April 10, 1998: The Good Friday Agreement

David Trimble (left) and John Hume

April 10, 1998: The Good Friday Agreement, a.k.a. the Belfast Agreement, is signed, ending "The Troubles," which had plagued Northern Ireland for about 30 years.

The agreement acknowledged that the majority of the people of Northern Ireland wished to remain a part of the United Kingdom, but also that a substantial section of the people of Northern Ireland, and the majority of the people of the island of Ireland, wished to bring about a united Ireland. Both sides agreed, for the first time, that both wishes were legitimate.

A governmental system was set up, and the 2 main belligerent groups -- the Provisional Irish Republican Army (IRA), representing Catholics, and the Ulster Volunteer Force (UVF), representing Protestants, agreed to lay down their weapons, and participate in the government. One group, the Protestant Ulster Defence Assocation (UDA), was notable in its refusal.

Signing the agreement were the Prime Minister of Great Britain, Tony Blair; the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, Marjorie "Mo" Mowlam; the Taoiseach (Prime Minister) of the Republic of Ireland, Bertie Ahearn; and the Minister for Foreign Affairs of the ROI, David Andrews.

For negotiating the agreement, John Hume, Leader of the ROI's Social Democratic and Labour Party, and David Trimble, Leader of the Ulster Unionist Party and subsequently First Minister of Northern Ireland, shared the 1998 Nobel Peace Prize.

Peace is a precious commodity, but it doesn't solve everything. Belfast, the capital of Northern Ireland, may no longer be a city of paramilitary extrajudicial killings and terrorist bombings, each responding to the other. But it remains a city overseen by the British government, and subject to the national Conservative Party's backward policies, and the British class system, which has never truly gone away. 

As recently as 2011, singer Rihanna, a subject of the United Kingdom until her native Barbados declared itself a republic on 2021, had a Number 1 hit with a song whose video was filmed in Belfast. The title refrain sings, "We found love in a hopeless place."

John Hume died on August 3, 2020. As of April 10, 2022, David Trimble is still alive. (UPDATE: Trimble died on July 25, 2022.)

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April 10, 1998 was, of course, a Friday. A full slate of Major League Baseball games was played, including the wildest home opener in Pinstriped history:

* The New York Yankees beat the Oakland Athletics, 17-13 at Yankee Stadium. The A's scored 5 runs in the 2nd inning, and 8 runs in the 5th to lead 13-12, and still lost the game. Rickey Henderson went 1-for-5 for the A's, but had no RBIs or stolen bases. For the Yankees, Tino Martinez went 3-for-4 with a home run and 5 RBIs. David Cone started, but didn't get out of the 5th inning. Mike Buddie blew the lead, but still ended up as the winning pitcher. He would win only 4 more games in the major leagues.

* The New York Mets lost to the Milwaukee Brewers, 5-3 at Milwaukee County Stadium.

* The Chicago Cubs beat the Montreal Expos, 13-0 at the Olympic Stadium in Montreal. Brant Brown and Henry Rodriguez hit home runs for the Cubs. Sammy Sosa did not, but would hit 66 for them that season.

* The Boston Red Sox beat the Seattle Mariners, 9-7 at Fenway Park in Boston.

* The Philadelphia Phillies beat the Atlanta Braves, 1-0 at Veterans Stadium in Philadelphia. Mike Lieberthal singled home the winning run in the bottom of the 9th, as Curt Schilling outpitched Greg Maddux.

* The Pittsburgh Pirates beat the Florida Marlins, 4-1 at Three Rivers Stadium in Pittsburgh.

* The team then known as the Cleveland Indians beat the team then known as the Anaheim Angels, 8-5 at the ballpark then known as Jacobs Field. (Current names: Cleveland Guardians, Los Angeles Angels, Progressive Field.) Jim Thome hit a 3-run home run to win the game in the bottom of the 10th.

* The Detroit Tigers beat the Baltimore Orioles, 7-1 at Tiger Stadium in Detroit.

* The Chicago White Sox beat the Tampa Bay Devil Rays, 3-0 at the new Comiskey Park in Chicago. (It's now named Rate Field.) Mike Sirotka and Matt Karchner combined on a 5-hit shutout.

* The Kansas City Royals beat the Minnesota Twins, 5-4 at Kauffman Stadium in Kansas City.

* The Texas Rangers beat the Toronto Blue Jays, 4-3 at what was then named The Ballpark at Arlington, in the Dallas suburb of Arlington, Texas. (It's now named Choctaw Stadium.)

* The Cincinnati Reds beat the Colorado Rockies, 18-7 at Coors Field in Denver.

* The San Diego Padres beat the Arizona Diamondbacks, 6-4 at Qualcomm Stadium in San Diego.

* The Los Angeles Dodgers beat the Houston Astros, 7-2 at Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles.

* And the San Francisco Giants beat the St. Louis Cardinals, 5-3 at Candlestick Park (then named 3Com Park at Candlestick Point) in San Francisco. John Mabry hit a home run for the Cardinals. Mark McGwire did not, but would go on to hit a record 70 for them that season. The Giants hit no home runs. Three years later, Barry Bonds would break McGwire's record with 73 of them.

The NFL was out of season. But there were 8 games played in the NBA:

* The Boston Celtics beat the Orlando Magic, 82-80 in overtime at the FleetCenter. (It's now named the TD Garden.)

* The Atlanta Hawks beat the Charlotte Hornets, 99-87 at the Charlotte Coliseum.

* The Miami Heat beat the Toronto Raptors, 111-105 at the Air Canada Centre in Toronto. (It's now named the Scotiabank Arena.)

* The Minnesota Timberwolves beat the Philadelphia 76ers, 107-102 at the Target Center in Minneapolis. Allen Iverson scored 43 for the Sixers, but the T-Wolves got 29 from Sam Mitchell, 28 from Stephon Marbury, and 26 from Kevin Garnett.

* The San Antonio Spurs beat the Seattle SuperSonics, 99-84 at the Alamodome in San Antonio.

* The Utah Jazz beat the Los Angeles Clippers, 126-109 at the Delta Center in Salt Lake City. 

* The Phoenix Suns beat the Los Angeles Lakers, 114-105 at The Forum outside Los Angeles in Inglewood, California. Antonio McDyess scored 37 points.

* And the Houston Rockets beat the Sacramento Kings, 97-85 at the ARCO Arena in Sacramento. (It is now named the Sleep Train Arena.)

Only 1 game was played in the NHL that day: The Buffalo Sabres beat the Montreal Canadiens, 2-1 at the Marine Midland Arena in Buffalo. (It is now named the KeyBank Center.)