Volume 6 1939~1941


Doc No.
Date
Subject

No. 140 NAI DFA 218/55

Extract from a confidential report from William J.B. Macaulay
to Joseph P. Walshe (Dublin)
(MP15/40) (Confidential)

Holy See, 20 March 1940

[matter omitted]

Mr. Gray is going to spend five days in Paris and five days in London. He is especially anxious to convey to the British that with the continuation of partition it will be increasingly difficult for America to give fuller support to the Allies in view of opinion in America and the probability of groups in Congress making things difficult for the Administration so long as the Irish question remains unsolved. He came over on the ship with Duff Cooper1 who promised to arrange interviews with Churchill inter alios. From what I could gather in our conversation President Roosevelt has instructed him personally to do all he can with the British and he saw Lord Lothian also on the matter whom he found helpful.

The Minister says he is anxious to get to know the members of the Government intimately but not to get involved in social activities. By this he means large parties etc. I liked him very much and am giving a dinner tomorrow night to which Mr. Taylor is coming since he has not yet met Mr. Gray.

1 Alfred (Duff) Cooper (1890-1954), appointed First Lord of the Admiralty in 1937 but resigned in 1938 over the Munich agreement; Minister for Information (1940-1), Ambassador to France (1944-8).