- Monday, 04 October 1993, at 12:00
Northern Ireland Downing Street Joint Declaration (1993)
This project models the series of formal and informal negotiations which led to the publication, in December 1993, of a declaration issued jointly by the British and Irish Governments. The Joint Declaration was a critical policy document which paved the way for a ceasefire and the entry of Sinn Féin into formal talks. It also laid out a shared set of principles – including, crucially, self-determination for the people of Ireland subject to the consent of the people of Northern Ireland – which would come to underpin the Belfast Good Friday Agreement and provide a framework for its ratification.
Irish Government
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Session 20889: 1993-10-04 12:00:00
[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.
Membership (at session start):
Noel Dorr, Charles Haughey, Martin Mansergh, Frank Murray, Dermot Nally, Albert Reynolds, Seán Ó hUiginn (7 total)
Representing 1 delegations:
Imported Documents
Imported Amendments
Exported Documents
- Possible Reference in Paragraph 3 to Abiding by All Principles of the 1985 Agreement (e1068854)
- Imported by 'Possible Reference in Paragraph 3 to Abiding by All Principles of the 1985 Agreement' (e1069467) in Informal British-Irish Bilaterals,
on Monday, 04 October 1993, at 12:00
- Imported by 'Possible Reference in Paragraph 3 to Abiding by All Principles of the 1985 Agreement' (e1069467) in Informal British-Irish Bilaterals,
Exported Amendments
Resources (6):
Resource Collections (0):
None
Resource Items (6):
Draft Joint Declaration (Re-Draft after Meeting on 6 October 1993) - (file)
Photocopied draft Joint Declaration by Reynolds and Major, containing eight paragraphs and including handwritten comments and annotations, marking amendments made during the meeting on 6 October 1993. [One crossed-out annotation notes "Redraft from Dr Mansergh 4/10": it is possible that the version on the table during the meeting had been redrafted by Mansergh on 4 October 1993.]
Draft Joint Declaration [Amendments Agreed ad Referendum on 6 October 1993] - (file)
Two copies of photocopied draft Joint Declaration by Reynolds and Major, containing eight paragraphs and including Nally’s handwritten comments and annotation. A handwritten note at the top of the first page states “Amendments shown were agreed ad referendum in London yesterday. DN 7.10/93”.
Draft Joint Declaration [Incorporating 6 October 1993 Amendments] - (file)
Photocopied draft Joint Declaration by Reynolds and Major, containing eight paragraphs. A handwritten note at the top of the first page states “Retyped text incorporating changed agreed ad referendum in London on 6/10/93. DN 7.10/93”.
Draft Joint Declaration [Revised 6 October 1993] - (file)
Photocopied draft Joint Declaration by Reynolds and Major, containing eight paragraphs and including Nally’s handwritten comments and annotations, marking amendments made during the meeting on 6 October 1993. [Does not include the amendment to paragraph 2 included in the following revised versions.]
Enclosure: Joint Declaration (JD10) as Passed to Robin Butler on 6 October 1993 - (file)
This document contains the draft JD10 which was given to Robin Butler by the Irish delegation on 6 October 1993. The document begins by stating the joint desire to end violence and conflict in Northern Ireland. The beginning of paragraph four is lifted from former Secretary of State for Northern Ireland Peter Brooke's 9 November 1990 Whitbread speech, which reaffirmed Britain's "neutral" position in Northern Ireland and recognised that self-determination dictated that, with the consent of the majority, Northern Ireland could withdraw from the United Kingdom. The Irish Government also committed to establishing a permanent Convention to discuss the steps required to remove the barrier of distrust between the peoples of Ireland. This Convention would be open to democratically mandated parties so long as they openly condemned violence.
Letter from Quentin Thomas to Robin Butler Regarding a Meeting with Seán Ó hUiginn and the Joint Declaration - (file)
Butler had met Seán Ó hUiginn previously where they discussed the Irish side's stance on JD9 and what they view as the next steps. They then turn to the specifics of JD9 and what changes the Irish might have made, or might make further.
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Procedure:
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Events (14)
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