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Material relating to "7th Amendment of the Constitution (Election of members of Seanad Eireann by Institutions of Higher Education) Bill 1979" including copy of the bill as initiated with explanatory memos, 05/1979; cutting, 10/05/1979; handwritten notes in Mary Robinson's handwriting [05/1979], and typed address "Second Stage in Seanad Éireann"; copy of letter from HM Robb to John Wilson, Minister for Education, in relation to comments Wilson made that graduates of Queen's University Belfast did not wish to be included in the election, 28/05/1978; publication on vote tallies for Seanad Éireann General Election, 08/1977 and bye-elections to the 1973-1977 Seanad, 197[8?].

Typed texts and drafts of addresses given by Mary Robinson (MR) in her role as Senator, arranged chronologically across nine files. Many of these addresses touched on legal and legislative topics and overlap with P143/1 as a result. The final file in this section consists of copies of all six of MR's election addresses as Senatorial candidate from 1969-1987.

The Anglo-Irish Agreement was a 1985 treaty between the United Kingdom and Ireland, which aimed to help bring an end to the Troubles in Northern Ireland. The treaty gave the Irish government an advisory role in Northern Ireland's government while confirming that there would be no change in the constitutional position of Northern Ireland unless a majority of its citizens agreed to join the state of Ireland. It also set out conditions for the establishment of a devolved consensus government in the region. The most powerful pressure for the Agreement came from the United States, where the Irish American lobby had a strong influence. Led by the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Tip O'Neill, and Senators Edward Kennedy and Daniel Moynihan, the Irish lobby regularly denounced what they considered British colonialism and human rights violations in Northern Ireland. Reagan, who was also Irish American and visited Ireland in June 1984, increasingly encouraged British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher to make progress on Anglo-Irish talks. By January 1985, Thatcher was persuaded that progress must be made on the issue. Her primary aim was security but realised that for help in this area she would need to concede in other areas, such as grievances over policing and the courts. The Agreement was signed on 15 November 1985, at Hillsborough Castle, by the Thatcher and the Irish Prime Minister Garret FitzGerald and was also known by the alternative title "Hillsborough agreement".

The Agreement failed to bring an immediate end to political violence in Northern Ireland; neither did it reconcile the two communities. The Agreement was widely rejected by unionists because it gave the Irish government a role in the governance of Northern Ireland for the first time ever, and because they had been excluded from the agreement negotiations. The agreement was rejected by republicans because it confirmed Northern Ireland's status as a part of the UK. The devolved power-sharing government envisaged by the Agreement would not become a reality for many years, and then in quite a different form. However, it did improve co-operation between the British and Irish governments, which was key to the creation of the Good Friday Agreement thirteen years later.

Mary Robinson, who subsequently became President of Ireland, resigned from the Irish Labour Party because she believed that the Agreement could not secure peace and stability within Northern Ireland and because she disagreed with how the unionist community had been excluded from negotiations.

Material in this section consists of reports, correspondence and other material relating to the drafting and signing of the agreement, reactions to it, and the fallout of MR's resignation from the Labour party because if it.

