The British Prime Minister, Mr Tony Blair, said yesterday that there was "still a long journey to travel" but now at last there was a real opportunity for peace. "There is at least the hope that the hand of history is at last lifting the burden of terror and violence and shaping the future of the people of Northern Ireland and in particular the children," he said.
Speaking in Downing Street, Mr Blair said that devolution meant that unionists, nationalists, Protestants and Catholics, loyalists and republicans, were now working together, making decisions, directly accountable to the people of Northern Ireland.
"The vision of peace and reconciliation that we set out in the Good Friday agreement 18 months ago now has a chance of becoming reality," he said.
He emphasised the importance of the Republic formally relinquishing its historic claim to the North. "Change to the status of Northern Ireland can now only be made with the consent of the majority of its people," he said.
Mr Blair warned that "extremists" could try to wreck the agreement through violence.
"We know that there are extremists on both fringes. We know and have to acknowledge there are still some who will try to disrupt the progress made, who will try to shatter this chance of peace," he said.
"But we will carry on with the same determination I hope we have always shown to try to make sure the steps taken over this last few days succeed and yield the benefits of peace to the people of Northern Ireland."
Mr Blair said the people of Ireland and of Britain had paid a heavy price for the conflict. "Thousands of lives have been lost, millions have suffered from inequality and injustice. Every generation has suffered," he said. "Today, at least we can say that we have the beginnings of a new dispensation with hope in place of pain, confidence in place of fear."
He paid tribute by name to the Ulster Unionist leaders, Mr David Trimble, Mr John Taylor and Sir Reg Empey; the SDLP's Mr John Hume and Mr Seamus Mallon; and Sinn Fein's Mr Gerry Adams and Mr Martin McGuinness, for the "leadership and patience" they had shown. He paid a particularly warm tribute to the Taoiseach, Mr Ahern, who, he said, had been an "indispensable partner" in the search for a settlement. "He has been a champion for peace, a force for reason and a builder of trust. Peace could not have been achieved without him," he said.
He also praised the roles played by President Clinton; Senator George Mitchell; Northern Ireland Secretary, Mr Peter Mandelson, and his predecessor, Dr Mo Mowlam; the former British prime minister, Mr Major, and his Northern Ireland Secretary Lord Mayhew; and former Taoisigh Mr Albert Reynolds and Mr John Bruton.