The celebration was perhaps a little muted. Bill Clinton did not attend, nor did Tony Blair and Ian Paisley, who boycotted the whole event. As one commentator put it, "there was no dancing in the streets" to mark the 10th anniversary of the Good Friday Agreement - the historic yet problematic catalyst for the rebuilding of Northern Ireland.

However, the anniversary is a useful milestone for many, one to measure the steps being taken on the country's path to peace, and how far there is still to go.

For Sean Brennan, who works as a community leader in north Belfast's interface communities, where more murders were committed over the 30-year troubles than in any part of Northern Ireland, it is in the areas broken by conflict - rather than within the walls of Stormont - where the real progress is being made.

"Ten years ago the agreement was signed between the two governments and the political parties, but what wasn't really taken into account was how the grassroots communities at the forefront of the conflict would solve the issues and transform themselves. That was the challenge," Mr Brennan said.

His organisation, Intercomm Belfast, is working with the very people who fought the war on the streets to build tolerant and peaceful neighbourhoods. Former loyalist and republican paramilitaries, and prisoners from both sides of the conflict, are on board.

He added: "Many of the people involved would be seen as being the people who fought the war, but they say their war is over now.

Mr Brennan also works on a programme at Belfast's Queen's University which studies the 10 years since the Good Friday Agreement.

Yesterday's university session saw representatives of loyalist and republican paramilitary groups sit alongside officers of the new Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI). The police service was one of the most contentious barriers to the Democratic Unionist Party and Sinn Fein meeting in the powershare which now governs Northern Ireland.

To have representatives from all sides in the same room was a significant development, Mr Brennan said. "It's incredible really, it's 10 years since the Good Friday Agreement and still we are only at that stage," he said. The new era of law and order in Northern Ireland received further support this week when Gerry Adams announced the IRA would not return to "dealing with criminality" in nationalist areas, a statement judged to be "very powerful" by Chief Constable Sir Hugh Orde.

The PSNI aims to have a 50-50 split between Catholic and Protestant officers. In the past, an intense republican animosity of Northern Ireland's past police force, the Royal Ulster Constabulary, was driven by the view that it was a militia with a political purpose to uphold British rule.

Sir Hugh said this week that the PSNI has not recruited a single person from loyalist heartland Shankill and that there is now more serving officers from west of the River Bann than from the west Belfast Protestant stronghold.

It has been reported that more than 700 applicants have been rejected from the force because they are Catholics, and work is continuing to attract more Protestant applicants. While the new force is gathering credibility, a 1.7% fall in crime has been reported in Belfast over the past year. Offences of murder, manslaughter, intimidation and carrying firearms have dropped. However, Sean Brennan said that some criminal activity had increased since the beginning of the peace process.

He said: "One thing that we never had here while the paramilitaries were in place was the drug culture. Now we are coming alongside cities such as Glasgow and Liverpool when it comes to drug crimes. It is ironic in a sense that part of Belfast taking on the look of any other city, it takes on the same sort of problems as well." Unemployment and poverty remain ingrained in parts of Belfast, he added.

"Many people in underfunded communities did not experience the benefits of the peace process. The trickledown effect did not reach them. Historical legacies of long-term unemployment and ill health take a long time to solve."

Overall, unemployment has fallen sharply and Northern Ireland has moved from having almost the highest regional rate in the UK to nearly the lowest - with 100,000 more people in jobs over the last decade.

However, the typical wage in Northern Ireland still sits at £330 a week compared to £375 in the rest of the UK. What had changed radically in Northern Ireland since the peace progress began was the optimism among many, Mr Brennan said.

While just 5% of school pupils attended integrated schools, classes of Catholics and Protestants were mixing on shared projects and people felt more at ease to enter former no-go zones.

Mr Brennan said: "Belfast used to be deserted after 6pm. Now it's a vibrant city centre. People have money to go out and enjoy themselves. There's opportunities here, and that is something nobody thought would be the case. People used to stay away from the city centre, it's where the bombs went off, now people are buying up apartments and pubs are full.

