Following the recent death of former Irish Prime Minister Albert Reynolds, the Irish Embassy here will open a book of condolences at its chancery for those wishing to extend their sympathies today (Monday) from 10:00 a.m. to noon and from 2-4 p.m.

The late former premier, a position called a “taoiseach” in Ireland, made the biggest gamble of his long political career when he and former British Prime Minister John Major secured an IRA cease-fire in August 1994, 20 years ago this month. Reynolds died on Thursday at age 81.

John Major, Reynold’s copartner in shepherding the peace process in the early 1990s, was one of the last politicians from either side of the Irish Sea to visit him, last December. Reynolds battled Alzheimer’s disease for years.

“Many of you will have read of the death yesterday of Taoiseach Albert Reynolds. Albert Reynolds will be remembered for his tireless pursuit of peace in Northern Ireland and his adoption together with Prime Minister John Major of the Downing Street Declaration in December of 1993, which is widely recognized as the precursor to the Good Friday Agreement and a milestone in the path to peace and stability on the island of Ireland,” Irish Ambassador to South Korea Aingeal O’Donoghue said in a statement.

For her part, O’Donoghue spent many years of her diplomatic career working on various aspects of that peace process. She was head of the North-South Section in the Irish Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade’s Anglo-Irish Division, and also contributed to the development of North-South cooperation.

The Good Friday Agreement could be said to be the standout development in Ireland in the 1990s, which ultimately resolved three decades of political violence called “the Troubles.”

(ephilip2014@heraldcorp.com)