Primacy of Ministers who are Elected: Not Just a Shibboleth but a Reality - Certainly in Ireland

1. What Roles do Civil Servants of Governments Play in Ireland in Respect of Policy in Northern Ireland?

2. Primacy of Ministers who are Elected: Not Just a Shibboleth but a Reality - Certainly in Ireland • - importance of Taoisigh and Ministers at the Coalfare (?) Summit and Ministerial Meetings • - all decisions/positions on major issues cleared at Ministerial level, often at Government level (memo for Government) • - but still great deal less for officials to do

3. Roles Played by Officials • - composing, choosing, selling, testing formulate of words; they can act as bridges, signals, messages and can, potentially, command agreement on part of different sides, with different interests/objectives; pluses and minuses of "constructive ambiguity" • - analysing interests/objectives/priorities of different parties and • ~ briefing ministers orally • ~ writing papers/reviews • ~ negotiating (examples below) • ~ devising and establishing structures and institutions and then operating these • ~ going to meetings - lots of meetings! • ~ acting as impresario/organizer of events and programmes • ~ advising on policy - orally or on paper - and on reactions to events; and devising or adapting concepts • ~ writings speeches for Minister or officials or other public statements, such as answers to Parliamentary Questions • ~ drafting (writing) new legislation, including to amend Constitution of Ireland • ~ assessing proposals for economic development • ~ considering other applications for money e.g. from academic or reconciliation bodies • ~ gathering information; by reading and through contacts, in person, on phone, etc. etc. • ~ maintaining and extending informal contacts • ~ consulting legal advisers

4. Examples of Wordsmithing-1 • (1) Anglo-Irish Summits of 21.5.1980 (teapot summit) and 8.12.1980: "unique relationship" and "totality of relationship" • - pre-negotiation of communiqu?s • ~ May: 20 cut outs of phrases • ~ December: totality, etc. - coined in November 1980 by senior British official • - December circumstances: hunger strike, security, Maggie sleep in Dublin Castle, loo; top level British delegation; Rhodesia precedent, Lord Carrington • - Maggie: "what does it mean?"; Lord Carrington's answer • - interests/aims of different actors; subtlety blown by Brian Lenihan (senior); Maggie in Maastricht • - longevity of phrase; it is in the Good Friday Agreement • (2) Language re: authority, power, function, accountabilities of North-South Ministerial Council and North-South implementation bodies under Good Friday Agreement • - "challenge to present matters in such a way that republicans would interpret words as the embryo of a united Ireland while unionists would argue that the same words amounted to an endorsement of partition" • - compromises: legal origins versus accountability • ~ numbers - definite-ness versus limits • (3) Wording of paragraph 5.7 of 1984 Report of the New Ireland Forum • another retired Supreme Court Justice

5. Examples of Wordsmithing-2 • - "The particular structure of political unity which the Forum would wish to see established is a unitary state, achieved by agreement and consent, embracing the whole island of Ireland and . . ." • ~ deadlock in Forum, downsides of that • ~ Hume passes chalice to Mallon; trip to Markethill at weekend, drafting language there, selling in Dublin on Monday • ~ Mallon to Haughey, Haughey to Hume, Hume to Fitzgerald • (4) Article 1 of the Anglo-Irish Agreement, 1985 • - "The two Governments • (a) affirm that any change in the status of Northern Ireland would only come about with the consent of a majority of the people of Northern Ireland . . . " • ~ "would" or "could," "status," or "constitutional status" • ~ precedent for "would" in joint communiqu? of 21 May 1980 (teapot) so Fianna Fail criticism spiked in advance • ~ also protection from constitutional challenge; stood to us when such a challenge was taken by the Unionist McGimpsey brothers • ~ Supreme Court passed statement as no more than a statement of predictive expectation but said Articles 2 and 3 of Irish Constitution were a constitutional imperative for Irish Government

6. Examples of Wordsmithing-3 • (5) Irish Government Dossier of New Evidence in Relation to Bloody Sunday • - television programmes by British T.V. Stations • - secret confession by British paratrooper participant • - radio traffic logs: ham operator • - strong pressure from relatives of victims and from inured • - editor-in-chief of dossier, drawn up by 3 man team • - presented to Tony Blair by Taoiseach John Bruton: powerful case, hard to deny • - decision to establish Bloody Sunday Tribunal • - need to restrain colleagues' exuberance with words • (6) Arrangements and Terms of Reference for Judicial Inquiry in South into Dublin and Monaghan Bombings • - bombings on 30 May 1974; 33 killed • - inadequacies and early closure of police investigation • - efforts over years through questions to Ministers - unavailing 'straight bat' by Department of Justice • - T.V. programme - again by British TV station but still straight bat • - Dublin bombing occurred in Dublin Central, constituency of Taoiseach Bertie Ahern, so vulnerable to pressure from grassroots • - meetings with relatives; Saturday morning negotiation of terms of reference of inquiry, later conducted under chair of former Chief Justice and, after his early death,

