Page 65 - All About History - Issue 52-17

THE IRISH REPUBLICAN ARMY

THE DOCKLANDS BOMB
AND THE CEASEFIRES

The IRA declared a ceasefire in August 1994, but a
massive bomb in London’s Docklands in February 1996
announced a return to violence. Political negotiations
led to the restoration of the ceasefire in July 1997.

DECOMMISSIONING

With the ceasefire secured, negotiations
turned to the decommissioning of
IRA weapons. Under the guidance of
Canadian general John de Chastelain, it
was announced that the IRA had put its
weaponry beyond use in September 2005.

FROM GUNS TO GOVERNMENT

In 2007, former IRA commander Martin McGuinness, now the
northern leader of Sinn Féin, became the deputy first minister
of Northern Ireland, where he shared power with first minister
reverend Ian Paisley of the Democratic Unionist Party.

© Alamy, Getty

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