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More than 5000 entries on the history, culture and life of Britain (published in 1993 by Macmillan, now out of print)
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Downing Street Declaration
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Joint statement on Northern Ireland, issued in London on 15 December 1993 by the British and Irish prime ministers, John Major and Albert Reynolds. It followed a series of controversial meetings during 1993 between John Hume of the *SDLP and Gerry Adams of *Sinn Fein. The declaration attempted to outline a way forward which would offer something to each of the conflicting parties, but it also broke new ground by saying that Sinn Fein would be welcome at a future conference table if the *IRA renounced violence.
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The impetus for peace then slackened. Sinn Fein asked for clarification on various points; the British government finally provided clarification in May 1994; and in September of that year the IRA declared a ceasefire. The Loyalist paramilitaries did the same a month later.
The peacefire held for a precious eighteen months, until shattered by a huge IRA bomb at Canary Wharf in London's docklands
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