Memorandum by Joseph P. Walshe of a meeting with Sir John Maffey
(Secret)

Sir John Maffey called this morning at his suggestion.

1. He told me that General Harrison had now become a permanent member of the Anti-aircraft Gun Research Committee and would no longer visit Ireland. No special substitute would be appointed.
2. The British Army in Northern Ireland was being reinforced by a further Division. Maffey presumed it was for the purpose of being able to give more effective aid should an invasion of this country take place. In any case, we should not imagine that the reinforcement was an indication of any intention to invade us.
3. The British Ambassador in America¹ had recently informed the British Government that a responsible American had received a telegram from an American in France saying that he had been told by another American in France that the Germans would invade Ireland on the 29th March. Maffey did not attach any importance to the information.
4. The latest British air operational developments have made it clear that the lighting of our main towns in the vicinity of the coast were a navigational help to the Germans. The British authorities concerned would be grateful for a further reduction of lighting in these main towns. They referred especially to the amount of Neon lighting being used and to the fact that our trade and private lighting was still unrestricted.