1988: A year of constant bickering between Haughey and Thatcher
State papers show the taoiseach and the British PM 'at loggerheads' over the IRA
Margaret Thatcher visiting the site of the Lockerbie bombing in 1988, a year in which security concerns dominated her dealings with the Irish government. Photograph: Peter Thursfield
Throughout 1988 Anglo-Irish relations seemed vulnerable to a surprise ambush. Taoiseach Charles Haughey and British prime minister Margaret Thatcher would meet three times during the year – always in the margin of a European summit.
At their first such meeting in Brussels in February, Haughey claimed they were doing well on security until “we were upset by a bolt from the blue”. He was referring – amongst other surprises – to the rejection of the appeal by the Birmingham Six. Haughey insisted that he must impress on her “the deep, deep anxiety and emotion” which such decisions could trigger among nationalists throughout Ireland.