- Event type: CREATE_FROM
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:
Conclusions from the Meeting with the SDLP at 14:45
Conclusions of Meeting with the SDLP on 8 May at 14.45pm
Clarification of Unionist Position After Latest Meetings
- The Unionist parties would consider the possibility that the Northern Ireland Parties might go to Dublin during strand three to present their views regarding the implications of strands one and two directly to the two Governments.
- Despite their previous uneasiness about a European location, the Unionist parties were now seriously considering locations outside the British Isles as the only way to resolve the problem.
- On 3 May, the Unionists had said that they were not prepared to accept any part of strand two taking place in Ireland. If they now agreed to a meeting in Northern Ireland, this would clearly involve a concession from their 3 May position, just as it would involve a concession from the SDLP.
SDLP Position
- European location. To resort to a European location would expose the participants to "total ridicule".
- Other locations in the UK and ROI. The SDLP would be willing to consider locations in the UK and Ireland outside of London and Dublin. At least part of the talks should take place in Ireland. It was not reasonable for the Unionists to demand changes in the Irish Constitution while at the same time refusing to cross the border to discuss this with them. It was a totally reasonable position that the locations for strand two should be within Great Britain and the Republic of Ireland, since those talks concerned the two parts of Ireland. The SDLP were willing to share their position paper with the Unionists to provide assurance that their position was not under threat.
- Responsibility for the current impasse. The SDLP had been flexible and did not share equal responsibility for the difficulty. They resented the sense that the Government held both sides equally responsible.
- Reassurance to Unionist Community. The SDLP would be willing to have their text recognising the need to accommodate the Unionist identity published alongside any agreement on venue.
Decisions yet to be taken
- Conclusions from the Meeting with the SDLP at 14:45 (introduced on 1991-05-08 07:00:00 - CREATE_FROM - e824251) [This document]
Document Timeline
- Conclusions from the Meeting with the SDLP at 14:45 (introduced on 1991-05-08 07:00:00 - CREATE_FROM - e824251) [This document] [view current proposal at this moment]