I may have felt that "hand of history" pushing us forward but . . . after a time in Castle Buildings, the whole thing was sort of surreal in the way the negotiation was happening - I was hardly aware it was this great historic event because it was just meeting, after meeting, after meeting, writes Tony Blair.
ANNIVERSARIES ARE sometimes a moment to look back at what might have been. The 10th anniversary of the Good Friday agreement is an opportunity for the whole of the island of Ireland to look forward with genuine hope and optimism for the future.
The Northern Ireland politicians who negotiated that agreement can take much pride in their achievement. The new course of Irish history which the agreement set in train is, though, above all a testimony to the courage and determination of the people of this island whose commitment to find a peaceful future together turned the words of the agreement into the achievement of peace, powersharing and progress.
If anyone had told me when I walked into 10 Downing Street in May 1997 that before I left Ian Paisley and Martin McGuinness would be sharing power in Northern Ireland, I would have thought they were mad.
But I never believed the problem of Northern Ireland was insoluble. When people told me I was crazy to be spending so much time on the issue, I told them I was convinced that if we worked at it, if we kept going, in the end we would be able to find a solution acceptable to both sides.
I admit that at times I came close to losing hope, but I knew above all else the importance of having a process. The talking had to go on, we had to keep it moving forward and prevent a vacuum developing that would have soon been filled by violence.
In part, the secret to success lay in the partnership we built with the Irish Government. Bertie Ahern and I worked for 10 years as a team. We managed to put the complexes of the past behind us on both sides of the Irish Sea and focus on our common aim of a peaceful settlement in Northern Ireland. Both the Taoiseach and I had to make painful political compromises along the way, but Bertie never flinched.
We were also blessed by political leadership of a high order in Northern Ireland itself with John Hume, Gerry Adams and Martin McGuinness on the nationalist and republican side and David Trimble and, later, Ian Paisley on the unionist side. All of them were committed to reaching an agreement, and without the determination and the leadership they showed their communities, it would not have been possible to succeed.
But it wasn't just a matter of individuals. Fundamental changes were also taking place in Ireland.
The first was that the Irish Republic had shaken off the old stereotypes and had turned into an economic dynamo earning respect right round the world. Its role in Europe had replaced the love/hate relationship with its bigger neighbour.
And secondly there was something extraordinarily old-fashioned about the dispute. This was a conflict with origins set a long time ago. The origins had then become overlain with a religious division between Roman Catholic and Protestant which seemed bizarre in the late 20th century - especially when we live so close in these small islands. It was out of date. Neither side could win militarily and a new generation of leaders on both sides could see the futility of continued struggle.
On this the 10th anniversary of the Good Friday agreement, it is worth reflecting on the situation Bertie Ahern and I found when we came to office. John Major had made a commendable effort to start a peace process but peace had broken down with the return of a violent terrorist campaign and it was not at all clear that we would be able to restart the process.
By taking events at a gallop after our respective elections we managed to get the IRA back on ceasefire and then to persuade the unionists to stay in the talks. For the first time the two sides were negotiating in the same room.
But when we arrived for the Good Friday negotiations with the deadline looming, it was far from clear we could make the decisive breakthrough we needed.
I will never forget Bertie returning from his mother's funeral to conclude the deal. The three days and nights we spent in Castle Buildings, one of the most depressing locations for a negotiation anywhere in the world, are burned into my memory. We faced a seemingly insuperable blockage over North/South bodies when we got there, but by showing pragmatism Bertie managed to help us find a solution.
The two of us then went through meeting after meeting with all the parties, and each time we thought we had one problem solved we found another one lurking behind it. Finally, exhausted but still determined, at lunchtime on Good Friday we persuaded all the parties that we had found an agreement they could live with.
Now the historic significance of the agreement is clear. But the curious thing about the situation was that locked away for days and days, it didn't feel like it then. I may have felt that "hand of history" pushing us forward but I never knew how historic it seemed to those outside.
After a time the whole thing was sort of surreal in the way the negotiation was happening and I was hardly aware at points that it was this great historic event because it was just meeting, after meeting, after meeting.
Looking back, if we made any miscalculation about it, it was that at the time of the Good Friday agreement we thought we had done the deal, and did not appreciate then how much it would have to be constantly managed and focused on over the years to come.
The point about a process like this is that the agreement that you get at the beginning is only a framework. Following the handshake comes the hard work. Agreements need implementation and they need time because the division is so great and the distrust is so great. Trust had to be built.
For me, one of the lowest moments came shortly after the agreement and the referendum with the outrage in Omagh. It was the first big test for the people of Northern Ireland, and despite the motivation of those who planned the attack, the scenes of carnage served to strengthen the resolve of everyone in Ireland and in the United Kingdom to make the agreement work in practice.
So, as we celebrate the anniversary, let us also remember all the victims of the tragedy of the Troubles. The most fitting tribute to them is to make the agreement work. And, when times get tough along the path of peace, as they surely always do in politics, to remember how much tougher for all concerned is the path of war.
Today, unionists are still unionists. Republicans are still republicans.
Each is still able to pursue what they want but within a framework that seems to them both equal and fair. The peace process made progress precisely because we never set out to turn unionists into republicans or republicans into unionists. We set out to make it possible for both to share power together.
What was difficult for those negotiations at the very beginning was that people had to make the initial compromise. What we managed to do, through the direct work we did and the advance by senator George Mitchell, was to create a space where even though the distrust was still great, a culture of minimum compromise gives way to making the bold step forward, accepting the other side is looking to do the same.
I never forget that in the end it was the people in Northern Ireland who decided that they wanted peace. What we did - all of us - was to give expression to this desire through a political process. What I did with Bertie Ahern and others was help that process.
And the one thing I take hope from is the fact that it is clear that there can be no going back. There will be political crises, there will be continuing problems, but Northern Ireland will not return to the times of the Troubles. That chapter is closed for good.
Now as I travel to different parts of the world what has happened in Northern Ireland is something that immediately connects with people.
They see it as a real beacon of hope for other such conflicts, they think it amazing that it happened and it lasted. It is a really great symbol of how the 21st century as it changes so fast will throw up opportunities to settle conflicts that seemed previously to be irresolvable.
So, 10 years on it is a time for remembrance of the past, hope and confidence for all of Ireland's future. It is a time too to pray that the lessons of peace and reconciliation in Northern Ireland can be learned in other conflicts across the world.
Together, we took some risks for peace. I believe they were worth it
• Tony Blair was prime minister of Britain from May 1997 to June 2007 and is now Middle East envoy for the United Nations, the European Union, United States and Russia.