CASE STUDY Sunningdale Agreement Flashcards
When did Whitelaw invite NI parties to round table talks to explore possibility of political agreement?
September 1972
Quote of first time British acknowledgement of “Irish dimension”
Any new arrangement should be
“so far as possible, acceptable to and accepted by the Republic of Ireland.”
When did the Border poll take place?
8 March 1973
Results of border poll
97.8% in favour (nationalists boycotted it)
Representing 57% of voters
Where did the round - table talks take place?
Darlington, Co. Durham
When did elections for the assembly take place ?
28 June 1973
Figures of assembly elections showing how much anti-power sharing unionists outnumbered Faulkner
Anti-power-sharing unionists outnumbered Faulkner’s 26 to 24 in the 78 seat Assembly
Assembly election results showing majority unionist opinion was against power-sharing
Moderates on both sides got 51.4% in total. But extreme unionists got 36% on their own, suggesting they represent majority of unionist opinion.
How many seats did Alliance win in the Assembly elections?
8
How many seats did the SDLP win in the assembly elections?
19
On what date did the assembly meet to discuss what the new govt should look like?
5 Oct 1973
When was the executive formed?
November 1973
What was the composition of the executive?
6 Unionists
4 SDLP
1 Alliance
Who was in charge of the executive with who else?
Faulkner- Chief Minister
Gerry Fitt- his deputy
Who caused violent scenes in the Assembly when they attacked power-sharing unionists?
Vanguard and DUP
Power sharing
Power sharing involved joint participation of unionists and nationalists in the government of NI.
When did the Sunningdale negotiations begin?
6 Dec 1973
When was the Sunningdale Agreement signed?
9 Dec 1973
Quote for nationalist and ROI only wanting unity by consent
The only unity they wanted to see was “unity established by consent”
Quote for majority unionist desire to remain in UK
Majority Desire to remain in UK “remained firm”
Quote about Irish govt accepting the fact that there could be no change in status until ..
“a majority .. desired a change in status”