Abstract
The Anglo-Irish Agreement (AIA) of 1985 was the central political event of the 1982–88 period. It originated from the political pressures that had made the operation of undiminished Direct Rule in the 1976–82 period impossible. Although it was immediately described as ‘the most significant political development since the state of Northern Ireland was created’,1 from a British perspective, it failed to achieve the intended purpose of easing the operation of Direct Rule.
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Notes
D. McKittrick, ‘Unionists see only sinister cloud with no silver linings’, The Listener, 21 November 1985.
FitzGerald, quoted in J. Havilland, ‘Thatcher welcomes Dublin offer to tackle terrorism’, The Times, 24 December 1983.
Thatchter, quoted in P. Webster, ‘Irish summit again soon after “realistic” talks’, The Times, 20 November 1984.
For a comprehensive review of the different interpretations, see O’Leary, The Politics, pp. 220–41.
See ‘Agreement between United Kingdom and Republic of Ireland on matters relating to Northern Ireland (Hillsborough, 15 November 1985)’, Cmnd. 9690 (London 1985).
To avoid conflict with the territorial claim in the Irish Constitution, the Irish government’s copy of the AIA referred to the UK simply as ‘United Kingdom’ rather than ‘United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland’.
E. Haslett, The Anglo-Irish Agreement. Northern Ireland Perspectives (Belfast n.d.), p. 15.
Hume, quoted in P. O’Malley, Northern Ireland. Questions of Nuance (Belfast 1990), p. 59.
See Molyneaux, quoted in ‘Endgame in Ireland? Part 1’, BBC2, 25 June 2001.
T. Gifford, Supergrasses. The Use of Accomplice Evidence in Northern Ireland (London 1984), p. 11.
E. Moloney, ‘Will Supergrass sow a bitter harvest?’, The Times, 13 September 1983.
See M. Holland, ‘Using tainted evidence’, New Statesman, 23 September 1983.
M. Cunningham, British Government Policy in Northern Ireland, 1969–2000 (Manchester 2001), p. 58.
For example, the killing of eight IRA members who were about to attack an RUC station in Loughgall, Co. Armagh, in May 1987; the shooting dead of three IRA operatives on a mission in Gibraltar in March 1988; the killing of three IRA near Drumnakilly, Co. Tyrone, in August 1988.
For an evaluation of Anglo-Irish security co-operation, see ‘After Enniskillen’, The Economist, 14 November 1987.
FitzGerald, quoted in ‘Courting trouble’, The Economist, 3 October 1987, p. 33; for London’s justification of the Diplock court system, see HC, Vol. 107, cc.1082–3, 16 December 1986; for a summary of the extradition issue, see T. Hadden, K. Boyle, The Anglo-Irish Agreement. Commentary, Text and Official Review (London 1989), pp. 59–64.
King, quoted in R. Ford, ‘King says Garda needs help to tackle terrorism’, The Times, 4 September 1986.
See D. Goodall, ‘Actually it’s all working out almost exactly to plan’, ParliamentaryBrief, 5:6 (1998), p. 54.
Hurd’s diaries, quoted in M. Stuart, Douglas Hurd. The Public Servant (London 1998), p. 138.
‘“Parroting” critics are attacked by King’, The Times, 18 November 1985.
O’Leary and McGarry are correct in asserting that Thatcher’s comment was misleading as, within the terms of the agreement, devolved government could reduce the scope of the IGC, but not replace it completely; see O’Leary, The Politics, p. 234.
A. Bevins, ‘Breakthrough on Ulster deadlock’, The Times, 26 February 1986.
See ‘Whose oxygen’, The Economist, 22 October 1988, p. 41.
M. Holland, ‘Closing ranks for a united Ireland’, The Times, 16 March 1983.
See Adams, quoted in R. Ford, ‘Us versus the rest, Sinn Fein says’, The Times, 27 May 1983.
Sinn Fein, Hillsborough — The Balance Sheet, 1985–88 (Dublin 1989), p. 12.
Sir Robert Andrew, interview with author, 19 November 2001; Sir Alan Goodison, interview with author, 21 November 2001.
For the 1986 (revised) version of the MacBride Principles, see McCormack, pp. 42–3.
NIO spokesman, quoted in M. Farrell, ‘Does Ulster need “reverse discrimination” on jobs?’, The Listener, 24 September 1987.
‘The Colour Green’, The Economist, 3 May 1986.
J. Cooney, ‘Jobs: can King win over America?’, TheTimes, 19 September 1987.
Lord King, interview with author, 27 November 2001; Peter Viggers, interview with author, 28 November 2001.
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© 2003 Peter R. Neumann
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Neumann, P.R. (2003). Sharing the Burden: the Refinement of British Strategy, 1982–88. In: Britain’s Long War. Palgrave Macmillan, London. https://doi.org/10.1057/9781403938732_6
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1057/9781403938732_6
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