 18.1%, SF on 17.6%, Alliance on 6.5%, and Others on 14.5%.]

Monday 29 June 1998
The Parades Commission announced that it would not permit the Drumcree march by the Orange Order to use the return route along the mainly Nationalist Garvaghy Road unless there was, what it termed, a "local agreement".
In a surprise development John Alderdice announced his resignation as leader of the Alliance Party of Northern Ireland (APNI). [Alderdice made the move to allow him to stand as ‘Presiding Officer' (Speaker) of the new Northern Ireland Assembly. It later transpired that the post was originally to have gone to Seamus Close, then deputy leader of the APNI. The subsequent row was one of the few public disagreements that the APNI had engaged in.]

? June 1998
The British government published the Northern Ireland (Sentences) Bill.

July 1998

Wednesday 1 July 1998
First Meeting of 'Shadow' Assembly
'First Minister Designate' and 'Deputy First Minister Designate' Elected
All the political parties who had won seats during the Northern Ireland Assembly election took their places in the new Assembly chamber at Stormont. The Assembly met in 'shadow' form as powers had not yet been devolved. Those present included the parties, and candidates, who had opposed the Good Friday Agreement.
During the first session of the new Northern Ireland Assembly David Trimble, then leader of the Ulster Unionist Party (UUP), was elected 'First Minister Designate' of the new Assembly. Seamus Mallon, then deputy leader of the Social Democratic and Labour Party (SDLP), was elected 'Deputy First Minister Designate'.
John Alderdice, formerly the leader of the Alliance Party of Northern Ireland (APNI), was appointed as the ‘Presiding Officer Designate' (the Speaker) of the new Assembly.

Thursday 2 July 1988
The formalities of the setting up of the new Northern Ireland Assembly continued. Tony Blair, then British Prime Minister, travelled to Belfast for a meeting with David Trimble, then leader of the Ulster Unionist Party (UUP) and First Minster designate, and Seamus Mallon, then deputy leader of the Social Democratic and Labour Party (SDLP) and Deputy First Minster designate.

Saturday 4 July 1998
Private meetings were held to attempt to resolve the dispute over the forthcoming Orange Order parade from Drumcree to Portadown. However, the talks failed to produce a breakthrough in the dispute.

Sunday 5 July 1998
Drumcree Parade - 'Drumcree IV'
For the fourth year in a row the Drumcree parade by the Portadown District Lodge of the Orange Order proved to be the focal point for divisions in Northern Ireland. The parade passed from the centre of Portadown, County Armagh, along the edge of a Nationalist area to the Church of Ireland parish church at Drumcree where the Orangemen attended a service. However, as the Orangemen attempted to walk back to the centre of Portadown, along the mainly Catholic Garvaghy Road, the route was blocked by the police and the British Army. A stand-off began. The decision to reroute the parade had been taken by the Parades Commission. As the day wore on the number of Orangemen protesting at Drumcree increased. The British government said that it would "hold the line" against those protesting at Drumcree. Throughout the day there were street protests across Northern Ireland by Loyalists in support of the Orange Order. A number of roads were blocked and some cars set on fire. A number of Catholic homes were also attacked in Belfast.

Monday 6 July 1998
An estimated 10,000 people gathered through the early morning hours at Drumcree, Portadown, County Armagh, to protest at the decision not to allow the Orange Order parade to pass through the mainly Catholic Garvaghy Road area of Portadown. Violence flared in a number of Loyalist areas of Northern Ireland with the Royal Ulster Constabulary (RUC) being fired at by Loyalist paramilitaries. A number of main roads across the region were blocked at different times during the day, and a number of Catholic families were the subject of violent attacks and intimidation.
The Parades Commission ruled that the Twelfth of July Orange Order 'feeder' parade would be allowed to proceed along the mainly Catholic Ormeau Road in Belfast on Monday 13 July 1998.

Tuesday 7 July 1998
Violence continued in a number of areas of Loyalist areas of Northern Ireland. The tactic of blocking roads continued to be used, although most were reopened within a few hours. Ian Paisley, then leader of the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP), addressed a rally in Portadown and said that the Twelfth of July would be "the settling day". [His use of this phrase was to draw criticism following the events of the early hours of 12 July 1998.]

Wednesday 8 July 1998
The situation at Drumcree deteriorated considerably with sustained violent attacks on the Royal Ulster Constabulary (RUC) and British Army barricades by protesting Orange men.

Thursday 9 July 1998
Orange Order demonstrators at Drumcree attempted to cross security force barriers. Security force members, who came under attack from guns and blast bombs, replied with plastic bullets.

Friday 10 July 1998
A large section of the crowd taking part in the demonstration at Drumcree Church tried on several occasions to break through Royal Ulster Constabulary (RUC) and British Army lines to get on to the Garvaghy Road. There was continuing Loyalist violence across Northern Ireland with many roads blocked, and Catholic homes and businesses were again attacked.

Saturday 11 July 1998
Proximity (indirect) talks were held in Armagh between representatives of the Orange Order and the Garvaghy Road Residents Coalition (GRRC). Jonathen Powell, then Chief of Staff at Downing Street, acted as the mediator between the two groups. The Orange Order maintained its position that it would not engage in face-to-face talks with the GRRC; there was no agreement between the two sides.

Sunday 12 July 1998
Three Boys Killed at Ballymoney
Three young Catholic boys, Richard (11), Mark (10), and Jason (9) Quinn, were killed after their home, in Ballymoney, County Antrim, was petrol bombed in a sectarian attack carried out by Loyalists. Christine Quinn the boys mother, her partner, Raymond Craig, and a family friend, Christina Archibald (18) escaped from the house but they and neighbours were unable to reach the three boys. Lee Quinn (13), the oldest son, was staying with his grandmother when the incident occurred. William Bingham (Rev.), then Deputy Grand Chaplain of the Orange Order, called for the Drumcree protest to be ended and said that the 15 minute march down the Garvaghy Road would be "a hallow victory" as it would be taking place in the shadows of three little white coffins. David Trimble, then leader of the Ulster Unionist Party (UUP), and Robin Eames (Dr), then Church of Ireland Primate, also called for an end to the protest. The Orange Order rejected these and other similar calls. [The protest at Drumcree declined following the Quinn deaths but a token protest was maintained during the whole of the year to July 1999.]

Monday 13 July 1998
The Orange Order 'Twelfth' celebrations were held at centres across Northern Ireland (the parades were held on 13 July because the 12 July fell on a Sunday). Catholic residents of the Lower Ormeau Road held a peaceful protest against an Orange parade through the area. The number of people involved in the Drumcree stand-off decreased considerably following the extensive condemnation of the Orange Order’s response to the deaths of the Quinn children in a sectarian attack in Ballymoney, County Antrim, on 12 July 1998.

Tuesday 14 July 1998
The funeral took place of the three Quinn children in Rasharkin, County Antrim. There was a huge turnout for the funeral.

Wednesday 15 July 1998
The British government introduced the Northern Ireland Bill into the House of Commons. The Bill was designed to implement the various provisions of the Good Friday Agreement.

Thursday 16 July 1998
Bill Clinton, then President of the United States of America (USA), made a pledge to the surviving Quinn brother, Lee (13), that he would do all he could to bring peace to Northern Ireland.

Friday 17 July 1998
After 12 days of often violent protest the Orange Order conceded that it would not be able to force its way down the Garvaghy Road. The number of people taking part in the demonstrations at Drumcree had dropped from 10,000 to 1,500 since the death of the three Quinn children on 12 July 1998.
Tony Blair, then British Prime Minister, pledged that the Royal Ulster Constabulary (RUC) would remain intact despite any review of its future.

Friday 24 July 1998
The Police (Northern Ireland) Act was passed in the House of Commons.

Tuesday 28 July 1998
The Northern Ireland (Sentences) Act became law. The legislation allowed for the early release of paramilitary prisoners. Only prisoners who were members of organisations that were observing ceasefires could benefit from the legislation.
As part of a government reshuffle of ministerial posts, John McFall replaced Tony Worthington at the Northern Ireland Office (NIO).

