Journalist Lyra McKee’s gruesome murder in Londonderry last week has brought into focus the fragile Irish peace process, more than 20 years after Britain and Ireland signed the historic Good Friday accord. The attack, carried out by the so-called New IRA, opposed to the 1998 deal, also underscores the political stalemate following the collapse of power-sharing institutions in Northern Ireland. McKee, 29, a freelance journalist and author, rose to prominence through her work on the victims of three decades of The Troubles. In March, authorities held the New IRA, established in 2012, responsible for sending parcel bombs to transport hubs in London and a university in Scotland. In January, it owned up a car bomb explosion at a Londonderry court, a sign of renewed militant activity, soon after the U.K. Parliament rejected the government’s withdrawal deal from the EU over disagreements on the border with the Republic of Ireland. The so-called Irish backstop is designed to ensure – until an alternative is found – that Britain remains in a customs union with the EU, so as to protect the open border between Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland. The absence of customs checkpoints in the region over two decades has been critical to protecting the peace, and maintaining the status quo is a paramount demand notwithstanding Britain’s eventual exit from the EU. But champions of a hard Brexit are hostile to the backstop, which they fear will tie Britain permanently in a customs union and deny London the freedom to strike trade agreements with third countries. The issue has divided Dublin and London, as also the Leave and Remain camps within Britain’s principal political parties.
Meanwhile, the Northern Ireland Assembly, responsible for the exercise of devolved authority in the region, has remained in suspended animation since 2017. Northern Ireland’s two main parties, the pro-British Democratic Unionist Party and the Sinn Féin, the Irish republican party, are divided on several issues of governance. This has lent credence to the view that the 1998 accord has merely managed sectarian divisions rather than cement relations between communities. The DUP, which props up the Conservative government in London, has consistently opposed the backstop, despite the promise it holds to protect the open border between Northern Ireland and the Republic. But the party could yet play a constructive part in breaking the Brexit stalemate by backing Prime Minister Theresa May’s withdrawal agreement. This prospect has gained strength following the Conservative hardliners’ suggestion that they could support Ms. May’s deal if the DUP were also to come on board. A meeting of minds on this question would save the U.K. from the grave danger of crashing out of the EU without an agreement. It would equally guarantee peace in Northern Ireland.
