Evolution of Devolution

1972- Stormont is suspended as the Trouble intensifies- In March, direct rule from Westminster is introduced and the Stormont parliament is suspended.

- Special Category Status is granted by the Secretary of State- After prisoner hunger strikes, the SoS introduces Special Category Status for political prisoners. This means they are excused from prison work and allowed to wear their own clothes, as well as have extra visits and food parcels.

1973- The Sunningdale Agreement attempts to bring the troubles to an end by creating a powersharing governent of nationalists and unionists.

1974- The power-sharing executive is disrupted by protestors- Sunningdale collapse- On 22nd of Jan, Ian Paisley and his supporters occupy front bench seats in the Commons Chamber in parliament buildings, in an effort to disrupt business. They do this to protest against being excluded from the Sunningdale talks. The police remove them by force.

1976- Special Category Status is removed for political prisoners in Northern Ireland- The British government abolishes Special Category Status for political prisoners in Northern Ireland.

1979- A new Conservative government under Margaret Thatcher comes to power in Westminster- Thatcher becomes known for her reluctance to give into the demands of IRA hunger strikers in the early 1980s. She is also remembered for the Anglo-Irish Agreement of 1985.

1981- The Second Hunger Strike begins- The demands have not been met, a second hunger strike begins, led by IRA leader Bobby Sands. He had previously been convicted of possesion of firearms and sentenced to 14 years. Catholic support grows with rising feeling against Margaret Thatcher's Conservative government. - Bobby Sands is elected as MP for Fermanagh-South Tyrone- The election of Sands and other hunger strikers launches Sinn Fein into Northern Ireland politics.

1983- Gerry Adams elected as MP for West Belfast.

1985- Talks between the British and Irish governments lead to the Anglo-Irish Agreement being signed- It is opposed by all UUP, Thatcher is branded as traitor by unionists. NI unionist parties unite in their opposition to the Agreement under James Molyneaux, leader of the Official Unionist Party and Ian Paisley, leader of DUP. Loyalist paramilitaries conduct a campaign against the agreement.

1987- The unionist boycott of British Ministers- because of their opposition to the Anglo-Irish Agreement- comes to an end- James Molyneaux and Ian Paisley meet with Secretary of State Tom King for 'talks about talks'.

1988- John Hume meets Gerry Adams- SDLP leader John Hume meets secretly with Sinn Fein's President Gerry Adams. This begins a series of discussions aimed at developing a peace process.

1991- The Brooke/Mayhew Talks on the future of Northern Ireland begin- From April 1991 until November 1992, a series of talks on the future of Northern Ireland take place in an attempt to end the political stalemate. Those involved included the British and Irish govts. as well as representatives from 4 Northern Ireland parties, the UUP, DUP, SDLP and Alliance.

-The talks follow a three strand approach. The first strand deals with discussions bewteen the Northern Ireland parties, aiming to achieve a devolved, power-sharing government: Strand 2 tackles North-South relations and Strand 3 addresses British-Irish relations.

1992- Gerry Adams looses his West Belfast seat to Joe Hendron of the SDLP in the British General Election. Nationalist support for SDLP continues to rise and party increase their overall vote.

-Unionists agree to talks with the Irish Government for the first time.

1993- John Hume renews his controversial talks with Sinn Fein President Gerry Adams. The result of the talks is the Hume-Adams Initiative.

- The Downing Street Declaration made on 15th December- announce their intention to create an inclusive talks process.

1994- An IRA Ceasefire is declared on 31st August 1994.

1995- British and Irish Governments publish Frameworks for the Future documents.

-Mayhew demands decommissioning ahead of Sinn Fein entering talks.

- The Twin-Track Approach: A breakthrough on arms decommissioning is announced.

1996-  The Mitchell report on decommissioning of paramilitary weapons is published.

Elections to all-party negotiations are held on 30th May- UUP has largest party. Sinn Fein achieves its highest ever vote, giving them 17 seats. The DUP with 24 seats, while the SDLP win 21.

- Multi-party talks begin at Stormont- British PM John Major and Irish Taoiseach John Bruton open multi-party talks at Stormont on June 10th. Sinn Fein continues to be excluded from the talks due to ongoing IRA violence.

1997- New Labour is victorious in British General Elections- Tony Blair becomes PM.

- All-Party talks formally begin September 15- Sinn Fein signs the Mitchell Principles and all-party talks begin under the chairmanship of former US Senator George Mitchell. The DUP withdraw from talks because of the lack of prior decommissioning.

- 19th July, the IRA announces the restoration of the 1994 ceasefire- Sinn Fein is invited to take part in the negotiations.

1998- A crisis develops as talks deadline approaches- Unionists reject the proposals, and the process collapses. PM Tony Blair flies to Belfast on 7th of April, followed next day by Taoiseach Bertie Ahern. Although talks often teeter on the edge of breakdown, progress continues until, twenty hours after the official deadline, agreement is reached on Good Friday 10th April 1998. The DUP are opposed to the Agreement.

The Belfast/Good Friday Agreement is reached. After long negotiations, the Britishernments, together with most of the political parties in NI, reach an agreement on a political settlement on 10th April 1998.

-The establishment of the NI Assembly with legislative powers from NI. The Assembly will appoint a power-sharing Executive Committee of Ministers from Unionist and Nationalist Parties.

-The Agreement states that there will be no change to the constitutional status of NI without the consent of the majority. The Irish dimension to the Agreement includes North/South cooperation on matters such as tourism, agriculture & health. The Irish govt, agrees to recommend amendments to the Constitution of Ireland.

Continued

1998- Under the Agreement, there would be early release of prisoners convicted of paramilitary offences. The ned for decommissioning of weapons and a reformed police service are also agreed.

The Belfast/Good Friday Agreement gets the support of the people in a referendum- 71% voting in support of the Agreement.

The First election to the new Northern Ireland Assembly takes place.