State files just released show that the government was greatly annoyed by concern expressed by the Vatican about IRA hunger strikes at Portlaoise Prison and the Curragh.
The government was "particularly disturbed" that the Holy See appeared to be accepting "propaganda statements of convicted criminals", an official wrote.
The strike of about 20 political prisoners began in March 1977 over prison conditions and included Martin Ferris, now a Sinn Féin deputy. In April 1977, the Irish ambassador to the Holy See, Gerard Woods, was asked by the Vatican secretariat of state to call on his assistant three hours later. The Vatican official presented him with a note or appunto expressing concern about hunger strikes in Portlaoise and the Curragh and referring to prisoners being subjected to "extremely severe measures".
"Having read it, I put it back on the table in front of him and told him frankly that I was not happy with it," Mr Woods told the Department of Foreign Affairs.
"By putting it back on the table I meant to indicate in terms of traditional diplomacy that I might not accept it." The note said the Holy See was "acting entirely on humanitarian grounds" and the official said the Holy See had been contacted by up to 25 people, mainly from the South of Ireland. Mr Woods told the official that the strike had ended a few days earlier but also warned that the government would "take a serious view of the matter". On hearing this, he said the official became "rather nervous" and seemed to pull back from his position.
When he was told about the meeting, Seán Donlon, assistant secretary in the Department of Foreign Affairs, instructed the ambassador to seek "an immediate appointment" with the secretariat to deliver a reply.
He was told to point out that the strike was organised by "certain persons convicted of murder and other crimes committed in the course of a campaign in which almost 2,000 Irish people have been killed and nearly 20,000 injured". He told Mr Woods that he should add that the "government has been particularly disturbed by the fact that in the wording of its note, the Holy See should have used language that seemed to accept propaganda statements of convicted criminals engaged in a conspiracy to discredit the government".
He said the government could not help but wonder about the "reliability and impartiality of the sources of information upon which the Holy See drew in preparing the recent demarche".
After delivering the government's reply, the ambassador telexed to say the Vatican's secretariat was surprised that the government had been disturbed at the tone and content of its memo. A handwritten note on the telex added: "taoiseach, I think our point has been sufficiently made."
The government was also annoyed by a call for a UN inquiry into prison conditions by the bishop of Derry, Dr Edward Daly. In a confidential note to the minister for foreign affairs, Garret FitzGerald, taoiseach Liam Cosgrave said that "concern and resentment" had been voiced by a number of ministers about recent statement on prison conditions by Dr Daly, at a cabinet meeting in April 1977.
"There was general agreement that our concern in this matter should be made known to the church authorities and it was suggested that this might be done through our ambassador to the Holy See," the taoiseach wrote.
