John Lloyd

For the first time in a generation, there is real hope for peace in Northern Ireland. A fortunate political constellation in Britain, the United States, and Ireland provided the impetus to make the compromises needed for a viable pact. But the Good Friday Agreement is fragile. It survived its first major challenge, this summer's marching season and its attendant strife, only by a grim kind of Irish luck: a brutal bombing that killed three boys and inspired both unionists and republicans to renew their commitment to the accord. The province's new government will face more such challenges, and its ability to overcome them depends on a few good men.