Timothy A. Smiddy to Desmond FitzGerald (Dublin)

A Chara,

PUBLICITY

I enclose a description of the meeting Sir Horace Plunkett¹ addressed in New York on February 8th, 1923, as also a cutting from the Montreal Standard, January 29th, and a letter I had inserted by a Mr Donleavy in the Evening World.

Having been acquainted before hand that an attempt was to be made to break up Sir Horace's meeting by local Irish radicals and Irish Communists, which a number of the waterfront 'tough element' was ready at hand to carry out, the New York Police were duly informed. Mr - - -² and his men were there in force and prevented what might have been a serious interruption.

Sympathetic prominence and a very full report is given to the President's ultimatum to the Irregulars in the Sunday New York Times and other papers. I would again urge regular statements by President and Ministers to Foreign Press Correspondents.