August

1 August 1998
Thirty-three civilians and two members of the Royal Ulster Constabulary (RUC) were injured when a car bomb (estimated at 500 pounds) exploded in Banbridge, County Down. Extensive damage was also caused in the explosion that was later claimed by the "real" Irish Republican Army (rIRA).

6 August 1998
Marjorie (Mo) Mowlam, then Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, said that she believed that the "war is over". [This was said in response to Unionist demands that Sinn Féin (SF) and the Irish Republican Army (IRA) should state publicly that the conflict had ended.]

8 August 1998
(or 10 August) The Loyalist Volunteer Force (LVF) issued a statement that said "our war is over". This was a follow-up to the announcement of a ceasefire on 15 May 1998. It was thought that the statement was a response to the fact that LVF prisoners had not been included on the list of those eligible for release that was presented on 28 July 1998. Gerry Adams, then President of Sinn Féin (SF), told a meeting in west Belfast that he would not be pressured into uttering the words "the war is over" to satisfy Unionists.

10 August 1998
The Loyalist Volunteer Force (LVF) issued a statement which stated that as far as the grouping was concerned the "war is over". [Many people expressed doubts about the real intentions of the LVF.]

Saturday 15 August 1998
The Omagh Bomb
Twenty-nine people died as a result of an explosion at 3.10 pm in Omagh, County Tyrone. The bomb had been planted by the "real" Irish Republican Army (rIRA). The death toll represented the single worst incident within Northern Ireland since the beginning of the conflict. Among the dead were family members, one family lost members from three generations, and close friends, and a number of tourists from the Republic of Ireland and Spain. One woman who died was pregnant with twins. There were hundreds of people injured some of whom lost limbs or their sight. [28 people died on the day and an injured man died three weeks later. Another man was killed when the car he was driving was involved in a collision with an ambulance that was transporting injured people to a hospital in Belfast.] It was later learnt that there had been a misleading phone warning and the Royal Ulster Constabulary (RUC) directed people towards the bomb rather than away from it. [The code word used was that of the rIRA, a breakaway group of dissident members from the Provisional IRA who disagreed with the political direction being taken by the Sinn Féin leadership. There was outrage and shock across the whole population of Northern Ireland. Many people expressed the hope that this incident would mark a turning point in the conflict.]

Sunday 16 August 1998
The 32-County Sovereignty Committee issued a statement denying that the organisation was associated with those responsible for the Omagh bombing.

Monday 17 August 1998
The Irish Republican Socialist Party (IRSP) issued a statement calling upon the Irish National Liberation Army (INLA) to announce a ceasefire. The IRSP said that it felt, in the light of the Omagh bombing, that the ‘armed struggle’ could no longer be justified. The IRSP also felt that the INLA would call a ceasefire in the near future.

18 August 1998
"real" IRA Suspension of Military Actions
The "real" Irish Republican Army (rIRA) announced that "all military operations have been suspended". The announcement came in a telephone call to the Irish News, a Northern Ireland newspaper, at 11.35 pm and the ‘suspension’ took effect from midnight. Earlier in the day the rIRA had contacted the Dublin office of the Irish News and stated that the organisation was responsible for the Omagh bombing but denied that it had deliberately set out to kill people.

19 August 1998
Bertie Ahern, then Taoiseach (Irish Prime Minister), announced his governments intention to introduce tough anti-terrorist measures. The proposals would include seizure of land or other property which has been used for storing weapons or making bombs. In addition it was announced that a suspect’s right to silence would be withdrawn. Ahern admitted that the measures could be described as "draconian".

Saturday 22 August 1998
INLA Ceasefire
The Irish National Liberation Army (INLA) announced that it was to go on ceasefire as from midday. [There were calls for the Continuity Irish Republican Army (CIRA) to also announce a ceasefire.]

Monday 24 August 1998 ?
Christopher McWilliams, then Officer Commanding (OC) the Irish National Liberation Army (INLA) in the Maze Prison, declared that the "war is over".

Wednesday 26 August 1998
Blair Visits Omagh
Tony Blair, then British Prime Minister, paid a visit to the site of the bomb in Omagh, County Tyrone. Blair promised draconian legislation to deal with any paramilitary groups that refused to call a ceasefire. Sinn Féin (SF) said the new measures would amount to "internment in another guise".

28 August 1998
The minutes of a meeting on 6 August between Adam Ingram, then Security Minister at the NIO, and the Ulster Unionist Party (UUP) Assembly Group, were leaked. At the meeting the UUP were reported as saying there would be "no chance" of an Executive being formed without decommissioning of Irish Republican Army (IRA) weapons.

29 August 1998 ??
The "real" Irish Republican Army (rIRA) stated that it believed that a continuation of its campaign was futile "in the circumstances of Omagh and the Mitchell agreement". The rIRA indicated that a ceasefire would be called. ??

Monday 31 August 1998
The government in the Republic of Ireland published the Offences Against The State (Amendment) Bill providing for curtailment of the right to silence, longer detention periods and five new offences, including "direction of terrorism".

September

Tuesday 1 September 1998
Gerry Adams, then President of Sinn Féin (SF), announced in a statement that: "Sinn Féin believe the violence we have seen must be for all of us now a thing of the past, over, done with and gone." David Trimble in his role as First Minister Designate, invited Gerry Adams to a round-table meeting. [These developments came in advance of the arrival of Bill Clinton, then President of the United States of America (USA), on a visit to Northern Ireland on 3 September 1998.] In an interview the Irish Republican Army (IRA) said that it would not decommission its weapons and claimed that Unionists were using the issue to try to re-negotiate the Good Friday Agreement. The interview was given to 'An Phoblacht / Republican News' and was published in full on Thursday 3 September 1998 in the paper. John Bruton, then leader of Fine Gael (FG), said the statement by the IRA on decommissioning made it unthinkable that politicians associated with it could take part in an Executive.

Wednesday 2 September 1998
The Irish Republican Army (IRA) was reported as having issued a warning to the "real" IRA (rIRA) that it should disband "sooner rather than later". The IRA also threatened action against members of the 32 County Sovereignty Committee.

3 September 1998
Clinton Visit to Northern Ireland; New Emergency Legislation
Bill Clinton, then President of the United States of America, paid his second visit to Northern Ireland. Clinton delivered his key note address at the Waterfront Hall in Belfast. [Tony Blair, then British Prime Minister, also delivered a speech, as did David Trimble and Seamus Mallon.]
At the House of Commons the Criminal Justice (Terrorism and Conspiracy) Bill, was passed despite grave reservations by some Members of Parliament (MPs) that the measures were being rushed through without adequate debate. In the Republic of Ireland the Offences Against The State (Amendment) Bill passed into law after it was signed by the Presidential Commission. Although civil liberties groups warned that it was a bad law the bill met little opposition in the Dáil or the Seanad. The Irish government did however agree to an annual review of the legislation.

5 September 1998
David Trimble, then First Minister designate and leader of the Ulster Unionist Party (UUP), repeated his view that decommissioning of Irish Republican Army (IRA) weapons was necessary before the UUP would enter an Executive with Sinn Féin (SF). Gerry Adams, then President of Sinn Féin (SF), said that there was nothing in the Good Friday Agreement that prevented the immediate establishment of an Executive which would include SF members as of right.

Monday 7 September 1998
"real" IRA Announce Ceasefire
The "real" Irish Republican Army (rIRA) announced a "complete cessation" of its campaign of violence. [The announcement came after weeks of intense pressure on the group in the wake of the Omagh bombing. The only remaining Republican grouping that had not called a ceasefire was the Continuity Irish Republican Army (CIRA).] Bertie Ahern, then Taoiseach (Irish Prime Minister), called on the CIRA to state its position or face the full rigours of the law.
David Trimble, in his role as First Minister designate, met Gerry Adams, then President of Sinn Féin (SF), during a round-table discussion with the leaders of Northern Ireland political parties. This was the first time Trimble had agreed to be in the same meeting as Adams. (or next day ??)

