State Papers – Day One: He charmed the Iron Lady after giving her a teapot

FOR Charles J Haughey the Fianna Fáil Árd Fheis of February 16, 1980 was the republican equivalent of a coronation. He was returning in triumph at the head of the party in which he was a kind of outcast — a virtual pariah in the eyes of many — for the past decade.

In his presidential address he reminded the gathering that the country was living beyond its means, but he stressed that his government’s “first priority” was to end partition.

As far as he was concerned, Northern Ireland had failed as a political entity, so a new beginning was needed. He did not say that the British should announce their intention to withdraw. Rather, he asked that they declare “their interest in encouraging the unity of Ireland by agreement and in peace”.