Material relating to the drafting and signing of the Anglo-Irish Agreement (on 15th November 1985), Mary Robinson (MR)'s objection to it and her subsequent resignation from the Labour party and consisting of reports, correspondence, minutes, agendas, cuttings, press statements, and Dáil debates. It includes photocopy of article in the Irish times "Helping America to understand Ireland", by John Cooney, with cover letter to MR from Mairtin McCullough, in relation to article and the Ireland Fund, 18/07/1985; discussion journal [newsletter] "The Democratic Socialist", Spring, Autumn and November 1985; "The Anglo Irish Agreement - Are the Flaws Fatal?" typed, cut and pasted draft summary of contribution by Senator MR to Patrick McGill summer School, Glenties, County Donegal, 19/08/1985; "Northern Ireland Assembly", 3rd report from the Devolution Report Committee, 29/10/1985; papers from Labour History Workshop, Dublin 1985: "The Ralahine Commune of County Clare 1831" and "James Fintan Lalor, the Real Revolutionary of 1848" by Frederick Ryan, founding secretary of Socialist Party of Ireland (1909)", "Ralahine And Land Nationalisation" by Reverend Bruce Wallace, Belfast Christian Socialist, and "A Ralahine in Galilee" by Theodor Herzl, founding president of the World Zionist Organisation, with introduction by Manus O'Riordan and circular inserted from Ireland-Israel Friendship League, Nov 1985 along with report "Communism and a Real Existing Road to socialism - A Century Evaluation of Ernest Bevin, British Labour Leader", O'Riordan, Dublin, July 1981; "Dear Mr Whitelaw", Vera E Nevin: booklet of letters from 1972 printed specially "because of the Westminster-Dublin 'agreement'", 1985; Anglo-Irish Summit meeting joint communiqué, "Summary of the Anglo-Irish Agreement 1985" joint press release, "Remarks by the Taoiseach, Dr Garret FitzGerald, TD, on the Occasion of the Signing of the Anglo-Irish Agreement" (press release), photocopy of statement from Dick Spring, Tánaiste [Deputy Irish Prime Minister] and leader of Labour Party with handwritten notes from MR on reverse, and circular from Ruairí Quinn, TD, and Minister for Labour, 15/11/1985; official pamphlets from The Labour Party, and Fine Gael relating to the Anglo-Irish Agreement, 16/11/1985; MR's copy of typed letter to Dick Spring, resigning from Labour party and related letters to Michael D Higgins [Labour Party Chairman] and Garret FitzGerald, 18/11/1985; official statement and draft by MR on her reservations about the Anglo-Irish Agreement, disputing message media were given that it had unanimous support and endorsement, and announcing her resignation from the Labour Party, 18/11/1985; Democratic Socialist Party press release on Anglo-Irish agreement on emergency resolution passed at its annual conference, 18/11/1985; draft and final article written by MR for press, with photocopy of newspaper cutting of it, "Government must back out of agreement", [11]/1985 [this appeared in the Irish times, 25/01/1986]; photocopies of text of MR's address to Seanad Éireann on the Anglo-Irish Agreement, and Seanad Éireann Order paper 27/11/1985.

Series of anti-Anglo-Irish Agreement posters for the "Progress Always - Dublin Involvement Never" campaign, 198[5?].

Newspaper cuttings relating to the Anglo-Irish Agreement including the lead up, 1983-1990.

Correspondence between Mary Robinson (MR) and colleagues and members of the public in relation to her refusal to endorse the Anglo-Irish Agreement, her decision to resign from the Labour party as a result, and her statement on both (18/11/1985), including with Sir Alan Goodison, British Embassy, Dublin, Conor Cruise O'Brien, Frank X [Martin], Ruairí Quinn, Michael D Higgins [Chairman Labour Party], Dick Spring, Tánaiste [Irish Deputy Prime Minister] and Leader of Labour Party, Niamh Breathnach, Labour Women's Council, Dr William Vaughn, Fermanagh Club, Enniskillen; Christmas and New Year Card to MR from Ulster Defence Association (UDA).

Material relating to the Anglo-Irish Agreement and the fallout from Mary Robinson (MR)'s resignation including correspondence, reports, statements, Jan-Dec 1986. It includes handwritten letter of support from Ailbhe Smyth, 01/01/1986; statistical package prepared for British Irish Conference, Oxford, 10-12/01/1986; newsletters "The Equal Citizen: for British Rights For British Citizens in Northern Ireland", 02/1986, Co-Operation North News, Spring 1986, and Department of foreign Affairs Bulletin "northern Protestants - by themselves", April 1986; correspondence between MR and Dr John W Boyle, Department of History, University of Guelph, Ontario, Canada, 19/11/1985-07/04/1986; letter from Paddy McGarvey, journalist, seeking signature of support for Irish Parliament Trust, as outlined in draft letter to The Times, 11/04/1986; circular from Peter Brooke, Campaign for Equal citizenship for Northern Ireland, May 1986; "United Ireland?? United Islands??: A Conservative & Unionist Approach to the New Ireland forum", John Biggs-Davison, September 1984, with cover letter to MR from Biggs-Davison supporting her stand, 21/05/1986; correspondence with Glynn Douglas on behalf of Committee of the Religious Society of Friends (Quakers), 08-18/08/1986; correspondence with Mr Robert Lyle, Ulster Young Unionist Council, September 1986; article "Making the Hillsborough Agreement Acceptable", Kevin Boyle and Tom Hadden with cover note to MR from Boyle noting article was "not uninfluenced by your own decision" [1986?]; report "Co-existence in some plural European societies", The Minority Rights Group, [198?].

