Quill
  1. Negotiations
  2. Resource Collections
  3. Writing Peace: The National Archives of the UK (TNA)
  4. Record of a Telephone Conversation between Roderic Lyne and Archbishop Robin Eames on 7 December 1993

Resource Collections

Image - Resources

Writing Peace: The National Archives of the UK (TNA)

Record of a Telephone Conversation between Roderic Lyne and Archbishop Robin Eames on 7 December 1993

Tuesday, 07 December 1993

i23818

A letter from Roderic Lyne to Jonathan Stephens summarising a telephone call between him and Archibishop Eames. Eames counselled strongly against the inclusion of an Irish Convention in the Joint Declaration, and asked if the British government was aware of Irish government efforts to promote contact between Loyalist and Republican paramilitaries.

Download File (format is: "application/pdf")
Writing Peace: The National Archives of the UK (TNA)

(To go a specific resource item, please click on its link.)

Your Browser does not seem to allow embedded PDFs, but you can download the PDF instead.

None

Copyright

None

Physical Copy Information

None

Digital Copy Information

None

10 DOWNING STREET
LONDON SW1A 2AA

From the Private Secretary

7 December 1993

Dear Jonathan,

ARCHBISHOP EAMES

Distribution of this letter should be strictly limited.

At the Prime Minister's request, I had a word with Archbishop Eames on the telephone on 7 December (following a supportive personal letter which he sent the Prime Minister just before the Dublin Summit).

I gave Eames a broad description of the point we had reached in our discussions with the Irish, stressing that we were saying very little in public and that this was for his personal background only.

He was grateful, especially as he has received yet another invitation to see the Taoiseach. I said that, on this occasion, I hoped that he would find that we and the Irish Government were singing much the same tune.

In even stronger terms than he had used last week, Eames said that it would be a grave mistake for the Joint Declaration to refer to an Irish Convention. This would make it completely unacceptable to Unionists. I said that we took a similar view, but did not know yet for certain whether the Taoiseach would now accept that the relevant paragraphs had to be deleted from the text.

Eames asked if we were aware that the Irish were involved in efforts to promote contacts between PIRA and Loyalist paramilitaries. I said that I was not entirely clear how active a role the Irish Government were playing; but they had mentioned these contacts to us on at least two recent occasions.

I am copying this letter to Stephen Smith (Foreign and Commonwealth Office) and to Sir Robin Butler.

yours ever,
Roderic

RODERIC LYNE

Jonathan Stephens Esq
Foreign and Commonwealth Office