The endgame is now in sight. The Taoiseach and the British Prime Minister will present a package of proposals to the parties in Northern Ireland in the middle of next week to save the Belfast Agreement. They put the finishing touches yesterday to what they term as their "best effort" to unlock the stalemate on demilitarisation, policing, decommissioning and the stability of the political institutions: the inter-locking problems which have damaged and debilitated the political process for so long. It has fallen to Mr Ahern and Mr Blair to prescribe the way forward - probably for the last time.
The two leaders made it quite clear, in short statements after their meeting in Sedgefield yesterday, that these are final proposals. There will be no further negotiation. They also called for a considered, rather then a knee-jerk, response. They suggested that all parties would find parts of the package unpalatable. The moves on policing are already offending elements of the Unionist community. One can only presume that they will be offset by reciprocal moves to put arms independently and verifiably beyond use. A deal without actual decommissioning now would be no deal at all.
There will be many leaks in coming days about the palatable aspects of the package for one party or the other. There will be a temptation for some to run to injudicious language or to lose their nerve. But, instant reactions to reported elements of the proposals will not help anyone. This package, because of its lengthy gestation period, must be taken as a whole. It has been a long time coming.
This is a time, perhaps, to spell out just what is now at stake. The Belfast Agreement grew out of 30 years of a terrible, fruitless, conflict in Northern Ireland. It was an honourable compromise for all sides. It was accepted by overwhelming majorities of the people of Ireland, North and South, in concurrent referendums in 1998, the first all-Ireland poll since 1918. It belongs to the people - not the parties.
The new dispensation was based on an honest deal on that fateful Good Friday three years ago. Nationalists and unionists would have parity of participation at all levels in Northern Ireland, including a new police service, and Northern Ireland would remain part of the United Kingdom for as long as a majority of its people wanted. This historic dispensation was made possible only because of the belief - later turned into a commitment - that the IRA would decommission its weaponry.
Sinn Fein was convinced by the SDLP leader, Mr John Hume, that it could best pursue its political agenda within the political process. It has worked the Belfast Agreement to best advantage. But many believe it is still committed to a twin-strategy - guns and politics. It must now persuade the IRA to start putting arms beyond use or it must remain outside the bounds of full democratic legitimacy.