N.Ireland rivals negotiate all night, seek to meet Anglo-Irish deadline for power-sharing deal

NIreland parties face deadline on coalition pact

DUBLIN — Rival leaders of Northern Ireland’s faltering Catholic-Protestant government have negotiated all night in hopes of meeting a deadline for resolving their differences and forging a new power-sharing pact.

The British and Irish governments say they will publish their own proposals Friday afternoon if Northern Ireland leaders can’t report that they are close to a deal.

Both sides say they want to reach agreement themselves and not have an Anglo-Irish plan imposed on them.

The Irish Catholics of Sinn Fein and the British Protestants of the Democratic Unionist Party talked until 5:30 a.m. and are convening again at midday. Failure could mean power-sharing ends and direct British government rule of Northern Ireland resumes.