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  1. Overview: Northern Ireland Downing Street Joint Declaration (1993)
  2. Full Record: Northern Ireland Downing Street Joint Declaration (1993)
  3. Committee:Irish Government
  4. Thursday, 07 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 20968: 1993-10-07 12:00:00

[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).

Membership (at session start):

Noel Dorr, Charles Haughey, Martin Mansergh, Frank Murray, Dermot Nally, Albert Reynolds, Seán Ó hUiginn (7 total)

Representing 1 delegations:

Irish Government

Imported Documents

Imported Amendments

Exported Documents

Exported Amendments

Resources (7):

Resource Collections (0):

None

Resource Items (7):

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 as Conveyed on 8 October 1993 (JD12) - (file)

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. It reaffirms Britain's "neutral" position in Northern Ireland and recognises that self-determination dictates that, with the consent of the majority, Northern Ireland can leave the UK. The British Government take issue with the imprecise language of this paragraph and amend it to include a constitutional guarantee that it is for the people of Northern Ireland, not simply the Island of Ireland, to decide. The Irish Government also commits to establishing a permanent Convention to consult the relevant parties involved. This will not include the British Government, but will be open to democratically mandated parties so long as they openly condemn violence.

Irish Government Line after Meeting Hume – Draft - (file)

Photocopied draft titled "Suggested Government line after Meeting John Hume", with handwritten comments by Nally [that seem to record points made by Robin Butler during a meeting of the Nally-Butler group on 6 October 1993]. The document details the report made on Hume-Adams to Reynolds and Dick Spring.

Irish Government Line after Meeting Hume – Final - (file)

Photocopied document titled "Suggested Government line after Meeting John Hume". "Suggested" has been crossed out, implying that this was the final version of the document, which details the report made on Hume-Adams to Reynolds and Dick Spring.

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