A Sudden Rush of Peace

According to an old story, the pilot of an airliner flying into Belfast once advised his passengers to turn their watches back to local time -- 1690. The Irish on board surely savored this morsel of black humor. But last week, as the sorrows of centuries marched in review before Irish eyes, the gallows wit gave way to the fugitive elixir of hope. In Northern Ireland, 25 years of civil strife punctuated by acts of mayhem seemed nearer than ever to expiring, when one side in the struggle agreed to lay down its arms.

In announcing "a complete cessation of military operations," the Irish Republican Army apparently undertook to turn legitimate and pursue its goals by peaceful means. Suspicions about the I.R.A.'s motives coursed through British-ruled Ulster's majority Protestants. But the balance of judgment fell on the side of optimism: a belief that this promising scent of peace could help end a long-running conflict carried to explosive extremes with bullets, bombs and bigotry.

"We've won! Up the I.R.A.!" cried cheering paraders in impromptu motorcades down the Falls Road, home ground of Belfast's Roman Catholics. The celebrators took the brightest possible view of things. Said Maura Collins, 28: "I have known little else but the Troubles. I am optimistic this will bring peace for my children to grow up in a better environment." Conversely, the unseen hand of some Protestant militant scrawled an ominous piece of graffiti: WAR HAS ONLY BEGUN.

Begun? With 3,168 killed and more than 36,000 wounded in political violence since 1969, this brutalized society could hardly expect the momentum of vengeance to shift gears sharply as the result of a single proposal. The next day, assailants from the Protestant paramilitary Ulster Defense Association shot dead a Catholic in northern Belfast, and claimed responsibility for an attempt to kill a taxi driver. Unsurprisingly, the Rev. Ian Paisley, the firebrand Protestant orator, rejected the I.R.A. truce offer as pure eyewash.

But apprehensiveness was not confined to the extreme fringes. Unionist mutterings last week found no joy in the prospect that the I.R.A.'s political wing, Sinn Fein, may soon have a say about the six counties' future. Dark talk about a secret agenda was widespread.

The Loyalists would be wrong, however, in thinking that defiance remains their ultimate trump. What distinguishes this latest chance for peace is the opinion among all the players that they should grope for understanding. In the Republic, most Irish have grown sick of the bloodshed and its drain on the island's energies and conscience. In the U.S., public feeling ran in favor of President Bill Clinton's words of encouragement and more substantial offer of reconstruction aid. In fact, the Administration was rightly claiming some credit for helping the process along.