Volume 9 1948~1951


Doc No.
Date
Subject

No. 358 NAI DFA/5/305/14/9/3

Letter from Conor Cruise O'Brien to Joseph D. Brennan (Washington DC) with enclosure for consular offices in New York, Boston, San Francisco and Chicago

Dublin, 19 August 1949

Dear Brennan,
I attach a copy of a minute which we sent to-day to all Consular Offices. It is self-explanatory.

The Minister feels, however, that the efforts of the Consulates cannot be wholly successful unless the matter is also approached at a higher level. He would like you, therefore, to take it up with the principal Agency Representative in Washington and, if possible, get them to instruct their local correspondents to give better coverage on this.

Yours sincerely,
C. Cruise-O'Brien

[enclosure]

The Minister is particularly anxious that the press here should get rapid and adequate coverage on Anti-Partition news and comment from the United States. At present the Information Section conveys to the press here the contents of news summaries, etc., cabled and airmailed from the Offices in the United States. The Minister, however, feels that a much better coverage could be obtained if the agencies could be stimulated to carry such news adequately themselves.

He will be glad, accordingly, if you would contact the principal U.P., A.P. and Reuter Correspondents in your area and point out to them that the Irish newspapers do not feel they are at present getting adequate information through their agency of Irish-American news, especially where Partition is concerned.

The Minister wishes this to be treated as a matter of urgency and would like you to report as soon as possible the results of your discussions with the agency men.

We are also taking this up with agency chiefs through the Legation at Washington.