Inside Accounts, Volume II: The Irish Government and Peace in Northern Ireland, from the Good Friday Agreement to the Fall of Power-Sharing

Focusing on the peace process, these two volumes includes seventeen interviews from high-ranking civil servants and political leaders in the Irish Government and takes the reader inside the negotiating room to experience the efforts, tensions and actions that led to the Good Friday Agreement of 1998 -- . Volume two of the most authoritative and revealing account yet of how the Irish Government managed the Northern Ireland peace process and helped broker a political settlement to end the conflict there. Based on nine extended interviews with key officials and political leaders including Bertie Ahern, this book provides a compelling picture of how the peace process was created and how it came to be successful. Covering areas such as informal negotiation, text and context, strategy, working with British and American Governments, and offering perceptions of other players involved in the dialogue and negotiations that led to the Good Friday Agreement of 1998 and the power-sharing arrangements that followed, this dramatic account will become a major source for academics and interested readers alike for years to come. Volume One deals with the Irish Government and Sunningdale (1973) and the Anglo-Irish Agreement (1985) and Volume Two on the Good Friday Agreement (1998) and beyond Front matter Dedication Contents Notes on interviewees Acknowledgements Brief chronology of the peace process from 1997 Parties, organisations, offices and key documents Introduction The aspirations of text: an interview with Rory Montgomery Forums and North–South relations: an interview with Wally Kirwan Strategy and trajectory: an interview with David Donoghue Groundwork and building relations: an interview with Ray Bassett Legal and political convergence: an interview with David Byrne Putting arms beyond use: an interview with Tim Dalton Policy and pragmatism: an interview with Eamonn McKee The politics of engagement: an interview with Liz O’Donnell The focus of leadership: an interview with Bertie Ahern Conclusion Index