Say Nothing: A True Story of Murder and Memory in Northern Ireland

by Patrick Radden Keefe

Eventually, on Good Friday, the parties emerged and announced that they had arrived at a pact to which all sides could agree—a mechanism to end the three-decade conflict. Northern Ireland would remain part of the United Kingdom, but with its own devolved assembly and close links to the Republic of Ireland. The agreement acknowledged that the majority of people on the island wanted a united Ireland—but also that a majority of people in the six counties favored remaining part of the United Kingdom. The key principle was “consent”: if, at some juncture, a majority of people in the North wanted to unite with Ireland, then the governments of the U.K. and Ireland would have a “binding obligation” to honor that choice. But until that time, Northern Ireland would remain part of the U.K., and Sinn Féin agreed to set aside its principle of abstention and allow its representatives to serve in the newly created assembly.