Good Friday agreement 25 years early?

Is there any way that we can get the Sunningdale agreement of 1973 to look much more like the OTL Good Friday agreement of 1998? If this happens, would it get the acceptance that it did in OTL, or are there political forces involved for which 25 more years would be required before they would find it acceptable?
 
The SDLP's Seamus Mallon famously described the GFA as "Sunningdale for slow learners!" The differences between the two agreements are minimal mainly in that the "Council of Ireland" so dreaded by Unionists was morphed into the more ambiguous "North-South Ministerial Council."

To have Sunningdale work a lot of things have to go differently in the preceding years, namely no internment therefore no Bloody Sunday which both caused the IRA to gain a lot of support allowing them to sustain their campaign. You also have to find some way of marginalising Paisley and stop him chipping away at the UUP. Unless that happens then the challenges facing Sunningdale are going to be insurmountable. The difference between 1974 and 1998 was that was how long it took most of the paramilitaries to realise that they weren't going to achieve a military victory. So unless something is done to stop people turning to the paramilitaries after 1969 then the TL runs pretty much as we know it.
 
Last edited:
Sunningdale was ultimately destroyed and 25 years more pain resulted for the ordinary good people of the 6 counties, because unfortunately without the extremists of the Paisleytes and the Provos it was never going to be allowed to succeed! It has been said more than once since the DUP-SF rule Of Northern Ireland began - it's remarkable how well these former enemies get on with each other - Sure why wouldn't they? - Being the opposite sides of the same coin!
 
Top