"People are starting to feel pride in Belfast. That's not to say there are not difficulties. We know there are difficult days ahead but the mindset is changing.

"Politicians have a vital role but peace is built by the people."

Where are they now? Ian Paisley Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) leader Ian Paisley has been MP for North Antrim since 1970 and is the oldest sitting British MP. In 2007 he became First Minister of Northern Ireland, aged 81. He resigned his position as a religious leader in January and in February announced he will stand down as First Minister and DUP leader.

David Trimble Following his defeat in the 2005 parliamentary elections, Nobel Peace Prize winner and former Northern Irish First Minister David Trimble effectively retired from politics. In 2006 he was appointed to the House of Lords and last year he left the Ulster Unionist Party and joined the Conservatives in order to be "more involved in national politics".

John Hume The man generally credited with the vision behind the Good Friday Agreement, John Hume shared the 1998 Nobel Prize for Peace with David Trimble. He retired from politics in 2004, though the former MEP continues to speak out about issues such as global poverty. He is president of Derry Football Club, the team he supported as a boy.

Gerry Adams Republican politician and Sinn Fein president Gerry Adams has been elected to the Northern Irish Assembly on numerous occasions, most recently in 2007. The MP for West Belfast, though he refuses to take his seat in Westminster, is also a successful author. He has published many novels, political writings, a collection of short stories and an autobiography.

Martin McGuinness Sinn Fein politician and alleged former IRA chief Martin McGuinness is Deputy First Minister of Northern Ireland. Following claims by former Republic Of Ireland Deputy Prime Minister Michael McDowell, he strenuously denies having any current links with the IRA. The MP for Mid Ulster will celebrate his 58th birthday next month.

Legacy of a historic accord 1998 April 10: The Belfast Agreement - also known as the Good Friday Agreement - is signed by all major parties except the DUP and the UK Unionist Party.

May 23: 71% of Northern Ireland voters show their support in the referendum for the agreement.

1999 December 2: The Northern Ireland Assembly meets for the first time.

2000 February 11: No deal is struck on decommissioning and Peter Mandelson suspends the assembly.

May 27: David Trimble secures the backing of his party to re-enter Stormont. Two days later devolved power is restored.

2001 May 8: David Trimble tells the UUP that he will resign as First Minister on July 1 if there has been no progress on decommissioning.

July 1: David Trimble resigns and six week deadline for resolving the arms issue is set.

August 10: Northern Ireland Secretary John Reid suspends the devolved institutions for 24 hours.

September 21: John Reid announces the second suspension of the assembly after a failure to reinstate a First Minister.

2002 October 4: Sinn Fein's Stormont offices are raided as part of an investigation into an alleged Republican spying ring.

October 14: John Reid announces the suspension of devolution and the return of direct rule by Westminster.

2003 October 21: Downing Street announces 26 November as the assembly election date.

2004 March 27: David Trimble is re-elected as UUP leader.

November 12: The British Government officially recognises the UDA's ceasefire.

December 21: An armed gang steals £26.5m from the Northern Bank in Belfast. The IRA maintains it was not involved.

2005 January 30: IRA members are implicated in the killing of Robert McCartney, who was stabbed to death near a Belfast bar. Mr McCartney's sisters lead a campaign calling for his killers to be brought to justice. The IRA later expels three members.

July 28: The IRA formally orders an end to its armed campaign.

August 19: Former Northern Ireland Secretary Mo Mowlam dies.

December 8: Three men at the centre of the alleged IRA spying ring at Stormont are acquitted.

2006 October 11: Three days of multi-party talks aimed at restoring devolution begin in St Andrews. The Northern Ireland parties are given until November 10 to respond to the St Andrews Agreement.

October 13: The St Andrews Agreement is unveiled with a target date of March 26, 2007 for a new assembly to be up and running.

2007 January 28: Sinn Fein votes to support police in Northern Ireland.

May 8: Direct rule over Northern Ireland by Westminster officially ends. DUP leader Ian Paisley and Sinn Fein's Martin McGuinness are sworn in as First and Deputy First Ministers.

2008 March 4: Ian Paisley announces he will stand down as First Minister and DUP leader in May.