The Papers of Dermot Nally consist of 36 boxes of material deposited by the Nally family in UCD
Archives between 2012 and 2022.
The Downing Street Declaration Papers are a series of papers within the larger Dermot Nally
Collection. The series amounts to one box of papers relating to talks between the UK and Irish
Governments that culminated in the Downing Street Declaration (Joint Declaration) issued on 15
December 1993 by John Major, UK Prime Minister, and Albert Reynolds, Taoiseach, at 10 Downing
Street. The series has been catalogued and digitised and is available to view in the UCD Archives
reading room by appointment, to holders of a UCDA reader’s ticket. It is also available to view online
at the Quill Project – Writing Peace: Dermot Nally Collection, here.
Dermot Nally, reproduced with kind permission of the Irish Times ©Irish Times
Dermot Nally is regarded as one of the most influential Irish civil servants of the 20th century. He was born in Dublin in 1927. In 1952 he joined the Department of Local Government where he rose through the ranks. In 1973, he was transferred to the Department of the Taoiseach and was appointed as secretary to the government in 1980.
Over the course of his career he worked with ten governments, reporting directly to five Taoisigh. He reported to the Taoiseach of the day on a wide range of matters, including Northern Ireland and European affairs. He also served on the cabinet’s highly confidential security committee, and was note-taker at all meetings between Taoisigh and other heads of government. Notable among these meetings were what were known as tête-à-tête meetings between the Taoiseach and UK Prime Minister.
Nally was deeply involved in confidential discussions about the possibility of a joint Anglo–Irish declaration to help to secure a paramilitary ceasefire and advance a peace process. When Albert Reynolds became Taoiseach in February 1992, Nally was asked to delay his retirement and participate in the ongoing negotiations. After his official retirement later in that year, he was retained on a consultancy basis by Reynolds to advise on the negotiations. Nally was one of four principal drafters of the document.
The Downing Street declaration was one of the key moments in 20th century Irish history. It was the basis for the IRA ceasefire eight months later. It is significant because it delivered the formula for peace on which subsequent events hinged. It set out the basic principles on which future constitutional changes would rest. They were the acceptance by the UK government of the principle of self determination for the people of the island and the acceptance by nationalist Ireland of the principle of consent as a prerequisite for unity.
Papers in this series include multiple draft declarations; notes of meetings between Reynolds and Major; notes of meetings between UK and Irish officials led by Nally and his UK counterpart Robin Butler; briefing documents for Reynolds and the Irish negotiating team; and correspondence between Reynolds and Major.
Some standout documents of interest include Nally’s notes of meetings between Reynolds and Major, and meetings between Irish and UK officials. There is also some direct correspondence between Reynolds and Major, and multiple annotated drafts of what would ultimately become the Joint Declaration.
During the negotiations there were a number of meetings between Albert Reynolds and John Major accompanied by their teams of officials. These are referred to in the documents as tête-à-tête which reflects the private and direct nature of the meetings. Nally took detailed notes of all meetings attended. In a meeting (tête-à-tête) between Reynolds and Major on 16 June 1993, items discussed included support for continuing talks between the two Governments, and the wording of the Sinn Fein text (a document given to Major by Sinn Fein). Major outlined the British view that “it was a very important development that there is a text at all” but asks “would it be acceptable to the House of Commons? and would it have the effect we want with the Unionists?”
UCDA P254/14 Papers of Dermot Nally – Downing Street Declaration. Note of Reynold’s meeting with Major. 16 June 1993. The document is available to view in its entirety online at the Quill Project – Writing Peace: Dermot Nally Collection, here.
As well as meetings between the Heads of Government there were regular meetings taking place between Irish and UK officials. These were known as the Nally-Butler Group meetings as they were led by Nally on the Irish side, and Robin Butler, Secretary of the Cabinet, on the UK side. At a meeting on 14 July 1993 the current draft of the Joint Declaration was discussed in detail with a particular focus on the principle of self determination. The Irish side emphasised the need for confidentiality and the Taoiseach’s view that “peace was an extremely valuable objective – and that risks should be taken to achieve it.”
UCDA P254/26 Papers of Dermot Nally – Downing Street Declaration. Meeting of the Nally-Butler Group. 14 July 1993. The document is available to view in its entirety online at the Quill Project – Writing Peace: Dermot Nally Collection, here.
Reynolds and Major also corresponded directly with each other. In a letter from Reynolds to Major on 7 September 1993, marked “personal and secret”, Reynolds emphasised that the draft joint declaration and proposals “have my own personal backing and inputs…”. He stated that “What we are all hoping to achieve is not necessarily Irish unity…within any limited timescale, but a period of stability, without violence or threat of violence…”, and urged Major to continue to give the process his backing.
UCDA P254/31 Papers of Dermot Nally – Downing Street Declaration. Letter from Reynolds to Major. 7 September 1993. The document is available to view in its entirety online at the Quill Project – Writing Peace: Dermot Nally Collection, here.
Major replied on 24 September stating “I agree with what you say about achieving peace. A genuine and lasting end to violence in Northern Ireland would of course be an historic breakthrough”. Major went on to confirm that he was content for the Nally-Butler meetings to continue and for the Liaison Group to work on a Joint Declaration.
UCDA P254/38 Papers of Dermot Nally – Downing Street Declaration. Letter from Major to Reynolds. 24 September 1993. The document is available to view in its entirety online at the Quill Project – Writing Peace: Dermot Nally Collection, here.
There are fourteen drafts of the Joint declaration within the collection. The draft below is from the 7 October as the end of negotiations seemed in sight. However, there was still considerable work and redrafting ahead for the negotiating teams. This draft contains eight paragraphs and includes Nally’s handwritten comments and annotations. A handwritten note at the top of the first page states “Amendments shown were agreed ad referendum in London yesterday. DN 7.10/93”.
UCDA P254/48 Papers of Dermot Nally – Downing Street Declaration. Draft Joint Declaration. 7 October 1993. The document is available to view in its entirety online at the Quill Project – Writing Peace: Dermot Nally Collection, here.
This series of papers within the Nally Collection demonstrates the level of painstaking negotiations that led to the Declaration as well as providing glimpses into the personal relationships and deep respect developing between both sides, most notably between Reynolds and Major, and their officials Nally and Butler.
This blog post was written by Niamh Collins, UCD Archives.