We are proud to have the help and support of the following groups and individuals.

The Coalition thanks them for lending their help, resources, and  good names to this cause. We encourage all visitors to consider subscribing or joining one, or all, of these fine organizations who work for the benefit of Ireland and her people.

Please inform your members that I have established a link between the Save the Good Friday Agreement Coalition and the AOH National Web Site. I hope this action produces positive results for the petition. Gerry Curran,AOH National Web Master

"The Ancient Order of Hibernians is pleased to endorse your efforts on the agreement and that I would allow you to use my name as National President of the AOH as a supporter. Thomas Gilligan"

MINNESOTANS FOR A UNITED IRELAND

American Irish
Political Education Committee

I have signed your petition on behalf of myself and the American Irish
Political Education Committee.  I have also linked your site to
the
PEC's at http://aipec.freeservers.com
All the best,
Sandy Carlson

Irish Books and Media

Please do add Irish Books and Media, Inc. to the list of groups supporting
the
Good Friday Agreement.

Sincerely,

Ethna McKiernan

THE IRISH NORTHERN AID COMMITTEE

Irish Northern Aid Committee
National Office: 363 Seventh Avenue, Suite 405, New York, N.Y. 10001
212-736-1916 •1-800-IRELAND • 212-279-1916 (FAX)
Press Release
Date: June 18, 1999
For Immediate Release Contact: Christy Ward
National Press
Relations Officer
770-205-9798 (day/eve)
770-205-9799 (FAX)
bhairdina@aol.com
Americans call for implementation of Irish peace pact
New York (June 18) - Paul Doris, the national chairperson of the
Irish Northern Aid Committee, called on Irish-American supporters of the
Republican Movement to write letters to the leaders of the British and Irish
governments urging them to implement the Good Friday Agreement at the
earliest possible date.
"Now that the elections are over, it’s time to get down to business
and put the Good Friday Agreement into force. We’ve seen repeated delays,
forced on the people of Ireland by David Trimble, who repeatedly ignores the
wishes of the majority of the people in Ireland, more than 70 percent of
whom
endorsed the Agreement more than a year ago. Further delay will not go down
well.
"While Trimble has traveled the globe collecting peace awards and
honorary degrees, his insistence on placing preconditions on Sinn Fein’s
entry into the new Assembly, has caused undue delay in implementing the
accord.
"This lack of leadership has lead to the crisis at Drumcree, which is
growing more dangerous by the day. It has resulted in the deaths of a dozen
people since the Agreement was approved. I urge Irish-Americans who support
justice in a new Ireland to contact their local members of Congress about
the
Good Friday accord. They can also lend support to groups like the Save the
Good Friday Agreement Coalition, which has support in England, Ireland and
the U.S.
"Tony Blair and Bertie Ahern must act now. Delaying the
implementation of the Agreement beyond the June 30 deadline may well cripple
the current peace process."
The Irish Northern Aid Committee, founded in 1971, is a non-profit
humanitarian organization which raises funds for the families of Irish
political prisoners in English and Irish jails.

Online RM_D news carried our story on June 18th 1999

we thank them very much for helping us spread the word!!

Online campaign urges Blair to 'honour democratic vote'

A group of international online activists and their supporters have come

together to promote a campaign to save last year's Good Friday Agreement

via the internet.

The 'Save the Good Friday Agreement Coalition' have recently launched a

website and are now engaged in a letter-writing campaign demanding that the

British and Irish governments implement the Good Friday Agreement by June

30.

The Coalition, which is online at https://members.tripod.com/SavetheGFA/ is

backing up that campaign by urging US Congressional representatives to

sponsor and support a resolution calling for immediate implementation of

the Good Friday Agreement.

The Agreement, negotiated in Belfast, Dublin and London over a period of

two years, was overwhelmingly approved by voters on both sides of the

partition in Ireland in May 1998.

The Coalition is now asking the public to write to British Prime Minister

Tony Blair and to Irish Taoiseach Bertie Ahern to demand that they

implement the Good Friday Agreement as it is written regardless of whether

the Executive continues to be blocked. They are also urging US

Congressional representatives to sponsor and support a resolution calling

for the Agreement to be implemented.

