British-Irish security co-operation, 1972-74

This paper will examine the politics of British-Irish cross-border security co-operation during the 1972-74 period. In particular, it will consider to what extent the nature of this co-operation changed when the Fine Gael-Labour coalition government took office in Dublin in March 1973. It will also examine obstacles to achieving better security co-operation at the time. An improvement in cross-border security was deemed vital, especially by unionists, if any political settlement in Northern Ireland was to be successful. British-Irish security co-operation during this period is an area which is relatively under-researched.[I will not be discussing issues surrounding the reform of the police, extradition and the ECHR case in a paper of this length, although I do acknowledge their importance].