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Press Releases
91Èȱ¬ marks tenth anniversary of the Good Friday Agreement
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On 10 April 1998, a historic agreement was signed in Northern Ireland providing Northern Ireland's divided society with a political framework to resolve its differences.
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To mark the tenth anniversary of this important treaty, the 91Èȱ¬ has a range of programming across its output – from a major documentary series on 91Èȱ¬ Radio 4 to two special one-off television programmes and coverage on regular strands.
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Programming includes: The Price Of Peace, a three-part series on Radio 4 (from Sunday 2 March), in which John Ware, in his first radio series, investigates the price that has been paid for peace in Northern Ireland. He asks why it took Sinn Fein seven years to deliver the decommissioning of IRA weapons promised under the historic agreement, examines the effect of Sinn Fein procrastination on moderate Unionism, and finds out why Dr Ian Paisley, well known for his famous reluctance to compromise, agreed to form a coalition government with his old enemies – Sinn Fein.
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The Secret Peacemaker (Wednesday 26 March, 91Èȱ¬ Two) is the story of an ordinary man caught up in extraordinary times – a man known only as "The Contact". Driven by a determination to bring the British Government and the IRA together for peace talks, he acted as a secret go-between for more than 20 years. Award-winning 91Èȱ¬ journalist Peter Taylor has reported on Northern Ireland for over 30 years. He has known the identity of The Contact for the last ten years. The Contact promised then that he would tell the whole story when the time was right. Now that time has come.
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Jonathan Powell was Tony Blair's designated man-behind-the-scenes working on behalf of the Prime Minister to secure a lasting peace in Northern Ireland on the foundations of the Good Friday Agreement. In The Undercover Diplomat (Monday 7 April, 91Èȱ¬ Two), Powell reveals how he negotiated in secret with Sinn Fein, in a series of meeting stretching over nearly a decade that were known to no-one in the British Government other than Tony Blair himself. Powell takes us deep into the hidden story of how a bitter, generations-long dispute in one part of the United Kingdom was eventually resolved.
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Buses used to be firebombed in Belfast, now they ferry tourists to landmarks of the city's troubled past as sectarian violence is safely consigned to history. Now Panorama (Monday 7 April, 91Èȱ¬ One), takes its own unauthorised tour to discover if communities are coming together or growing apart.
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In other coverage, The Politics Show (Sunday 16 March, 91Èȱ¬ One) goes to Armagh in Northern Ireland to look at what effect dropping Articles 2 and 3 of the constitution which claimed Northern Ireland as part of the territory has had on the national attitude to the North. The programme will also examine how community relations have changed in the 10 years since and how things have changed in the Republic itself.
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91Èȱ¬ News 24 will broadcast live from Northern Ireland on Good Friday itself (Friday 21 March) looking at the changed face of Northern Ireland 10 years after the historic agreement and there will also be coverage across 91Èȱ¬ news bulletins.
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The 91Èȱ¬ News website will examine the huge economic growth in Northern Ireland over the past 10 years and will also talk to the County Down pub owner whose party had less than half a per cent of the vote but was enough to allow him a front row seat at the Good Friday Agreement.
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