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Northern Ireland

Index

Northern Ireland Main Page
Hostilities Between Catholic and Protestant Communities Mount
Steps Toward Peace
A New Coalition Government
Britain Resumes Direct Rule Of Northern Ireland
An Agreement for a Power-Sharing Government

An Agreement for a Power-Sharing Government

Shortly after parliamentary elections in March 2007, Gerry Adams, the leader of Sinn Fein, and Rev. Ian Paisley, the head of the Democratic Unionist Party, met face to face for the first time and hashed out an agreement for a power-sharing government. The historic deal was put into place in May, when Paisley and McGuinness were sworn in as leader and deputy leader, respectively, of the Northern Ireland executive government, thus ending direct rule from London.

On Feb. 5, 2010, with the signing of the Hillsborough Castle Agreement, Gordon Brown of Britain and Brian Cowen, prime ministers of England and Ireland, respectivly, created a breakthrough in the Northern Ireland peace process. According to the terms of the accord, Britain will hand over control of the six counties' police and justice system to Northern Ireland. The shift to local control of the courts, prosecution system, and police has been the most important and contentious of the issues plaguing the tenuous power-sharing government. The final phase of devolution was completed on April 12, when the policing and justice powers of Northern Ireland were transferred from Westminster to the Northern Ireland Assemby and the government created a Department for Justice for Northern Ireland.

In June 2010, Lord Saville, a High Court judge, released the results of his much-anticipated, 12-year investigation into the 1972 killing of 13 protesters by British paratroopers at a Catholic civil-rights demonstration in Londonderry. He determined that none of the victims posed a threat to troops and that the killings were unjustified. David Cameron, the British prime minister, apologised for"Bloody Sunday" on behalf of the government.

See also Encyclopedia: Ireland, Northern .
Northern Ireland Statistics and Research Agency www.nisra.gov.uk/
See also Chronology of the Northern Irish Conflict .