Thursday 10 September 1998
Meeting Between Trimble and Adams
David Trimble, then First Minister designate and leader of the Ulster Unionist Party (UUP), held his first face-to-face meeting with Gerry Adams, then President of Sinn Féin (SF). The meeting took place in private at Stormont, Belfast. Both men later described the meeting as cordial and businesslike. Adams said: "He is a man I can do business with" but repeated his position that he could not deliver on decommissioning. [This was the first meeting between SF and a Unionist leader since the formation of Northern Ireland.]

Friday 11 September 1998
First Paramilitary Prisoners Released Under Agreement
The first of the paramilitary prisoners were released from jails in Northern Ireland under the terms of the Good Friday Agreement. Seven prisoners, including three Republican and three Loyalist, were released in a programme that was expected to take two years to complete.
Bertie Ahern, then Taoiseach (Irish Prime Minister), told Chris Patten, then chairman of the Commission reviewing the future of the Royal Ulster Constabulary (RUC), that major reform of the force was necessary if the force was to become acceptable to both communities in Northern Ireland. Ahern made his comments during a meeting with Patten at Government buildings in Dublin.

Monday 14 September 1998
Meeting of Northern Ireland Assembly
The Northern Ireland Assembly met for the first time since June 1998. David Trimble, then First Minister designate, said that the issue of decommissioning remained an obstacle to the establishment of the Northern Ireland Assembly. The formation of the Executive was postponed. [The executive was established on 29 November 1999.] Trimble also said that the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) could not take part in the Executive in a selective fashion. Two former members of the UUP and an Independent Unionist joined together to form the United Unionist Assembly Party (UUAP).

Saturday 19 September 1998
Gerry Kelly, a senior member of Sinn Féin (SF), warned of a looming crisis in the peace process if Unionists insisted that prior disarmament was the "bottom line" before SF would be allowed to enter an Executive. Kelly said Unionists were "generating unrealisable expectations" that decommissioning was about to happen.

Tuesday 22 September 1998
David Trimble, then leader of the Ulster Unionist Party (UUP), travelled to Dublin for a meeting with Bertie Ahern, then Taoiseach (Irish Prime Minister). The main item on the agenda was the issue of the decommissioning of paramilitary weapons. There was growing tension in recent days over this issue. Trimble supported a call by Ahern for the Irish Republican Army (IRA) to set out a timetable for decommissioning.

Wednesday 23 September 1998
There was disagreement between Gerry Adams, then President of Sinn Féin (SF), and David Trimble, then First Minister designate, over the issue of decommissioning. Adams said that Irish Republican Army (IRA) decommissioning was not within SF’s gift and accused Trimble of trying to impose conditions on SF’s entry into the Executive and trying to renegotiate the Agreement.

Thursday 24 September 1998
There was disagreement between David Trimble, then First Minister designate, and Seamus Mallon, Deputy First Minister designate, over the establishment of the North-South Ministerial Council. Trimble said that the inaugural meeting of the new body should take place within weeks. However, Mallon said that he would not agree to such a move until the "shadow" Executive was set up first.

Friday 25 September 1998
David Trimble, then leader of the Ulster Unionist Party (UUP), and Seamus Mallon, then deputy leader of the Social Democratic and Labour Party (SDLP), became involved in a disagreement over the timing of the establishment of a shadow Executive. Mallon stated that the issue of decommissioning had "almost become a soap opera".

Wednesday 30 September 1998
Ronnie Flanagan, then Chief Constable of the Royal Ulster Constabulary (RUC), announced that a number of British Army installations and check-points were to be demolished. There was a further series of releases under the terms of the Good Friday Agreement.
Seamus Mallon, then deputy leader of the Social Democratic and Labour Party (SDLP), addressed a meeting of the Labour Party conference in Blackpool, England. Mallon, while acknowledging that there was no pre-condition to Sinn Féin's (SF) entry into an Executive, nevertheless called on the Irish Republican Army (IRA) to make a confidence building gesture. Gerry Adams, then President of Sinn Féin (SF), also addressed the meeting and stated that the row over decommissioning had the potential to wreck the Good Friday Agreement.

October

9 October 1998
Members of the UUP opposed to the Good Friday Agreement set up the 'Union First' pressure group within the party.

Saturday 10 October 1998
Martin McGuinness, the Vice-President of Sinn Féin (SF), travelled to Dublin for a meeting with Bertie Ahern, then Taoiseach (Irish Prime Minister). The meeting failed to provide any progress on the issue of decommissioning.

Saturday 17 October 1998
It was announced that the Nobel Prize for Peace would be awarded jointly to John Hume, then leader of the Social Democratic and Labour Party (SDLP), and David Trimble, then leader of the Ulster Unionist Party (UUP).

Monday 19 October
Both David Trimble, then leader of the Ulster Unionist Party (UUP) and First Minister designate, and Martin McGuinness, then Vice-President of Sinn Féin (SF), travelled to London for separate meetings with Tony Blair, then British Prime Minister. Trimble told the Prime Minister that SF should not be given seats on the Executive without prior decommissioning of weapons. Both McGuinness and Trimble blamed the other for the impasse over decommissioning.

Saturday 24 October 1998
David Trimble, then leader of the Ulster Unionist Party (UUP), delivered a speech to the Annual Conference of the UUP. Trimble repeated his view that Sinn Féin (SF) members could not become part of an Executive before decommissioning by the Irish Republican Army (IRA).

Monday 26 October 1998
Bertie Ahern, then Taoiseach (Irish Prime Minister), said that there was no chance of the North-South Ministerial Council being established before the 31 October 1998 deadline. David Trimble, then First Minister designate, said that the 31 October was not an absolute deadline. Martin McGuinness, the Vice-President of Sinn Féin (SF), accused Unionists of trying to rewrite the Good Friday Agreement.

31 October 1998
Deadline for Formation of Executive
The deadline is missed for the formation of the Executive, of the Northern Ireland Assembly, and the North-South Ministerial Body. The main reasons for the failure to implement the Good Friday Agreement were to do with disagreements on the issue of decommissioning.

November

Monday 2 November 1998
Brain Service (35), a Catholic civilian, was shot dead by Loyalists after he left his brother's house in north Belfast. [The Red Hand Defenders (RHD) later claimed responsibility for the killing. The RHD were a new Loyalist paramilitary grouping comprising dissent Loyalists opposed to the Good Friday Agreement and opposed to the ceasefires of the main Loyalist paramilitary organisations.] In a joint statement the First, and Deputy First, Ministers pledged that the killing would not derail the peace process.

Tuesday 3 November 1998 or 2 Nov ??
Bertie Ahern, then Taoiseach (Irish Prime Minister), became the first Taoiseach in over 30 years to visit Stormont. Ahern was there to discuss the North-South Ministerial Council.

Tuesday 10 November
A delegation from Sinn Féin (SF) travelled to London for talks with Tony Blair, then British Prime Minister, about what they saw as the stalled peace process.

Wednesday 11 November 1998
The announcement that the Maze prison in County Antrim would close by the year 2000 if the Good Friday Agreement was fully implemented was greeted by anger on the part of many Unionists. [The closure of the Maze would have a large impact on security related jobs which are almost entirely held by Protestants.]

Friday 13 November 1998
The Loyalist Volunteer Force (LVF) announced that it was willing to decommission some of its weapons if the Irish Republican Army (IRA) matched their gesture on a ratio of ten IRA weapons for every LVF weapon.
Seamus Mallon, then deputy leader of the Social Democratic and Labour Party (SDLP), delivered a speech to the Annual Conference of the SDLP.

Saturday 14 November 1998
John Hume, then leader of the Social Democratic and Labour Party (SDLP), addressed the annual SDLP conference and said Unionists and Nationalists had at last taken their future into their hands and seized control of their history, rather than history controlling them. [During the conference the SDLP said it would help to remove Sinn Féin (SF) from the Executive if the Irish Republican Army (IRA) failed to decommission within the specified time-scale. The party also said it would not support any attempt by Unionists to rewrite the Good Friday Agreement.]

