Case 189 - The Anglo-Irish Agreement of 1985

Mulvihill, Robert F. and Sean Farren

In 1985 the governments of the United Kingdom and the Republic of Ireland signed the Anglo-Irish Agreement, which sets forth their respective roles and responsibilities in Northern Ireland and spells out the specific political, cultural, economic, and civil rights of all residents of Northern Ireland. This pact is distinctive both because of its open-ended view of political solutions to the conflict, and because it was negotiated without the direct participation of the local parties in Northern Ireland. This case study describes the events leading up to the signing, then discusses the elements that have most strongly influenced relationships among all the parties to the conflict.