‘Garret the Good?’: Garret FitzGerald, Anglo-Irish relations and the Northern Ireland problem, 1981-1987

The early parts of this thesis contextualise FitzGerald's background, family and rise to power to help frame his later actions in office. Following this, it scrutinises the security and political policies FitzGerald adopted as Taoiseach following the 1981 republican hunger strikes and his efforts to engage British Prime Minister, Margaret Thatcher, on the issue of Northern Ireland.

As such, much of the analysis focuses on the Anglo-Irish process that developed during the mid-to-late 1980s and what this led to in the form of the Anglo-Irish Agreement of 1985. The effects of this accord are then surmised, leading to an overall evaluation of the effectiveness of FitzGerald's Northern Ireland policies. <br><br><i>Thesis is embargoed until 31 December 2026.<br><br><br></i>