Endgame in Ireland

For years, peace in Northern Ireland seemed to be a perplexing illusion. For each step forward, there seemed to be one step back. Negotiations continued, however, and finally on April 10, 1998—Good Friday—an agreement was reached. In Endgame in Ireland, the key figures at each stage of the peace process describe in unprecedented detail what happened in events leading to the 1998 Good Friday peace accords. Here, the last four prime ministers of the Irish Republic, the last three prime ministers of Great Britain, President Bill Clinton and his staff, and the leaders of the IRA and Sinn Fein and their counterparts among the Unionists in Northern Ireland speak candidly about the difficulties encountered in these complex and delicate discussions. For the first time, Executive Producer Brian Lapping, Series Producer Norma Percy, and Producer-Directors Mark Anderson and Mick Gold, and Associate Producers David Alter and Nava Mizrahi bring to the screen meetings and confrontations, even private telephone calls. With this four-part series they make sense of events most viewers have previously found baffling. Elaborate editing of the verbal thrusts and parries of negotiation creates a vivid and absorbing account of the negotiations. This retelling of recent history creates fascinating television, conveying the real intensity of intricate international peace talks. This truly international endeavor by Brook Lapping Productions for BBC2, WGBH/Boston, RTE, La Sept ARTE, SBS and YLE receives a Peabody Award for its enlightening exploration of the tortuous complexities of international peace negotiations in Northern Ireland.