[Editorial Session] An undated document from Tomás Ó Fiaich's archive which is thought to be written by Martin Mansergh in 1988 or 1989.

[Exact date and time unknown] The Reid/Murray proposal was received by John Hume on the weekend of 25/26 November and was reportedly also sent to Gerry Adams and the Taoiseach at the same time.

[Exact date and time unknown] The Irish draft communique for the meeting between John Major and Charles Haughey in Dublin was created.

[Editorial session] The editors have created this session to model JD2. We do not yet have evidence of exactly on what date or by whom it was created, but documents from the National Archives show that it was shown to Robin Butler by Dermot Nally for the first time on 16 December 1991. Mallie and McKittrick have written that it was drafted in October 1991, but Coakley and Todd, like the editors, can only date it to c. December 1991. In the absence of a citation for Mallie and McKittrick's dating, we have created it on the day it was shown to Robin Butler.

[Editorial session] Albert Reynolds replaced Charles Haughey as Taoiseach.

[Exact time unknown] Dermot Nally wrote a note to Albert Reynolds outlining his suggestions for possible institutional arrangements between North and South.

[Exact date and time unknown] This is a draft of the Joint Declaration amongst Dermot Nally's papers which has a pencilled (post-declaration) annotation giving this date and "(Hume/Adams?)". Since we have been unable to find another copy of this draft with more contextual information, the draft has been modelled here.

[Exact time unknown] Noel Dorr produced a paper outlining different possible solutions to the Northern Ireland problem, which included both the talks and the Joint Declaration but recommended a third, separate option.

[Exact time unknown] Noel Dorr completed the annex to his paper outlining what a possible agreement, to be proposed by the two governments and co-signed by the Northern Ireland parties, might look like.

[Exact time unknown] The Irish Government received confirmation from the PAC that they would accept JD6 as a basis for a ceasefire.

[Exact date and time unknown] The editors have chosen to create JD6 on the day it was shown to the British Government until further records are available, although it existed prior to this.

[Exact time unknown] Frank Murray received a letter containing briefing material for the Anglo-Irish Dinner meeting on 9 June 1993.

[Exact time unknown] Some briefing notes on the Joint Declaration were created.

[Exact time unknown] Annotations were made to JD6 and to the aide-mémoire.

[Exact time unknown] The Irish delegation received the documents circulated during the Butler/Nally lunchtime meeting. Dermot Nally reported back on the meeting and passed on the suggestion that Martin Mansergh convey the gist of the British commentary to his interlocutor.

[Exact time unknown] Martin Mansergh produced some notes on the recent Butler/Nally meeting. He rejected the suggestion that he convey British objections to Sinn Féin, preferring to ask the British to negotiate a new draft which could then be presented to them.

[Editorial session] The Irish Government delegation received the conclusions of the informal bilateral meeting between Thomas and Ó hUiginn.

[Exact time unknown] Reynolds sent a letter to Major.

[Exact time unknown] The Irish delegation received the British proposals made during the Anglo-Irish Intergovernmental Conference and the Butler/Nally meeting on 10 September 1993.

[Exact time unknown] Martin Mansergh wrote a document reflecting on the possibility of change to the Irish Constitution.

[Exact time unknown] During a discussion between Hume and Ó hUiginn on the evening of 22 September 1993, Hume read out a draft statement on the Hume/Adams talks. This session has been created to show the Irish government delegation receiving that proposal.

[Exact time unknown] A revised Irish government draft of the Joint Declaration (JD8) was created and taken by Ó hUiginn to a meeting with Thomas.

[Exact time unknown] The Irish delegation received the a report of the meeting with Thomas, including a revised version of paragraph 4 worked up by him and Ó hUiginn on an informal basis and the first British draft of the Framework Document.

[Exact time unknown] The second Hume-Adams statement was issued on 25 September 1993. It announced that their discussions had made further progress and that they had put a proposal to Dublin. This session has been created to show the statement being received.

[Exact date and time unknown] An updated version of paragraph 4 was produced and it was decided that Ó hUiginn would convey it to Thomas.

[Exact time unknown] Dermot Nally wrote a brief note on the Joint Declaration initiative.

[Exact date and time unknown] The next Irish draft of the Joint Declaration (JD9) was finalised and it was agreed that Seán Ó hUiginn would hand it over to Quentin Thomas in the margins of the Liaison Group.

[Exact time unknown] The conclusions of the Liaison Group meeting were received, along with the conclusions of an informal bilateral meeting between Quentin Thomas and Seán Ó hUiginn where they discussed JD9.

[Editorial session] After Quentin Thomas and Seán Ó hUiginn's informal bilateral meeting on 1 October 1993, changes were made to JD9 to turn it into the version which was negotiated on with the British delegation at a Butler-Nally meeting on 6 October 1993 (JD10). A handwritten note on a copy in Dermot Nally's papers suggests that these changes may have been made by Mansergh on 4 October 1993.

[Exact time unknown] An early draft of the Irish Press line on meeting John Hume was written.

