Agreement
Good Friday (Belfast) Agreement and referendums, 1998
A peace agreement between the British and Irish Governments and most Northern Ireland parties was overwhelmingly approved in concurrent referendums, establishing the constitutional framework and consent principle still in force today.
What happened
The Good Friday (Belfast) Agreement was reached on 10 April 1998 between the British and Irish Governments and most of Northern Ireland's political parties.[1] It was put to concurrent referendums: in Northern Ireland on 22 May 1998, 71.1% of voters approved it on a turnout of 81.1%, while a simultaneous referendum in the Republic of Ireland approved related constitutional changes by 94.4% on a 55.6% turnout — together the first all-Ireland poll since 1918.[2][3]
The Agreement establishes the principle that a united Ireland can be brought about only with the concurrent consent of majorities in both Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland, voting separately.[4]
Sources for this page
Each number marks a specific claim. Notes give the source, its locator and how it relates to the claim.
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1.
Claim: The Good Friday (Belfast) Agreement was reached on 10 April 1998 between the British and Irish Governments and most of Northern Ireland's political parties.
- 1998 Northern Ireland Good Friday Agreement referendum (Wikipedia) link, Background section. Source record
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2.
Claim: In a referendum on 22 May 1998, 71.1% of voters in Northern Ireland approved the Good Friday Agreement, on a turnout of 81.1%.
- 1998 Northern Ireland Good Friday Agreement referendum (Wikipedia) link, Results section. Source record
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3.
Claim: A simultaneous referendum in the Republic of Ireland approved related constitutional changes by 94.4%, on a turnout of 55.6%; together the two votes were the first all-Ireland poll since 1918.
- 1998 Northern Ireland Good Friday Agreement referendum (Wikipedia) link, Republic of Ireland results section. Source record
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4.
Claim: The Agreement provides that a united Ireland can be brought about only with the concurrent consent of majorities in both Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland, voting separately.
- Irish reunification (Institute for Government) link, The principle of consent. Source record