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The agreement was signed on 15 November 1985 at Hillsborough Castle, by the British Prime Minister, Margaret Thatcher, and the Irish Taoiseach, Garret FitzGerald.
The agreement was rejected by republicans because it confirmed Northern Ireland's status as a part of the UK. The Provisional IRA continued their violent campaign and did not sign up to the agreement.
The nationalist Fianna Fail political party in the Republic of Ireland also rejected the agreement. The Fianna Fáil leader, Charles HaugheyCharles James Haughey (born September 16, 1925) was the sixth Taoiseach of the Republic of Ireland. He served three periods as Taoiseach: from 1979 to 1981, from March to December 1982, and from 1987 to 1992. He was first elected as a Fianna Fail TD in 19, claimed the agreement was in conflict with Articles 2 and 3 of the Constitution of IrelandArticle 2 and Article 3 of Bunreacht na hEireann, the constitution of the Republic of Ireland, were adopted with the constitution as a whole in 1937, but completely revised by means of the Nineteenth Amendment which took full effect in 1999. As amended th because it recognized Northern Ireland as part of the UK. Despite this opposition, the agreement was ratified by the OireachtasThe Oireachtas ( English: Legislature is the 'National Parliament' of the Republic of Ireland. The Oireachtas consists of the President of Ireland and two houses: Dail Eireann and Seanad Eireann (also known as the Senate). However the Dail is by far the i.
On the other side, it was rejected by unionistsIn the Irish context, Unionists form a group of largely (though not exclusively) Protestant people in Ireland, of all classes, who wish to see the continuation of the Act of Union, as amended by the Government of Ireland Act 1920, under which the Northern because it gave the Republic of Ireland an increased influence over Northern Ireland, and because they had been excluded from the agreement negotiations. The Ulster Unionist PartyThe Ulster Unionist Party UUP sometimes referred to as the Official Unionist Party or OUP is a political party in Northern Ireland representing the unionist community, and was the party of government in Northern Ireland between 1921 and 1972. Until 2003 i and Democratic Unionist PartyThe Democratic Unionist Party is a hardline Unionist party in Northern Ireland led by Ian Paisley. It is the largest unionist party at both the Northern Ireland Assembly level and in the Westminster Parliament. Established in the 1970s by Ian Paisley, it led the campaign against the agreement, including mass rallies, civil disobedience and the mass resignation of all the unionist MPs from the Westminster Parliament.
The agreement failed to bring an end to political violence in Northern Ireland, nor did it reconcile the two communities in Northern Ireland. However, it did improve cooperation between the British and Irish governments, which was key to the creation of the Belfast Agreement a decade later.