Letter from Frederick H. Boland to all missions
(250/19)

Just as there was very little enthusiasm for our application for membership of UNO, there was little heartburning when the application failed owing to the opposition of Soviet Russia. The 'Manchester Guardian' described the reaction here quite accurately when it said that the failure of the application occasioned neither surprise nor disappointment.

The Minister is satisfied that we have lost nothing by the non-success of our application. The fact that our application was supported by all the members of the Security Council except Russia, and that even Poland dissociated herself from the Russian attitude, was very satisfactory. The suggestion that the Polish delegate spoke at Russian instigation for the purpose of twitting Great Britain with her denial of Irish independence in the past does not appear to be justified.

We have diplomatic relations with only 9 of the 51 members of UNO. We are, of course, expanding our diplomatic representation gradually according as our political and economic interests suggest. Immediate plans do not contemplate an extension of our diplomatic representation to Soviet Russia and we have no intention of altering them simply because of the attitude of the Russian representative on the Security Council.

A Reuter message in the 'Irish Independent' of the 31st August includes a statement by an official of UNO that it is open to Ireland to re-apply for membership at a later date if she so wishes. There is no question whatever of our making a second application for membership. If the Security Council wishes at a later date to review their decision on the Irish application, it is open to them to do so, but it is more than unlikely that either the Government or the Dáil would consider re-applying.

The draft peace treaties now before the Conference in Paris include provisions under which the Five Great Powers undertake to support Italy, Hungary, Romania, Bulgaria and Finland respectively for membership of UNO. As the Hungarian, Romanian, Bulgarian and Finnish votes would almost undoubtedly go to strengthen Russia's position within the United Nations Organisation, it will be interesting to see whether the other Permanent Members of the Security Council will be prepared to continue in their agreement to support the admission of these four 'ex-enemy' States, in view of Russia's refusal, in spite of her undertaking at Potsdam, to agree to the admission of the two 'ex-neutral' States, Ireland and Portugal. There is no objection to your stressing this particular point in official conversation whenever an opportunity of doing so suitably is presented to you, but it is important that you should not do so in any such way as would suggest that we have any desire to re-open the decision regarding ourselves and Portugal.