Dramatic National Conversations: theatre, the Anglo-Irish Treaty Debates and the Good Friday Agreement

The Decade of Centenaries allowed a comprehensive look at the military history of the revolutionary period and its consequences. Wars have to end; then we get the hard work of negotiation, compromise and debate, Ireland had two such major processes in the twentieth century. The first, the Anglo-Irish Treaty debates of 1921-22, ended in civil war. The second, the Belfast or Good Friday Agreement of 1998, ended in an ambiguous, fragile peace. Catriona Crowe considers: How do we get on with talking when the shooting and bombing stop? What predicates success or failure amid such high stakes? What role does personality play in these complex interactions? And can drama illuminate these events to make them accessible to current audiences?