YESTERYEARS: Tipperary saw mixed and heated reaction to Northern Ireland peace agreement

The 25th anniversary of the Good Friday Agreement has been making national and world headlines of late so it’s only right that our YESTERYEARS feature this week should focus on the front page of The Nationalist from that same week, our edition dated April 18, 1998.

In our front page lead story, Michael Heverin reported that Tipperary was “at the centre of mixed and sometimes heated reaction to the historic Northern Ireland peace agreement which was finally signed in Belfast on Good Friday.”

“While political leaders in the county welcomed the deal as a milestone in Irish history, the two Republican groups most implacably opposed to the pact used visits to the county to condemn it, including the late Bobby Sands’ sister, Bernadette Sands-McKevitt, when speaking at the George Plant Commemoration at St Johnstown near Fethard.

Meanwhile the Tipperary man who was one of the architects of the historic deal was lauded for his immense contribution. Government advisor Dr Martin Mansergh had been working to bring peace to Northern Ireland for over ten years and had also played a key role in delivering the first IRA ceasefire in 1994. The late Minister Noel Davern described Dr Mansergh’s role in the deal as “central” and praised him for vital contribution.

Dr Mansergh was to make his first public speech since playing such a key role in the negotiations when he was to be the guest speaker at the 75th anniversary Liam Lynch Commemoration in Newcastle. Commemoration committee chairman, Mattie McGrath, described the Tipperary academic as “the unsung hero of the peace agreement” and said he was thrilled to welcome him to the south Tipperary village.

In another front page story the coroner for South Tipperary, Paul Morris, paid tribute to a canoeist’s heroic sacrifice which saved his brother’s life. An inquest into the death of a Civil Defence canoeist taking part in an exercise on the River Suir was told that his brave and unselfish actions cost him his life.

The inquest heard that 25-year-old Patrick Kennedy from Morton Street in Clonmel, drowned after successfully rescuing his brother who had got into trouble at Lady Blessington Weir in January of 1997. “Noboby could ask to do more for another human being,” said the coroner. He added that it was a privilege to talk about a young man such as Patrick Kennedy.