No. 38 NAI TSCH/3/S9361/E
Memorandum by Seán Nunan
(Confidential) (Copy)
Dublin, 21 August 1951
- The following paragraphs may be taken as representing the views of the Minister on
- our attitude in the event of a war, and
- Partition.
- In the event of a war our policy would be the same as in the last war. As long as Partition continues, national unity could not be secured for any other policy. It will be recalled that in 1935 the Taoiseach made a declaration to the effect that we would not in any circumstances permit our territory to be used as a base for attack on England. This under-taking remains fully valid. It is the policy of the Government to strengthen the country’s military and economic defences to a point where we would be able to put up a very sustained and hard fight against any attack. During the last war the faithful implementation of the Taoiseach’s undertaking had placed the Government in the position of having to intern a number of people who wanted to take action detrimental to Britain. This was a most invidious task for the Government which, of course, felt sympathetic with the ultimate aims of these people who wanted to reunite the country. This special problem, due solely to the existence of Partition, might arise again should war break out again and it might well happen that in the next war those within our jurisdiction inclined to undertake disruptive activities would be allied with Communists in the Six Counties.
- On the question of Partition the Taoiseach has offered to allow Belfast, if it so chose, to continue to exercise the powers it at present has[,] provided the power now in the hands of the Imperial Parliament were transferred to an All-Ireland Parliament. Before the last war we had got Mr. Chamberlain to admit that Partition was a complete anachronism. The difficulty about getting London to do anything about ending Partition is probably due to the influence of military opinion. The importance of Ireland, or of the Six Counties, as a strategic base is, however, altogether outweighed by the importance of having the complete goodwill of the Irish people. The Minister has been urging the British Government to accept the proposition that it is a British interest to have Ireland united and to make a declaration to that effect without thereby committing itself to take positive action. Such a declaration would have the most beneficial effect and would undoubtedly lead in time to reunification. The Taoiseach had put it publicly to the British that in the event of certain dissentients in the Six County area not being satisfied to come under an all-Ireland Parliament it would pay both Governments to buy them out. Those who have been in power in Belfast for the last thirty years are, of course, anxious to maintain the status quo but they could not prevail in the face of a declaration by Britain that her interest lay in the ending of Partition. One of the difficulties arising in this connection is that the Labour Government is afraid that such a declaration on its side would be used by the Tories for electoral ends and thus the Partition question is a factor in purely internal British politics. In his talks with the British the Minister has stressed the desirability and the value of ending Partition from the point of view of convincing the world of the sincerity of the principles which the Western community professes.
- One Continental Foreign Minister told the Minister that while Partition is essentially a bi-lateral problem between Ireland and Britain, it is one ‘in the solution of which we have a multilateral interest’.1
- On the question of whether if Partition were ended, Ireland would join the Allies in a war against Russia, the position is that a declaration of war is a matter for Parliament and no one can commit an All-Ireland Parliament ahead of time.
Purchase Volumes Online
ebooks
The Royal Irish Academy's Documents on Irish Foreign Policy series has published an eBook of confidential correspondence on the 1921 Anglo-Irish Treaty negotiations.
International Counterparts
The international network of Editors of Diplomatic Documents was founded in 1988. Delegations from different parts of the world met for the first time in London in 1989.
Read more ....