The Irish Times view: When Anglo-Irish ties were fraying
Perusal of 1988 files should persuade officials to do all they can to avoid a return to violence
Then-taoiseach Charles Haughey on the steps of No 10 Downing Street in London with then British prime minister Margaret Thatcher in 1980. File photograph: Keystone/Getty Images
Brexit may have provoked some tension between the Irish and British governments but documents released by the National Archives under the 30-year rule show it bears no comparison to the naked hostility that existed between Charles Haughey and Margaret Thatcher at the end of the 1980s.
Back in 1988, during one particularly difficult meeting on the margins of a European summit, Haughey was prompted to remark: “I don’t know how we can get away from this constant bickering, attacking each other after each incident.”