The Anglo-Irish Agreement, 1985

Abstract

The decisive collapse of the Sunningdale initiative delivered a severe blow to the prospects for settlement in Northern Ireland, setting the negotiation process back for almost a decade. The stand-off between the parties was accompanied by continuing violence. Efforts to relaunch a political initiative began in the early 1980s, this time centred on a direct government-to-government axis. The outcome was the Anglo-Irish Agreement of 1985, which established machinery for involving the Irish government in the management of Northern Ireland. This chapter examines the perspective of officials on the two sides in arriving at an accommodation. In particular, it illustrates the manner in which civil servants sought to redefine the character of the new institutional architecture, designed to withstand unionist efforts to bring it down. The witness seminar at the core of the chapter provides a fascinating insight into the effective working relationship between civil servants at the highest levels within the two states, and their success in facilitating accommodation between their political leaders.