Editing Albert Reynolds (section)

==== Northern Ireland and foreign affairs ====
[[File:President Clinton receives a crystal bowl of shamrocks from Irish Prime Minister Albert Reynolds on St. Patrick's Day.jpg|thumb|Reynolds (left) giving a bowl of [[shamrock]]s to US president [[Bill Clinton]] on [[Saint Patrick's Day]], 1994]]

One of Reynolds's main achievements during his term as Taoiseach was in the [[Northern Ireland peace process|peace process]] in the [[The Troubles|long-running conflict in Northern Ireland]]. Piecemeal negotiations had gone on during 1993 between Reynolds and British prime minister [[John Major]], resulting in the Anglo-Irish agreement of 1993.<ref>{{Cite web |title=CAIN: Statement by Albert Reynolds 15 December 1993 |url=https://cain.ulster.ac.uk/events/peace/docs/ar151293.htm |access-date=2025-04-15 |website=cain.ulster.ac.uk}}</ref> On the 15th of December, the [[Downing Street Declaration]] was signed in London. Reynolds remained involved in discussions with Northern Ireland's nationalist parties and, along with [[John Hume]], persuaded the [[Provisional Irish Republican Army]] (IRA) to call a complete ceasefire on 31 August 1994.<ref>https://cain.ulster.ac.uk/events/peace/docs/ar151293.htm</ref> Major was quoted at the time as saying:
{{cquote|Let me now say something that may surprise you. Throughout the process, I was acutely conscious that IRA leaders were taking a risk, too: if Albert and I upset our supporters we might – as Albert put it, be 'kicked out'. That was true, but the IRA's supporters were more deadly than our backbench colleagues. And their leaders were taking a risk too, possibly with their own lives.<ref name="theguardian.com">{{Cite web|last=McDonald |first=Henry |url=http://www.theguardian.com/world/2014/aug/21/albert-reynolds-former-irish-taoiseach-dies|title=Albert Reynolds, former Irish taoiseach, dies aged 81|date=21 August 2014|website=The Guardian|access-date=26 December 2014|archive-date=13 September 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140913055940/http://www.theguardian.com/world/2014/aug/21/albert-reynolds-former-irish-taoiseach-dies|url-status=live}}</ref>}}

In September 1994, Reynolds was left standing on the tarmac at [[Shannon Airport]] by Russian president [[Boris Yeltsin]], who failed to emerge from his plane to meet awaiting Irish dignitaries.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/breaking/2007/0423/breaking65.htm |title=Yeltsin stood up Reynolds in 1994 |newspaper=The Irish Times |date=4 April 2007 |access-date=28 December 2010 |archive-date=22 September 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210922192255/https://www.irishtimes.com/news/yeltsin-stood-up-reynolds-in-1994-1.806036 |url-status=live }}</ref> Headlines around the world alleged that Yeltsin was too drunk to appear; a Russian official said that he was unwell, and aides later suggested that he had had a heart attack.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.irishtimes.com/news/yeltsin-aide-offers-solution-to-mystery-1.93743 |title=Yeltsin aide offers solution to mystery |newspaper=The Irish Times |date=4 August 1997 |access-date=17 December 2019 |archive-date=22 March 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210322063239/https://www.irishtimes.com/news/yeltsin-aide-offers-solution-to-mystery-1.93743 |url-status=live }}</ref> Yeltsin later announced that he had overslept.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/onthisday/hi/dates/stories/september/30/newsid_2542000/2542983.stm |title=1994: Sleepy Boris 'snubs' Irish leader |work=BBC News |access-date=17 December 2019 |archive-date=22 December 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191222072737/http://news.bbc.co.uk/onthisday/hi/dates/stories/september/30/newsid_2542000/2542983.stm |url-status=live }}</ref>