The president of the Irish Farmers Association, Mr Tom Parlon, hoped it would bring an end to violence and ensure peace and prosperity in the future. "From a practical point of view, farmers in the Republic of Ireland have much more in common than Northern farmers have with their colleagues in the UK and they will admit that," he said.
"I have always found something haunted about Good Friday. It has an emptiness that is eerie and sad. So it is wonderful that at this point in history this haunted emptiness has been reversed, after 30 years of suffering in the North," said the poet and philosopher, John O'Donohue, describing yesterday's events as "the art of politics at its best".
Dr Patrick Fottrell, president of NUI Galway, said it was a "great and historic day and a great beginning for the new millennium".
Mr Ruan O Bric, chief executive of Udaras na Gaeltachta, said the agreement offered tremendous opportunities. Already, the Gaeltacht authority had been working on a number of cross-Border initiatives and "in a sense we have been preparing for this day".
"There have been many days in the calendar of this island which have been named to commemorate atrocities. Now there is one that perhaps can be named for another reason - Peace Friday," said the chief executive of Waterford Crystal, Mr Redmond O'Donoghue.
Mr Bernard Brown, chief executive of the Comoradh '98 organisation which is co-ordinating the bicentennial year of the United Irish rebellion, pointed out that the 1798 rising was inspired by the enlightened ideals of liberte, egalite et fraternite.
"What more appropriate time for the people of these islands to bring about a set of principles concerning the rights of all citizens," he said.
At Rosslare Harbour, where up to 15,000 visitors were arriving by ferry for the Easter holiday, the port manager, Mr Walter Morrissey, said that political accord in the North would definitely boost visitor numbers. "A good, good day" was former Minister for Foreign Affairs, Mr Peter Barry's reaction to momentous events in the North yesterday. But the man who was responsible for negotiating the Anglo-Irish Agreement - the forerunner of the peace process - also issued a word of caution: he didn't believe the guns would go silent immediately.
"That won't happen today. But as the process is seen to deliver, both to the nationalists and the unionists, there will be less and less support for the men of violence.
The Bishop of Cork and Ross, Dr John Buckley, said he would call for special prayers in all churches throughout the dioceses tomorrow to mark the occasion.