Letter from Seán MacBride to Vinton Chapin¹ (Dublin)

Dear Mr. Chapin,
Mr. Garrett wrote to me on the 26th August letting me know informally the reactions occasioned in the State Department by the observations which I made in the Dáil on the 20th July² on the subject of Ireland's application for membership of the United Nations. Although I had some discussion with Mr. Garrett at the time, I intended to deal with the matter more fully in a written reply to his letter; I regret I had not an opportunity of doing this before his recent departure on leave.

I should like, at the outset, to say how much the Irish Government appreciates the friendly concern which the American Government has shown from the beginning about our candidature. I welcome this opportunity of assuring you of the warmth and sincerity of our feelings on this score.

On the substance of the question itself we realise fully the force of the arguments mentioned in Mr. Garrett's letter. In fact it was these very considerations which weighed with the Government in deciding against the withdrawal of Ireland's application in present circumstances. You will remember that I indicated this when speaking in the Dáil on the 20th July, when I explained:

'I have delayed in bringing this matter formally before the Government and the Dáil as I did not wish, in the present situation to take any steps that would indicate a lack of faith in any attempt that was being made to discuss world problems at a conference table. No matter how abortive or fruitless such conferences may prove, it is still the only way of avoiding conflict. The more representatives of different nations meet to discuss their problems, the greater the possibility of reaching understanding and peaceful solutions.'

The attitude to which I gave expression in the Dáil remains unchanged. We have no present intention of withdrawing our application for membership of the United Nations.

It is true however - as Mr. Garrett's letter recognises - that public opinion here has been somewhat roused by the manner in which our application has been treated. Moreover, to the natural resentment created by the rejection of our application, there has been added a growing scepticism with regard to the effectiveness of the United Nations as at present constituted. These feelings may well result in a current of public feeling which the Government could not properly ignore; but if the Government does find itself obliged to consider the matter again, the considerations mentioned in Mr. Garrett's letter will as before be borne in mind and given full weight.

I hope at an early date to consider our position with regard to U.N.E.S.C.O.³ I have quite an open mind on the matter at this stage; we have the feeling, however, that a good deal of harm is being done to the cause of international co-operation by creating too many new organisations which frequently duplicate and over-lap one another's efforts. Indeed, sometimes one has the feeling that in a desire to justify their own existence, over-ambitious projects of little practical value are embarked upon with insufficient regard to the sacrifice of time and money which they impose on small countries. For a small country with limited resources the administrative strain of manning the multitude of international organisations that now exist and of absorbing the mass of documentation that results is very great indeed. Given the necessary resources, time and personnel, these organisations no doubt, are of value; but with our limited resources, I must be careful not to overload my administration.

I should like to emphasise that my views are in no way prompted by an insular outlook in such matters. On the contrary, I am ever conscious of the need for international co-operation and have done my utmost to co-operate fully in all matters where I felt that we could serve a useful purpose effectively.

As soon as membership of U.N.E.S.C.O. has been fully examined I shall let you know; in the meantime, I should be glad if you would inform the State Department of my sincere appreciation of the willingness of the United States Government to support an Irish application for membership of that body.

As I said I had hoped to write to Mr. Garrett on this matter before his departure. Perhaps you would be good enough to send him a copy of this letter.