A century ago this week, the unionist prime minister of Northern Ireland, James Craig, arrived back to Belfast from London to be feted by his followers. The negotiations he had been involved in cemented the Border on the island of Ireland, giving solid meaning to his rallying call of “not an inch”. After details of the Boundary Commission report had been leaked the previous month - indicating the Free State had no chance of obtaining the prizes it sought, including Fermanagh and Tyrone - Free State ministers were involved in a desperate scramble to manage the fallout and mask their humiliation.

These were high stakes talks and led to deep feelings of betrayal on the part of marooned nationalists in Northern Ireland with enduring implications. The head of the Free State government WT Cosgrave had met with Craig and British ministers in London on November 26th and he and Craig became unlikely bedfellows in agreeing the Border should stay as it was. The Irish Minister for Justice, Kevin O’Higgins, and Minister for Industry and Commerce Patrick McGilligan, along with attorney General John O’Byrne, then travelled to London on November 28th, where........

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