Letter from Éamon de Valera to John A. Costello (Dublin)

A Thaoisigh, a chara,
I duly received your letter of the 7th July.¹

In deference to your view I refrained from putting down a motion. The British Nationality Bill, however, is now in its final stages, the British Government's attitude is clearly indicated, and diplomatic representations would appear to be of no further avail. It seems to me, therefore, that a clear statement of the Government's attitude can now be made and is called for so that the national position may be asserted unambiguously. We certainly should not permit the occasion to pass without making a protest: We owe it to our people everywhere, and particularly to our people in the Six Counties and in Britain. A public statement from the Irish side has become the more urgent because of some of the official statements made in the British Houses of Parliament during the discussion of the Bill suggesting that the measure had been agreed to by the Irish Government. Reference to the Taoiseach's papers and External Affairs' papers will show you that, so far from agreeing to the measure, we registered from the beginning a strong protest against a number of the proposals and made our general attitude unmistakably clear: I assume your Government has followed the same course.

I am considering putting down a parliamentary question in general terms, asking the Taoiseach whether he is prepared to make a statement setting forth the Government's attitude on the British Nationality Bill and whether he will give an opportunity to the Dáil to discuss the matter so that the national position may be asserted. I will, of course, not ask the question if the Government itself takes the initiative and makes the necessary statement and gives the Dáil an occasion to express its view.

My reason for again writing to you is my anxiety about the whole situation from the national standpoint and my desire that the greatest amount of parliamentary unanimity should be secured in asserting the national position on this very fundamental matter of citizenship.