Downing Street Declaration

From the collection of

Launched in 2000, Northern Ireland Screen’s Digital Film Archive spans from 1897 to the present day and currently contains an ever-expanding catalogue of 13,000 items. It comprises material from a variety of depositors including feature films, sport, documentaries, animation, amateur footage, light entertainment, and a significant proportion of broadcast material from the UTV Archive.

Downing Street Declaration (UTV News)

Northern Ireland Screen's Digital Film Archive
Westminster
1993-12-15
Sound

A key milestone on the road to peace.

A UTV Live report on the groundbreaking Downing Street Declaration. Pinpointing the beginning of the peace process which led to the signing of the Good Friday Agreement in 1998 is difficult to do as, in many ways, there were always people trying to negotiate an end to the conflict. However, there is no doubt that 1993 was a pivotal year, for two reasons.

The first of these was the start of an ongoing dialogue between John Hume of the nationalist SDLP and Gerry Adams of the republican Sinn Fein, often described at the time as the political wing of the Provisional IRA. The second seismic event was unquestionably this joint declaration by John Major, prime minister of the United Kingdom, and Albert Reynolds, taoiseach of the Republic of Ireland, setting out a clear path for a series of talks for all those who would renounce violence.

The prospect of dialogue was now on the table for all representatives, regardless of their previously stated beliefs in violence, and it was a major initiative from the two governments to try and break the deadlock in Northern Ireland. As can be seen from the report, it was not welcomed by all, with the DUP seeing it as a sell-out. However, there can be no doubt that it brought new impetus to the quest for an agreement to end what was known as The Troubles.

Starting in 1993, UTV Live took over as Ulster Television's local news series, running a flagship programme each evening, with other bulletins throughout the day. In the 1990s it captured the unfolding story of the push towards a peace settlement in Northern Ireland, through all its twist and turns, which ended with the historic Good Friday Agreement in 1998.

Northern Ireland: The Road to Peace

The historic events which led to a political agreement to end almost 30 years of violence in Northern Ireland during the time known as 'The Troubles'.

In 1993, exploratory talks about peace gave hope that decades of civil strife and violence in Northern Ireland could be brought to an end. At Christmas that year, the Downing Street Declaration by John Major and the Irish Taoiseach Albert Reynolds paved the way for a peace process that would build in momentum over the next five years. The path forwards was often rocky and turbulent, and punctuated by further violence and unrest. However, the major players from all sides of the divide eventually struck an historic deal in what was known as the Good Friday Agreement. This collection of news reports and interviews between 1993 and 1998 records the slow but steady path towards a better future after a generation of conflict.

26 videos in this collection

How We Got Here

Belfast
1998-04-09