Press release
Sharing Peace, Sharing Futures: 25 Years of the Good Friday Agreement
From Department of the Taoiseach
Published on
Last updated on
From Department of the Taoiseach
Published on
Last updated on
On Sunday 2 April, the government will hold an event, in partnership with the Abbey Theatre, to mark the 25 years since the signing of the Good Friday Agreement. Sharing Peace, Sharing Futures will celebrate a diverse set of voices and perspectives on this island. It will include contributions from: Roddy Doyle, Paul Muldoon, Gail McConnell, Clannad, Patrick Radden Keefe, Aoife Ní Bhriain and many others.
Speaking in advance of the event, Taoiseach Leo Varadkar said:
“The Good Friday Agreement was about creating a better future for all the people on these islands. For too long, the idea of peace and a path to reconciliation seemed an impossible aspiration. Twenty-five years ago, we achieved what some thought impossible. People chose to believe in the potential for peace and the promise of a better future. So it is absolutely right that now, in this anniversary year, we celebrate all those who took the decisive steps needed to make this happen.
"This anniversary is also an opportunity to look forward together in hope. We should use this moment to focus particularly on reconciliation, and how we can build a shared island together.”
Tánaiste and Minister for Foreign Affairs, Micheál Martin, said:
“The government is delighted to partner with the Abbey Theatre to bring together a diverse set of voices from across our islands, reminding us of the rich range of perspectives, values and identities whose reconciliation was made possible by that transformative moment in April 1998. As a co-guarantor of the Agreement, I am delighted that it will be marked here in Dublin, in our national theatre.”
Caitríona McLaughlin, Artistic Director of the Abbey Theatre said:
“We are very proud to host this highly significant event with the government in the Abbey Theatre. To mark 25 years of our shared commitment to peace on this island and to consider where we might be in another 25 years? Who knows? But the Abbey Theatre will be here to hold the conversation, help ask the questions and let us all practice, without living through, a future as yet unwritten.”
Alan Gilsenan, Creative Director of Sharing Peace, Sharing Futures said:
"In the twenty-five years since the Good Friday Agreement, artists across the whole island have conjured up things anew, inventing, questioning and reimagining in a shared space that moves us, challenges us, inspires us - but above all, includes us."
Coverage of the government’s Good Friday Agreement 25th Anniversary cultural event will be live streamed from the Abbey Theatre, on Sunday 2 April at 6pm. It will be available to watch on the RTÉ News Channel and streamed worldwide on the RTÉ Player , with featured spoken word and music performances. The performance will also be available to watch on the RTÉ Player after the event.
Sharing Peace, Sharing Futures is part of the Government of Ireland’s programme of events to mark the Good Friday Agreement, which includes events across Ireland’s network of Embassies and Consulates.