When the Northern Ireland cabinet met on March 21st, 1972, the main item on the agenda was the visit of the prime minister, Mr Brian Faulkner, to Downing Street the following morning.
For many months the Westminster government had been urging Mr Faulkner to institute reforms. Summoned to London after Bloody Sunday, Mr Faulkner had written twice to the British prime minister, Mr Edward Heath: he would go no farther than to invite Catholics on to parliamentary committees.
Internment must stay, PR was "unworkable" and it was "clearly understood between us that the 'active, permanent and guaranteed role' did not imply the reservation of cabinet positions for minority interests".
In short, Mr Faulkner would have nothing new to offer Mr Heath. It is quite clear no immediate crisis was expected: "The prime minister thought that consultation rather than announcement of decisions was what was in Mr Heath's mind."
Only the deputy prime minister, Senator Jack Andrews, would be accompanying Mr Faulkner to London.
Other ministers sought to galvanise their leader.
Only the attorney general, Mr Basil Kelly, counselled against taking a tough line. He argued against "the adoption of a dogmatic attitude which could lose the government of Northern Ireland the much-needed support of the Conservative Party at Westminster". Even he, however, "did not see the following day's talks as being crucial in themselves".
Mr Faulkner arrived at Downing Street on March 22nd with Mr Andrews and senior civil servants. "Mr Heath began by saying he admired the spirit of the Northern Ireland people" but there the pleasantries ended.
Mr Heath stood by the 1949 Ireland Act guaranteeing Northern Ireland's constitutional position, but "it was necessary to consider how the Roman Catholics could be brought back into community life. It was not sufficient just to go on dealing with violence."
The Northern Ireland government proposals "were not sufficient to give the permanent, active and guaranteed role to the minority". In addition, internment was "clearly a major and unacceptable irritant to the Catholic community, and also affected the UK adversely in its international relationships". His government had decided "to start unwinding the internment process". "It was the United Kingdom view," Mr Heath said firmly, "that the way to do this would be for Westminster to take over responsibility for law and order."
Jaws dropped. "We decided that Heath was bluffing," Mr Faulkner recalled later. Mr Heath was not to be shifted, however, and after lunch the takeover was spelled out in detail. In addition, "talks on how the minority could be given their active, permanent and guaranteed role" would be led by a secretary of state with responsibility for Northern Ireland affairs.
Next day in Stormont Castle the "ministers took the view that there was little to be gained by trying any further to convince the UK government to change its mind". They preferred to resign rather than continue on with emasculated powers.
Jonathan Bardon, author of A History of Ulster, lectures in history at Queen's University Belfast