Letter from Frederick H. Boland to John W. Dulanty (London)
(Secret) (205/12)

We have your official letter of the 26th July enclosing a note from Buckingham Palace about the telegram to Captain Thomas Doran.¹

I have discussed this whole matter with the Taoiseach, and he is anxious that the practice under which messages are sent by King George to people in this country on such occasions as hundredth birthdays, diamond weddings, births of triplets, etc., should come to an end. The fact is that, since our Constitution was enacted in 1937, the practice has become quite inappropriate. It has undesirable implications from the point of view of the 'British subject' issue, and, having regard to the insinuations made recently in the Dáil with regard to the respective positions of the President and King George as head of this State,² a message of this kind is apt, at any moment, to become a subject of criticism and controversy here. The Taoiseach would naturally be as anxious as anyone in Buckingham Palace to obviate any such contingency.

The Taoiseach would, therefore, be glad if you would be good enough to speak to the officials at Buckingham Palace, putting the matter to them in whatever way appears to you best. The essential point is, of course, that the place and functions of King George are narrowly delimited in the Executive Authority (External Relations) Act, 1936, and anything that goes beyond the functions statutorily delimited in that Act reflects on our President and is apt to evoke criticism which the Government here would find it difficult to answer. The factor in the situation which you will probably find it useful to stress particularly, however, is the vital importance of avoiding even the slightest risk of public controversy here involving King George personally. We are sure that the Palace would be anxious to avoid that at all costs, and we ourselves would deplore the unfavourable reactions which such a controversy would inevitably have on the feeling between the two countries.

From the point of view of the Palace, the matter can hardly be one of much practical consequence. According to our records, there have only been six messages of this kind within the last six years.