Letter from Frederick H. Boland to Robert Brennan (Washington DC)

Dear Bob,
If our application for membership of UNO is accepted, the Taoiseach will probably go to New York for the Assembly meeting at the end of September. He would ask you (if you feel up to it) and John Hearne to join the Delegation, and Frank Gallagher, Kathleen O'Connell, Sheila Murphy, myself and two or three others will probably accompany him from here. The Taoiseach's idea is to travel by boat if he can. For the moment, I don't see how this can be conveniently arranged because, for obvious reasons, we don't want to set out before we have been elected, and, on the other hand, if we wait for the vote and then go by sea, we would only be just about in time for the closing of the Assembly session! Another difficulty would be to get a boat on which there would be at least a modicum of privacy. They are all so crowded nowadays.

Could the Legation enquire discreetly and let us know whether there will be any American vessel putting into Cobh about the 17th or 18th September?

The problem of accommodation in New York will probably be a bit of a headache. You may like to be thinking it over.

The Taoiseach's present idea is that, if he goes to New York for the Assembly, he will take the opportunity to visit a few other leading centres - Boston, Philadelphia, Chicago and San Francisco, for example. He would have to do it by air. Very often, these international gatherings have an initial week or so of plenary sessions and then dissolve into committees for a fortnight or longer, after which there are the plenary sessions again. The Taoiseach has not made up his mind whether he would try to get in these visits in the fortnight or so of committee meetings or whether he would wait until after the Assembly session.

The Taoiseach is considering whether he will bring another Minister with him. He has not made up his mind, but I think he is more likely to go alone. Of course, everything depends on how our application fares in the Security Council. Until the result of that is known, the fact that the Taoiseach is thinking of going to New York himself is, of course, top secret!

I shall let you know at once of any developments on this side in connection with the matter. In the meantime, I should be very glad to have any views or suggestions which occur to you in connection with the visit.