Confidential report from Frederick H. Boland to Seán Nunan (Dublin)¹
(Confidential)

There is a minor matter upon which I should be glad to have a word of guidance from you when you have had an opportunity of discussing it with the Minister. On two or three occasions recently, Mr. Cahir Healy² has shown a disposition and a willingness to regard himself as, so to speak, the ‘Member for Ireland’ in the House of Commons and to look to the Embassy for information and guidance as to the line he should take when questions of Irish interest are due to come up in the House. We had an example of this the other day when there were two questions down for answer about British imports of Irish boots and shoes. Mr. Healy was on the phone to Michael Barry asking what supplementary questions he could usefully put when the Minister replied. He didn’t seem to like the suggestion that we would prefer to wait until the Minister had replied to consider what he said. His attitude was rather ‘surely we are not going to let this sort of thing go by default’!

We succeeded in satisfying Cahir Healy on the boot and shoes question. It is not that particular matter which is bothering me so much as the general question of principle. My own feeling is that we should be very careful about encouraging Cahir Healy in the role of spokesman for Ireland in the House of Commons. We can of course always supply him with official published statistics and similar information. That is a service we provide for any member of the public who comes into the Embassy; but to go further and indicate to him the official attitude of the Irish Government on particular matters or suggest the lines he should take, or anything of that nature, would seem to me dangerous ground which we should hesitate before entering upon. My general inclination would be, therefore, to follow this line, maintaining our present good relations with Mr. Healy, showing appreciation of his interest and letting him have any published information which he may ask for but declining, as tactfully as we can, his implied offer to act as our unofficial agent in the British Parliament!

I should be glad to know whether this course will have the Minister’s approval.