Cat and mouse deliberations
DUBLIN was using the cover of Anglo-Irish co-operation talks with London, in 1977-78, to push the agenda for a united Ireland.
This was the belief of Whitehall ministers and officials, which has emerged in UK Government papers from the time.
While unionists had taken to the streets in the 1970s to oppose any suggestion of Irish unity, and the IRA bid to bomb the UK into submission, behind closed doors at Anglo-Irish talks British officials were seeking to prevent the issue of an all-Ireland becoming a real matter for debate.
An elaborate game of cat and mouse, in which the Irish attempted to work into talks matters of a cross-border nature which would weaken the Union, and the British attempted to avoid such discussion, is revealed in secret minutes of meetings and internal UK briefing notes by civil servants and political figures.
Throughout late 1977 and 1978, the UK and Ireland embarked on a series of meetings at senior levels.
These discussions were designed to look into ways in which the two countries could work more closely on matters of mutual interest and mutual benefit.
On the agenda were issues like promoting jointly Fermanagh Lakelands, the Belfast-Dublin rail link, cross-border roads upgrading, studies on how Londonderry-Donegal and, Newry-Louth could work together in a range of ways, joint trade missions to attract inward investment, environmental studies, creating an electricity interconnectors and much more.
In areas of business and the economy, tourism, agriculture, transport, security and more, there was seen to be a need for closer links.
And an Anglo-Irish Joint Steering Group was created for meetings between the two sides.
But relations between the two nations remained chilly.
UK officials were distinctly nervous as to how the discussions may be portrayed to unionists in the Province and also at how the Irish may be intent on guiding them onto the ground of Irish unity.
Internal Whitehall briefing papers, some for then Secretary of State Roy Mason but also for other NIO and central government ministers, uncover endless reminders to keep the Dublin administration from using talks as an opportunity to begin eroding the border.
At a September 6, 1977 meeting (minutes released with the 1978 papers) British ministers in Whitehall heard the Chairman of the British Government Anglo-Irish Economic Committee P Mallet (of the Foreign Office) explicitly outline Dublin’s intentions.
“The main purpose of the Anglo-Irish Joint Steering Committee (set up by London and Dublin) was to satisfy pressure from Dublin for discussion of North-South matters,” he said.
“This is while cloaking the whole affair in the mantle of Anglo-Irish relations, as whole, in order to minimise political repercussions in Northern Ireland.”
So far, he noted, this had been avoided and, while the UK had interests in pursuing better relations in many areas with Ireland – not least because it was GB’s sixth biggest export market – there was “no haste on the British side on many of the North-South matters” the Republic was pushing.
So concerned was the UK Government that ministers and officials were briefed not to introduce new topics for discussion at Steering Committee meetings – in case it expanded the nature of the talks.
On November 28, 1977, the first meeting of the Steering Group was minuted by the UK and the report reads: “The Irish ideas on suitable subjects were similar to our own, although it was quite clear that they were far more interested in establishing North-South talks, than commencing Anglo-Irish (East-West) discussions”.
Again an NIO briefing paper for the Secretary of State said on November 29, 1977: “The Irish wish to take us much further and this will be a difficulty. They will seek… objectives which we should move to frustrate.”
These objectives including building economic links North to South and moving the agenda onto the European Economic Community – because Ireland was pressing that the Province should be represented by Dublin in Brussels.
The briefing note said the Irish would see the EEC “used to drive a wedge between Belfast and London and forge links between Belfast and Dublin”.
The Whitehall paper added: “Our (UK) objective is to keep the discussions at a practical level of co-operation with the avoidance of institutional frameworks.”
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Sunday 27 May 2012
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