Mr. David Donoghue:

We did not wake up because we had all been sort of sleeping on the floor and so on. At about 8 o'clock or 9 o'clock that morning, we all thought the agreement was through and achieved, but then we began to hear rumours that Trimble was in trouble with Donaldson. I remember at lunchtime that day thinking it was all finished and it would take five years before we would be able to set up talks again, find somebody like George Mitchell to chair them and get everybody back in the right context. Most of us were writing off the whole adventure at lunchtime on the Friday. It is a matter of record that Trimble then got his side letter from Blair, decided he had enough to go ahead, rang George Mitchell and said he would sign, despite all the travails of his party. Mitchell rang Bertie Ahern, the Taoiseach, to say that, while we may not believe it, he had just had David Trimble in the room and Trimble was ready to go. The emotional rollercoaster was considerable, especially in the final couple of days. I am trying to give members a flavour of it. We all went into the room expecting there to be some catch but, with utter simplicity, each delegation leader simply said whether they were for the agreement or against the agreement. Trimble simply said "Yes"; just one word. Gerry Adams said something like, "Yes, subject to ratification by the Ard Chomhairle", but that was perfectly understandable. We knew what that was about. The fact is that they were all saying "Yes" and that was a great moment. I will never forget it.