Tuesday 17 November
The government accepted that the Loyalist Volunteer Force (LVF) ceasefire was genuine thus making it possible for LVF prisoners to be considered for early release.
The 'Irish Times' (newspaper based in Republic of Ireland) carried an article by Robert (Bob) McCartney, then leader of the United Kingdom Unionist Party (UKUP), on the issue of decommissioning.

Wednesday 18 November
Michael McGimpsey, then Security Spokesperson of the Ulster Unionist Party (UUP), warned that the Good Friday Agreement could collapse if there were moves to disband the Royal Ulster Constabulary (RUC).

Thursday 19 November
A spokesperson on behalf of the Loyalist Volunteer Force (LVF) said that the group had decided to postpone the handover of (some) weapons. The reason given was the remarks made by Ken Maginness, Security Spokesman of the Ulster Unionist Party (UUP), when he called the LVF "ruthless" and "sectarian killers".
The Northern Ireland Act, which provides for the implementation of the Good Friday Agreement, became law.

Sunday 22 November 1998
Bertie Ahern, then Taoiseach (Irish Prime Minister), addressed the Fianna Fáil (FF) Ard Fheis and said "The Good Friday Agreement is a unique chance for all of us on this island, the best chance we will see in our lifetime." Ahern also called for an impartial police service in Northern Ireland. In an interview for the RTE programme 'This Week', Ahern agreed with the statement that there was "an irresistible dynamic working towards unification at this stage" and he said he felt there would be a united Ireland, following a constitutional referendum, in 15 to 20 years time.

25 November 1998
Tony Blair, then British Prime Minister, travelled to Northern Ireland for talks with representatives of the main political parties in the region.

Thursday 26 November 1998
Tony Blair became the first British Prime Minister to address both houses of the Oireachtas (the Irish Parliament). His speech dealt with the Good Friday Agreement and the relationships between Britain and the Republic of Ireland.

Saturday 28 November 1998
George Mitchell, formerly Chairman of the multi-party talks, held meetings with Northern Ireland political leaders in Belfast. Seamus Mallon, Deputy First Minister designate, spoke of a "distinct possibility" that President Clinton would try to resolve the decommissioning row but added that he had no specific knowledge of such a move.
Peter Robinson, then deputy leader of the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP), addressed the Annual Conference of the DUP and urged members of the Ulster Unionists Party (UUP) to "topple" their leader David Trimble. Robinson went on to say: "Better by far that you topple Trimble now rather than give him time to drag this province step by step to Dublin." The conference was also addressed by the party leader Ian Paisley.

December

Wednesday 2 December 1998
Tony Blair, then British Prime Minister, travelled to Belfast to try to aid the search for a deal on the issue of the setting up of departments and the North South Ministerial Council. [By the time Blair left a number of commentators felt that agreement had been reached. However, any understanding that may have been reached soon fell apart with the Ulster Unionist Party (UUP) being blamed for stalling on the issue.]

Saturday 5 December 1998
Gerry Adams, then President of Sinn Féin (SF), travelled to Dublin for a meeting with Bertie Ahern, then Taoiseach (Irish Prime Minister).

Tuesday 8 December 1998
Efforts to find agreement on the setting up of departments and the North South Ministerial Council continued in Dublin and London, as Bertie Ahern, then Taoiseach (Irish Prime Minister), warned that slippage beyond Monday 14 December 1998 would be "an awful mistake". In Washington President Clinton urged Northern Irish politicians to move the peace process forward, reminding them they should "obey not only the letter of the Good Friday Agreement but its spirit as well".

Thursday 10 December 1998
Nobel Peace Prize
John Hume, then leader of the Social Democratic and Labour Party (SDLP), and David Trimble, then leader of the Ulster Unionist Party (UUP), received their Nobel Peace Prizes at an awards ceremony in the City Hall, Oslo. [Hume speech; Trimble speech]

Saturday 12 December 1998 ?
David Trimble, then First Minister designate, said the decommissioning of paramilitary weapons would have to be carried out in front of television cameras so that ordinary people could believe it had taken place.

Sunday 13 December 1998 ?
It was reported that there had been a General Army Convention of the Irish Republican Army (IRA) which had taken the decision that there would be no decommissioning of firearms or explosives.

Monday 14 December
UKUP Split
Four of the five members of the United Kingdom Unionist Party (UKUP) left the party and accused the leader, Robert (Bob) McCartney, of branding his colleagues as politically immature. [The four members went on to form the Northern Ireland Unionist Party (NIUP). The NIUP members claimed that McCartney intended to take the UKUP out of the Assembly if Sinn Féin (SF) were allowed to join an Executive. The loss of four Assembly members meant that the UKUP lost some of its privileges at the Northern Ireland Assembly such as the right to sit on the front benches.] Gerry Kelly, a SF Assembly member, accused Unionists of trying to push the Irish Republican Army (IRA) back to war.

Friday 18 December 1998
Agreement on Government Departments and Cross-Border Bodies
In a significant breakthrough in the implementation of the Belfast Agreement, six new North-South administrative bodies and an increase from six to 10 ministries in Northern Ireland were agreed after 18 hours of negotiations between the Northern parties. The six North South bodies will cover inland waterways, agriculture, food safety, the Irish and Ulster-Scots languages, European Union funding programmes, and trade and business development. The First Minister designate and Deputy First Minister designate issued a joint statement on what had been agreed.
The Loyalist Volunteer Force (LVF) handed over some weapons to be destroyed to the International Decommissioning Body. The LVF was the first paramilitary group to voluntarily hand over its weapons.

19 December 1998
At a meeting in Belfast the executive of the Ulster Unionist Party (UUP) backed the deal done on Government departments and the North South Ministerial Council. However the executive again called for decommissioning of paramilitary weapons.

1999

Sunday 3 January 1999
Bertie Ahern, then Taoiseach (Irish Prime Minister), said there should be a speedy resolution of the problems surrounding decommissioning.

Tuesday 5 January 1999
Four of the five Assembly members for the United Kingdom Unionist Party (UKUP) who had left the party on 14 December 1998 announced that they were forming the Northern Ireland Unionist Party (NIUP).

Wednesday 6 January 1999
The Social Democratic and Labour Party (SDLP) and the Ulster Unionist Party (UUP) argued over the implementation of the pre-Christmas arrangement on government departments and North-South bodies. The UUP wanted the Northern Ireland Assembly to "take note" of the agreement, whereas the SDLP wanted the two parties to approve and accept it.
The Irish Republican Army (IRA) published a New Year Message in An Phoblacht/Republican News in which they said that the Good Friday Agreement had failed to deliver meaningful change and that Unionists were pursuing conditions that had contributed to the breakdown of the 1994 ceasefire.

Wednesday 13 January 1999
Marjorie (Mo) Mowlam, then Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, said the government was prepared to implement devolution to the Northern Ireland Assembly on 10 March 1999 if the parties could agree on the way forward.

Monday 18 January 1999
The Northern Ireland Assembly debated the proposed structures of government and the arrangements for the North-South bodies.

Monday 25 January 1999
Gerry Adams, then Sinn Fein president, and Martin McGuinness, then SF chief negotiator, did not turn up for a meeting with Marjorie (Mo) Mowlam, then Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, about the upsurge in paramilitary punishment attacks. Bairbre de Brún and Alex Maskey attended on behalf of SF.

Wednesday 27 January 1999
The IRA informer and author Eamon Collins was found dead on the outskirts of Newry, Co Down, near his home.

Saturday/Sunday 6/7 February 1999
There was concern for the future of the Northern peace process with Marjorie (Mo) Mowlam, then Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, conceding that the deadline for the devolution of powers could be missed.

Saturday/Sunday 13/14 February 1999
Bertie Ahern, then Taoiseach (Irish Prime Minister), was involved in controversy after making apparently contradictory statements about the decommissioning of IRA arms. In an interview with the Sunday Times, Ahern indicated that the Northern Ireland Executive could not be established without a start to decommissioning. Later, he said Sinn Féin (SF) should not be barred from the executive in the absence of any weapons handover.

