Report from Gearóid Woods to Seán Murphy (Dublin)
(24/57)

With reference to the Department’s cable #3 of February 11th¹ and my cable #5 of February 12th² regarding the local feeling in this area towards the IRA activities in the Six Counties, I believe the following to be the material facts of the situation in Boston:-

1. In the past two months a new organisation has come into being known as the Boston Friends of Sinn Féin to press for support for what it called ‘The Irish National Movement’ (see enclosed press clippings).
2. No Irish society in Boston, so far as our information goes, has formally associated itself with the activities of the new organisation. The Consulate has not heard of any society organising a function to assist the group in raising funds.
3. The Consulate would find it difficult to assess, at this stage, what individual sympathy or support is extended personally by members of the Irish societies toward the group and the IRA activities in the North. It is not considered that the members of the active and strongly established societies who are mostly Americans of Irish ancestry, would generally be responsive to overtures from the Sinn Féin group or would be sympathetic towards the IRA in the Six Counties. More individual sympathy and support is likely to be forthcoming from the members of the County societies, of whom there are about 14 in all in this city. The membership of these County societies is predominantly constituted of emigrants who have settled here for some years and who are not generally of over-substantial means.
4. Among the remaining Irish people in this city, who do not belong to any societies but who, of course, make up the bulk of the Irish population, it is possible that there may be a degree of sympathy for the IRA in certain sectors. Here one must include people with vague, but strong, Irish affiliations who would support any Irish movement, for sentimental reasons, irrespective of its object and the new Sinn Féin group might receive some financial response to appeals for aid in this quarter.

   In regard to (1), this organisation first came to the attention of the Consulate when a notice appeared in the ‘Irish Column’ of the Boston Globe in November, 1956, indicating that a new organisation to be known as the ‘Boston Friends of Sinn Féin’ would shortly be formed and inviting persons who were interested to attend a meeting to be held in Hibernian Hall, Dudley Street, Roxbury. The installation of the officers of this Society was performed by the President of the Central Council of Irish County Clubs at a subsequent meeting held in Hibernian Hall in the middle of January. It is understood that this meeting which also included a dance, with admission charges, was well attended and that, approximately, three hundred people were present. Some of the officers of this organisation are emigrants who arrived within recent years, but who have not, apparently, been very active in other Irish-American societies. The President of the organisation, Mr. Gerald Kilcommons, subsequently wrote a letter to the Boston Globe, indicating that his organisation intended to support the Sinn Féin group in Ireland, but this letter did not, apparently, attract much attention. This group later obtained some time on a radio programme known as ‘The Irish Hour’ on a radio Station in Boston and engaged the services of two persons to make appeals for sympathy and financial support for the Irish Republican Army in Ireland. The first speaker early in January was Mr. Daniel Doherty, formerly president of the County Donegal Association and, also, a former president of the Central Council of Irish County Clubs, and Mr. Eugene Sheehan spoke two weeks later.

With regard to (2) above, I am not aware that the Sinn Féin group has actually approached these societies. We know that they did approach the Ancient Order of Hibernians, whose President contacted us for a statement in regard to the Government policy. We supplied him with a copy of the Taoiseach’s speech etc.

With regard to (3), I am somewhat puzzled in regard to the position in this matter taken by the County societies. As I have stated above, the President of the Central Council of Irish County Clubs actually installed the officers of the new Sinn Féin organisation which would suggest some degree of sympathy for the new group’s objectives. But on the other hand, I have myself attended the two important County functions which have been held here since my arrival and I have been struck by the total absence of any reference to the IRA activities, either in my private conversations with the people I met or in the formal speeches which were made at those functions. My wife who was present with me, also on no occasion heard any reference to the question. There was no evidence whatever of any activities during the functions by members of the Sinn Féin group; I had rather expected that we might see some leaflets distributed or efforts made to collect funds.

I should, perhaps, mention that these County societies in Boston are not in affluent circumstances; only one, I am informed, holds any funds worth speaking of. Whatever favourable disposition may exist, therefore, among the officers and committees of the County groups, it is certain that the funds at their disposal do not allow of much tangible support being given to the Sinn Féin group. It may be that later we shall see functions being organised in favour of the group, but, so far, we have no evidence of any such activity.

In regard to (4), it would be premature for me, who am so new here, to make any attempts at assessing feeling in this quarter, but such enquiries as I have been able to make would suggest that the present IRA activities in the Six Counties have not – so far, at least – made much indentation into the consciousness of people. The Sinn Féin group’s letter to the Boston Globe, as we have already said, met with hardly any response. This is an aspect of the question, however, which I should like to have more time and opportunity for investigating, and I, therefore, would propose to send a further report in about two or three weeks time.