Supporters of the Coalition and a grassroots group of individual

activists and members of Irish American Unity Conference, Irish Northern

Aid, Ancient Order of Hibernians, are fighting to pressure British Prime

Minister Tony Blair and Irish Taoiseach Bertie Ahern to implement the

agreement as they promised.

"The British and Irish governments have allowed this delay to continue,

despite their promise to the entire population and the pro-agreement

parties to be the 'guarantors of democracy' as spelled out in the two

agreements," said Cyndi S. MacLochlainn, the coalition's spokesperson.

"Clearly the first step in bringing democracy to Northern Ireland should be

demonstrated by the two governments implementing the agreement and honoring

the voters cry for an end to war and the failed attempts of the past.

"By implementing democratic reforms contained in the agreement, without

basing the implementation on the _actions or non-actions_ of any group,

party or paramilitary group from either side, we can best leave behind

Ireland's violent past and move to a future of inclusiveness and equality

for all of Ireland's residents, both North and South."

MacLochlainn pointed out that the British and Irish governments stated in

1995 that their peace efforts would be inclusive, democratic and would

progress forward even if the Assembly was blocked.

"We do not need an Assembly to have all other aspects of the Agreement

implemented," said MacLochlainn.

"The democratic reforms which the agreement brings with it are not negated

by the failure of the political parties to enter into an Executive. We do

not need an Executive to have Justice and equality along with the

North/South bodies," she concluded.

* The Save The Good Friday Agreement Coalition can be contacted at

save_the_gfa@mailcity.com

or on the web at

https://members.tripod.com/SavetheGFA/

Mr. O'Kennedy felt so strongly about the work of this coalition that he sent the following message to all of his units!

THANK YOU PADRAIG O'KENNEDY!!!!

"Personally, I believe that this should be
the top priority for all of Irish America as yet another deadline
approaches on June 30 for the Northern Ireland executive to be
established.  At stake is the fundamental right of the Nationalist
people of the six counties, and Republicans in particular, to be
recognized as citizens entitled to have their elected representatives
take part in a democratic government without arbitrary precinditions.
Also at stake is the peace process itself."

John F. Kennedy once said "Where peaceful evolution is impossible,
violent revolution is inevitable."  Never have those words rang truer
than as applied to the peace process in Ireland today.    The IAUC
adopted a resolution declaring the implementation of the GFA as the
organization's top priority at our last convention.   Please do what you
can to support this campaign to save the Good Friday Agreement and ask
others in your chapter, division, or unit of your organization to do the
same.

Is mise le meas,

Padraig O'Kennedy
National President,
Irish American Information Service

Western Chairman,
Irish American Unity Conference

Representative Richard E. Neal, Massachusetts and congressional colleagues sent the following letter to Prime Minister Tony Blair on June 17, 1999.

Congress of the United States, Washington,DC 20515

June 17, 1999

Prime Minister Tony Blair
10 Downing Street
London, England SW1

Dear Prime Minister Blair:

As Members of the United States House of Representatives, we are writing to express our strong concern regarding the current crisis in the Irish peace process. The failure to fully implement the historic Good Friday Agreement has seriously eroded the hope and confidence in a new era of equality andjustice for Northern Ireland. Yet the accord, passed by the vast majority of people in an unprecedented referendum, is still seen as the best political accommodation possible.

The context in which the Agreement is under threat could not be worse. Loyalist violence, including the pipe bomb attack on June 5th that killed 59 year-old Elizabeth O'Neill of Portadown, is now almost a daily occurrence. The siege of the nationalist community on the Garavaghy Road has been continuous since last summer. The lawyer representing that community, Rosemary Nelson, was brutally murdered just three months ago.It is clear that the peace process is being threatened by those forces who are opposed to the Agreement.

The next potential flashpoint is the July 4th Drumcree march, and the prospects for a resolution of this dispute seem grim. We therefore urge you to use your considerable influence to press the Orange Order to enter into discussions with residents of the Garvaghy Road, and to encourage David Trimble, the MP for Portadown, to give time and attention to this request before another stand-off occurs. It is our hope that honest, open and direct dialogue between all parties will end the currentimpasse.

