ABSTRACT
Contemporary Ireland stands at a crossroads in its history. In one sense, convergence and divergence are the story of Ireland, and it is this story that any new institutional arrangements must in some sense articulate. The concept of a post-nationalist Ireland must not be pressed too far. The most important part of the document, from the nationalist point of view, was the reiteration of the principle that Britain had no selfish strategic or economic interest in Ireland. The authority of the two governments, working in concert, and in particular the Irish government’s growing authority over nationalists in Northern Ireland, pushed the process along. IRA violence is undoubtedly fuelled by injustice, deprivation and harassment by the forces of the state in Northern Ireland, but its secure place in a strand of the Irish nationalist tradition legitimizes, sustains and even enables IRA activities, including some of its worst outrages.
