Anglo-Irish Relations Reach 16-Year Low in Wake of Court Rulings Tied to Ulster

When Britain and the Irish Republic buried their differences over Northern Ireland 2 1/2 years ago and agreed to cooperate in reducing religious violence in the strife-torn province, there was hope among the minority Roman Catholic community there.

A key aim of the historic agreement was to rekindle Catholic confidence in important institutions such as the police and the judiciary, long dominated by Northern Ireland’s Protestant majority.

The United States even backed the accord with $120 million in grants and, gradually, tentative signs of change were visible. The two countries worked closely to boost morale among moderates and squeeze paramilitary groups, including the outlawed Irish Republican Army, which were forced onto the defensive.

Accord in Danger

But within the space of four tumultuous days last month, the entire process suddenly seemed in danger of unraveling. Anglo-Irish relations tumbled to a 16-year low, and if the agreement on Northern Ireland still survived, the cooperative spirit between the two governments that gave it meaning was seriously damaged.

“It is difficult to see how the damage done to the Anglo-Irish process can be fully repaired,” commented the Irish Times, an influential Irish Republic newspaper, in an editorial.

At the center of the diplomatic rift were two dramatic legal rulings in Britain.

In one instance, British Atty. Gen. Patrick Mayhew announced that no criminal charges would be brought against Northern Ireland law officers who had investigated the 1982 police killings of six unarmed Catholics despite compelling evidence that the investigators had committed perjury and conspiracy to obstruct justice.

Three days later, a British court turn down the appeal of six Irish nationals serving life sentences for the 1974 bombing of a pub in the English Midlands, despite new evidence that confessions had been beaten out of the men and that forensic tests linking them with explosives were inconclusive.

In a book on the case, British Labor member of Parliament Christopher Mullin concluded that the police, acting under intense public pressure for results, had arrested the wrong men.

The bombing claimed 21 lives, the worst-ever death toll for a terrorist act in Britain.

Anger in Dublin

The decision to reject the appeal, which had drawn extensive press coverage in the Irish Republic, hit Dublin like salt on an open wound.

“A very wide volume of opinion believe these people are innocent,” commented Irish Atty. Gen. Gerry Collins.

But it was the decision not to prosecute the police investigating officers that has most seriously damaged relations.

Mayhew’s explanation that the decision was taken “in the public interest” unleashed a heated, rapid-fire exchange between London and Dublin.

“Perjury, misleading statements to the authorities and other actions designed to pervert the course of justice should not be tolerated,” declared Irish Prime Minister Charles Haughey.

Collins labeled Mayhew unfit for public office and at one point seemed to question his sanity.

“The British attorney general has given a new lease on life to the IRA,” Collins charged in a television interview.

British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher, who reportedly heard Collins’ comments, ordered an immediate diplomatic protest.

Adding to the uproar, John Stalker, the man who headed an independent inquiry into the shootings, began serializing his version of events in a British tabloid. He described an apparent tale of continued harassment and obstruction from the Northern Ireland police, known as the Royal Ulster Constabulary.

For the Irish, Stalker’s account confirmed Irish suspicions of a major cover-up.

Noted the leading British daily Independent: “It is no exaggeration to say that, at this moment, nationalist Ireland regards British justice as a disgrace.”

Chilly Meeting

An emergency meeting between officials of the two governments earlier this week in Belfast was said to be among the frostiest since regular contacts began under terms of the accord in November, 1985. The meeting had been called by an angry Irish government, demanding British clarification to the two judgments.

Those who have worked to implement the Anglo-Irish Agreement were dismayed by events.

“It has undone two years (of) hard work in building confidence in the system,” commented one Irish official.

Two decades of sectarian strife, merely the latest in a 400-year history of such conflict, has claimed nearly 2,600 lives and made normal life impossible in Northern Ireland, also known as Ulster.

The 1985 agreement gave the Irish Republic a formal consultative role in the province’s affairs for the first time as part of efforts to develop the reforms necessary to boost Catholic confidence.

Protests by Ulster’s hard-line Protestants, who see the accord as spelling an end to their total supremacy, have failed to scuttle it.

Anglo-Irish cooperation, especially in security matters, has turned up large caches of illegal arms stored in the Republic and awaiting transfer across the border into Northern Ireland. The extent of this cooperation has cut the effectiveness of paramilitary groups, including the IRA.

In part, the agreement’s immediate future hinges on the outcome of an Anglo-Irish ministerial-level meeting planned early next week in Belfast, when British officials are expected to outline possible disciplinary measures against the police officers involved in the cover-up.

Thatcher and Haughey may also discuss the subject when they are in Brussels for the European Communities summit Feb. 11-12.

While there is no talk of scrapping the agreement, the critical question, according to analysts, is the depth of political will that remains in both London and Dublin to make it work.

The republic is said to be demanding a major shake-up in the Royal Ulster Constabulary as the only possible alternative to prosecutions, and there are indications that at least some action is contemplated against the officers involved in the case.

No Sense of Urgency

British officials, however, have shown little sense of urgency to defuse the issue.

“What we have seen is an independent judiciary at work,” claimed one British government source, defending Mayhew’s statement and the appeal decision. “The more they protest in Dublin, the more damage they will do. There isn’t a lot of good will on this side of the water.”

With little flexibility apparent, Northern Ireland’s future looks far rockier than it did just a month ago. Said Haughey:

“It must be clear to any reasonable observer that the only persons likely to benefit from what has now happened are the paramilitaries.”