How did the peace process lead from the Downing Street Declaration to the Good Friday Agreement?
The peace process 1993 to 1998: the Downing Street Declaration of 1993, the paramilitary ceasefires of 1994, and the Good Friday (Belfast) Agreement of 1998.
A focused CCEA GCSE History guide to the peace process. Covers the Downing Street Declaration of 1993, the IRA and loyalist ceasefires of 1994, the multi-party talks, and the Good Friday or Belfast Agreement of 10 April 1998 with its institutions and the principle of consent.
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What this dot point is asking
You need to explain the peace process from the Downing Street Declaration of 1993, through the ceasefires of 1994, to the Good Friday (Belfast) Agreement of 1998. CCEA examiners reward an understanding of how the principle of consent and inclusive talks made a settlement possible, precise knowledge of the agreement's institutions, and a judgement that distinguishes the underlying cause, a recognition of stalemate, from the immediate steps that produced the deal.
The Downing Street Declaration
By the early 1990s, secret contacts and the realisation that the conflict could not be won by force opened the way to politics.
The ceasefires of 1994
The Declaration helped create the conditions for an end to violence. In August 1994 the IRA announced a ceasefire, followed in October by a ceasefire by the main loyalist paramilitaries. The ceasefires were fragile, and the IRA's broke down in 1996 with the Canary Wharf bombing in London before being restored in 1997, but they created the space for negotiation and the gradual inclusion of Sinn Fein in talks once it was clear violence had stopped.
The road to agreement
Inclusive multi-party talks were chaired by the American senator George Mitchell, brought in to give the process independent authority. Key figures included John Hume of the SDLP, David Trimble of the Ulster Unionists, Gerry Adams of Sinn Fein and the two governments under Tony Blair and Bertie Ahern by 1998. The talks had to bridge deep divisions over decommissioning of weapons, prisoner releases, policing and the shape of any new institutions.
The Good Friday Agreement of 1998
The Agreement did not end all difficulties, and disputes over decommissioning and policing delayed full implementation for years, but it brought the era of large-scale violence to a close and built institutions on the lessons learned since Sunningdale.
Examples in context
Model causation paragraph. "A settlement was reached by 1998 because a long stalemate created the will to compromise, and a careful political process turned that will into a deal. By the 1990s most accepted that neither the IRA nor the security forces could win, so the Downing Street Declaration of 1993 set out the principle of consent and offered talks in return for an end to violence. The ceasefires of 1994 created the space to negotiate, and inclusive multi-party talks under George Mitchell, with Hume, Trimble, Adams and the two governments, produced the Good Friday Agreement of 1998. The underlying cause was the recognition of stalemate, but the immediate causes were the ceasefires and the inclusive talks." This scores highly because it ranks the underlying cause against the immediate steps with precise evidence.
Try this
Q1. What principle did the Downing Street Declaration of 1993 affirm? [2 marks]
- Cue. The principle of consent: Northern Ireland's status could change only with the agreement of a majority of its people.
Q2. When did the IRA and loyalist ceasefires take place? [2 marks]
- Cue. The IRA ceasefire was in August 1994 and the main loyalist ceasefire followed in October 1994.
Q3. Name three institutions created by the Good Friday Agreement. [3 marks]
- Cue. Any three: a power-sharing Assembly and Executive, a North-South Ministerial Council, and a British-Irish Council.
Exam-style practice questions
Practice questions written in the style of CCEA exam questions on this dot point, with worked answer explainers. The year tag is the paper they imitate, not the source.
CCEA Unit 1 (style)9 marksExplain why a peace settlement was reached in Northern Ireland by 1998.Show worked answer →
A causation question testing AO1 and AO2. Give developed, linked reasons and rank them.
Stalemate: by the 1990s many on all sides accepted that neither the IRA's armed campaign nor the security forces could win, creating a will for compromise.
Political groundwork: the Downing Street Declaration of 1993 set out principles, including consent, that opened the way to talks, and the 1994 ceasefires created space for negotiation.
Leadership and outside help: figures such as John Hume, David Trimble and Gerry Adams, and the involvement of the US senator George Mitchell and the British and Irish governments, drove the process.
Rank: argue the underlying cause was the recognition of stalemate, but the immediate cause was the ceasefires and the inclusive multi-party talks. A ranked judgement reaches the top band.
CCEA Unit 1 (style)8 marksHow useful is Source D about the Good Friday Agreement?Show worked answer →
A usefulness question testing AO3. Judge origin, purpose and content.
Content: tie the source to what you know of the 1998 agreement, its institutions, decommissioning and the principle of consent.
Origin and purpose: a campaign source from the referendum is useful for showing how one side urged a yes or no vote, even if one-sided.
Judgement: argue the source is useful for revealing how its author presented the agreement to voters, while noting its limits.
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Sources & how we know this
- CCEA GCSE History specification — CCEA (2017)