Extracts from a handwritten letter from Seán MacEntee to Margaret MacEntee
(Dublin)

Friday afternoon

My dearest Margaret,

I was delighted to get your note this morning. It was the one bright element in an otherwise disagreeable forenoon. We did not settle things this morning and in my view are now far from a satisfactory conclusion to the whole proceedings. I think definitely - and this is for your own ear and no others - that we shall not get the ports and that if we do get reach agreement about trade finance that it will be much less satisfactory than it would have been if we had been prepared to deal with obvious facts and not to go window-dressing now about Partition. A lot however will depend upon what transpires over the week-end, as the British have asked Andrews of Northern Ireland to come over to discuss some aspects of the proposed trade agreement with them. We are remaining over to continue the departmental discussions this afternoon and tomorrow and in the expectation of having a plenary meeting with the British on Monday evening.

[matter omitted]

I am dining with McElligott and Sir Warren Fisher, the head of the British Treasury here this evening. Rory M-O'F¹ and B.A.² were pressing me to dine with them but I had to make this other engagement instead. I don't know yet what we are going to do over the week-end. It is a miserable prospect to look forward to but is unavoidable. I simply loathe here in these circumstances, but there seems to be no remedy. I wish you were here - it is so hard meeting only outsiders all day and not being able to speak freely to them.

[matter omitted]