Queen and Martin McGuinness shake hands: a timeline to peace Mo Mowlam, the Northern Ireland Secretary at the time, played a pivotal role in the peace process while recovering from treatment for a brain tumour first diagnosed a year before. June First elections to Northern Ireland Assembly. David Trimble, leader of the Ulster Unionist Party, named as the province's First Minister. Agrees to share power with Sinn Fein. August Bomb attack in Omagh kills 29 people, the worst single atrocity in the history of the Troubles. The Real IRA claims responsibility. February The British government suspends the Belfast assembly over the IRA's failure to disarm. May The IRA announces it will put its weapons "beyond use." The British government restores power to Belfast assembly. July Mr Trimble resigns as First Minister over IRA's failure to disarm. Devolution suspended again. October Independent Monitoring Commission overseeing IRA arms says it has seen evidence of disarmament. Devolution is restored shortly afterwards. Devolution suspended after police claim an IRA "spy ring" is operating in the Assembly's Stormont complex. November Ian Paisley's Democratic Unionists overtake Mr Trimble's DUP as biggest unionist party following the assembly elections. April Mr Adams tells the IRA to end its armed struggle, "embrace democracy" and cease criminal activity. The IRA Army Council declares "an end to the armed campaign" and the disarmament is confirmed by the Independent Monitoring Commission. March The DUP wins in assembly elections. Two months later, DUP strikes power-sharing deal with Sinn Fein and Northern Ireland Assembly is restored. The hardline DUP leader The Rev Ian Paisley and Mr Adams meet face-to-face for first time and agree to share power. Mr Paisley is elected first minister and Mr McGuinness, becomes deputy first minister in the executive. The Real IRA claim responsibility for the murder of two British army soldiers, Sappers Patrick Azimkar, 21, from London, and Mark Quinsey, 23, from Birmingham. The attack in Co Antrim was the first British military casualties since 1997. Earlier this year a dissident Republican, Brian Shivers was found guilty of the terrorist attack that shattered the relative peace of Northern Ireland. The Queen makes a historic four-day state visit to the Republic of Ireland, the first by a British Monarch in 100-years. During the trip she met the Taoiseach, Enda Kenny, and laid a wreath in Dublin's Garden of Remembrance which honours those who died fighting to free Ireland. She also made a hugely symbolic visit to Croke Park stadium where in 1920 British troops opened fire at a Gaelic football match killing 14. Her warm welcome was further bolstered when she arrived wearing an emerald green coat and began her speech at Dublin Castle in Irish. The Queen shakes hands with Mr McGuinness, the former IRA commander Martin as part of her Jubilee celebrations. The monarch and Northern Ireland's deputy first minister met briefly when she visited a theatre in Belfast to view an art exhibition.