Tuesday 16 February 1999
A report containing proposals for structures of government were put before the Northern Ireland Assembly by David Trimble, then First Minister Designate, and Seamus Mallon, then Deputy First Minister Designate. The report was endorsed by 77 votes to 29 votes. [10 March 1999 was set as the deadline to establish the proposed Executive. This was later postponed to 2 April 1999 (Good Friday).]

Wednesday 24 February 1999
A Co Armagh man, Colm Murphy (48), was charged at the Special Criminal Court in connection with the Omagh bombing on August 15th last year, in which 29 people died.

Saturday/Sunday 27/28 February 1999
Northern Ireland's First Minister, David Trimble, warned Republicans that he intends to press for the transfer of powers to a new Executive, even without Sinn Féin (SF) participation.

Wednesday 3 March 1999
Marjorie (Mo) Mowlam, then Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, signalled her willingness to delay the triggering of devolution until the end of March, although she warned against excessive delay in creating an Executive. Her comments came as Séamus Mallon, then Deputy First Minister Designate, called on the Irish Republican Army (IRA) to make a statement indicating that its campaign of violence was over. This would help to break the logjam over the decommissioning of paramilitary weapons, he suggested. The Red Hand Defenders and the Orange Volunteers, loyalist paramilitary organisations responsible for attacks in recent months, including two murders, were banned by the Secretary of State. Mowlam also announced that she had accepted the INLA's six-month ceasefire as complete and unequivocal.

Thursday 4 March 1999
Final details of four new British-Irish treaties were agreed between Bertie Ahern, then Taoiseach (Irish Prime Minister), and David Trimble, then First Minister Designate. The treaties provide for the establishment, in principle, of North-South bodies and other institutions in the Good Friday Agreement. The principal treaty sets up the six North-South implementation bodies which were agreed before Christmas. The other one-page treaties allow for the setting up of the North-South ministerial council, the British-Irish council and the new British-Irish inter-governmental conference.

Saturday/Sunday 6/7 March 1999
Senior Ulster Unionist figures said there was no secret deal which would let Sinn Féin (SF) into the power-sharing executive without prior decommissioning by the Irish Republican Army (IRA).

Monday 8 March 1999
David Trimble, then First Minister Designate, reacted angrily to Marjorie (Mo) Mowlam's, then Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, announcement extending the deadline for the creation of the Northern Ireland Executive until Easter week. In Dublin Bertie Ahern, then Taoiseach (Irish Prime Minister), met with Gerry Adams, then President of Sinn Féin (SF), in Government Buildings.

Wednesday 10 March 1999
Bertie Ahern, then Taoiseach (Irish Prime Minister) issued a statement on the present state of the peace process and the implementation of the Good Friday Agreement.

Monday 15 March 1999
Rosemary Nelson Killed
Ms Rosemary Nelson, a Lurgan solicitor, was killed by a boobytrap car bomb in Lurgan, Co Armagh. The Red Hand Defenders, a loyalist paramilitary group, claimed responsibility for the murder. Ms Nelson, who had represented nationalist clients in several high-profile cases and had a reputation as a human rights lawyer, had complained of loyalist paramilitary and RUC threats against her.

Tuesday 16 March 1999
Bertie Ahern, then Taoiseach (Irish Prime Minister), who was in Washington, said the relationship between Irish Republican Army (IRA) decommissioning and the setting up of the Northern Executive was the one remaining difficulty. He indicated to the leader of the political parties in Northern Ireland that he expected them to meet the 2 April 1998 deadline for the implementation of institutions encompassed in the Good Friday Agreement.

Wednesday 17 March 1999
On St Patrick's Day, President Clinton urged Northern party leaders to lift their sights above short-term difficulties when he was presented with shamrock by Bertie Ahern, then Taoiseach (Irish Prime Minister), at the White House.

Thursday 18 March 1999
Bertie Ahern, then Taoiseach (Irish Prime Minister), Tony Blair, then British Prime Minister, and Bill Clinton, then President of the United States of America (USA), issued a tripartite statement. They urged the leaders of political parties in Northern Ireland to meet the deadline set for all aspects of the Good Friday Agreement.

Saturday 20 March 1999
In a speech to the Annual General Meeting of the Ulster Unionist Council, David Trimble, then First Minister Designate, assured delegates that there would be Irish Republican Army (IRA) decommissioning. His supporters dominated the election to the vice presidents' positions, but three of the four honorary secretaries elected were supporters of the dissident Union First group.

Wednesday 24 March 1999
It emerged at the summit Bertie Ahern, then Taoiseach (Irish Prime Minister), and Tony Blair, then British Prime Minister, were likely to travel to Belfast for talks on the political crisis, following two meetings at the summit.

Monday 29 March 1999
The Taoiseach and the British Prime Minister met at Hillsborough Castle for the opening round of meetings on decommissioning of paramilitary weapons.

Tuesday 30 March 1999
Talks between Tony Blair, then British Prime Minister, and Bertie Ahern, then Taoiseach (Irish Prime Minister), continued in Belfast. Efforts were being made to incorporate guarantees from Seamus Mallon, then Deputy First Minister Designate, that the Social Democratic and Labour Party (SDLP) would co-operate in excluding Sinn Féin (SF) from government if decommissioning failed to take place by a specific date.

Wednesday 31 March 1999
Participants in the talks in Belfast reported some progress following the issuing of the Irish Republican Army's (IRA) Easter statement which said: "we wholeheartedly support efforts to secure a lasting resolution to the conflict".

Thursday 1 April 1999
Hillsborough Declaration
The multi-party talks at Hillsborough came to an end with a call for the proposed Executive to be established within three weeks. The Hillsborough Declaration was agreed by Tony Blair, then British Prime Minister, and Bertie Ahern, then Taoiseach (Irish Prime Minister). The Declaration set out a framework for progress towards establishing the Executive. [The Ulster Unionist Party (UUP) was insisting that there should be decommissioning of arms by the Irish Republican Army (IRA) before Sinn Féin (SF) could sit on an Executive. SF said that it could not deliver decommissioning before the Executive was formed.]

Sunday 4 April 1999
In his Easter Sunday address Gerry Adams, then President of Sinn Féin (SF), praised the IRA's "commitment" to searching for a peaceful settlement. He said the Hillsborough Declaration of the previous week "may have merit, but it may also be counterproductive if it amounts to an ultimatum to armed groups."

Wednesday 7 April 1999
Martin McGuinness, then Vice-President of Sinn Féin (SF), said the Irish Republican Army (IRA) would not accept decommissioning as a precondition to his party's entry into a power-sharing Executive in Northern Ireland.

Tuesday 13 April 1999
Efforts to break the deadlock over decommissioning resumed at Stormont with a series of meetings, including a round table session involving all the parties supporting the Good Friday Agreement.
Prior to the resumption of talks, Mitchell McLaughlin, then Sinn Féin chairman issued a statement claiming that the Hillsborough Declaration of 1 April moves away from the Good Friday Agreement and as such, was formally rejected by Sinn Féin.

Wednesday 14 April 1999
The Minister of State for Foreign Affairs, Ms Liz O'Donnell, acknowledged the Hillsborough Declaration would not be the basis for resolving the decommissioning impasse.

Thursday 15 April 1999
Tony Blair, then British Prime Minister, and Bertie Ahern, then Taoiseach (Irish Prime Minister), held talks in London on the Northern peace process. They announced a series of bilateral talks in London for Monday 19 April 1999 aimed at breaking the deadlock over decommissioning.

Monday 19 April 1999
Tony Blair, then British Prime Minister, and Bertie Ahern, then Taoiseach (Irish Prime Minister), held an intensive round of negotiations in Downing Street with the Ulster Unionist Party (UUP), Sinn Féin (SF), and the Social Democratic and Labour Party (SDLP). The talks failed to achieve a breakthrough on decommissioning and the implementation of the Executive.

Thursday 6 May 1999
The Ulster Volunteer Force was said to be anxious to see permanent disarmament. It marked a dramatic shift from saying it might never decommission its weapons.

