Jimmy Carter and the Presidential Statement on Northern Ireland

Abstract

This chapter explores the 1977 statement on Northern Ireland which was delivered by President Jimmy Carter. Expanding on issues identified in the previous chapter, it considers Carter’s approach to Northern Ireland at a time when governments in both the UK and Ireland were changing. It focuses on the State Department embargo on gun sales to the Royal Ulster Constabulary and considers the difficulties this posed for Anglo-American relations at the time. It also looks at the developing protest in the prison system of Northern Ireland, which would ultimately lead to a hunger strike by IRA and INLA prisoners.