Downing Street Declaration 1993

• Leaving Cert History

• Case Study

• Northern Ireland 1949-1973

Background• 11 January 1988

John Hume, then leader of the Social Democratic and Labour Party (SDLP), met with Gerry Adams, then President of Sinn Féin (SF). This was the first in a series of discussions between the two men.

• Talks end in August

• Members from four Northern Ireland political parties met for talks in Duisburg, West Germany. Alliance Party of Northern Ireland (APNI), Social Democratic and Labour Party (SDLP), Ulster Unionist Party (UUP) and Democratic Unionist Party (DUP). Little progress was reported from the meetings.

Background• 5 March 1989 Gerry Adams, then President of

Sinn Féin (SF), made a speech in which he said that he sought a "non-armed political movement to work for self-determination" in Ireland.

• 24 July 1989 Peter Brooke was appointed as Secretary of State for Northern Ireland.

• 3 November 1989 Speech by Peter Brooke, then Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, in which he admitted that the Irish Republican Army (IRA) could not be defeated militarily. He also said that he could not rule out talks with Sinn Féin (SF) if

there was an end to violence.

• 9 November 1990Peter Brooke made a major speech on the British position to an audience in London. In the speech he said that Britain had no "strategic or economic interest" in Northern Ireland and would accept unification of Ireland if that was the wish of the people of Northern Ireland.

• 15 November 1990Gerry Adams, then President of Sinn Féin (SF), made a response to Peter Brooke's speech of the 9 November 1990.

Background

articlestory

• 29 April 1991A ceasefire announced by the Combined Loyalist Military Command (CLMC) began on midnight.

• 14 March 1991Peter Brooke, announced to the House of Commons that talks involving the four main parties in Northern Ireland would take place during a gap in the operation of the Anglo-Irish Conference meetings. These talks were the first of a series lasting from March 1991 to November 1992 which became known as the Brooke / Mayhew Talks.

• 25 March 1991All the parties involved in the Brooke / Mayhew Talks agreed to the arrangements for the talks.

Brooke / Mayhew Talks

Brooke / Mayhew Talks• 26 March 1991

Peter Brooke announced that the Brooke / Mayhew Talks will involve a three-strand process. This process was to include – relationships within Northern Ireland, – between Northern Ireland and the

Republic of Ireland, – between the British and Irish

Governments.

• 3 July 1991Peter Brooke, announced at Westminster that he was bringing this stage of the Brooke / Mayhew Talks to an end.

More Talks• 4 July 1991

The Combined Loyalist Military Command (CLMC) announced the end of the ceasefire, as of midnight, that had begun on 29 April 1991.

• 16 September 1991 - 20 September 1991Peter Brooke held a series of meetings with leaders of the political parties in Northern Ireland to try to restart the talks process.

UK Election• 9 April 1992

A general election was held in the United Kingdom (UK). Gerry Adams, then President of Sinn Féin (SF), lost his seat in West Belfast to Dr Joe Hendron of the Social Democratic and Labour Party (SDLP).

• 11 April 1992Patrick Mayhew replaced Peter Brooke as Secretary of State for Northern Ireland.

• 27 April 1992There was an announcement at the Anglo-Irish Intergovernmental Conference that there would be a three month break in its meetings to allow the Brooke / Mayhew Talks to recommence.

More talks• 27 April 1992 There was an announcement at

the Anglo-Irish Intergovernmental Conference that there would be a three month break in its meetings to allow the Brooke / Mayhew Talks to recommence.

• 29 April 1992 The Brooke / Mayhew Talks recommenced at Stormont.

• 12 June 1992 The parties involved in the Brooke / Mayhew Talks agreed to begin work on Strand Two and Strand Three of the process even though discussions on Strand One were at a standstill.

Paisley and Molyneaux• 10 August 1992 Patrick Mayhew, then Secretary

of State for Northern Ireland, announced that the Ulster Defence Association (UDA) was to be banned from midnight.

• 9 September 1992 Ian Paisley, then leader of the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP), walked out of the Brooke / Mayhew Talks.

• 21 - 23 September 1992 Jim Molyneaux, then leader of the Ulster Unionist Party (UUP), led a delegation from the UUP to talks in Dublin with the Irish Government. The talks were based on Strand Two. The Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) did not attend the talks in Dublin.

Talks Collapse

• 26 September 1992 The Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) returned to the resumed Brooke / Mayhew Talks at Stormont.

