More than twenty years after the peace agreement signed in Belfast on 10 April 1998, an assessment is overdue, particularly given the current political context in Northern Ireland. A serious political crisis led to the suspension of the regional institutions from January 2017 to January 2020, and the Brexit negotiations did not facilitate the search for a solution, especially as the confidence-and-supply agreement between the British Conservative Party and the DUP prevented London from acting as an honest broker between Sinn Fein and the DUP. At the same time, the issue of the Irish border created tensions between Dublin and London. This situation was compounded by the resurgence of rioting, mostly in Loyalist areas of Belfast and Derry/Londonderry, in April 2021, against the backdrop of Brexit's Northern Ireland Protocol and communal resentment. Emanating from a conference jointly organised at the University of Caen Normandy and La Rochelle University, this collection of essays - bringing together academic and independent scholars from various disciplines and nationalities - takes a critical look at the implementation of the Good Friday Agreement, from the collaboration between Dublin and London to the new political configurations in Northern Ireland, as well as interfaith, cultural, social and economic developments. Divided into three main parts, it furnishes an opportunity to better understand the reasons for the apparent deterioration in inter-community understanding since 1998, but also to study the numerous initiatives that have sought to promote reconciliation, be it in the economy, the working environment, in the literary and artistic spheres, in schools or in the urban landscape.

The voyage - the quest, the odyssey, the expedition - is one of the driving forces of civilisation. From ancient times to the present day, human beings have travelled through necessity (wars, persecutions, economic and political pressures), by vocation (religious and humanitarian) and for pleasure (tourism, culture and sport). A voyage intensifies our perception of self, leading us to define and redefine our identity in the liminal space where we are confronted with the Other. This often leads to a change of perspective in our attitudes to culture, identity and politics. The sea is an important feature of the geography of both Ireland and France, so it is perhaps unsurprising that voyages occupy such an important place in the history of both countries. This volume explores aspects of French and Irish society, past and present, through the prism of the voyage. The contributors focus on a wide range of topics, including cultural tourism, literature, gastronomy and sport, in order to trace the ebb and flow of the exchanges between these two countries and their continued influence on one another.