Material relating to the Anglo-Irish Agreement and the MacBride principles, a set of guidelines calling for US employers to take positive action when investing in Northern Ireland to counter discrimination, including correspondence and reports, Jan-June 1986. Material includes report on Northern Ireland investment, Office of the Comptroller (Harrison J Goldin), City of New York, 02/1985; memo from New York State Senate to all senators from Senator John E Flynn on the Northern Ireland Investment Bill, 27/01/1986; typed note on position of Irish Government with regard to job discrimination in Northern Ireland, with cover letter from Jim Flavin, Consul General, [02?]/1986; photocopy of report of the Comptroller "Interim report on Implementation of New York City Employees' and New York Teachers Retirement Systems' Resolutions on Northern Ireland", 02/1986; Irish Forum report on The MacBride Principles, 15/02/1986;correspondence between Mary Robinson (MR) and Robert St-Cyr, Senior Researcher, WHO Research Associates, New York 17/02-02/14/1986; memos from Emergency Committee For Jobs in Ulster, Greenlawn, New York, 19-25/03/1986; updates on work on MacBride Principles sent to MR by Jim Flavin, Consulate General of Ireland, New York, 08/04-01/05/1986; "The MacBride Principles", editorial by Michael Rubenstein, Equal Opportunities Review, May/June 1986.

Material consisting of correspondence, reports, flyers, community and party newsletters, handwritten notes and background material relating to the Anglo-Irish Agreement and events Mary Robinson (MR) attended in 1986, including visit to Belfast to meet various community groups, such as Resource Centre and Community House, South Belfast, 17-18/01/1986, Ditchley Foundation conference on Northern Ireland, 21-23/02/1986, Democratic Socialist Party Meeting on Anglo-Irish Agreement, 22/05/1986, discussion series organised by The Glencree Centre for Reconciliation, Bray, County Wicklow, and held at Buswells Hotel, Dublin, 10/06/1986 and Patrick Magill Summer School Glenties, 19/08/1986.

Material includes newsletter "Northern Star", from the United Ulstermen, 01/1986; "BAHD News", Rathcoole Community newsletter, Newtownabbey, 06/1985, 08/1985, 10/1985 and 01/1986; report "Ulster - The Founding Fathers", EM Griffith, Resource Educational Publication, Belfast, 19[8?]; booklets "Is Sinn Féin Socialist?", 09/1985, and "The New Ireland Forum", 198[?], Campaign for Labour Representation in Northern Ireland; "Community Mirror" [Belfast] newsletter, issues 1-4, 198[?]; "Labour Comment" newsletter, Cork City, 07/12/1985 and 18/01/1986; "Workers' Weekly" newsletter, 11/01/1986; report on housing survey, Rathcoole estate, Newtownabbey, County Antrim, 198[6?]; correspondence between MR and John Robinson, the Resource Centre and Community House, South Belfast, 1985-1986; newsletter "The Equal Citizen: For Equal Rights For Equal citizens in the United Kingdom", 23/11/1985 and 22/12/1985; correspondence, 02/01-17/02/1986, conference programme, attendee list, seating plans, handwritten notes and other background information for Ditchley Foundation conference on Northern Ireland (NI) including reports from groups at the conference: Group A (of which MR was member) on security situation in NI, Group B on political situation in NI and Group C on eternal influences, 21-23/02/1986; "The Anglo Irish Agreement - The Dangers", summary text of speech given by MR at Clarence Hotel, Dublin, 23/04/1986; discussion journal "The Democratic Socialist", Spring 1986, newsletter "Finglas Free Press", 03/1986 and bulletin "After Hillsborough", 04/1986; correspondence between MR and Martin McGarry, Democratic Socialist Party, 14/04-12/05/1986; correspondence to MR from Deirdre McCartie, Glencree Centre for Reconciliation, 19/05/1986 thanking her for agreeing to attend the second series of discussions on the Anglo-Irish Agreement entitled "Southern Views" and enclosing programme and speaker information; "The Anglo Irish agreement - The Need for Review Under Article II", summary text of MR's speech, 10/06/1986, Buswell’s Hotel, Dublin; flyers for series of four public meetings organised by Glencree Centre (03, 10, 17, 24/06/1986); correspondence between MR and Joe Mulholland, Patrick MacGill Summer School, Glenties, County Donegal, in relation to her participation, 26/06-05/09/1986 with text summary of her contribution "The Anglo Irish Agreement - Are the Flaws Fatal?"; letter from Robert Brannick and others, Irish forum, San Francisco, California, in relation to the visit of the California Irish Forum delegation in 1985 to learn more about conflict in NI, and seeking comments and suggestions, 23/04/1986; letter to MR from Fergus O'Hare and others, in relation to a Northern Nationalists' Conference being held on the 1st anniversary of the signing of the Anglo-Irish Agreement, 11/1986.