7. Negotiating • - different negotiating partners: • ~ our own colleagues/Departments • e.g. re: functions and powers of North-South implementation bodies, Eamonn Kennedy • ~ British officials, run ups to summits • ~ Northern Ireland officials and unionist representatives on worming out Strand 2 of Good Friday Agreement (Irish offices in Stormont - if 1985, quarter of a million protesters outside; number/frequency of NSMC meetings) • ~ Sinn Fein top people in Dublin castle on Thursday night before Friday morning meeting of drafting committee of Forum for Peace and Reconciliation • - records of Pat Doherty (enforcer) and Rita O'Hare (enticer) but then apparent bona-fides • - issues were word formulae around self-determination and consent: huge republican baggage on these issues

8. Devising and Establishing Structures • - words/concepts have to be often translated into structures and institutions • - examples • ~ 1981 Irish-British Joint Study on Possible new Institutional Structures • * superior experience of British side • * but helps to know what you want • > Anglo-Irish Intergovernmental Council - was platform for 1985, later 1998 East-West institution with Irish droit de regard over NI • > Anglo-Irish/British-Irish Parliamentary Body • ~ 1984 start of New Ireland Forum: party leaders' meeting to agree Terms of Reference; "the shape of the table" (of Paris talks on Vietnam) • ~ representation strengths in 1994 Forum for Peace and Reconciliation • * extra seat for Alliance • * observers (?) for loyalist prisoners after unsuccessful meeting with loyalist parties in Onaker Home, Belfast • * adjustment for SDLP, compared with 1984-85 Forum, given major aim in 1994 was to nurse SF along • ~ Post-GFA working out of structures for North-South and East-West • * location of NSMC secretariat - Armagh - reasons for this • > financing • > personnel issues re: cross jurisdiction bodies, et. etc.

9. Attending Meetings • - over the years, with SDLP delegations • - in Multi-Party Talks, 1996-98, every morning with British, Senator George Mitchell, his co-chairman and staff, and throughout the day, with many other delegations • - with families of hunger strikers (1981), of victims of bombings (Dublin, Omagh, RUC widows) • - as part of various official North-South or Irish-British working groups • * Centre Group, post-GFA on implementation of Strands 2 and 3 (McDonalds!) • * Liaison Group in run-in to GFA • * advisory committee of International Fund for Ireland (political pitfalls, balances) • - as part of devising, co-ordinating Irish Government policy • * Co-ordination Committee of all relevant departments, post GFA

10. Orchestrator of Events/Impresario • - Clinton visits: US Secret Service "take no prisoners" • - big advance parties, security arrangements • - location of events; balances to be struck (Bank of Ireland) • - Guinness Storehouse; top-floor relegation for captains of industry; but all complaints re: Celia on the platform where Clinton spoke • - First Meeting of North-South Ministerial Council, Armagh, 1999 • ~ appeal to Hume • ~ failure to foresee visual impact of fleet of Merceda carrying Irish Ministers (not privy to RUC plans for security) • - 20 December 1994: first public hearing meeting of Forum for Peace and Reconciliation (started 28.10.1994) • ~ prisoner issues • ~ victims • ~ powerful impact, helped establish credibility of Forum

11. Policy and Concepts • - research: ahead of 1981 • - joint studies: Nordic Council, Benelux, Franco-German Treaty of Co-operation, Antarctic (!); later, in 1991-1993, evolution of international interpretation of self- determination • - commissioning studies in Fera (?) • ~ Boyle/Hadden on Human Rights Protection; Eide (Norway) on Protection of Group Rights; Studies on Potential for Single Island Economy

12. Speeches and Parliamentary Questions • - PQs a weekly task: way to give reactions to "events" and to incrementally develop detail of policy and send political signals of this • - lots of speaking engagements and therefore speeches • - not the same resources as in US and UK

13. Legislation • - 1999 British Irish Agreement Act • ~ build up block by block over months • ~ problems of different Irish and British styles of drafting laws • ~ rush at the end, unprecedented all-night session by Office of Parliamentary Draftsmen • - 19th Amendment to the Constitution Act 1998 • ~ people, not territory • ~ need to retain leverage; delayed application of amendments to old Articles 2 and 3, until other parties fulfilled their part of the bargain • ~ need to overcome restrictive effort, re: North-South of old Article 3 • ~ Diaspora clause • ~ different inputters into the wording • ~ need to sell it to Fianna Fail, so draw on "sacred texts" including Lemass 1963 Report

14. Gathering Information/Extending Contracts • - organizations in Britain e.g. British-Irish Rights Watch, Sister Sarah • - British-Irish Association: annual conferences a framework for contacts/exchanges - media, military, police, officials • - BIA as a back-channel in lead up to December 1980 Summit • - politicians in North - Hume, Mallon, Currie, Logue • - Department of Foreign Affairs, "travellers" - contacts with all sides in Northern Ireland (Bill Craig, lawyers, bishops and clergy of all denominations, police, military, etc. etc.)

15. Legal Advisers • - shared building with officials of Office of the Attorney General • - "wise owls"; lawyers who give you solutions, not problems