Aide mémoire handed to Deputy Director of European Affairs, State Department, by Seán Nunan

1. The Government of Ireland has the honour to refer to its Aide-Mémoire of the 8th February, 1949, on the subject of Ireland's participation in the Atlantic Pact,¹ and to the oral reply thereto delivered to the Irish Minister at Washington by Mr. Hickerson on the 31st March, 1949.
2. Since this exchange of views, a measure has been introduced in the British Parliament entitled the 'Ireland Bill'. One of the purposes of this Bill, as stated in its Preamble, is 'to declare and affirm the constitutional position and the territorial integrity of Northern Ireland', and Section 1(1)(b) of the Bill affirms that 'in no event will Northern Ireland or any part thereof cease to be part of His Majesty's dominions and of the United Kingdom without the consent of the Parliament of Northern Ireland'.
3. The reference to 'territorial integrity' in the Preamble to the Bill would seem to be specifically designed to bring the six north-eastern counties of Ireland within the scope of the mutual undertakings exchanged by the parties to the North Atlantic Treaty and thereby to secure for the present Partition of Ireland a new measure of international guarantee and recognition. This view would seem to be confirmed by the fact that the provisions of the Bill purporting to re-enact and confirm the Partition of Ireland are entirely unnecessary, the British legislation whereby Ireland was partitioned in 1920 being still on the British Statute Book.
4. In these circumstances, the Irish Government desire to make clear their attitude towards the provisions of the new British Bill relating to the six north-eastern counties of Ireland. The essence of democracy lies in the right of a nation to choose their own Government and determine their own affairs democratically by the free vote of the people without outside interference. Basing themselves on that principle, the Government of Ireland affirm that the territorial integrity and government of Ireland are matters to be determined democratically by the free votes of the Irish people without interference from outside. Britain's action in introducing, at this stage, unnecessary legislation concerning the territorial integrity of a portion of Ireland is a fresh challenge to this democratic right.
5. The provisions of Section 1(1)(b) of the Bill precluding the re-unification of Ireland without the consent of the Parliament of the area described as Northern Ireland is, no doubt, an attempt to give the measure a cloak of democratic sanction. In actual fact, the area in question was deliberately de-limited in such a way as to ensure a permanent majority in favour of resisting the will of the Irish people as a whole. This local majority is, however, centred chiefly in an area immediately surrounding Belfast. In an area amounting to more than half the total area described in the British enactment as 'Northern Ireland', the majority of the population are opposed to Partition and earnestly desire re-unification with the rest of Ireland. The proposed new measure, by purporting to preclude the area described as Northern Ireland 'or any part thereof' from unity with the rest of Ireland destroys the hope cherished by the people of this area that they would have been allowed to opt for unity with the rest of Ireland, thus depriving the majority of the people of this area of their democratic right of determining, by their free vote, their allegiance and status. To thus close the door on democratic remedy and destroy the legitimate hopes of the population concerned can only have grave consequences.
6. The action of the British Government emphasises the difficulties that confronted the Irish Government in connection with the North Atlantic Treaty. It is now clear that, by adhering to the Treaty, Ireland would have been placed in the position of acknowledging Britain's territorial claims in Ireland, unless the other participating countries had been prepared to recognise that all questions relating to the territorial integrity and political independence of Ireland were solely matters for the Irish people. It is clear, too, that the suggestion contained in Mr. Hickerson's oral communication to Mr. Nunan, that the question of Partition is not in any way connected with membership of the North Atlantic Treaty is not sustainable.
7. The importance of Anglo-Irish friendship as an element of strength and cohesion in the democratic world has been frequently stated. For their part, the Irish Government have striven to remove the last obstacles which prevented the development and strengthening of such a friendship. It was their hope that a new concept of co-operation between the States of the North Atlantic would, by affording the occasion for a friendly examination of the last remaining difficulty between the two countries, provide a means for its solution. The views of the Irish Government on the matter were stated as follows in the concluding paragraphs of their Aide-Mémoire of the 8th February, 1949, referred to above, viz:-

'We feel, therefore that the wisest and most realistic approach to the question of North Atlantic security lies, so far as Ireland is concerned, in ending a situation which threatens the peace of these islands and which may, at any moment, prove a source of grave embarrassment to both Britain and Ireland. Sooner or later, the question will have to be solved. The Government of Ireland feels strongly that it is better to face the question in a realistic fashion and as a matter of urgency now, rather than to allow a situation to develop wherein a solution might be more difficult.

The Irish Government is convinced that, far from rendering a disservice to Britain, the bringing about of a solution of this question would strengthen Britain's defensive position and increase the security of the States of the Atlantic community. By offering their assistance and mediation, and by creating a situation wherein the problem could be discussed, the participating nations would help to end an undemocratic and dangerous situation, and, in doing so, would render an invaluable service by strengthening the internal harmony and cohesion of the community of States in the North Atlantic.'

Instead of seeking to remove the sole obstacle to Ireland's participation in the Atlantic Pact, the British Government now propose to take a step marking a further disregard of Ireland's territorial integrity and a fresh denial of Ireland's right to national self-determination. The Government of Ireland deplores such a destructive and unfriendly attitude at a time when so much effort is being devoted to preserve fundamental rights and liberties and the democratic way of life.