IRA ceasefire still splits opinion in the North

A brave step towards peace or grudging acceptance that military defeat was inevitable – the IRA’s historic ceasefire of 1994 still sharply divides opinion in the North 20 years on.

Ahead of this weekend’s anniversary of the landmark announcement, which at the time was met with victory celebrations in republican areas across the region, Stormont Deputy First Minister Martin McGuinness has hailed it as the most important single step in the entire peace process.