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But the cease-fire was broken in February 1996 with a bomb set off in London
by the IRA, which objected to certain procedural steps in negotiations then
being held as a prelude to formal talks. The worst street fighting since 1968
followed in July 1996 in the town of Portadown, when Protestant Orangemen
insisted on conducting a provocative theme march through a Catholic
neighborhood. Determined to be part of the peace talks, the IRA reinstated the
ceasefire in July 1997, and Sinn Fein (the IRA's political wing), under the
leadership of Gerry Adams (1948-), was admitted to the talks in 1997. Despite
revenge killings by splinter groups on both sides in early 1998, the legitimate
opposition parties, including Sinn Fein, continued to attend the peace talks. On
April 10, 1998, representatives of eight political parties agreed to a landmark
document, under which Protestants and Catholics in Northern Ireland would govern
jointly in a 108-seat National Assembly, which would work with the Irish
Republic in a newly formed North-South legislative council. This power-sharing
peace accord was endorsed by the majority of voters in referendums in the Irish
Republic and Northern Ireland on May 22, 1998.
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