ANGLO-IRISH AGREEMENT

noun (Politics) A formal agreement between the United Kingdom and the Republic of Ireland, signed on 15 November 1985, establishing an intergovernmental conference and providing for greater cooperation between the two countries, especially where the sovereignty and security of Northern Ireland were concerned. Etymology: Anglo- is the combining form of English, but doubles as the combining form for British and 'of the United Kingdom', since neither has a combining form of its own; to describe the agreement as Anglo-Irish therefore means not just that it was between England and Eire, but between the whole United Kingdom and Eire (and so by implication included Northern Ireland, even though it met with opposition there). History and Usage: The Anglo-Irish agreement was the subject of some considerable speculation in the press long before it was actually signed by British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher and Irish Taoiseach Garret Fitzgerald at Hillsborough, Co. Down, in 1985: the earliest uses of the term date from the very beginning of the eighties. It became very frequently used in newspapers during the mid eighties, partly as a result of the intense opposition to it raised by Ulster Unionists. They particularly objected to the fact that their political representatives had not been involved in the negotiations and to the implications they saw in it for the sovereignty of Northern Ireland. Attempted Ulster talks in May 1991 sought to involve them first in a new agreement. The disagreement goes to the heart of the problem of how to introduce Dublin as a partner in the talks and what role it would have in renegotiating the replacement of the Anglo-Irish Agreement. Guardian 28 June 1990, p. 2