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Reconciliation or Irredentism? The Irish Government and the Sunningdale Communiqué of 1973

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  01 February 2007

CHRISTOPHER FARRINGTON
CHRISTOPHER FARRINGTON*
Affiliation:
School of Politics and International Relations, University College Dublin, Belfield, Dublin 4, Ireland; [email protected].
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Abstract

This article uses recently released archival material to examine the role of the Irish government in the negotiation of the Sunningdale communiqué of 1973, which marked, among other things, an agreement to establish a Council of Ireland and was therefore a key part of the first attempt to establish a power-sharing devolved executive in Northern Ireland. The article will problematise the distinctions which have been made between various strains of political thought held by leading intellectuals and politicians on the national question and show how the discourse of ‘revisionist nationalism’ and reconciliation which sponsored the key institution of the Sunningdale communiqué, the Council of Ireland, was in contradiction to the meaning attached to the functions of the Council, which was in fact closer to traditional nationalist aims.

Type
Research Article
Information
Contemporary European History , Volume 16 , Issue 1 , February 2007 , pp. 89 - 107
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2007

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References

1 O'Halloran, Clare, Partition and the Limits to Irish Nationalism: An Ideology under Stress (Dublin: Gill & Macmillan, 1987)Google Scholar; Kennedy, Michael, Division and Consensus: The Politics of Cross-border Relations in Ireland, 1925–1969 (Dublin: Institute of Public Administration, 2000)Google Scholar; and John Whyte, ‘The Permeability of the United Kingdom–Irish border: A Preliminary Reconnaissance’, Administration, 31, 3 (1983), 300–15.

2 The Sunningdale communiqué, December 1973, available at http://cain.ulst.ac.uk/events/sunningdale/agreement.htm.

3 See Fisk, Robert, The Point of No Return: The Strike which Broke the British in Ulster (London: Andre Deutsch, 1975)Google Scholar.

4 Prior to the 1998 referendum, Art. 2 of the Constitution stated, ‘The national territory consists of the whole island of Ireland, its islands and the territorial seas’. Art. 3 stated, ‘Pending the re-integration of the national territory, and without prejudice to the right of the Parliament and Government established by this Constitution to exercise jurisdiction over the whole of that territory, the laws enacted by that Parliament shall have the like area and extent of application as the laws of Saorstát Éireann and the like extra-territorial effect’.

5 The best example of this interpretation can be found in Gallagher, Frank, The Indivisible Island: The History of the Partition of Ireland (London: Gollancz, 1957)Google Scholar.

6 Whyte, John, Interpreting Northern Ireland (Oxford: Clarendon, 1990), 117CrossRefGoogle Scholar.

7 Richard Sinnott, ‘The North: Party Images and Approaches in the Republic’, Irish Political Studies, 1 (1986), 15–32; Tom Garvin argues that the differences between Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael reflect the division within Irish society of those who have an affinity with Britain and those who do not, The Evolution of Irish Nationalist Politics (Dublin: Gill & Macmillan, 1981), 148–9.

8 O'Halloran, Partition and the Limits to Irish Nationalism, 157.

9 Ronan Fanning, ‘Playing It Cool: The Response of the British and Irish Governments to the Crisis in Northern Ireland, 1968–9’, Irish Studies in International Affairs, 12 (2001), 57–85.

10 Garvin, Tom, Preventing the Future: Why Was Ireland So Poor for So Long? (Dublin: Gill & Macmillan, 2004)Google Scholar.

11 Francis Shaw, ‘The Canon of Irish History – A Challenge’, Studies (Summer 1972), 115–53.

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13 Barrington, Donal, Uniting Ireland, Pamphlet No. 1 (Dublin: Tuarim, 1959)Google Scholar; FitzGerald, Garret, Towards a New Ireland (London: Charles Knight, 1972)Google Scholar; O'Brien, Conor Cruise, States of Ireland (London: Hutchinson, 1972)Google Scholar.

14 Peter Mair, ‘Breaking the Nationalist Mould: The Irish Republic and the Anglo-Irish Agreement’, in Teague, Paul, ed., Beyond the Rhetoric: Politics, the Economy and Social Policy in Northern Ireland (London: Lawrence & Wishart, 1987)Google Scholar.

15 Whyte, Interpreting Northern Ireland, 119.

16 Barrington, Donal, ‘Uniting Ireland’, Studies, 46 (1957), 381Google Scholar.

17 McGarry, John and O'Leary, Brendan, Explaining Northern Ireland: Broken Images (Oxford: Blackwell, 1995), 21Google Scholar.

