Eamon de Valera to Robert Brennan

I am asking the Director of Communications to see you and have a chat on the whole subject of our despatch system. We should have a system for
(a) Cable messages.
(b) Postal system - covering addresses both for newspapers and for less important general messages.
(c) A voluntary but regular messenger system supplemented by such irregular messengers as are available from time to time.
(d) A regular courier service - the latter as far as Paris will have to be set up I think whilst waiting for the voluntary system to be developed. We should aim at certain and regular fortnightly communications to London and the Continent. The couriers on these journeys could take a note of the despatches sent otherwise. On checking up at the other end a note could be made of those that had not arrived.
We should aim at the outset at the following:

Your correspondence clerk should try to make out a complete time table from which the times of departure of the several messengers on the various routes could be ascertained so that the best for any particular messenger might be readily ascertained at any time, e.g. - under certain circumstances it might be better to send to Paris and have it posted from there to U.S. instead of by other routes. I cannot feel satisfied until I see the whole thing on paper.

Codes And Ciphers: These should be worked up far in advance of anything we have at present. I send herewith the systems that I have been using. The Dir. Of Communications will explain further if necessary. One of your staff - the correspondence clerk again if possible - should become an expert in ciphering and deciphering whatever codes you adopt.