Saturday/Sunday 8/9 May 1999
Gerry Adams, then President of Sinn Féin (SF), addressed the party's Ardfheis and stressed his organisation's aims as liberation, emancipation and empowerment.

Saturday 15 May 1999
Tony Blair, then British Prime Minister, announced an "absolute" deadline of 30 June 1999 for the formation of an Executive and the devolution of power to the Assembly. His decision to set a new deadline followed the failure of the Assembly members of the Ulster Unionist Party (UUP) to approve proposals thought to have been agreed by David Trimble, then leader of the UUP, with the Irish Government, the Social Democratic and Labour Party (SDLP) and Sinn Féin. [The proposals would have seen the d'Hondt procedure for the appointment of ministers in a power-sharing executive triggered in the coming week, with full devolution achieved by the end of June, following a report on "progress" on decommissioning by Gen John de Chastelain.]

Monday 17 May 1999
The Ulster Unionist Party (UUP) issued a blunt warning that it would not change its position on decommissioning before, during or after next month's European election. David Trimble, then First Minister designate, challenged Tony Blair, then British Prime Minister, to state whether, in the British government's view, devolution could proceed without the start of "actual decommissioning".

Tuesday 18 May 1999
The Ulster Unionist Party leader, David Trimble, reiterated his party's position on IRA decommissioning as the British Prime Minister, Tony Blair, called the North's party leaders back to Downing Street. After the one-hour meeting, UUP party sources indicated that Mr Trimble would propose that potential ministers in an executive would be "identified", though not "nominated".

Tuesday 8 June 1999
Tony Blair, then British Prime Minister, and Bertie Ahern, then Taoiseach (Irish Prime Minister), announced a series of intensive talks in a final attempt to break the deadlock in the Northern Ireland talks before the 30 June 1999 deadline.

Thursday 10 June 1999
The deputy leader of the Ulster Unionist Party, John Taylor, threatened to resign twice in the past fortnight in a dispute over his refusal to endorse the party's candidate, Jim Nicholson, in the European Parliament election. The turnout was predicted at 50 per cent at the close of polling in the North.

Monday 14 June 1999
European Election
The results saw Ulster Unionist Party MEP, Jim Nicholson, retain his seat despite a sharp drop in party support, and a strong challenge from Sinn Féin's Mitchel McLaughlin. The Democratic Unionist leader, the Rev Ian Paisley, and John Hume of the SDLP also retained their seats, with Dr Paisley topping the poll in the constituency for the fifth time.

Tuesday 15 June 1999
Bertie Ahern, then Taoiseach (Irish Prime Minister), said the Irish and British governments would "set aside" the Good Friday Agreement and seek alternative means of political progress if a breakthrough was not made by 30 June 1999. Ahern told the Dáil the decommissioning issue had now been "debated to death". In a speech at Stranmillis College, Belfast, Tony Blair, then British Prime Minister, said the governments would "have to look for another way forward" if the devolution deadline were missed.

Saturday 19 June 1999
David Trimble, then leader of the Ulster Unionist Party (UUP), invited Jeffrey Donaldson, a critic of the Good Friday Agreement, to rejoin his talks team in preparation for meetings with the British and Irish governments over the 30 June 1999 devolution deadline. The move seemed to dispel hopes in London and Dublin that the UUP leader might be persuaded to form the Northern Ireland Executive without a hard and fast agreement on IRA decommissioning.

Tuesday 22 June 1999
Bertie Ahern, then Taoiseach (Irish Prime Minister), said the Northern Ireland Executive must be established before paramilitary weapons were decommissioned. Ahern said it would be possible to persuade paramilitaries to disarm only "in the context of a confidence in functioning democratic institutions".

Wednesday 23 June 1999
Tony Blair, then British Prime Minister, put pressure on the paramilitaries in the peace talks by demanding "an absolute commitment to decommissioning". Blair's comments followed confirmation that the head of the International Commission, Gen John de Chastelain, had been asked to produce a report on the arms issue by Tuesday.

Sunday 27 June 1999
David Trimble, then leader of the Ulster Unionist Party (UUP), challenged Sinn Féin (SF) to get a pledge from the Irish Republican Army (IRA) to disarm by May 2000. But SF's chief negotiator, Martin McGuinness, said he could not speak on behalf of the Irish Republican Army (IRA). Seamus Mallon, then deputy leader of the Social Democratic and Labour Party (SDLP), interpreted Trimble's challenge as indicating an acceptance that the demand for prior disarmament would not be met.

Monday 28 June 1999
The Taoiseach and the British Prime Minister were preparing for a "final push" to end the impasse over decommissioning and the formation of an executive.

Tuesday 29 June 1999
Although the British and Irish governments gave an upbeat assessment, spokespersons for the Ulster Unionist Party (UUP) and Sinn Féin (SF) were cautious about the degree of progress that had been made in the multi-party talks. [Official sources suggested substantial progress had been made in the talks. SF was said to have hardened its verbal commitment to the principle of decommissioning and to using its influence to persuade the IRA to dispose of weapons in the context of the full implementation of the Good Friday Agreement.]

Wednesday 30 June 1999
The "absolute deadline" set by Tony Blair, then British Prime Minister, passed without the establishment of the Executive. The Prime Minister agreed to an extension.
Sinn Féin published a document called Breaking the impasse: A Sinn Féin declaration.

Thursday 1 July 1999
Tony Blair, then British Prime Minister, claimed that the Stormont talks had brought "seismic shifts" in the political landscape of Northern Ireland. However, the Ulster Unionist Party (UUP) continued to insist that the Irish Republican Army (IRA) should decommission its weapons and explosives in parallel with the creation of the Northern Ireland Executive. Social Democratic and Labour Party (SDLP) sources also believed a possible solution was emerging.

Friday 2 July 1999
After five days of discussions between the British and Irish Governments at Stormont, the two governments issued a document called The Way Forward outlining a way forward to establish an inclusive Executive, and to decommission arms.
The Independent International Commission on Decommissioning issued its report.

Sunday 4 July 1999
Drumcree Parade - 'Drumcree V'
For the fifth year in a row attention was focused on the Orange Order parade at Drumcree, Portadown, County Armagh. The Orange Order was refused permission to parade down the mainly Catholic Garvaghy Road. The security forces had erected a steel barricade across the road to halt the march but the subsequent protest passed off relatively quietly compared to previous years.
Following 'The Way Forward' joint statement by Tony Blair, then British Prime Minister, and Bertie Ahern, then Taoiseach (Irish Prime Minister), the two prime ministers called on the Irish Republican Army (IRA) to make a statement to ease unionist fears over decommissioning. Tony Blair, then British Prime Minister, published an article in The Times newspaper.

Monday 5 July 1999
Tony Blair, then British Prime Minister, maintained pressure on David Trimble, then leader of the Ulster Unionist Party (UUP), to accept the proposals in 'The Way Forward' document to resolve the decommissioning crisis. He also published an article in The Belfast Telegraph newspaper.
The IRA leadership was reported to have had a meeting in Dublin to discuss a response to the document. However, there was no indication that the organisation was preparing any move to begin disarming.

Tuesday 6 July 1999
Reliable republican sources said the Provisional IRA had drawn up an inventory of its weapons which it may present to the international body on decommissioning chaired by Gen John de Chastelain.
David Trimble, then leader of the Ulster Unionist Party (UUP), published an article in the Belfast Telegraph stating that the Ulster Unionists would not reject the 'Way Forward' document without consideration, but that they would require further reassurances.

Thursday 8 July 1999
A conflict arose between Tony Blair, then British Prime Minister, and Bertie Ahern, then Taoiseach (Irish Prime Minister), over whether Sinn Féin (SF) was now a separate organisation from the Irish Republican Army (IRA). Ahern said they were two separate organisations but senior police sources on both sides of the Border supported Blair's stated view that the two organisations were "inextricably linked".

Saturday/Sunday 10/11 July 1999
Bertie Ahern, then Taoiseach (Irish Prime Minister), held a meeting with David Trimble, then leader of the Ulster Unionist Party (UUP), at Government Buildings in Dublin. Ahern stated that if the Irish Republican Army (IRA) failed to deliver on decommissioning, the Executive would be suspended and a review would take place. Ahern rejected a UUP demand to expel Sinn Féin (SF) if arms were not given up.

