As I Remember It: Bertie Ahern & The Good Friday Agreement Newstalk

'As I Remember It: Bertie Ahern & the Good Friday Agreement' tells the story of the Good Friday Agreement as told by those who negotiated it and marks the first time all those involved have reunited to reflect on the negotiations in 25 years. #GFA25.

Bertie Ahern, Taoiseach of Ireland from 1997 -2008, tells the story of why the Good Friday Agreement was needed and the efforts required to get both nationalists and unionists to the negotiating table. In the first episode of this series, Bertie explains the reality of ‘The Troubles’, the previous attempts at a peace deal, and how a US Senator came to chair the talks.

For more information, full interviews, and bonus material head to Newstalk.com/GoodFridayAgreement.

In 1997 two Governments and eight political parties agreed to work together to reach a peace deal. In this episode, Bertie speaks with Senator George Mitchell, who outlines the format for the talks and how the issue of decommissioning almost put a halt to the entire process before it began. We hear from Peter Robinson on why the DUP didn’t engage in the multi-party talks, Gerry Kelly on how Sinn Féin got a seat at the table, and John Hume Jr on his father’s relentless quest to bring peace to Northern Ireland. Plus Sean Farren of the SDLP and Liz O’Donnell who was the Irish government’s Minister of State for Foreign Affairs share their recollections of the time.

For more information, full interviews, and bonus material head to Newstalk.com/GoodFridayAgreement.

In this episode, Bertie Ahern reunites with the rest of the parties that participated in the negotiations that led to the Good Friday Agreement. Gary McMichael of the UDP recalls how his father’s murder motivated him to get into politics. Dermot Nesbitt of the UUP, Dawn Purvis of the PUP, Lord John Alderdice of the Alliance Party, Avila Kilmurray, and Monica McWilliams of the Northern Ireland Women’s Coalition also share their recollections. Plus Bertie talks to Tony Blair’s Chief of Staff at the time, Jonathan Powell. 

For more information, full interviews, and bonus material head to Newstalk.com/GoodFridayAgreement.

Tony Blair was elected British Prime Minister in May 1997. A month later, Bertie Ahern became Taoiseach of Ireland and they worked together to make peace in Northern Ireland a key priority. In this episode, he speaks exclusively with Bertie about the negotiation of the Good Friday Agreement, the critical part David Trimble’s leadership played in the multi-party talks, and how, despite many bumps in the road, he was determined to make it work.

For more information, full interviews, and bonus material head to Newstalk.com/GoodFridayAgreement.

In this episode, Bertie Ahern and those negotiating the peace deal for Northern Ireland share their memories of the tensions between unionists and Sinn Fein as the talks got underway, the misogyny experienced by the women in the process, the suspensions of some parties following a return to violence over Christmas 1997 and the game-changing interventions of Monica McWilliams and Northern Secretary Mo Mowlam when they decided to visit hardline loyalists in prison.

For more information, full interviews, and bonus material head to Newstalk.com/GoodFridayAgreement.