[Exact time unknown] The latest Irish government redraft of the Joint Declaration (JD10) was handed over during a Butler/Nally meeting on 6 October 1993. The early draft of the Irish Press line on meeting John Hume was also taken to the meeting, although it is unclear whether or not the exact text was shared with the British delegation.

[Exact time unknown] The Irish government press line after meeting John Hume was finalised. The version of the Joint Declaration agreed ad referendum during the Butler/Nally meeting on 6 October 1993 (JD11) was reported back. Some amendments were adopted and others were rejected to create a version which was then passed back to the British government on 8 October 1993 (JD12).

[Exact time unknown] The Irish government received the conclusions of the meeting between Robin Butler and Albert Reynolds.

[Exact time unknown] During the Dáil Éireann debate on Northern Ireland, Dick Spring gave a speech enumerating six principles for peace which related to the discussions happening on the Joint Declaration.

[Exact date and time unknown: editorial session] John Major and Albert Reynolds issued a Joint Statement.

[Exact time unknown] The Joint Declaration was returned, incorporating Eames' suggestions.

[Exact time unknown] The Irish government delegation made further amendments to those proposed by Archbishop Eames on 2 November 1993 and then adopted them. They shared the updated draft (JD13) with the British delegation. Some briefing points were also created on the new draft in advance of the meeting.

[Exact time unknown] Reynolds sent a letter to Major protesting British refusal to engage with the Joint Declaration Initiative.

[Exact time unknown] Roderic Lyne sent a letter to Martin Mansergh enclosing a statement on Northern Ireland that the Prime Minister intended to deliver as part of his speech to the Lord Mayor's banquet. The Taoiseach responded to Major's reply to his letter criticising British refusal to engage with JD13.

[Exact date and time unknown] Robin Eames reported to John Major on 18 November 1993 that Albert Reynolds had given him a letter to hand over to Jim Molyneaux. Since we know that Eames and Reynolds met on 16 November 1993, we have inferred that the letter was written and handed over to Eames then.

[Exact time unknown] The version of the Joint Declaration with the amendments agreed between Robin Eames and Albert Reynolds was reported back to the Irish government delegation.

[Exact time unknown] On the morning of 19 November 1993, the Irish Press published the Irish draft of the framework document that had been promised to the British government but not provided.

[Exact time unknown] The alternative British draft of the Joint Declaration was reported back following an acrimonious meeting.

[Exact time unknown] Albert Reynolds sent a letter to John Major expressing his disappointment and anger at the submission of an alternative British draft of the Joint Declaration.

[Exact time unknown] An Irish cabinet meeting was held in the morning. One of the topics under discussion was whether to proceed with the Anglo-Irish Summit on 3 December 1993.

[Exact time unknown] Mansergh reported to Reynolds that the two options he had discussed with Rod Lyne were a working meeting or postponement. Reynolds preferred the latter option.

[Exact date and time unknown; editorial session] From this point onwards, the amendments to JD14 were under consideration.

[Exact time unknown] Albert Reynolds wrote a letter to John Major.

[Exact time unknown] Mansergh, Ó hUiginn and Nally discussed the joint declaration and the proposed amendments.

[Exact time unknown] The conclusions reached in the Butler/Nally meeting of 7 December 1993 were on the table from this point onwards.

[Exact time unknown] The Irish government received a list of rights and principles that Reverend Roy Magee had passed to Martin Mansergh, reflecting the concerns of Loyalist paramilitaries.

[Exact date and time unknown] During a bilateral discussion with Robin Butler on 9 December 1993, Martin Mansergh reported further Irish government amendments to the Joint Declaration. We do not know exactly when these amendments were made, so we have created them on the day they were reported to Butler.

[Exact time unknown] The conclusions of the meeting between Martin Mansergh and Robin Butler were reported back to the Irish government delegation.

[Exact date and time unknown] The Irish government delegation received the amendments proposed by John Hume to the Joint Declaration and made some more of their own in advance of a bilateral meeting with Roderic Lyne.

[Exact time unknown] The conclusions of the meeting between British and Irish officials were reported back to the Irish government delegation.

[Exact time unknown] An series of annotations on a copy of the Joint Declaration and of its final paragraph from Dermot Nally's papers suggests that he spoke with Martin Mansergh about the text as it returned from Brussels on 12 December 1993.

[Exact time unknown] Dermot Nally spoke to Albert Reynolds before his phone call with Robin Butler.

[Exact time unknown] The conclusions of the first Butler/Nally conversation of the day were reported back to the Irish government delegation. The Taoiseach agreed that the Joint Declaration would be considered a political document rather than a legal one.

[Exact time unknown] Following the Butler/Nally conversation at 15.45, an alternative form of words for paragraphs 10-12 was reported back to the Irish government. Further amendments were proposed and put to the British government delegation during their next conversation at 18.00.

[Exact time unknown] The conclusions of the 18.00 conversation between Dermot Nally and Robin Butler were reported back to the Irish government.

Albert Reynolds was scheduled to be in a Cabinet meeting at 11.00. We do not have a record of this meeting.