Good Friday Agreement: historic Deal remembered exactly 25 years on

Today (Monday) marks the 25th anniversary of the Belfast Good Friday Agreement.

And to commemorate the occasion, Downtown Radio & Cool FM's news team has been carrying out interviews across Northern Ireland, Dublin and London with some of the key people involved in sealing the historic Deal.

These include Lord John Alderdice - the first Speaker of the Stormont Assembly - who spoke to our Reporter JAMES GOULD at his office in London where he is now based.

The former leader of the Alliance party remembered how difficult it was to make a deal while violence continued.

"It was very difficult - and indeed we would often spend time at the start of a session talking about what had happened and who bore responsibility, and all these kinds of things," he recalled

Lord Alderdice believes the Good Friday Agreement is still as important today as it was then.

"We are able to say to people - look we are not perfect - we still have problems - but we found a way of disagreeing without killing each other."

We also caught up with former SDLP leader Mark Durkan, who was a member of the party's negotiating team to secure a deal and had a significant role in drafting key parts of the Agreement itself.

He told our North West Reporter CHELSIE KEALEY of being involved in one of the most memorable moments in the run-up to the Referendum when the Ulster Unionist and SDLP leaders publicly shook hands for the first time.

"An Agreement as historic as this, needs a handshake moment," he recalled

"You just were knocked back when Bono on stage announced two people to come out from the back of the stage - then David (Trimble) ambled out from one side of the stage and John (Hume) from the other...)

And the rest is history ...

Meanwhile, Prime Minister Rishi Sunak today celebrated the "difficult decisions" taken and "political imagination" displayed to end the Troubles.

"So we must get on with the business of governance," he said in a statement on Monday, ahead of talks to get Stormont running again intensifying.

He will host US President Joe Biden in Northern Ireland to commemorate the event, which takes place despite the assembly key to the deal still not sitting.

The peace brought by the treaty also remains fragile, with the terror threat having been raised amid warnings of possible attacks on police.

Mr Sunak said there is a need to "recommit to redoubling our efforts" to deliver on the promise made when the deal was signed on April 10 1998.

Reflecting on the "beginning of a new chapter", the Prime Minister said the agreement "continues to enjoy huge international support", as demonstrated by Mr Biden's visit.

"As we look forward, we will celebrate those who took difficult decisions, accepted compromise, and showed leadership - showing bravery, perseverance, and political imagination," he said.

"We commemorate those who are no longer with us and the many who lost their lives by trying to prevent violence and protect the innocent.

"And we give thanks to them as we reflect on the new generations that have grown up and continue to grow in a world in which peace and prosperity has prevailed.

"While it is time to reflect on the solid progress we have made together, we must also recommit to redoubling our efforts on the promise made in 1998 and the agreements that followed."

That vision, he said, is of "economic opportunity, prosperity, and stability".

"So we must get on with the business of governance," Mr Sunak continued.

"My mission, duty and responsibility as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom is to deliver for people in Northern Ireland.

"We stand ready to work with our partners in the Irish government and the local parties to ensure that the institutions are up and running again as soon as possible.

"There is work to be done."

"We're working towards having the institutions up and running in the next few months," he told RTE's This Week programme.

Mr Sunak is expected to meet Mr Biden off Air Force One when he arrives on Tuesday evening.

The president will take part in events on Wednesday, before heading to the Republic of Ireland, where he will visit Dublin, Co Louth and Co Mayo.