Table of Contents

Acknowledgements Glossary Notes on Primary Sources Introduction Part I: Leader of the Opposition, 1975-1979 1. Thatcher and the Conservative Party's Northern Ireland Policy, 1975-1979 2. Airey Neave and the Conservative Party's Northern Ireland Policy, 1975-1979 Part II: First-Term in Office, 1979-1983 3. Thatcher and the Evolution of the British Government's Northern Ireland Policy, 1979 4. The Atkins' Talks and the Haughey-Thatcher Relationship, 1980 5. Thatcher, the Second Republican Hunger-Strike and Anglo-Irish Relations, 1981 6. The Prior Initiative, the Falklands War and Anglo-Irish Relations, 1982 Part III: Second-Term in Office, 1983-1987 7. Thatcher, Fitzgerald and the Evolution of Anglo-Irish Relations, 1983-1984 8. Thatcher, American-Anglo Relations and the Anglo-Irish Agreement, 1985-1986 Part IV: Third-Term in Office, 1987-1990 9. Thatcher and the Genesis of the Northern Ireland Peace Process, 1987-1990 Conclusion Bibliography Index

Promotional Information

A comprehensive examination of Thatcher's stance on Northern Ireland during her time as Conservative Party leader from 1975 to 1990.

About the Author

Stephen Kelly is Professor in Modern History and Head of History, Politics and International Relations at Liverpool Hope University, UK. He is the author of 'A Failed Political Entity': Charles Haughey and the Northern Ireland Question, 1945-1992 (2016), Frank Aiken: Nationalist and Internationalist (edited collection) (2014), and Fianna Fáil, Partition and Northern Ireland, 1926-1971 (2013).

Reviews

Filled with new detail after new detail gleaned from a host of archives and first-hand interviews, this book tells the fascinating story of an iconic party leader and prime minister forced by events into making more concessions than she and her colleagues ever imagined possible. Required reading for anyone interested in the Thatcher era, as well as in the Troubles and the tortuous route out of them.
*Tim Bale, Professor of Politics, Queen Mary University of London, UK.*

A major subject, examined through the interrogation of very rich source material. A fascinating study of painfully evolving relationships.
*Richard English, author of Does Terrorism Work? A History.*

This detailed and meticulously researched study, based on an examination of a wide range of archival sources and on first-hand interviews, shows that the development of events forced Thatcher and her governments into making more concessions than they had ever imagined making. It’s a compelling exploration of a central dimension of the Troubles.
*The Irish Times*