HOPES TINGED WITH SADNESS
Hope tinged with sadness in mixed year
Peace Accord is signed but Omagh Bombers kill 29
By Janet Devlin
1998 was the best of years . . . and the worst of years. These pictures graphically illustrate how, in the last 12 months, Ulster has swung between hope and despair, failure and success. The year began with a gritty determination to find a solution to Northern Ireland's political problems - and ended with two party leaders taking their place in Nobel history.
But the road to The Deal, as it became known, was long and hard with intense negotiation and in the final days long, sleepless nights.
The final breakthrough came on Good Friday during a marathon session which tested political leaders of every hue to the limit.
Two years of tough talking and fraught relationships reached a conclusion as Tony Blair and Bertie Ahern signed an agreement to transform relationships within these islands. At the end, exhausted and emotional, party political groups took their place for Press conferences on the steps of Stormont. They had made history.
But tense times still lay ahead. Would the people of Ireland, north and south, support the Agreement and all that it contained.
On Saturday, May 23, the people of Ulster gave their verdict in the referendum - 71.12% voted Yes. with 28.88% voting No.
And days later Sir Elton John made history with the first open air concert to be held at Stormont.
He had been personally signed up for the gig by Prime Minister Tony Blair and 15,000 fans turned out to see the show.
The World Cup lifted everyone's sporting spirit. France boasted the biggest celebration since the Second World War when the home team emerged victorious on July 12 after beating giants Brazil 3-0.
David Beckham of Manchester United earned brickbats when he was sent off after petulantly lashing out at an Argentinian when England crashed out of the World Cup in the second round, but Liverpool's starlet Michael Owen went home a household name.
Tragic times still lay ahead at home, however. The peace process stumbled but did not fall with the Omagh atrocity on August 165. The Real IRA drove a car bomb into the town centre and took the lives of 29 people.
Young and old, male and female, Protestant and Catholic, died side by side in the rubble as passers-by and the emergency services worked heroically to try and save the injured. It was one of the lowest points in the history of Northern Ireland, the worst atrocity ever inflicted in terms of casualties, yet it pulled the province together as never before.
Unsurprisingly, however, many people were furious that, less than a month after the Omagh outrage, the Government went ahead with freeing the first of hundreds of terrorist prisoners under its controversial early release scheme.
But Prime Minister Blair and Secretary of State Dr Mo Mowlam insisted that the terms of the peace deal could not be changed, despite growing public and political concern over paramilitaries' refusal to hand over weapons. September also brought the second visit to Northern Ireland of US President Bill Clinton and his First Lady Hillary.
They went to Stormont, the Waterfront Hall and the Springvalecampus in Belfast, before making a poignant visit to Omagh. The day ended with a presidential address to the thousands of people in Armagh.
But his reception was undoubtedly more low-key than the rapturous welcome he had enjoyed on his previous visit in 1995.
And. if the President had arrived in Ulster seeking refuge from the Monica Lewinsky affair, he soon discovered there was to be no escape, returning to the US to face eventual impeachment.
Back home, though, the year ended on a more positive note. That determination to defy the bombers and follow the path of peace was recognised and celebrated when SDLP leader John Hume and Ulster Unionist leader David Trimble became Nobel laureates on December 11.
And finally, baby Christopher made his entrance to the world in Christmas week. On a silent night, with a shoebox for a bed, the baby boy was heard and rescued. A sign of hope for the future.
Peace Accord is signed but Omagh Bombers kill 29
By Janet Devlin
1998 was the best of years . . . and the worst of years. These pictures graphically illustrate how, in the last 12 months, Ulster has swung between hope and despair, failure and success. The year began with a gritty determination to find a solution to Northern Ireland's political problems - and ended with two party leaders taking their place in Nobel history.
But the road to The Deal, as it became known, was long and hard with intense negotiation and in the final days long, sleepless nights.
The final breakthrough came on Good Friday during a marathon session which tested political leaders of every hue to the limit.
Two years of tough talking and fraught relationships reached a conclusion as Tony Blair and Bertie Ahern signed an agreement to transform relationships within these islands. At the end, exhausted and emotional, party political groups took their place for Press conferences on the steps of Stormont. They had made history.
But tense times still lay ahead. Would the people of Ireland, north and south, support the Agreement and all that it contained.
On Saturday, May 23, the people of Ulster gave their verdict in the referendum - 71.12% voted Yes. with 28.88% voting No.
And days later Sir Elton John made history with the first open air concert to be held at Stormont.
He had been personally signed up for the gig by Prime Minister Tony Blair and 15,000 fans turned out to see the show.
The World Cup lifted everyone's sporting spirit. France boasted the biggest celebration since the Second World War when the home team emerged victorious on July 12 after beating giants Brazil 3-0.
David Beckham of Manchester United earned brickbats when he was sent off after petulantly lashing out at an Argentinian when England crashed out of the World Cup in the second round, but Liverpool's starlet Michael Owen went home a household name.
Tragic times still lay ahead at home, however. The peace process stumbled but did not fall with the Omagh atrocity on August 165. The Real IRA drove a car bomb into the town centre and took the lives of 29 people.
Young and old, male and female, Protestant and Catholic, died side by side in the rubble as passers-by and the emergency services worked heroically to try and save the injured. It was one of the lowest points in the history of Northern Ireland, the worst atrocity ever inflicted in terms of casualties, yet it pulled the province together as never before.
Unsurprisingly, however, many people were furious that, less than a month after the Omagh outrage, the Government went ahead with freeing the first of hundreds of terrorist prisoners under its controversial early release scheme.
But Prime Minister Blair and Secretary of State Dr Mo Mowlam insisted that the terms of the peace deal could not be changed, despite growing public and political concern over paramilitaries' refusal to hand over weapons. September also brought the second visit to Northern Ireland of US President Bill Clinton and his First Lady Hillary.
They went to Stormont, the Waterfront Hall and the Springvalecampus in Belfast, before making a poignant visit to Omagh. The day ended with a presidential address to the thousands of people in Armagh.
But his reception was undoubtedly more low-key than the rapturous welcome he had enjoyed on his previous visit in 1995.
And. if the President had arrived in Ulster seeking refuge from the Monica Lewinsky affair, he soon discovered there was to be no escape, returning to the US to face eventual impeachment.
Back home, though, the year ended on a more positive note. That determination to defy the bombers and follow the path of peace was recognised and celebrated when SDLP leader John Hume and Ulster Unionist leader David Trimble became Nobel laureates on December 11.
And finally, baby Christopher made his entrance to the world in Christmas week. On a silent night, with a shoebox for a bed, the baby boy was heard and rescued. A sign of hope for the future.
Further Information
Publisher: BELFAST TELEGRAPH
Ref: BT/0544
Published Date: 30-Dec-98
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