Northern Ireland’s rival leaders said today they are close to clinching a new power-sharing agreement that would save their Catholic-Protestant coalition following a week of round-the-clock talks.
The Northern Ireland administration had been on the brink of collapse following threats from Sinn Fein, the major Irish Catholic party, to withdraw from its two and a half-year-old partnership with the British Protestants of the Democratic Unionist Party. Such power-sharing was the central goal of Northern Ireland’s 1998 peace accord.
But Sinn Fein leader Gerry Adams said their differences have dramatically narrowed following marathon negotiations convened last week by the British and Irish prime ministers, Gordon Brown and Brian Cowen.
Adams and Democratic Unionist negotiators said they were optimistic of completing negotiations today or tomorrow. Brown and Cowen were expected to travel back to Hillsborough Castle, the negotiating venue southwest of Belfast, whenever an agreement is confirmed.