Douglas Hurd

A request by taoiseach Charles Haughey in 1988 for clemency for the Birmingham Six was rebuffed immediately by British prime minister Margaret Thatche(...)

January 11th: SDLP leader John Hume and Sinn Féin president Gerry Adams hold the first in a series of secretive meetings in Belfast. January 17th: Au(...)

Former UK prime minister John Major was so furious with Bill Clinton over the US government’s decision to grant Gerry Adams a travel visa in 1994, he (...)

An uncleared visit by an Irish government minister to Northern Ireland in 1992 angered British officials, according to previously confidential files r(...)

A historic courtesy call by president Mary Robinson on Queen Elizabeth II features in this year’s declassified Stormont files, released by the Public (...)

Irish-British relations are about to undergo their biggest change since the 1970s, and arguably since Independence. The two states will remain close a(...)

The image and activities of the Ulster Defence Regiment proved an increasingly embarrassing issue for the British government in the run-up to and afte(...)

When European leaders gathered in Milan in June 1985, both Ireland and the European project were on the brink of dramatic change. The Anglo-Irish Agre(...)

During the framing of the historic Anglo-Irish Agreement of November 1985, Garret FitzGerald took the opportunity of a joint meeting in Lisbon to comp(...)

The late Democratic Unionist Party leader Rev Ian Paisley was rebuked by Northern Ireland secretary of state Douglas Hurd in 1984 after Dr Paisley ha(...)