AS ONE of the republican leaders in Long Kesh in the years leading up to the Good Friday Agreement, former Fermanagh MLA Sean Lynch was at the heart of the prison negotiations that helped secure the historic agreement.
This week, as the world paused to mark 25 years from that fateful day at Castle Buildings, the Lisnaskea man spoke to the Herald about some of the key events from that journey, noting the IRA ceasefire of 1994 had been one of its first significant milestones.
“While there was much trepidation amongst the prisoners, we had come to the conclusion over the years that a negotiated settlement was the only way forward to bring an end to the three decades of conflict,” he said.
However, it took a change of government in Westminster before progress could be made, he recalled. Noting the Conservative government had been “belligerent” following the 1994 ceasefire, causing “much frustration within the prison,” in 1996 then Shadow Secretary of State Mo Mowlam visited the prison. Mr Lynch led the delegation to meet her.
“We stressed to her if Labour were to come in in the forthcoming general election there needed to be a change of attitude towards the cessation, that Sinn Fein’s mandate needed to be recognised and all inclusive talks should take place immediately.”
Labour went on to win the May 1997 election and, with the ceasefire having been broken by the Canary Wharf bombing, the IRA renewed its cessation of military operations in July 1997.
“Almost immediately after Labour was elected a more progressive approach in relation to prisoners was evident,” said Mr Lynch, who also recalled a “significant” meeting at the prison in 1997 with the late Martin McGuinness.
As negotiations continued towards the GFA outside the prison and Mr Lynch said there was “much anticipation was in the air” as the prisoners were kept abreast of developments.
“Then we woke up on Good Friday morning to listen to Mitchell McLaughlin give a press conference in which he confirmed prison releases would take place within two years,” he recalled.
Following the history making announcement from Stormont on April 10th, 1998, on April 29 another delegation was allowed into the prison, which met with a large contingent of prisoners.
The delegation included two members of the African National Congress. One of those was Cyril Ramaphosa, now President of South Africa.
“He cited the example of many of those who had served long sentences on Robben Island with Nelson Mandela were now in key positions in government in South Africa,” said Mr Lynch.
“In the months and years ahead many of those who were in attendance at that meeting in the prison’s gymnasium did play key roles in the development of the peace process.
“Eight of us in that gym that day were elected to the Assembly, some served as junior ministers, and others went on to play key roles in society.”
Just weeks later, on May 10, Mr Lynch and around 30 other prisoners were released to attend a special Sinn Fein Ard Fheis in Dublin. Mr Lynch said while there was debate at the event regarding the outcome of the GFA negotiations, “the vast majority of prisoners supported it with a view of moving forward.”
In June 1998, the agreed prisoner releases officially began, with a commission set up to oversee the process. By July 2000, they had all been released. Mr Lynch himself was released on October 5th, 1998, three weeks before his sentence was due to end.
Twenty five years on, Mr Lynch said much could be learnt from the leadership shown by those involved with the negotiations, and from the compromises they made.
Mr Lynch noted that issues such as policing had been “very difficult” for republicans, but they were “debated with the view of moving forward.”
He also acknowledged that the issue of prisoner releases had been very difficult for others.
Overall, he said it was about “embracing the people’s democratic way forward.”
“From the vantage point of a quarter of a century later we could say the Good Friday Agreement transformed our country, created a new pathway to peace and reconciliation, and a democratic, peaceful way towards our objective of an all Ireland.
“No one thought then we were going through one of the most significant periods of Irish history. We couldn’t have anticipated that 25 years later a nationalist, republican woman would be the First Minister Designate of the North of Ireland, and the possibility of a Sinn Fein Taoiseach within the next year-and-a-half.
“So history was in the making.”
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