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

I went to see Sir Gilbert Laithwaite at the Commonwealth Relations Office on the 8th November.

2. In accordance with my telephone conversation with you a few days previously, the principal purpose of my visit was to speak to Sir Gilbert about Mr. Dodds-Parker’s² parliamentary reply to Mr. Montgomery Hyde on the subject of the Irish Government’s attitude towards the extradition of Irish citizens concerned in IRA activities. I told Sir Gilbert that the account of our Minister’s attitude on this question given by the special correspondent of the ‘Times’ in his recent article was entirely erroneous. In no circumstances would the Irish Government be prepared to contemplate extraditing Irish citizens accused of IRA offences. Apart from the fact that such a course would be entirely contrary to international practice in the matter of extradition – as he knew – it was something which no Irish Government could contemplate in principle and Irish public opinion could never be brought to stand for it. I reminded Sir Gilbert that I had made this plain to the Lord Privy Seal when I saw him on the 14th September.³ Since then I had seen Mr. Ryan,⁴ the special correspondent of the ‘Times’ and had pointed out to him that his impression of Mr. Cosgrave’s attitude on the point was quite mistaken. Any suggestion that the Irish Government might be prepared to contemplate such a course in any circumstances could only do harm and should be avoided.
3. Sir Gilbert said that he appreciated the point and understood the reasons for our attitude. He felt he should say frankly, however, that, whatever about our position as regards extradition, there was a good deal of disappointment here about our attitude towards co-operation between the two Police Forces. I said that I had dealt with this in my conversation with the Lord Privy Seal and possibly the conversations which Sir Alec Clutterbuck had had since his arrival in Dublin had given the British authorities an even better appreciation of our difficulties and the reasons for our stand. Sir Gilbert Laithwaite said that personally he thought he understood these very well; he realised that the question was by no means an easy or straightforward one for us; the fact remained, however, that there was a good deal of disappointment here that we had not felt able to go further.
4. I took the occasion to speak to Sir Gilbert Laithwaite about the trial of the three men concerned in the Arborfield raid. I explained to Sir Gilbert Laithwaite that the undue severity of the sentences and the unhappy terms used by the judge in imposing them (particularly his reference to an ‘act of war’) were helpful to IRA propaganda rather than otherwise. I said I thought that the conduct of the trial by Mr. Justice Cassels compared very unfavourably with the conduct of similar trials in the Six Counties, where more humane sentences had been imposed for more serious offences. Sir Gilbert Laithwaite reacted to these arguments better than I had expected. He said he thought there was a distinct point in what I said and he would bear my arguments in mind if the Commonwealth Relations Office had anything to do with the preparation of similar prosecutions in future.
5. On the strength of my conversation with the Lord Privy Seal on the 14th September and with Sir Gilbert Laithwaite on the 8th November, the Minister would be fully justified in saying if the necessity should arise, that he had made it absolutely clear to the British authorities that the extradition of Irish citizens for complicity in IRA offences is something which the Irish Government would not be prepared to contemplate in any circumstances.