In reply to letters received in this Office from time to time asking whether Ireland is, or is not, a member of the British Commonwealth of Nations, it has been the practice to reply in the form of the attached copy letter.

I suggest that this letter is defective in several ways. It does not refer to the Executive Authority (External Relations) Act, 1936, and above all does not answer the question put. It seems to me that in view of the Taoiseach's statement in the Dáil,² in reply to Deputy Dillon's question last August and now reprinted in the publication 'Ireland's Stand',³ it would be more appropriate in future to refer to this public statement than to the mere legal provisions of the Constitution. If you agree, I would be disposed, in answer to future inquiries of this nature, to reply to the inquirer by quoting the passage from that speech beginning with the words: 'The position as I conceive it to be is this ......' ('Ireland's Stand', page 100) and concluding with the penultimate paragraph on page 102 of the same publication.

I shall be glad to learn at your early convenience whether you are in agreement with this suggestion.

[enclosure]

Sir,
I am directed by the High Commissioner to state in reply to your letter of the [blank] that:

•  By virtue of Article 4 of the Constitution of Ireland, Ireland is a sovereign, independent, democratic state.
•  The external relations of the State are governed by Article 29, Section 4(2) of the Constitution which read[s] as follows:-

'For the purpose of the exercise of any executive function of the State in or in connection with its external relations, the Government may to such extent and subject to such conditions, if any, as may be determined by law, avail of or adopt any organ, instrument, or method of procedure used or adopted for the like purpose by the members of any group or league of nations with which the State is or becomes associated for the purpose of international co-operation in matters of common concern.'