Architects of Northern Ireland peace see hope beyond Brexit deadlock

FILE PHOTO: Prime Minister Tony Blair (R) embraces Irish Prime Minister Bertie Ahern after all parties reached a historic peace agreement April 10, 1998. The accord stated that the people of Northern Ireland will decide democratically their own future./File Photo

DUBLIN/LONDON (Reuters) - A quarter of a century after unpalatable compromises ended decades of bloodshed in Northern Ireland, some of the architects of the Good Friday Agreement hope that deal can help inspire a route out of the region's near-permanent political crisis.

In April 1998, British Prime Minister Tony Blair and his Irish counterpart Bertie Ahern helped Irish nationalists and British unionists craft an intricate powersharing deal that paved the way for militants on both sides to lay down arms.