- Event type: CREATE
Northern Ireland Brooke/Mayhew Talks 1991-1992
WORK IN PROGRESS - IN THE FINAL STAGES OF EDITING A series of talks launched by Peter Brooke, Secretary of State for Northern in Ireland, which began in April 1991, and were carried on intermittently by Brooke and his successor, Patrick Mayhew, until November 1992.
Office of the Strand 1 Chairman (British Government Delegation)
In order to adequately reflect the role of the Chairman and his staff in re-drafting documents and controlling the flow of information during bilateral negotiations, we are representing them as a separate committee. In contrast to other Quill negotiations, in these Talks much of the actual work of negotiation and making proposals took place in bilateral meetings between the Chairman and the party delegations. The minutes of these sessions have been preserved in the same format as the minutes of the plenary sessions, and the sessions are modelled from the minutes as separate Committees (British Government/Alliance Bilaterals, etc.). The Chairman would move between these meetings, reporting on the positions of the other delegations and trying to reach accommodation. It is beyond the scope of the current project to model all the internal government meetings which took place during the Talks (although documentation for at least some of them exists in the National Archives), but we can draw on evidence within the sources we are using to show that proposals and agendas for the bilaterals were agreed within the Government team. For example, in a particular round of meetings, the Chairman will open the meeting with a near-identical agenda and summary of the current position of the other parties. To adequately model the fact that the flow of ideas between the delegations was filtered by the Chairman in this way, we have set up a committee called the 'Office of the Chairman' to show the conclusions of each bilateral discussion passing through the Chairman's Office and being redrafted before being passed on to the next delegation.
To see the full record of a committee, click on the corresponding committee on the map below.
Session 12474: 1991-05-08 07:00:00
Conclusions from bilateral meetings on 7 May and 8 May are considered and compiled by the Chairman before being presented to the other delegations.
Document View:
Secretary of State's Summary of the Position on the Afternoon of 8 May 1991
Secretary of State's Summary of the Position on the Afternoon of 8 May 1991
The Government Team had held morning bilaterals first with the SDLP and then with the Unionists and had seen the SDLP once again after lunch.
The meeting with the SDLP had not made a substantial difference to the venue issue.
There had followed a longer meeting with the Unionists in which the Government Team had clarified the position regarding the Unionists visiting Dublin at some point later in the process. The Unionists had explained that they would not go to Dublin in strand two but envisaged that in strand three the Northern Ireland political parties would want to be able put propositions to the two Governments to ensure there was no misunderstanding regarding their positions. The Unionists were prepared to go to Dublin at this point and clearly envisaged all parties having a clear idea of the elements any package under consideration to the extent that Articles 2 and 3 might not be such inhibiting factors as they were at present.
The Unionists had recognised the disadvantages of a European location but believed it should be seriously examined if no other solution seemed viable. They had explained this to John Hume separately in a bilateral of their own, in which the Government Team had not been involved.
The Government Team had, since lunch, met the SDLP delegation again. The position of the Unionists in relation to visiting Dublin had been explained and the European alternative outlined. The SDLP had seen serious difficulties, both in terms of practicality and public expenditure, with a European location and did not think it was a serious runner.
The discussion had then moved on to consider a larger role for Northern Ireland as a venue for the second strand. The specific proposition was put that a symbolic first meeting would take place in London followed by a series of substantial meetings in Northern Ireland, at a location yet to be decided (but not the Stormont Estate). At the close of strand two there would be a symbolic meeting in Dublin which would also act as a bridging meeting in the transition to strand three, which would also begin in Dublin. The SDLP had suggested that the meeting in Dublin at the end of strand two should take place in the Throne Room in Dublin Castle.
Decisions yet to be taken
Document Timeline
- Secretary of State's Summary of the Position on the Afternoon of 8 May 1991 (introduced on 1991-05-08 07:00:00 - CREATE - e823766) [This document]
[view current proposal at this moment]
- None (introduced on 1991-05-08 07:00:00 - REPORT_PROPOSAL - e823774) [view current proposal at this moment]