SEAN FARREN PAPERS AND PUBLICATIONS

The following materials and information were donated by Sean Farren
Compiled by: Martin Melaugh   [Page made public 29 Feb 2024; last update 9 Apr 2024]

Introduction

The following page contains a list, and links to digital copies, of some of the political papers that Sean Farren collected during his involvement in politics in Northern Ireland. Sean Farren donated part of his paper collection to CAIN and these were digitised and catalogued. They were made available in 2024. The collections are: Sean Farren's academic publications and also media items written by him; a set of papers from the Brooke / Mayhew Talks (1991-1992); and papers from the Mtichell Talks (1996-1998) that led to the Belfast / Good Friday Agreement. There is also a link to the collection of John Hume speeches which was based on documents donated by Sean Farren. It should be noted that Sean Farren's full private collection covers a wider range of political developments than those covered here.

Background

Sean Farren was born in Dublin (6 September 1939). He graduated from University College Dublin with a B.A. degree and then a H.Dip.Ed, before beginning work as a teacher at a of number schools in Ireland, Europe and Africa. Later, he obtained an MA. from the University of Essex and a Ph.D in Education from the University of Ulster. By the early 1970s he had returned to Ireland and taken up a position as a lecturer in education at the New University of Ulster / University of Ulster. In addition Farren had become involved in the field of Northern Ireland politics by joining the Social Democratic and Labour Party (SDLP) in 1973. He went on to serve the party in a number of internal positions at branch, constituency and executive level. These positions have included those of Vice-Chair, and Chair of the party (1977-1984). He was elected to a NI Assembly, 1982-1986; the NI Forum 1996-1998; and a NI Assembly 1998-2007. He was the Minister of Higher and Further Education and Training and Employment 1999-2000 and 2000-2001; and Minister of Finance and Personnel 2001-2002. He stood down at the 2007 NI Assembly election.

Sean Farren Papers and Publications

Sean Farren's Publications
This section contains academic papers, media items, and press releases that were written by Sean Farren.

Brooke / Mayhew Talks, 1991-1992
This section contains 116 documents related to the Brooke / Mayhew Talks, April 1991 to November 1992. The talks began with Peter Brooke, then Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, and were continued by his successor Patrick Mayhew.

Mitchell Talks, 1996-1998
This section contains 135 documents related to the multi-party talks / negotiations that led to the Belfast / Good Friday Agreement. The files are mainly the records of the Plenary Sessions that took place as part of the talks.

Sean Farren donated to CAIN a collection of the Speeches, Statements, and Articles by John Hume during his political career (1969-2004). This formed the basis for a separate section on CAIN which was made public on 20 May 2021.