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Endgame in Ireland; Guns and Government (1996–2001)

Program Two ; Part 2 of 2 ; NOLA: EGII 102 C1

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Series

Endgame in Ireland

Program

Guns and Government (1996–2001)

Program Number

102

Series Description

Inside the efforts to end the violence in Northern Ireland, from Bloody Sunday to the Good Friday Agreement and beyond. Interviewees include U.S. president Bill Clinton and Senators George Mitchell and Edward Kennedy; British prime ministers Margaret Thatcher, John Major, and Tony Blair; Irish prime ministers Garrett FitzGerald, Albert Reynolds, and Bertie Ahern; Ulster Unionist Party leader David Trimble; SDLP leader John Hume; Sinn Fein leaders Gerry Adams and Martin McGuinness; and Member of Parliament reverend Ian Paisley. 101 “Bomb and Ballot Box” (1981–1990)—In 1981 in the Maze prison in Northern Ireland, Republican inmates began a hunger strike, hoping to be recognized as prisoners of war. But the hunger strike achieved more than inmates hoped: it opened the road to the endgame in Northern Ireland. When the MP for Fermanagh-South Tyrone died, IRA hunger striker Bobby Sands contested the seat and was elected MP weeks just before he died. In 1983 Sinn Fein’s Gerry Adams also was elected as a Westminster MP. Republicans had discovered a new weapon—the ballot box. Yet they didn’t abandon their old ones: in October 1984 the IRA bombed the Conservative Party Conference in Brighton, almost killing Margaret Thatcher. In response to both threats, Irish Prime Minister Garrett FitzGerald began trying to persuade Thatcher to grant the Dublin government some authority over Northern Ireland. 101 “Talking to Terrorists” (1990–1993)—In November 1990 John Major became Prime Minister and within months survived a daring IRA mortar attack at 10 Downing Street. But this wasn’t the only message he received. While publicly the British government refused to talk to terrorists until the violence stopped, behind the scenes top-secret negotiations between the Republican movement and Her Majesty’s Government began. Meanwhile, in private, John Hume and Gerry Adams discussed their idea for the British and Irish governments to issue a declaration of principals, which might lead to an end to violence. 102 “Ceasefire” (1994–1996)—In 1994 President Bill Clinton reversed policy and granted Gerry Adams a U.S. visa, kick-starting the process which resulted in IRA and Loyalist ceasefires. But the all-party talks Sinn Fein expected never began, and after seventeen months of quiet, John Major’s hopes for peace shattered with the detonation of an IRA bomb at Canary Wharf. 102 “Guns and Government” (1996–2001)—New Labor brokered another ceasefire, and old enemies—Sinn Fein and the Ulster Unionists—finally faced each other across the negotiating table. They reached an agreement on Good Friday 1998 without exchanging a word. But Tony Blair’s compromise on decommissioning failed to overcome local distrust—and nearly destroyed the peace process.

Series release date: 7/2002

Program Description

New Labor brokered another ceasefire, and old enemies—Sinn Fein and the Ulster Unionists—finally faced each other across the negotiating table. They reached an agreement on Good Friday 1998 without exchanging a word. But Tony Blair’s compromise on decommissioning failed to overcome local distrust—and nearly destroyed the peace process.

Duration

00:55:46

Asset Type

Broadcast program

Media Type

Video

Genres

Documentary

Topics

Global Affairs

War and Conflict

Creators

Dor-Ner, Zvi (Series Producer)

Citation

Chicago: “Endgame in Ireland; Guns and Government (1996–2001),” GBH Archives, accessed October 4, 2024, http://openvault.wgbh.org/catalog/V_F9FA9D6D97754B13B274A9E8B31BDC84.

MLA: “Endgame in Ireland; Guns and Government (1996–2001).” GBH Archives. Web. October 4, 2024. <http://openvault.wgbh.org/catalog/V_F9FA9D6D97754B13B274A9E8B31BDC84>.

APA: Endgame in Ireland; Guns and Government (1996–2001). Boston, MA: GBH Archives. Retrieved from http://openvault.wgbh.org/catalog/V_F9FA9D6D97754B13B274A9E8B31BDC84