1998 in Northern Ireland

Incumbents

• First Minister - David Trimble (from 1 July)
• Deputy First Minister - Seamus Mallon (from 1 July)
• Secretary of State - Mo Mowlam

Events

• 9 January - British Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, Mo Mowlam, visits loyalist prisoners in the Maze prison. Afterward loyalists agree to attend the Stormont talks.
• 20 February - Sinn Féin is excluded from the Northern Ireland talks for two weeks. Protests in Belfast follow.
• 10 April (Good Friday) - The British and Irish governments and all the political parties in the Northern Ireland (except the Democratic Unionist Party) sign the Belfast Agreement.
• 19 May - John Hume and David Trimble join U2 on stage in Belfast as they make a direct appeal to young voters in Northern Ireland to vote 'yes' in the referendum on the Good Friday Agreement.
• 22 May - The Belfast Agreement is endorsed in a referendum by people north and south of the border.
• 25 June - The people of Northern Ireland go to the polls to elect a new Assembly.
• June - Crumlin Road Courthouse is closed and the site is eventually sold to a private developer.
• 1 July - The new Northern Ireland Assembly first meets, in "shadow" form; Reg Empey and Seamus Mallon are elected First Minister and deputy First Minister respectively.
• 12 July - Drumcree conflict: Three young children are killed in a loyalist Ulster Volunteer Force arson attack in Ballymoney.
• 15 August - Omagh bombing: 29 people die in a car bomb explosion near the centre of Omagh, County Tyrone, caused by the Real Irish Republican Army.
• 3 September - Bill Clinton, President of the United States, visits Omagh and views the bomb damage.
• 16 October - John Hume and David Trimble are announced as the winners of the Nobel Peace Prize.
• 6 November - David Trimble returns as First Minister in succession to Reg Empey.
• 10 December - John Hume and David Trimble are presented with the Nobel Peace Prize at a ceremony in Oslo, Norway.

Arts and literature

• Malachi O'Doherty's study The Trouble With Guns: Republican Strategy and the Provisional IRA is published.

Sport

Football

• Irish League ::Winners: Cliftonville

• Irish Cup ::Winners: Glentoran 1 - 0 Glenavon (after extra time).

Motorcycling

• Robert Dunlop wins the Ultra-Lightweight race at the Isle of Man TT.

Deaths

• 2 September - Jackie Blanchflower, footballer (b.1933).
• 13 November - Valerie Hobson, actress (b.1917).

Full date unknown

• Sean McAloon, Uilleann piper and pipe maker (b.1923).

References

References

1. Archer, Bimpe. (2018-01-10). "Anniversary of day Mo Mowlam visited the Maze to persuade prisoners to try peace".
2. "BBC News {{!}} UK {{!}} Sinn Fein suspended from peace talks".
3. "The Belfast Agreement/Good Friday Agreement 1998 {{!}} Northern Ireland Assembly Education Service".
4. Fenton, Siobhan. (2018-05-24). "The Good Friday Agreement". Biteback Publishing.
5. (2002). "Northern Ireland After the Good Friday Agreement: Victims, Grievance and Blame". Pluto Press.
6. (October 2001). "Explaining the Good Friday Agreement: A Learning Process". Government and Opposition.
7. "The Belfast Agreement".
8. "UAH calls for Stormont to repossess Crumlin Road Courthouse".
9. (12 July 1998). "1998: Children die in Drumcree protests". BBC News.
10. (March 2001). "What about us? The psychological implications of dealing with trauma following the Omagh bombing". Emergency Nurse.
11. Edwards, Ruth Dudley. (2013-09-30). "Aftermath: The Omagh Bombing and the Families' Pursuit of Justice". Random House.