Letter from Liam Cosgrave to William McCleery (Belfast)¹

Dear Mr. McCleery,
I have now had an opportunity of discussing with my colleagues in the Government the various suggestions which have been made concerning the future of the Great Northern Railway. After prolonged consideration of the matter we have come to the conclusion that an All-Ireland Transport Authority would be most likely to attain the results for which we are all striving. You will recall that I made the suggestion in the course of our discussion on 16th November though we did not then develop the idea.

An All-Ireland Transport Authority could co-ordinate into a single undertaking:

1. Córas Iompair Éireann,
2. The Ulster Transport Authority,
3. The Great Northern Railway,
4. The Derry and Lough Swilly Railway, including the Letterkenny Railway,
5. The County Donegal Railways Joint Committee, including the Strabane and Letterkenny Railway,
6. The Sligo, Leitrim & Northern Counties Railway,
   and
7. The Dundalk, Newry & Greenore Railway.

We are convinced that, in a small country such as this, the only hope of achieving the fullest degree of co-ordination would lie in the establishment of a single Authority charged with responsibility for the surface transport of the country, which is at present operated by the seven concerns mentioned above.

I hope very much that you will agree in principle to this proposal. We can then get together to discuss the financial and legal bases of an arrangement.