18 For a useful discussion of the ethnic and civic strands of Irish nationalism see ibid., 17–25.

19 O'Brien, States of Ireland, 295–8.

20 See FitzGerald, Towards a New Ireland.

21 Ibid., 63–101.

22 O'Brien, Conor Cruise, Memoirs: My Life and Themes (Dublin: Poolbeg, 1999), 341–2Google Scholar. FitzGerald was a noted academic economist, whereas O'Brien had extensive international experience in the Department of External Affairs at the United Nations and in Africa.

23 Mallie, Eamonn and McKittrick, David, The Fight for Peace: The Secret Story behind the Irish Peace Process (London: Heinemann, 1996)Google Scholar.

24 Hayward, Katy, ‘The Politics of Nuance: Irish Official Discourse on Northern Ireland’, Irish Political Studies, 19, 1 (2004), 18–38CrossRefGoogle Scholar.

25 Telegram from Galsworthy to Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO), 2 March 1973, The National Archives at Kew (hereafter NA) CJ4/335.

26 See Report of Attorney General's Committee 1 June 1973, National Archives Ireland (hereafter NAI) D/T 2004/21/2.

27 Witness seminar, University College Dublin, 7 Sept. 2005. Participants involved were Austin Currie, Sean Donlon, Noel Dorr, Garret FitzGerald, Mahon Hayes, Muiris MacConghail and John Swift. For further details please contact the author.

28 Kevin Boland v. An Taoiseach, 1973 No. 3289 P, Irish Reports, 1974, 356.

29 Prime Minister Edward Heath told the Taoiseach this in a telegram on 10 Jan. 1974, NAI D/T 2005/7/624.

30 Collins, Stephen, The Power Game: Fianna Fáil since Lemass (Dublin: O'Brien Press, 2000)Google Scholar; O'Brien, Conor Cruise, The Arms Trial (Dublin: Gill & Macmillan, 2000)Google Scholar. But see for an appraisal Catherine O'Donnell, ‘Standing Idly By? Fianna Fáil, Sinn Fein and the Northern Irish Troubles’, unpublished Ph.D. thesis, Queen's University Belfast, 2004, ch. 1.

31 See, for example, Lynch, John M., ‘The Anglo-Irish problem’, Foreign Affairs, 50, 4 (1972), 601–7CrossRefGoogle Scholar.

32 Sinnott, ‘The North’.

33 Dáil Éireann, Parliamentary Debates, Vol. 269, 12 Dec. 1973, col. 1605.

34 Note from McConghail to Secretary of Taoiseach, 2 Jan. 1974, NAI D/T 2005/7/624.

35 Memo on political developments, 5 Nov. 1973, NAI D/T 2004/21/3.

36 MacGinty, Roger and Darby, John, Guns and Government: The Management of the Northern Ireland Peace Process (Basingstoke: Palgrave, 2002), 21–2Google Scholar.

37 See, for example, the comments of Kelvin White, Record of Conversation between Kelvin White and Ross Francis, 16 Nov. 1973, NA CJ4/488.

38 See, for example, Record of a discussion between the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland and Dr Garret FitzGerald, 30 Nov. 1973, NA CJ4/511.

39 Witness seminar, University College Dublin, 7 Sept. 2005.

40 The Irish report on the proceedings of the conference confirm this, NAI D/T 2005/7/626.

41 Telegram from Douglas-Home, 12 Jan. 1972, NA CJ4/335.

42 Record of meeting held at 10 Downing Street, 9 March 1973, NA CJ4/335. The White Paper contained the British government's proposals for the restoration of devolved government to Northern Ireland and its proposed framework for other institutions.

43 Memo from Minister of Foreign Affairs (MFA) 24 May 1973, NAI D/T 2004/21/624.

44 Notes of meeting held at the NI Office in London 5 Oct. 1973, NAI D/T 2004/21/624.

45 Ibid.

46 Dorr to McDonagh, 6 Dec. 1972, NAI D/T 2004/21/2 (emphasis in original).

47 See note from Cosgrave of a meeting with the UK ambassador on 30 Aug. 1973, NAI D/T 2004/21/3.

48 Mark Bevir and R.A.W. Rhodes, ‘Studying British Government: Reconstructing the Research Agenda’, British Journal of Politics and International Relations, 1, 2 (1999), 215–39.

49 Every discussion document produced by the Irish government between 1972 and 1974 advocated a strong council and this was eventually cemented by a government decision on 11 Sept. 1973, NAI GC 14/46, D/T 2004/20/1.