Monday 12 July 1999
Legislation was put before the Westminster Parliament, designed to act as a safeguard for the decommissioning of arms and the devolution of power in Northern Ireland.
Across Northern Ireland the Twelfth parades passed off without incident.

Tuesday 13 July 1999
David Trimble, then leader of the Ulster Unionist Party (UUP), failed to win any concessions from the British government on its failsafe legislation in the House of Commons.

Wednesday 14 July 1999
The peace process was plunged into crisis when the Ulster Unionist Party (UUP) challenged the authority and prestige of Tony Blair, then British Prime Minister. David Trimble, then leader of the Ulster Unionist Party (UUP), indicated after a meeting of the UUP executive that he would not participate in the d'Hondt procedure to appoint ministers to the North's proposed power-sharing Executive.
Gerry Adams, then President of Sinn Féin (SF) published an article in the Irish News stating that his party was against the safeguard legislation introduced on 12 July and that it is unnecessary under the terms of the Good Friday Agreement.

Thursday 15 July 1999
Attempt to Form Executive
The attempt to form the Executive of the Northern Ireland Assembly collapsed when David Trimble, then First Minister Designate, and the other Ulster Unionist Party (UUP) Assembly members failed to attend the sitting. [An article written by David Trimble on Decommissioning was published in the Irish Times Newspaper.] An Executive of Social Democratic and Labour Party (SDLP) and Sinn Féin (SF) was formed for a few moments, but was then disbanded because it did not have cross-community participation. Seamus Mallon then tendered his resignation from the position of Deputy First Minister designate. [Mallon was reinstated on 29 November 1999.]

Saturday 17 July 1999
It was announced that the former Northern Ireland talks chairman, Senator George Mitchell, had been invited to take part in a summit meeting on the peace process between the Taoiseach and the British Prime Minister.

Tuesday 20 July 1999
Bertie Ahern, then Taoiseach (Irish Prime Minister), attempted to mend deteriorating relations with David Trimble, then leader of the Ulster Unionist Party (UUP), at informal talks in London. A meeting between Ahern and the British Prime Minister, Tony Blair, was also arranged to confirm that Senator George Mitchell will chair the review of the implementation of the Good Friday Agreement, triggered by the failure of the previous week to appoint a power-sharing executive.

Wednesday 21 July 1999
The Irish Republican Army (IRA) issued a statement rejecting demands for it to decommission its arsenal "in the current political context", but confirmed its "definitive commitment" to the success of the peace process. While it did not rule out the prospect of decommissioning, the IRA declined to confirm whether it supported the Sinn Féin (SF) initiative in signing up to the principle that it should take place before May 2000.

Wednesday 28 July 1999
Marjorie (Mo) Mowlam, then Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, retained her position in a British government reshuffle that left all but one member of Tony Blair's cabinet in place.

Thursday 29 July 1999
Gerry Adams, then President of Sinn Féin (SF), said the current setback in the peace process was "not a blip but the possible meltdown of the political conditions that led to the [Belfast] agreement".

Saturday/Sunday 31 July/1 August 1999
Security forces continued investigations into last week's murder of Charles Bennett in Belfast and the attempt to import high powered weapons by post from Florida. Sinn Féin insisted the IRA ceasefire remained intact.

Tuesday 3 August 1999
Security sources confirmed that the Irish Republican Army (IRA) was responsible for the death of Charles Bennett. Republican sources claimed he was killed to pacify hardliners over decommissioning and the lack of political progress.

Saturday/Sunday 7/8 August 1999
The Irish National Liberation Army (INLA) confirmed its view of the futility of continuing the "armed struggle" but insisted it was not about to begin decommissioning its weapons.

Monday 9 August 1999
The Northern Ireland Parades Commission decided to allow an Apprentice Boys march down the lower Ormeau Road, Belfast, despite Nationalist condemnation.

Saturday 14 August 1999
There was violence in Derry and Belfast following Apprentice Boys parades through the Bogside and lower Ormeau Road.

Tuesday 17 August 1999
Marjorie (Mo) Mowlam, then Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, met with Martin McGuinness, then Vice-President of Sinn Féin (SF), at Stormont. She was seeking further information from US and Irish authorities on the attempt to import arms from Florida and the recent murder in west Belfast of Charles Bennett, before deciding if the Irish Republican Army (IRA) broke the ceasefire.

Saturday/Sunday 21/22 August 1999
David Trimble, then leader of the Ulster Unionist Party (UUP), said the UUP was correct not to form a power-sharing government in July in light of the subsequent killing of a Belfast taxi driver, Charles Bennett, and the uncovering of a Florida-based gun-smuggling operation.

Monday 23 August 1999
David Trimble, then leader of the Ulster Unionist Party (UUP), speaking at the Omagh International Summer School, expressed disappointment that the Good Friday Agreement was bogged down in dissension. He said there was no resistance within his Assembly party to setting up a fully inclusive executive, providing decommissioning took place. He restated his willingness to "jump together" with Sinn Féin (SF) in forming an Executive.

Thursday 26 August 1999
Marjorie (Mo) Mowlam, then Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, ruled that the Irish Republican Army (IRA) ceasefire had not broken down. However, she said she was in no doubt the IRA was involved in the murder of Mr Bennett and said there was clear information about the organisation being implicated in the Florida gun-running operation.

Tuesday 31 August 1999
Tony Blair, then British Prime Minister, resisted Ulster Unionist Party (UUP) demands for a postponement of the review of the Good Friday Agreement. He made it clear to Mr Trimble that he supported Dr Mowlam's decision that the IRA ceasefire was still intact.

Monday 6 September 1999
Start of Review of Good Friday Agreement
George Mitchell, former Chairman of the multi-party talks, was in Castle Buildings to open the review of the Good Friday Agreement. He made clear that the review would concentrate specifically on breaking the deadlock over decommissioning and the formation of an executive. The talks adjourned until the following week to give politicians time to study the Patten report on policing.

Thursday 9 September 1999
Patten Report Published
The Patten Commission on Policing in Northern Ireland released its recommendations for a radical overhaul of the police service. The proposed changes to the ethos, composition, training and structure of the Royal Ulster Constabulary (RUC) met with a mixed reaction.

David Trimble, then leader of the Ulster Unionist Party (UUP), described it as "the most shoddy piece of work I have seen in my entire life", and there were strong objections from rank-and-file RUC officers. The Social Democratic and Labour Party (SDLP) and Sinn Féin (SF) were prepared to view the document positively.

Monday 13 September 1999
The Ulster Unionist Party (UUP) executive set up a committee to devise an alternative to the Patten proposals for policing in Northern Ireland. David Trimble, then leader of the UUP, dismissed threats to his leadership and said his party would continue to be involved in the Mitchell review of the Good Friday Agreement.

Thursday 23 September 1999
Sinn Féin published itssubmissionto the Mitchell Review.

Saturday/Sunday 25/26 September 1999
The Ulster Unionist Party (UUP) Assembly members held a meeting in Glasgow. The Ulster Unionist MP, Ken Maginnis, said the meeting was not an attempt to discuss a change of policy on IRA decommissioning. He insisted that tactics in the Assembly, not overall party strategy, had been discussed.

Monday 4 October 1999
Talks between David Trimble, then leader of the Ulster Unionist Party (UUP), and Gerry Adams, then President of Sinn Féin (SF), broke up without any progress in advance of the Mitchell review. Decommissioning remained the main issue preventing the UUP from accepting SF's participation in the new Northern Ireland Executive.

Friday 8 October
The Ulster Unionist Party published the document'Implementing the Agreement'which discussed the extent to which the Belfast Agreement had been implemented and the extent to which the different parties recognised their obligations and complied with the requirements of the Agreement.

