Letter from John A. Belton (for Art O'Brien) to Joseph P. Walshe (Dublin)

I have the honour to acknowledge the receipt of your telegram:-

'33. Please send until further notice daily summary Press comments Belfast disturbances. Telegraph anything deservingly special. Establish all possible contact with editors leading papers with a view to preventing misstatements and misrepresentations such as appeared in TEMPS leader 16th July'.

and to confirm the despatch of my telegram in reply:-

'19. Reference your 33. Daily summary Belfast reports being sent. Editors of certain papers and press agencies have already been (approached) and inaccuracies explained. Remaining editors being approached. Report follows.'

In this connection, I have to inform you that from the beginning of the reports in the Paris newspapers of the Belfast riots special efforts were made to impress on the Editors of the various Paris newspapers and press agencies that the troubles in Belfast were local and had no relation to the Government of the Irish Free State.

As far as was possible the real position was explained. The great difficulty that was experienced was that the Paris newspapers accepted in toto all the reports which they received from London press agencies and I was informed by some Editors that they preferred to publish press agency information which they believed rather than propaganda information as given by the Legation. Some papers however accepted willingly all the information which I gave with a view to qualifying reports received from London Agencies. The material result achieved was that the big majority of the newspapers dropped the references which they were inclined to make in the beginning to 'révolte dans toute l'Irlande' and to a connection between the riots and political developments in the Irish Free State. With regard to editorials, it was found difficult to convince Paris Editors that there was no connection between the President's recent statements and the 12th of July riots in Belfast. The Belfast Catholics are generally regarded here as 'Nationalists' and desirous of establishing a 32 county Republic and it is not easy to impress on the editors the real position. I have distributed a number of maps of Ireland showing the boundary and have fully explained the significance of the boundary.

The matter in general is being pursued, but as it now appears from the absence of any reference in the Press that the trouble in Belfast has ceased, the Paris press will lose interest in the details of the affair.