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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:Butler-Nally Meetings
  4. Monday, 16 December 1991, 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.

Butler-Nally Meetings

This committee has been created to model meetings of the Butler/Nally Group, which was one of the key structures in the drafting of the Declaration. From Autumn 1993 onwards, Chilcot and Ó hUiginn were also part of the negotiating team working on the Joint Declaration.

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Session 21679: 1991-12-16 12:00:00

[Exact time unknown] First meeting between Dermot Nally and Robin Butler where Nally presented the first draft of the Joint Declaration that was given to the Irish Government by John Hume.

Membership (at session start):

Robin Butler, Dermot Nally (2 total)

Representing 2 delegations:

British Government , Irish Government

Imported Documents

Imported Amendments

Exported Documents

  • Proposal Regarding the Size of the British and Irish Delegations for the Joint Declaration Initiative (e1069885)
    • Imported by 'Proposal Regarding the Size of the Delegation for the Joint Declaration Initiative - Three Delegates per Group' (e1069993) in British Government,
      on Monday, 23 December 1991, at 12:00

Exported Amendments

Resources (5):

Resource Collections (0):

None

Resource Items (5):

Enclosure: A Strategy for Peace and Justice in Ireland (JD2) - (file)

The second draft of the Joint Declaration, first shown to the British Government in December 1991.

Enclosure: Briefing on Political Movement and the Joint Declaration - (file)

Entails a speaking note titled "Northern Ireland: Political Movement" which gives background on the Joint Declaration initiative and outlines a sceptical but not wholly dismissive line for John Major to take on it.

Enclosure: Joint Declaration (JD2) with Robin Butler's Handwritten Annotations - (file)

This was the second draft of the Joint Declaration prepared by John Hume and the Irish Government, and was handed to the British Government by Dermot Nally. Includes illegible annotations from Robin Butler recording Irish comments from a previous Butler/Nally meeting. Highlighted.

Enclosure: Minute from Robin Butler on His Meeting with Dermot Nally on 16 December 1991 and a Note on How to Proceed Forward - (file)

Provides an account of Robin Butler's meeting with Dermot Nally and proposes how to proceed with the Joint Declaration initiative going forward. Encloses a separate detailed record of the meeting. Highlighted and annotated.

Enclosure: Record of Meeting between Robin Butler and Dermot Nally on 16 December 1991 - (file)

Provides a detailed account of Robin Butler's meeting with Dermot Nally. Some parts from page 3 has been removed from view, as they have been deemed closed under the Freedom of Information Act 2000. Highlighted.

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