Hillery inauguration:Senior Irish government officials tried to prevent the British ambassador sent to Ireland to replace the murdered Christopher Ewart Biggs from attending the inauguration of president Patrick Hillery because of a row over his letter of credence.
However, on the strong advice of a more junior official in the taoiseach's office and the intervention of the minister for foreign affairs, Garret FitzGerald, a compromise solution was found and the taoiseach, Liam Cosgrave, instructed that the new ambassador, Robert Haydon, should be invited to the ceremony.
"The media and the public will regard the presentation of letters as a matter of little consequence - especially as the previous man was blown up," Richard Stokes, a principal officer in the taoiseach's office, advised in a handwritten note in the file.
His superior, assistant secretary HJ Dowd, and the head of protocol at the Department of Foreign Affairs, John Burke, had expressed firm opposition to the ambassador's attendance at the presidential inauguration because his letter of credence was not in order.
The row developed because it was British policy to accredit ambassadors to a named president rather than to "The President of Ireland" in order to avoid any suggestion of recognising the territorial claim to the North. Similarly Irish ambassadors were not accredited to the "Queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland" but to the named sovereign.
Mr Haydon arrived in Ireland with his letter of credence addressed to president Cearbhall Ó Dálaigh, but the president resigned before he could present it.
The foreign affairs department asked the British to readdress it to "The President of Ireland" so that it could be accepted by the presidential commission. The British refused.
The first document in the file is a memo from Mr Dowd in the taoiseach's department to the Department of Foreign Affairs dated 16th November, 1976. It read:
"I am to refer to reports and pictures in the newspapers of the 15th instant of the British Legion's Remembrance Day service in St Patrick's Cathedral, Dublin, which show that the incoming British ambassador, Mr Robert Haydon, laid a wreath during the service.
"The propriety of the ambassador-designate's participating in a public function before he has presented his letter of credence to the president would seem to be open to question.
"It would be appreciated if you would be good enough to furnish me, for the information of the Taoiseach, with your Minister's views in the matter and if you can say whether any action can be taken to ensure that the ambassador designate will not perform any other public function until after he will have presented his letter of credence to the president."
The cabinet discussed the issue on the same day and a short note of the discussion was recorded under the heading "Status of British ambassador".
The note read:
"AG [ Declan Costello] on behalf off M/FA [ Garret FitzGerald] raised question of the impasse regarding the credentials of the British ambassador. The British authorities will not accredit the ambassador to the President of Ireland, thereby enabling the Presidential Commission to accept his credentials.
"The AG said that a suggestion had been made that if we were able to inform the British that we would henceforth accredit our ambassador in London to the Queen of the UK of GB and NI there was a chance that the British might agree to accredit their ambassador to the President of Ireland. The AG said that he thought there was only a very remote chance of the British making such a change in their arrangements.
"The general feeling was that no move should be made by the government to alter the accreditation of the ambassador in London.
"The AG mentioned that the matter was being raised by him at the urgent request of the absent M/FA and the urgency was due to the forthcoming inauguration of the president at which the ambassador could not appear formally.
"There was a suggestion that the ambassador might be allowed to the ceremony informally but it was felt that other diplomats might be offended at this."
In a note the following day Mr Stokes recorded that he had received a phone call from the chief of protocol, Mr Burke, who outlined the historical background and said Mr Haydon could not attend the inauguration and would have to be represented by his deputy.
"I asked Mr Burke if the ambassador could be there in some informal way even though he will not be accredited. Mr Burke advises that, due to the Vienna Convention which governs such matters, an ambassador-designate may carry on informal business with the Foreign Affairs Ministry but it is considered improper for him to act at a formal function or appear at a public ceremony until accredited."
Mr Burke's view that Mr Haydon's publicised attendance at the Remembrance Day ceremony was "a breach of diplomatic etiquette" is recorded.
However, Mr Stokes went on to express his own opinion, saying:
"It will be incomprehensible to the public why the ambassador of Britain will not be at the inauguration and the media of this and other countries may read animosity into the matter. I expressed the feeling that we should be prepared to bend the rules a little to ensure that no such misrepresentation can be put on the situation.
"Mr Burke did not agree with this especially as the contretemps arose because of Britain's refusal to accredit to the commission."
Mr Stokes suggested a compromise whereby Mr Haydon might be able to present his credentials on the afternoon of the inauguration so that he could at least attend the reception that night.
However, his superior at the taoiseach's department, Mr Dowd, took a very different view.
"I entirely agree with the view of the Department of Foreign Affairs that nothing should be done to facilitate the attendance at the Inauguration of the President of the British ambassador-designate before he will have formally presented his letter of credence. It would appear from your note of the discussion of the matter at yesterday's meeting of the government that the government themselves accept this view. The only obstacle to the accreditation of the ambassador on a date earlier than that of the president's inauguration is the British government's refusal to recognise the constitutional title of the president. The solution of the problem rests with them.
"I am not too happy with the suggestion in the final paragraph of Mr Stokes's minute that the presentation of the ambassador's letter of credence should be arranged for the afternoon of the president's inauguration. I suggest that we await the views of the Department of Foreign Affairs on this before approaching the Taoiseach about it."
A handwritten note in the margin from Mr Stokes two days later said: "I was unaware of developments on this file when I wrote my minute of 17/11 but that newspaper reports of the ambassador's wreath laying only confirm the point A of my minute - that the media and the public will regard the presentation of letters as a matter of little consequence - especially as the previous man was blown up. RS."
Ultimately the taoiseach sided with Mr Stokes, as a handwritten note from a week later by another of the taoiseach's officials, Wally Kirwan, shows.
"The Taoiseach told me last evening that he has agreed to a suggestion put to him by the Minister for Foreign Affairs that the British and the Portuguese ambassadors designate are to be invited to the inauguration and to the reception. The intention is that they will be seated at the inauguration behind the (accredited members of the) diplomatic corps.
"Please discuss with the chief of protocol (1) how the invitations should be worded - presumably the designation ambassador designate should be used; and (2) whether the charge d'affaires in each case should be invited as well (I think they should).
"The invitations should of course be sent to the chief of protocol for presentation to the invitees (as was done with all the invitations to the diplomatic corps)."
A note at the side records that the minister of foreign affairs instructed that Mr Haydon's invitation should be addressed to him as ambassador and not ambassador designate and that his deputy should not be invited as well.