• 6 November 1992 The Irish Coalition Government collapsed and a general election was called for 25 November 1992.

• 10 November 1992 Unionists withdrew from the Brooke / Mayhew Talks and brought the process to an end. Their action was provoked by the restart of work of the Maryfield secretariat, set up as a result of the Anglo-Irish Agreement.

IRA

• 24 December 1992The Irish Republican Army (IRA) called a three-day ceasefire.

• Wednesday 7 April 1993Gordon Wilson met with representatives of the Irish Republican Army (IRA) to try to persuade them to stop their military campaign.

• Friday 9 April 1993The Irish Republican Army (IRA) issued its Easter message.

Hume / Adams Talks

• Sunday 11 April 1993 The secret talks held between John Hume, leader SDLP, and Gerry Adams, President of Sinn Féin became public knowledge when the Sunday Tribune newspaper ran a story. The talks were criticised by a number of parties and individuals.

• 24 April 1993 John Hume, then leader of the Social Democratic and Labour Party (SDLP), and Gerry Adams, then President of Sinn Féin (SF), issued a first joint statement.

• 4 September 1993 to 11 September 1993There was a suspension in IRA activities for one week.

Hume / Adams Talks

• 4 October 1993 Irish Republican Army (IRA) issued a statement welcoming the Hume/Adams Initiative.

• 19 October 1993 James Molyneaux, leader of the Ulster Unionist Party told John Major, British Prime Minister, of his party's opposition to the Hume/Adams initiative.

• Saturday 23 October 1993 Ten people were killed when a bomb being planted by the Irish Republican Army (IRA) exploded prematurely in a shop on the Shankill Road, Belfast. With the exception of one of the bombers who was also killed, the rest of those who died were Protestant civilians.

Violence continues

• 29 October 1993John Major, then British Prime Minister, and Albert Reynolds, then Taoiseach (Irish Prime Minister), issued a joint statement from a meeting they held in Brussels.

• 30 October 1993The Ulster Freedom Fighters (UFF) killed six Catholics and one Protestant in an attack on the 'Rising Sun' bar in Greysteel, County Derry. There was widespread condemnation of the attack.

Downing Street Declaration

• 16 November 1993 A story appeared in the media alleging that the British Government and Sinn Féin (SF) had been having a series of secret talks.

• 27-28 November 1993 The fact that there had been a series of secret talks between the British Government and Sinn Féin (SF) was confirmed.

• Wednesday 15 December 1993John Major, then British Prime Minister, and Albert Reynolds, then Taoiseach (Irish Prime Minister), issued a joint declaration from 10 Downing Street, London (the document became known as the Downing Street Declaration)

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SinnFein• Wednesday 6 April 1994 - Friday 8 April 1994 The Irish

Republican Army (IRA) called a three-day ceasefire. • Thursday 19 May 1994 The Northern Ireland Office (NIO)

published a 21 page clarification of Sinn Féin (SF) questions that arose from the Downing Street Declaration

• Saturday 18 June 1994 The Ulster Volunteer Force (UVF) killed six Catholic men in a gun attack on a bar in Loughlinisland, County Down. The attack was widely condemned.

• Sunday 24 July 1994 Sinn Féin (SF) held a special conference in Letterkenny, County Donegal to consider the Downing Street Declaration Sinn Fein were critical of the document and most observers took this to mean that the proposals had been rejected.

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IRA Cessation• Tuesday 16 August 1994 Patrick Mayhew,

Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, and Michael Ancram, Political Development Minister at the Northern Ireland Office (NIO), held a secret meeting in Derry with Gerry Adams, then President of Sinn Féin (SF), and Martin McGuinness, the Vice-President of Sinn Féin (SF).

• Wednesday 31 August 1994The Irish Republican Army (IRA) announced a "complete cessation of military activities" in a statement to the media

Good Friday Agreement • Good Friday 10 April 1988 After years of talks

the two governments and the political parties in Northern Ireland sign the Good Friday Agreement

• Basis of Agreement– The establishment of a power-sharing executive– Cross-border co-operation– Decommissioning of paramilitary weapons– a commitment to "the mutual respect, the civil

rights and the religious liberties of everyone in the community".

The Chuckle Brothers

• Presentation prepared by:• Dominic Haugh• St. Particks Comprehensive School• Shannon• Co. Clare

• Presentation can be used for educational purposes only – all rights remain with author