Stormont Parliament Buildings, the home of the Northern Irish Assembly. Flickr/Amanda Slater. Some rights reserved.
On Saturday, 11 April, 1998, the Irish Times announced the multi-party agreement reached in Belfast the day before with the headline “Easter 1998”. It was, of course, a factual statement: the negotiators had missed the Holy Thursday midnight deadline and the document had been finalised on Good Friday. However, to those well versed in Irish history, the headline had a greater depth of meaning.
The rebellion led by Patrick Pearse against the British in April 1916 is often referred to as “Easter 1916”. The Irish Times’ implication was that the 1998 Agreement could be as significant a turning point in the centuries-long conflict as Pearse’s Rising. Yet, at the same time, the Irish Times was drawing attention to the dramatic contrast between the natures and meanings of the two events.
