Letter from Joseph P. Walshe to Charles Bewley (Rome)

The Minister agrees to your taking leave as requested in your letter of the 14th.

The Minister is very satisfied at the representations you have been making to the Holy See in connection with the appointment to Dublin. In this connection you will understand that the very busy character of the work we have to do in London at the moment makes it impossible to reply in detail to your reports. You may feel assured that everything you say is very carefully considered.

I hope you have heard from home by this time about the impressions and experiences of General Mulcahy. I have not yet heard what they were.

The Minister will be glad to have a full report of your contact with the pilgrims and Dr. Harty¹ if there has been any and of any further developments in the Irish College situation. Have you been to see Dr. Hagan or have the local circumstances rather made you consider that step unwise.

I need hardly tell you again that the Minister wishes you to press the sending of the Nuncio in season and out of season by every possible means. Your representations already seem to have made the Vatican go back on their decision to send an Apostolic Delegate. No doubt another two or three interviews with the Cardinal and Monsignore Pizzardo will effect our purpose. The Minister will have a chat with one of the members of the Cabinet here in London, probably Mr. Henderson, with a view to getting the F.O. to depart from an attitude which may conceivably be regarded by the Vatican as hostile. He was also considering sending a note to Mr. Nicholas Brady in New York in order to get him to say something to the Vatican about the reaction on American Irish opinion of their failure to send a Nuncio to Dublin but he will wait for a further report from you before taking that step.