Letter from Seán Nunan to Frederick H. Boland (Dublin)

With reference to the Minister's minute of the 26th January concerning the arrest of Cardinal Mindszenty, I beg to report that I saw the Secretary of State today at 2.25 p.m. and handed him an aide-mémoire in accordance with the draft enclosed with the Minister's minute.¹

In accordance with instructions I informed the Secretary of the anxiety felt in Ireland, not only because of the Cardinal's arrest, but because of the fact that no reply had been received from the Government of Hungary to the Minister's request for facilities to enable a representative designated by our Government to visit the Cardinal - emphasising what the Minister stated in his telegram of the 18th January viz; our own experience of the implications of the denial of access to prisoners - and of our Government's feeling that the Cardinal's arrest should not be accepted in an attitude of passive indifference.

After reading the aide-mémoire the Secretary said - 'I take it that what you would like would be for us to support your Government's action in Hungary'. I said yes, that we would appreciate the support of the U.S. Government of our request.

The Secretary then said that the matter was urgent, as he understood that the Cardinal's trial would take place in a day or two and that he would look into the matter at once and advise me of what action he could take.

Then turning to Mr. Satterthwaite,² Chief of the British Commonwealth Division, who accompanied me to the interview, the Secretary instructed him to let him have a report on the matter 'immediately'.

The Secretary appeared to be most sympathetic, and remarked that the arrest and treatment of the Cardinal was an 'outrage'.

On my return to the Legation Mr. Satterthwaite telephoned to ask me whether a similar aide-mémoire had been handed to other Governments. I told him that I understood that the Heads of all our Missions abroad had received similar instructions to those received by me.