View 5 – Frank Sheridan

Frank Sheridan
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Biography

Frank Sheridan – Irish Government Diplomat and Researcher, The National Archives (Ireland)

  • Irish Foreign Service 1973 – serving in USA, Britain, the European Union, South America and Africa.
  • Private Secretary to Irish Foreign Minister.
  • Irish Ambassador to Mozambique.
  • Irish Ambassador to Brazil.
  • 2014 Masters in contemporary Irish History, Trinity College Dublin.
  • Researcher film documentary – John Hume building Irish lobby in US.
  • Researcher for Seamus Mallon, former Deputy First Minister in Northern Ireland, politics memoir.
  • Edited memoir by British diplomat, Sir David Goodall, on negotiation of the Anglo-Irish Agreement 1985.
  • Researcher on Anglo-Irish affairs identifying documents for release to the Irish National Archives.

Interpretation

Unlike all the previous attempts at finding a solution to the conflict in Northern Ireland, the negotiations of the Belfast Good Friday Agreement were overseen by an external chairperson acting as a sort of referee on who could participate, the agenda for talks, and how to conduct them.  That person was neutral, with no prior affiliation to any group in Northern Ireland or the two governments.  He was former U.S. Senator, George Mitchell, a lawyer and politician with a strong record of achievement, and in 1995 he was proposed for the role by U.S. President, Bill Clinton.

The idea of such an appointment came from Irish-American pressure during the US presidential election in 1992 and on election, President Clinton appointed Mitchell, recently retired, first as advisor on Northern Ireland and then proposed to the British and Irish government leaders that Mitchell oversee all-party talks on the conflict.

It took almost a year to secure the agreement of all involved to Mitchell’s appointment.  On the thorny issue of admission to talks of representatives of paramilitary groups, Mitchell drew up the Mitchell Principles, requiring a solemn pledge to non-violence and the use of only democratic means.  For two years, with endless patience, Mitchell oversaw talks with the parties, slowly nudging them towards agreement and securing the involvement, usually by telephone calls from the White House to party leaders, of President Clinton, in support of his efforts which culminated in the Belfast Good Friday Agreement on 10th April, 1998.

Task

Study each interpretation and summarise the key points made by the historian.

  1. What do they argue is the most important factor, individual or group?
  2. How did this contribute to the peace process and Belfast (Good Friday) Agreement?
  3. What challenges and obstacles had to be overcome?
  4. What evidence is given to support this interpretation?
  5. Does the historian’s biographical information help to explain their interpretation?
  6. From your own knowledge how convincing do you find this interpretation?
  7. What further evidence would you want to find in the documents to make the interpretation convincing?
  8. If you were to provide a one-word summary of this individual’s contribution, which of these would you choose, or can you think of a better word?
    • Obstructive / Unhelpful / Marginal / Constructive / Helpful / Pragmatic / Visionary / Essential
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