By David McCullagh and Fiachra Ó Cionnaith
54 films rejected by film censor in 1960
Ireland's film censor Liam O’Hora was keeping a beady eye on Hollywood’s output in 1960.
He reported to minister for justice Oscar Traynor that he had rejected 54 films – including Peyton Place and the Frank Sinatra movie Pal Joey.
He blamed television for encouraging a drop in standards, as producers hoped their films would be shown on TV even if they were banned in cinemas.
"At least 40% of the films coming in nowadays belong to the 'moral vacuum' category...There are always newer gimmicks and different slants on human depravity to be exploited." [Based on documents in 2024/108/10]
Yeats final resting place was called into question
Irish diplomats were sent into a spin in 1978 when doubts were cast over the authenticity of the remains of WB Yeats.
Yeats died in France in 1939, and his remains were returned to Ireland in 1948 and reburied in Drumcliffe, Co Sligo.
However, there were always rumours about whether the reburied bones were really his.
When a businessman contacted the Irish embassy in London claiming he had documents which raised questions about whether the remains had been correctly identified, the Department of Foreign Affairs re-examined its files, concluding that they contained "contradictory evidence" which cast "doubt and suspicion" on the issue.
However, when the poet’s son, Senator Michael Yeats, was told about the new documents, he appeared unconcerned, and the matter was not pursued. [Based on documents in 2024/52/6]
Another repatriation also demonstrated that the government wasn’t all that fussy about getting the right bones back.
Diplomat Paul Keating revealed in 1978 that when he was sent 13 years earlier to oversee the exhumation of the remains of Roger Casement from Pentonville Prison, he was told to fill the coffin with 50kg of soil from the grave if the bones wasn’t found.
Luckily, in that case the remains were found and identified. [Based on documents in 2024/52/6]
Irish not impressed by 'Strand Two’ chair suggestions
Irish officials were not impressed by many of the names suggested by the British to chair 1992 talks on North-South links (known as ‘Strand Two’).
Here's a flavour.
Former speaker of the House of Commons George Thomas had "a petulant and ‘bitchy’ temperament and does not forgive slights, alleged or real".
One former northern secretary, Merlyn Rees, was "often muddle-headed" while another, Humphrey Atkins, was an "ineffective politician".
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Ex-foreign secretary David Owen was "widely known as arrogant, impatient and difficult to work with".
Conor Cruise O’Brien, the former Irish minister known at that stage for his support for unionism, was suggested by UUP leader Jim Molyneaux, but dismissed out of hand by Irish officials as "hardly a serious suggestion".
The talks were eventually chaired by former Australian governor-general Ninian Stephen. [Based on documents in 2024/130/2]
Trimble rejected description of Britain being ‘overseas’
A promotional campaign by the cross-border body Tourism Ireland was stalled in 2002, because Ulster Unionist leader David Trimble objected to the description of Britain as "overseas".
Northern secretary Paul Murphy pulled the plug after Mr Trimble’s complaints.
This led taoiseach Bertie Ahern to complain to prime minister Tony Blair that "this was unacceptable and that [the Irish government] expected the North/South Bodies to be allowed to get on with their important work without such interference".
[Based on documents in 2024/112/15]
Minister attended Nazi film screening in Dublin
A government minister was among the audience for a showing of the Nazi propaganda film Triumph of the Will in Dublin’s Olympia Theatre in October 1935.
The attendance of Senator Joseph Connolly, minister for lands and fisheries, was noted by gardaí who kept a watch on the theatre.
Also in the audience were a number of diplomats from Belgium, France and Poland, all countries which would shortly get a much closer look at Hitler.
The film, directed by Leni Riefenstahl, recorded the 1934 Nazi Party rally in Nuremburg.
The screening in the Olympia was organised by the German Legation. [Based on documents in 2024/108/1]
