In 1998, the political parties in Northern Ireland reached a peace agreement that ended decades of war.

But the Good Friday Agreement, as it became known, was only reached after days of frantic last-minute negotiations.

Witness hears from Paul Murpy, the junior minister for Northern Ireland at the time.

PHOTO: Irish Prime Minister Bertie Ahern (L) and British Prime Minister Tony Blair (R) pose with the mediator of the agreement, Senator George Mitchell. (AFP/Getty Images)