Original copy of Good Friday Agreement on display in Belfast until 12 April

The original copy of the Good Friday/Belfast Agreement has returned to Northern Ireland for the first time since it was signed on 10 April 1998.

It is on on loan to the Public Record Office of Northern Ireland (PRONI) in Belfast's Titanic Quarter where it will be available for members of the public to view.

The 54-page document will be on display until 12 April.

The original UK Government's signed copy is on loan from the National Archives in London to coincide with the 25th Anniversary of the Good Friday Agreement.

It will make its first public appearance in Northern Ireland at a joint event hosted by PRONI and the National Archives Ireland ‘On the Record: Reflections on the Belfast Agreement (Good Friday Agreement)’ on Monday

The Original document has returned to Northern Ireland for the first time since it was signed in April 1998

The event features a panel discussion offering a range of perspectives on the signing of the historic agreement.

The exhibition is open to the public from 3-12th April without booking and also features documents charting political developments leading up to and after the Good Friday Agreement.

These include a record of the first official Northern Ireland Office meeting with a Sinn Fein delegation led by Martin McGuinness in December 1994, plans by the then Secretary of State to change the public image of Stormont, notes from meetings with the late John Hume and David Trimble in April 1998 and from discussions with the Orange Order in November 1998.

PRONI acting director, David Huddleston said: “Today is a day of firsts – the first time that the Belfast/Good Friday Agreement has been in Northern Ireland since 1998, the first time that PRONI and the National Archives Ireland have delivered a joint public event and hopefully the opportunity to view the Good Friday Agreement will encourage more people to visit PRONI for the first time and learn more about the wide range of free services we deliver to the public.

“This provides a unique opportunity for people to come and view the historic agreement and while they are in PRONI to discover the wealth of public records we have available including those from government, courts and local authorities as well as privately deposited records from churches, businesses and individuals.

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