The bomb galvanised political activity. During Reynolds’s period of office the cessation had gone reasonably well from a republican point of view, and Sinn Féin was pleased with the framework document of February 1995. But from then on they claimed Major’s approach was intended to maintain pressure on Adams and Sinn Féin, and not to pressurise Unionist politicians. The decommissioning impasse, the absence of all-party talks, and the lack of movement on issues such as prisoner releases, all combined to increase republican disillusion.
