Former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton headlined an event honoring the role women played in crafting the Good Friday Agreement, a peace agreement that ended a deadly period of conflict in Northern Ireland 25 years ago.

The Georgetown Institute for Women, Peace and Security (GIWPS) hosted the March 16 conference to highlight the importance of women peacemakers in concluding The Troubles, a 30-year extended conflict between Catholics and Protestants in Northern Ireland that killed nearly 3,000 and injured over 40,000 in the late 1990s. The conference also commemorated the 25th anniversary of the Good Friday Agreement, which ended The Troubles. 

Melanne Verveer, former U.S. ambassador for global women’s issues and GIWPS executive director, moderated the event, which included discussions with a slate of 14 politicians, experts and activists. Leaders in attendance included Leo Varadkar, the Irish prime minister; Mary Robinson, a former president of Ireland; and Karen Pierce, the British ambassador to the United States.

Hillary Clinton visited Belfast, the capital of Northern Ireland, as First Lady during the Good Friday negotiations. Clinton and her husband, Bill, who was president at the time of the Good Friday Agreement, broke from presidential tradition by choosing to get involved in the peace talks in Northern Ireland.

Clinton said it is imperative that conflicts like the one in Ireland do not continue to inhibit the future success of affected populations by maintaining long term political stability.

“The violence that afflicted Northern Ireland for so many years was an impediment to people’s full potential — for them following their own dreams and understanding what was possible, not just for themselves but their families and their society,” Clinton said at the event. “So first and foremost, we have to continue to prevent violence.”

Varadkar said that women are often ignored in the accolades that follow important diplomatic proceedings such as the Good Friday Agreement — a dynamic he feels must change.

“In truth, women from across the political spectrum were able to contribute to everything that happened, except for photographs at the end,” Varadkar said at the event. “Women’s leadership, vision and inspiration is needed today more so than ever to ensure that Northern Ireland, and all of Ireland, achieves its full potential.”

Female leaders played key roles in brokering the Good Friday Agreement, including rallying public support behind a 1998 referendum ratifying the peace accords, as well as bridging the sharp Protestant-Catholic divides that at times defined the conflict.

Robinson, the first female president of Ireland, said leading her country during such a tumultuous time enabled her to take risks in bridging gaps across a divided Irish people. Robinson embarked on a historic visit to Belfast, the capital of Northern Ireland, in February 1992.

“The visit to Northern Ireland that stays with me most was the hardest one,” Robinson said. “The Irish government didn’t want me to go, the British government certainly didn’t want me to go. It was really hard, but nobody would say no.”

“I still remember, vividly, arriving at the Falls Community Center, the children outside with their flags, the sense of excitement of a community that was being recognized at last — it was as much as that. It was just incredible,” Robinson added.

Pierce said women ensured stability in Northern Ireland throughout The Troubles.

“It was women who, throughout the decades of violence in Northern Ireland, kept their families fed, kept them intact,” Pierce said. “They faced the burdens of poverty, domestic violence, single parenthood, even loss of housing because of the conflict.”

Verveer led a discussion panel following remarks from Varadkar and Pierce with Monica McWilliams, a lead negotiator in the Good Friday talks; Michelle O’Neill, the First Minister-designate of Northern Ireland; Liz O’Donnell, a former Minister of State of Ireland; and Robinson.

McWilliams said the anniversary of the agreement allowed her to reflect on the significance of the progress Ireland has seen over the last two and a half decades.

“There are people alive today that would not have been alive had we not made that Good Friday Agreement,” McWilliams said.

Verveer then invited four women to participate in a conversation with McWilliams: Avila Kilmurray, a social activist; Patricia O’Lynn and Emma Little-Pengelly, Northern Ireland legislators; and Emma DeSouza, a writer and activist.

Norms must be challenged for sustainable peace solutions to be effectively implemented in regions that have been impacted by conflict and violence, Clinton said.

“We don’t want to hear different opinions from people who we have already concluded are outside the pale of our comfort zone. You cannot run a society, let alone make peace for long, if that is your ingoing attitude,” Clinton said. “So we all have to do some serious soul-searching about how we relate to one another in this much more complicated information environment.”