50 Note of a meeting held on 22 Dec. 1972, NAI D/T 2004/21/2.

51 Note to the Taoiseach from IDU, 9 Sept. 1973, NAI D/T 2004/21/625 (emphasis in original).

52 IDU: Interim report on a Council of Ireland, NAI D/T 2004/21/3.

53 See paper on the Western European Union which was given to delegates in talks, NA CJ4/332. See papers in Irish archives, particularly Council of Ireland: The EEC model, written by Michael Lillis, dated 16 April 1973, NAI D/T 2004/21/2.

54 Council of Ireland (First Draft), Noel Dorr, 16 April 1973 NAI D/T 2004/21/2.

55 Ibid.

56 Dorr to McDonagh, 6 Dec. 1972, NAI D/T 2004/21/2 (emphasis in original).

57 Ibid. (emphasis in original). This was repeated by the IDU in a brief for ministers on 19 Dec. 1972, NAI D/T 2004/21/2.

58 Note to Taoiseach on 22 Jan. 1974, NAI D/T 2005/7/625.

59 NAI GC 14/74, D/T 2004/20/1.

60 Memo for government from MFA, 30 July 1973. Some areas of harmonisation seem exceptionally naïve; FitzGerald argued that ‘There might be . . . scope for a certain amount of co-ordination and harmonisation under the aegis of the Council in regard to curricula, especially in the history area’ (underlining in original; emphasis added), NAI D/T 2004/21/3.

61 Garret FitzGerald papers, University College Dublin Archives (UCDA) (emphasis in original).

62 See Note to Taoiseach, 25 Jan. 1974, NAI D/T 2005/7/615.

63 Discussion paper, Northern Ireland policy: question of bipartisanship and consensus, circulated by the minister for posts and telegraphs, 15 July 1974, NAI D/T 2005/7/658.

64 Note of a meeting between the Secretary of State and the Irish Ambassador, 12 Jan. 1973, NA CJ4/390.

65 Telegram from Arthur Galsworthy to FCO, 13 Nov. 1973, NA CJ4/488.

66 See a copy of the speech at NA CJ4/391.

67 Costello to Cosgrave 30 July 1973, NAI D/T 2004/21/624.

68 See comments of Austin Currie at the Sunningdale conference, NAI D/T 2005/7/626.

69 Nally to Taoiseach, 24 Aug. 1973, NAI D/T 2004/21/624.

70 Memorandum by MFA on the possible functions and structures of a Council of Ireland, 30 July 1973, NAI D/T 2004/21/624.

71 Costello to Cosgrave, 18 Oct. 1973, NAI D/T 2004/21/624.

72 Witness seminar, University College Dublin, 7 Sept. 2005.

73 Sean Donlon meeting, 20 Oct. 1973, NAI 2004/21/625.

74 See memo of 5 Nov. 1973, D/T 2004/21/3; Note from the Department of the Taoiseach, 24 Sept. 1973, NAI D/T 2004/21/3; Note to the Taoiseach on a Council of Ireland, 25 Sept. 1973, NAI D/T 2004/21/3.

75 Sean Donlon meeting, 20 Oct. 1973, NAI 2004/21/625.

76 Interview with Ken Bloomfield, 21 Sept. 2005.

77 Note from Sean Donlon, 26 Sept. 1973, NAI D/T 2004/21/626.

78 MFA Memo: Preparations for the Tripartite Conference, 23 Oct. 1973, NAI D/T 2004/21/625.

79 Telegram from Alec Douglas-Home to UK Representative, Belfast, 2 Jan. 1973, NA CJ4/390.

80 Galsworthy to White, reporting on conversation with O'Brien, 28 June 1973, NA CJ4/391.

81 Note of meeting at the Taoiseach's office on 31 Dec. 1973, Garret FitzGerald papers, UCDA.

82 See Note of a meeting in the FCO, 1 Jan. 1973, NAI D/T 2004/21/2; Note of a meeting held on 1 Jan. 1973, NA CJ4/390.

83 Memo 8 Jan. 1973, NAI D/T 2004/21/2.

84 Council of Ireland Paper No. 1, IDU, November 1972, NAI D/T 2004/21/2.

85 Ibid.

86 Ibid.

87 Council of Ireland, Paper No. 2, IDU, November 1972, NAI D/T 2004/21/2.

88 Council of Ireland, Paper No. 1, IDU, November 1972, NAI D/T 2004/21/2.

89 Robert McCartney has made this argument in relation to the debates around North–South co-operation and institutions in the 1990s; see Robert McCartney, Reflections on Liberty, Democracy and the Union (Dublin: Maunsel & Company, 2001), 137–50.