Roundtable on the Good Friday Agreement

On Friday, 4 May, the Johan Skytte Institute of Political Studies in partnership with the Embassy of Ireland in Estonia will host a roundtable "Building Peace in Northern Ireland: 20 years after the Good Friday Agreement" with Fr. Gary Donegan and Rev. Bill Shaw OBE, two prominent figures recognised for their local peacebuilding initiatives in Northern Ireland. The roundtable takes place at 14.15 in Lossi 36, room 305.

The Good Friday Agreement (GFA) came as a new dawn in the Northern Ireland peace-process. The Agreement brought together many of the main political parties from across the Unionist-Nationalist divide. The Democratic Union Party (DUP) later subscribed to its main principles. Under the mediation of US envoy, Senator George Mitchell, power-sharing institutions to support a system of devolved government were established by the GFA in April 1998.

2018 marks the 20-year anniversary of the GFA, the most important peace agreement in the history of the Northern Ireland conflict. As the blueprint for lasting peace and functioning devolved government, the main provisions of the GFA have held firm over the passage of time since 1998. Nevertheless, a number of recent events have brought the GFA’s continued durability into question.

The most serious issues at stake include the “Irish border question” as part of the ongoing Brexit negotiations together with the current inability of Sinn Féin and the DUP – the largest political parties of Nationalism and Unionism respectively – to form a viable power-sharing agreement. Within the context of this political upheaval, the tangible viability of lasting peace in Northern Ireland remains inter-communal at its foundation. While of constant importance, against the backdrop of current political uncertainty, the strength of local peacebuilding efforts stand to be especially crucial.

Fr. Gary Donegan is a Catholic Priest. He has served as Parish Priest, and has been prominently associated with local peacebuilding efforts in the Ardoyne area of north Belfast. Ardoyne has been a major flashpoint district for inter-communal tensions in Northern Ireland. Fr. Donegan acted as rector during the infamous “Ardoyne siege” in 2001. He has continued to take an active role in local peacebuilding efforts in north Belfast in the years thereafter. Fr. Donegan has a particular interest in the role of youth organisations in bridging the Nationalist-Unionist divide. In March 2017, he was part of a Brexit delegation to the US Department of State that also included a meeting with President Donald Trump. Fr. Donegan was named as Northern Ireland’s Person of the Year in 2016. He has also been awarded an honorary doctorate by Ulster University in recognition of his outstanding contribution to peacebuilding in Northern Ireland.

Rev. Bill Shaw OBE is a Presbyterian Minister. Rev. Shaw is Director of the 174 Trust, a community-based organisation that supports different civil society initiatives in Belfast. The 174 Trust has been involved in a diverse set of society-enrichment programmes. This has included the Duncarin Centre, a programme to enhance connectivity between young artists as well as programmes for the artistic, literary and personal development with a focus towards youth development; disabled children; young carers; and parent and toddler groups. In recognition of his outstanding contribution to peacebuilding in Northern Ireland, Rev. Shaw has been awarded an Order of the British Empire (OBE) by Queen Elisabeth II and an honorary doctorate from Ulster University.

The event will be introduced by Frank Flood, Ambassador of Ireland to Estonia and chaired by Eoin Micheál McNamara, Junior Research Fellow, UT Johan Skytte Institute of Political Studies.

Further information: Eoin McNamara, eoin.mcnamara [ät] ut.ee

Forwarded by:
Heidi Mõttus
Marketing and Communications Assistant
Johan Skytte Institute of Political Studies
University of Tartu
heidi.mottus [ät] ut.ee