Quill
  1. Overview: Northern Ireland Downing Street Joint Declaration (1993)
  2. Full Record: Northern Ireland Downing Street Joint Declaration (1993)
  3. Committee:Informal British-Irish Bilaterals
  4. Friday, 01 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.

Informal British-Irish Bilaterals

This committee has been created to model bilateral contact between British and Irish government delegates which happened outside of the more formal structures set up for intergovernmental negotiation. These informal meetings were sometimes crucial to the development of the Joint Declaration.

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Session 21150: 1993-10-01 12:00:02

[Exact time unknown] Ó hUiginn and Thomas met in the margins of the Liaison Group, and Ó hUiginn handed over the approved next draft of the Joint Declaration (JD9).

Membership (at session start):

David Blatherwick, Douglas Hurd, Martin Mansergh, Patrick Mayhew, Dermot Nally, Dick Spring, Quentin Thomas, Seán Ó hUiginn (8 total)

Representing 2 delegations:

British Government , Irish Government

Imported Documents

Imported Amendments

Exported Documents

  • Joint Declaration: JD9 (e1067256)
  • Questions Surrounding the Joint Declaration Initiative as Discussed by Thomas and Ó hUiginn on 1 October 1993 (e1067289)
    • Imported by 'Questions Surrounding the Joint Declaration Initiative as Discussed by Thomas and Ó hUiginn on 1 October 1993' (e1068806) in Irish Government,
      on Friday, 01 October 1993, at 12:00
    • Imported by 'Questions Surrounding the Joint Declaration Initiative as Discussed by Thomas and Ó hUiginn on 1 October 1993' (e1068807) in British Government,
      on Friday, 01 October 1993, at 12:00
  • Reply from John Major to Albert Reynolds (24 September 1993) (e1067245)

Exported Amendments

Resources (4):

Resource Collections (0):

None

Resource Items (4):

Covering Fax from Quentin Thomas Regarding a Meeting with Seán Ó hUiginn and the JD9 draft - (file)

Thomas mentions this meeting in a letter to Robin Butler on the same date. A record of the meeting with Seán Ó hUiginn and JD9 are both enclosed.

Enclosure: Draft Joint Declaration (JD9) - (file)

This incorporates changes to the wording and structure of paragraph 4. The British rejected this still largely on the grounds that there contains no constitutional guarantee.

Enclosure: Record of a Meeting between Quentin Thomas and Seán Ó hUiginn on 1 October 1993 - (file)

Thomas restated the British position on not talking to the Provisional IRA, before they delved into the Hume/Adams talks and how this might impact the joint declaration. After discussing how a ceasefire might be actually enforced, they turned to the prospect of a Permanent Irish Convention. Finally, they spoke about the differences between JD8 and 9.

Joint Declaration (JD9) As Confirmed by the Irish Government on 1 October 1993 - (file)

Difficulties would center around paragraph 4 of the document, as well as some of the more wordy sections of the document.

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