Opinion

Anecdote, analysis and nostalgia mark Good Friday Agreement anniversary celebrations

One of the panel discussions at Queens University to mark the 20th Anniversary of the Good Friday Agreement. Picture by Mal McCann
One of the panel discussions at Queens University to mark the 20th Anniversary of the Good Friday Agreement. Picture by Mal McCann One of the panel discussions at Queens University to mark the 20th Anniversary of the Good Friday Agreement. Picture by Mal McCann

The class of '98 reunion was apparently the biggest media event Queen's University has ever organised, with dozens of journalists and TV crews from far and wide descending on the venue to mark the Good Friday Agreement's china anniversary.

Just like 20 years ago, the eyes of the world were focused on Belfast and the collective effort to secure a lasting peace. The rather cumbersomely titled Senator George Mitchell Institute for Global Peace, Security and Justice had assembled an enviable line-up of statesmen, politicians and players who had a role in the drama that unfolded in the run-up to Easter 1998. For the most part, the mood was amicable, reflecting the fleeting, celebratory camaraderie of the era.

The audience in the Whitla Hall of around 500 was drawn from the great and the good, alongside those earnest members of the public who applied to be part of the anniversary celebrations. Fulfilling the obligatory role of the naysayer was TUV leader Jim Allister, who in the spirit of his former party leader Ian Paisley, was outside on the steps handing out leaflets highlighting the "perverse legacy of the Belfast Agreement".

Inside meanwhile, proceedings got underway with a video reminiscent of those 'wouldn't it be great if was like this all time' Northern Ireland Office propaganda commercials from the late 90s, where little boys played together unhindered by their apparent differences. On one hand the assembled clips, with nods to respective cultures, showed how far we had travelled in two decades, yet at the same time they highlighted how far we have to go until our society can be deemed 'normal'. It underlined how the agreement delivered peace but little of the anticipated reconciliation.

Inevitably, the lack of a Stormont assembly – the key expression of functioning devolution – cast a shadow over the proceedings. The current impasse came up often in the afternoon's panel discussions, which were an occasionally surreal mix of anecdote, analysis and nostalgia.

While the Good Friday Agreement was historic and monumental, it was inevitably flawed and has undergone much tinkering and updating in the two decades since. As the Táinaste Simon Coveney noted, the accord "transformed lives" and created hope in an time of despair. However, a less sanguine Denis Bradley later unpicked the peace, highlighting its shortcomings by pointing to the continued existence of loyalist paramilitaries, once vocal advocates of the agreement.

Like the agreement's inherent contradictions, the continued conflict between the north's communities and especially the upheaval caused by Brexit were key talking points. With the notable exception of former Ulster Unionist leader David Trimble, none of those invited on stage are advocates of the UK's withdrawal from the EU, suggesting the line-up of guests was somewhat skewed rather than fully representative.

While future anniversaries of the Good Friday Agreement are unlikely to be celebrated to the same degree again, it's likely its legacy, albeit imperfect, will continue to prevail.