Ireland’s church leaders hailed today’s talks with British Prime Minister Tony Blair as “extremely positive”.

The Church of Ireland and the Methodist Church have signed an historic agreement to join the two churches together.

In a meeting in Armagh today, the leaders of Ireland’s four main churches (Dr Russell Birney, Presbyterian Church in Ireland, Dr Sean Brady, Roman Catholic Church, Dr Robin Eames, Church of Ireland and Rev Winston Graham, Methodist Church in Ireland) called for an immediate end to the street violence which has disrupted communities in Belfast in recent weeks and issued the following statement.

Church leaders in the North have welcomed yesterday’s apology from the IRA to innocent civilians killed in its 30-war campaign.