Northern Ireland – On This Day in 1925
Posted by Jim on December 1, 2025
THE IRISH NEWS:
Irish Boundary Talks Shrouded in Secrecy as Cosgrave and Craig Gather in London
Amid deep mistrust in Dublin and growing optimism in London, W.T. Cosgrave, Sir James Craig and Northern ministers converge for closely guarded negotiations on the future of the Irish border.
The President of the Executive Council of the Irish Free State, W.T Cosgrave, The British prime minister Ramsay MacDonald and then prime minister of Northern Ireland Sir James Craig at Chequers
By Cormac Moore
December 01, 2025 at 6:00am GMT
December 1 1925
There was optimism in London yesterday as to a settlement of the Irish issue, but grave doubts in Dublin.
The conferences of Saturday and Sunday were not resumed, but negotiations are going on in circumstances of the utmost secrecy. To resume his direction of the Free State side in the consultations, President [WT] Cosgrave last night left Dublin for London, where it is expected definitive developments will take place today.
A Northern Government delegation has arrived in London to support Sir James Craig.
Lord Birkenhead yesterday deplored the conduct of the “Morning Post” in depriving Northern Ireland of “the unanimous decision of all three arbitrators” by publishing its forecast. Incidentally he revealed the interesting fact that the “Daily Telegraph” on patriotic grounds had refused to publish that document.
Mr [Stanley] Baldwin had nothing to state at Westminster yesterday beyond the fact that “discussions were still in progress”.
The Press Association wired yesterday: –
There are indications that progress is being made in the succession of conferences concerning the Irish Boundary difficulty, and in well-informed quarters there is growing optimism of a settlement.
The field of discussion has been widened by the inclusion of more representatives of Northern Ireland. Sir [Richard] Dawson Bates (Home Minister), Mr AB Babington, KC, (Attorney-General), Col [Wilfrid] Spender (Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Finance), and Mr CH Blackmore (Secretary to the Cabinet), are in London, and, with Sir James Craig, their Prime Minister, are waiting to attend further conferences when called upon to do so.
Mr Kevin O’Higgins (Minister for Justice), and Mr [John] O’Byrne (Attorney-General), are in London as representatives of the Free State.
Mr PJ McGilligan (Minister for Industry and Commerce), who took part in the discussions at Chequers during the weekend, has returned to Dublin.
There was no meeting with Mr Stanley Baldwin in the morning, but it is expected that conversations will be resumed during the day.
Interviewed yesterday in London by the “Belfast Telegraph’s” correspondent, Mr Blackmore, secretary to the Northern Cabinet, said he was unable to add anything to Mr Baldwin’s statement in the House of Commons. The discussion had not concluded, he said, but the position was quite unchanged.
The week of intense negotiations between the Irish Free State, British and Northern Ireland governments continued before culminating in a tripartite agreement on December 3.