Sincerely,

Richard E. Neal

US POLITICIANS URGE BLAIR TO IMPLEMENT AGREEMENT

IRISH NEWS ROUND-UP for Thursday, 27 May, 1999

Five United States Congress members have written to the British Prime Minister Tony Blair urging him to implement the Good Friday Agreement before the political vacuum is filled by those who want to destroy the peace process. A copy was also sent to President Clinton. Ben Gilman, Richard Neal, Peter King and Joseph Crowley are members of the US Congress's Ad Hoc Committee on Irish Affairs while James Walsh is Chairperson of the Friends of Ireland.

In the letter, the Congress members told Blair: ''We are once again approaching a critical stage in the Northern Ireland Peace Process. All of us greatly appreciate the substantialtime and effort you have given in an effort to resolve the difficult arms decommissioning issue, which has long been a critical roadblock to progress. "The Good Friday accord is the best road map to resolving the arms impasse. However the issue has once again created a grave political vacuum in the North, which many of us fear can too readily be filled by the anti-Agreement forces. There are some who would want to go backward, not forward, in finding lasting peace and justice in NorthernIreland.

"Accordingly, we respectfully urge that you redouble your efforts in this critical period, to fully implement the terms of the Good Friday accord's power sharing arrangement in creating a new cabinet level executive now, as envisioned by this Agreement and fully endorsed by the Irish people. Any effort to rewrite the Good Friday accord will only lead to more delays and an even greater loss of confidence on all sides in the political process.

"In addition, we urge that all involved work to reach a fair and reasonable agreement on the Drumcree Orange Order march this year before it is too late and this becomes a divisve event, igniting the flames of hatred and violence in Northern Ireland. "We stand ready to be of assistance and to provide support in any way we can to make our common goal of lasting peace and justice in Northern Ireland a reality."

I am writing to you in resposnse to the call for participation in the SAVE THE GFA! campaign. I would like to offer my personal support for the campaign, as well as that of the Central Virginia Unit of Irish Northern Aid. Let me know what I can do to help, please. Looking forward to hearing from you soon.

Slan agus beannacht,

David Ward, Webmaster

INA - Central Virginia ~ Mairead Farrell Unit

The Chicago unit of Irish Northern Aid was the first to endorse the campaign.

All the best,
Kathleen Shields

The Fort Worth, Texas unit of Irish Northern Aid was one of the first to endorse the campaign.

President William Jefferson Clinton
Vice President Albert Gore
British Prime Minister Tony Blair
S.O.S.N.I.. Marjorie Mowlam MP
Taoiseach Bertie Ahern- Republic of Ireland
Texas Governor George Bush

From: Houston Unit-Irish Northern Aid Committee

Houston (June 23)- Members of the Houston Unit of the Irish Northern Aid Committee are calling for aggressive support in Texas for demanding immediate and full implementation of the Good Friday Agreement. The statement comes in solidarity with the Save The Good Friday Agreement Coalition which has launcheda campaign urging all agreement supporters to join in pressuring the governments to move forward.

Across the state, mobilization is on for an intensive letter-writing campaign to British Prime Minister Tony Blair. Blair’s latest deadline, June 30, for implementing the Good Friday Agreement is fast approaching. Congressionalrepresentatives, state and national leaders as well as Texas Governor George Bush are being made aware that the peace pact is crumbling while the British and Irish governments are standing by.

Major attention is being focused on Tony Blair who is faltering on his governments obligation to implement the GFA through mechanisms provided within the documents he signed. Last year 70 percent of the northern Irish vote and 90 percent of the south’s approved the agreement which followed months ofnegotiations between the political parties and the two governments before a compromise was met.

“We are not content to sit back as the death watch for the Good Friday Agreement continues,” a spokesman on behalf of INAC Houston said. “ We are angry that the British and Irish governments are ignoring the democratic wishes of the common people of Ireland. The agreement binds the governments to moveforward now.”

Refusal of the British government to trigger implement of the agreement is being viewed as a breech of justice, circumventing the democratic will of the Irish people as a whole.

INAC, along with The Save The GFA Coalition, members of the Ancient Order of Hibernians, and a host of Irish-American organizations and activists worldwide have joined in the campaign.

For more information contact:

Mark Dunn, Press Relations Officer, Houston Unit Irish Northern Aid Committee, 409-735-7183

This evening I'll be adding information for the STGFAC on our INA - Houston site under the Action Alerts link. I should have it ready by 8:00pm CST.

Action Alerts Page

I will be trying to draw as much attention to your group in the few short days we have left.

Rebekah Collins ~ INA-Houston