Saturday/Sunday 9/10 October 1999
David Trimble, then leader of the Ulster Unionist Party (UUP), faced down his critics and defended the Good Friday Agreement at the UUP conference in Enniskillen, County Fermanagh. Anti-agreement dissidents within the party warned the conference against any compromise on Sinn Féin's entry into the Executive without prior decommissioning. The conference unanimously passed a motion dismissing the Patten recommendations on the Royal Ulster Constabulary (RUC) as a threat to security.

Monday 11 October 1999
The Northern Ireland Secretary of State for the last two and-a-half years, Dr Mo Mowlam, was replaced in a Cabinet reshuffle by Peter Mandelson. Although thought "too green" in her political leanings, Dr Mowlam insisted she had not been forced out by unionists. Mr Mandelson's name was first suggested for the position last summer by UUP leader David Trimble.

Saturday/Sunday 16/17 October 1999
A statement released in Belfast by Sinn Féin party leader, Gerry Adams, reiterated Sinn Féin's commitment to the Good Friday Agreement and said republicans needed to address the concerns of unionists in a spirit of respect and goodwill.
The Progressive Unionist Party's (PUP) annual conference in east Belfast heard party leader, Hugh Smyth, ask Sinn Féin (SF) to state the war is over and there would be no first strike from SF. Mr Smyth said this would match what the loyalist paramilitaries had said. Billy Hutchinson, who acts as interlocutor for the Ulster Volunteer Force (UVF) and the Red Hand Commando (RHC) with the international decommissioning body, made a similar plea to republicans.

Saturday 23 October 1999
Senator George Mitchell announced his review of the Good Friday Agreement would be extended as the pro-Agreement parties met at Castle Buildings, Stormont, Belfast. Sinn Féin (SF), the Ulster Unionist Party (UUP) and the Social Democratic and Labour Party (SDLP) were attempting to end the stalemate over decommissioning and the formation of an Executive.

Thursday 28 October 1999
David Trimble and Gerry Adams continued discussions at Castle Buildings, Stormont, searching for a way out of the decommissioning logjam. They have been trying to put together a package of confidence building steps between their two parties to ensure the success of the Mitchell review.

Saturday 6 November 1999
John Hume, then leader of the Social Democratic and Labour Party (SDLP), delivered his 20th annual leader's address to the party's annual conference in Belfast. He said SDLP policies of negotiation, partnership and reconciliation had a major influence in bringing about the Good Friday agreement.

Sunday 7 November
The deputy leader, Séamus Mallon, delivered his address to the party's annual conference in Belfast, and called on Sinn Féin and the Ulster Unionist Party to end their "miserable dispute" over decommissioning and devolution.

Thursday 11 November 1999
Talks at Stormont continued on a proposed deal which would include a Sinn Féin statement condemning violence and the appointment of an IRA interlocutor to negotiate with Gen John de Chastelain's body on decommissioning. But unionist opponents of the proposal said it failed to guarantee short-term decommissioning.

Monday 15 November 1999
Both Senator George Mitchell and Gen John de Chastelain issued statements which indicated that a formula to overcome the decommissioning and devolution impasse was close at hand.

Tuesday 16 November 1999
The Ulster Unionist Party (UUP) issued a statement and Sinn Féin (SF) issued a statement committing themselves to the full implementation of the Good Friday Agreement. David Trimble, then leader of the UUP, recognised the legitimate aspirations of Nationalists to pursue a united Ireland and embraced the principles of inclusivity, equality and mutual respect. Gerry Adams, then President of Sinn Féin (SF), spoke of working with, not against, Unionists in the future. The Social Democratic and Labour Party (SDLP) and other main political parties in Northern Ireland all issued statements endorsing the Good Friday Agreement.

Wednesday 17 November 1999
The Irish Republican Army (IRA) issued a four-paragraph statement saying it was committed to peace and acknowledged that the Good Friday Agreement would contribute to a lasting peace. It endorsed the leadership of Sinn Féin (SF) in the negotiations and agreed to nominate a representative to enter discussions with Gen John de Chastelain.

Thursday 18 November 1999
End of Review of Good Friday Agreement
After 10 weeks of painstaking negotiations between the pro-agreement parties in Northern Ireland, Senator George Mitchell returned to the United States after issuing a report on his review. He concluded that the basis now existed for devolution to occur and the formation of an executive to take place. Before leaving Northern Ireland, the senator was thanked during a press conference in Castle Buildings by all the participants and parties involved.
The British Government issued a statement, expressing gratitude for Senator Mitchell's help in transforming the Northern Ireland situation from one of conflict and confrontation to one of dialogue and peace.

Monday 22 November 1999
Peter Mandelson, then Northern Ireland Secretary, in a speech to the House of Commons, said he planned for success and not failure on Northern Ireland. However, if there was a default in implementing either decommissioning or devolution, the two governments would take steps to suspend the operation of the institutions. He said Northern Ireland stood on the brink of a "remarkable transformation". David Trimble, then leader of the Ulster Unionist Party (UUP), addressed senior members of his party at a private meeting in Stormont in advance of Saturday's crucial meeting of the Ulster Unionist Council.

Tuesday 23 November 1999
The Royal Ulster Constabulary (RUC) was awarded the George Cross, Britain's highest civilian award for gallantry. The British government rejected suggestions that the timing of the award was designed to placate unionists and the RUC at a time when the force is facing major change.
The Ulster Freedom Fighters (UFF) issued a statement saying that the leadership had decided to defer its decision on the appointment of an interlocutor to liaise with the Independent International Commission on Decommissioning (IICD) until after the IRA has met its commitments.

Thursday 25 November 1999
In an interview with The Irish Times, David Trimble, then leader of the Ulster Unionist Party (UUP), acknowledged Unionist concerns about accepting the Mitchell review as an open-ended process. He promised his party that its entry into government with Sinn Féin (SF) could be time-limited to ensure decommissioning followed devolution, tied in with the developing role of the de Chastelain International Decommissioning Commission. He criticised the "dirty tricks" of Unionist hardliners over a bogus SF letter to Ulster Unionist Council members ahead of the council's meeting to vote on the Mitchell review.

27 November 1999
The Council of the Ulster Unionist Party (UUP) held a meeting in the Waterfront Hall, Belfast, to discuss the Mitchell Review. The Council decided by 480 votes to 349 to back the deal.

Monday 29 November 1999
There was a meeting of the Northern Ireland Assembly. Seamus Mallon, then deputy leader of the Social Democratic and Labour Party (SDLP), was reinstated as Deputy First Minister Designate. The d'Hondt procedure for the appointment of ministers in a power-sharing Executive was triggered and 10 ministers appointed. [This was the first time in 25 years that Northern Ireland had a power-sharing Executive.]

Tuesday 30 November 1999
The House of Lords and the House of Commons both approved a devolution order under the Northern Ireland Act 1998 that allowed for the transfer of power from Westminster to the Assembly at Stormont. [This allowed for the ending the system of 'Direct Rule' that had been installed in 1972.]

Thursday 2 December 1999
New Devolved Government
Direct Rule came to an end as powers were devolved to the Northern Ireland Assembly. [Devolution took effect as of midnight on 1 December 1999.] At a meeting in Dublin at 9.00am the North-South Ministerial Council and the British-Irish Ministerial Council, as set out in the Good Friday Agreement, took effect. At the same time the Anglo-Irish Agreement was replaced by the British-Irish Agreement. At 9.20am Articles 2 and 3 of the Irish Constitution were replaced by new Articles. Both Peter Mandelson, then Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, and David Andrews, then Irish Foreign Minister, made statements on the developments. At 3.00pm the new Executive of the Northern Ireland Assembly met for the first time. Present at the meeting were representatives of the Ulster Unionist Party (UUP), the Social Democratic and Labour Party (SDLP), and Sinn Féin (SF). The Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) refused to attend. At 8.30pm the IRA issued a statement indicating that it would appoint a representative to meet the Decommissioning Body chaired by General de Chastelain. [The new devolved government was suspended on midnight 11 February 2000 and direct rule re-introduced. The suspension covered the Northern Ireland Assembly, Executive, and other Institutions.]

for more recent events see the draft chronologies for 2000 and 2001