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Authors: Brian Fleming

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In his Christmas 1939 message to the Pope, the President announced the appointment of Taylor. It resulted in some criticism domestically but not of a hugely significant nature. Officially Taylor's appointment was to address refugee issues which were expected to arise particularly from the situation of Jews living in Germany and German-occupied territory. He had previously served on the President's Inter-Governmental Committee on Political Refugees in 1938 and so had a track record in that regard. As he agreed to serve without a salary, and his expenses were paid from funds allocated to the Committee on Refugees, the President did not need the approval of the Houses of Congress for his appointment.

Taylor arrived in Rome in early 1940 and immediately linked up with the British Minister to the Holy See, D'Arcy Osborne, and the French Ambassador, Charles-Roux. The US State Department was directed by the President to supply logistical support to Taylor and this took the form of Harold Tittmann who was then Consul General in Geneva. The diplomats, working with the Pope and the Vatican authorities, engaged in extensive efforts over the next few months to keep Italy out of the War. For example, Taylor had seven different appointments with the Pope in the period from 27 May to 23 June which was an unprecedented number of meetings over such a short period for a foreign diplomat. The general view was that President Roosevelt was far more likely to have an influence on Mussolini than anyone else. Indeed, even as early as the first week of 1940, the President was proposing to the Italian Government a common approach by Mussolini, the Pope and himself to restore peace in Europe. Furthermore, he indicated the desire for a conference with the Italian leader some time during the course of the year. Subsequently he sent the Under Secretary of State, Sumner Welles, on a visit to Rome during which he met Mussolini and emphasised again the President's anxiety that Italy would enter the War. In the meantime, the British Government was making clear to the Italian authorities that they had friendly relations with many governments, some of which were governed in a similar manner to Italy and that they would draw clear distinctions between the Nazis of Hitler and the Fascists of Mussolini. On 19 April Taylor telegraphed Roosevelt advising that he had conferred with the Cardinal Secretary of State in the Vatican, Maglione, and the representatives of various European countries at the Holy See, and all were agreed that the situation in relation to Italian neutrality was now approaching a critical juncture. They recommended that the President and the Pope engage in parallel appeals to Mussolini to keep out of the War. This suggestion, after some delay, was put into effect.

During all this time the Italian Foreign Minister was Count Ciano. He was Mussolini's son-in-law, being married to the Dictator's favourite daughter, Edda. Ciano had signed the Axis agreement with Germany on behalf of Italy but soon began to doubt the value of the link. He was one of those active in trying to persuade Mussolini not to join the War. Under the original Axis Agreement the Italian understanding was that war, if it were to happen, would not commence before 1943. Although he shared the Duce's expansionist policies, Ciano was acutely aware that Italy was in no position to engage in a prolonged war effort. He was also sensitive to the fact that among the public there was little enthusiasm for such a policy. Unfortunately, his advice, as well as the diplomatic efforts being made by the Vatican and various foreign governments, fell on deaf ears. Allied diplomats and Vatican authorities who were working to keep Italy out of the War did not foresee the quick collapse of France and the British withdrawal from Dunkirk in late May. Mussolini was, most likely, influenced by the fact that France had fallen and he thought at that point that he was joining the winning side. On Monday 10 June he announced to the Italian people that they would be at war the following day as partners of Germany.

The partnership between Germany and Italy was never one of equals. Italy's economy could only support a fraction of the military expenditure of Germany. The Italian armed forces had been allowed to decline in numbers since the previous war and emigration to the US had increased greatly. Much of the equipment which the Italian armed forces had was seriously outdated.

In relation to Italy's participation in the War, there was also a question mark as to public opinion. The Italians traditionally had little or no enmity towards the various Allied countries. For a long time, there had been close connections between the Italian and English upper classes and there was a high level of Anglophilia among the various noble families in Rome. The Italian working class had a high regard for the US. Many of their counterparts, including family members, had emigrated to America and they were strongly aware of the negative views of Nazism held in that country.

Italy's entry into the War immediately raised questions for the diplomats who were living in Rome representing those countries with whom Italy was now at war. The Lateran Treaty had clauses to govern just such a situation but they were somewhat vague. The Vatican Secretary of State, Cardinal Maglione, had raised this issue with the authorities as early as 1938. There were differing opinions held within the Italian Government – between the authorities in Foreign Affairs, the War Office and the Ministry of the Interior – so no clear response was issued. Eventually in May 1940 the Italian Government informed the Holy See that the diplomats from countries who might eventually be at war with Italy would have to leave and take up residence in a neutral country or move into the Vatican. At the invitation of the Pope, D'Arcy Osborne moved into the Vatican, as did the French and Polish Ambassadors among others, the week after Italy declared war. They were located in a pilgrim hostel attached to the Convent of Santa Marta on the south side of St Peter's Square. As the French had appointed a new Ambassador, d'Ormesson, the British Minister D'Arcy Osborne was now the senior diplomat among this group. In the early days, the facilities in the accommodation were fairly limited and D'Arcy Osborne found himself having to use Monsignor Montini's apartments for taking a bath. The two men got to know each other and became close friends during the succeeding months and years.

Of course the Italian authorities laid down some conditions. The diplomats representing those countries were now enemies of Italy, and so had to reside within the Vatican and not cross the border into Italy. For exceptional reasons, however, they were allowed to ask for permission to leave the Vatican and go into Rome. If this were granted, they were to be continuously escorted by a police officer. They were not allowed to send any telegrams in code. They were allowed make official communications to their governments but only in respect of their work as envoys to the Holy See. This excluded any reference to matters in relation to Italy. Their families were allowed to go to the seaside during hot weather, visiting the resort at Fregene. The diplomatic cars could leave the Vatican and go straight out to Fregene without going through the city centre and so avoid any embarrassment to the Italian Government.

By contrast the Irish representatives were there on behalf of a neutral country and so did not have to move into the Vatican. The Irish Minister at that time was Dr T. J. Kiernan. Thomas Kiernan was born in 1897 in Dublin and educated at St Mary's College, Rathmines and University College Dublin. He joined the Civil Service in the offices of the Inspector of Taxes in 1916 and was stationed in Galway from 1922 onwards. There he met his future wife, Delia Murphy. They became engaged a couple of years later. Both sets of parents disapproved of the engagement. It is easy to understand why the parents were concerned that this might not be an ideal match as the two had completely different personalities. Kiernan at that stage had already taken his Master's and intended doing a Ph. D. with a view possibly to taking up an academic career. Delia Murphy on the other hand had no interest in such a career and was very much into the social life of Galway. She was, even at that young age, a noted singer. Despite the disapproval of their parents, they got married in February 1924 at University Church in Dublin. Sadly, neither set of parents attended. In April 1924 Kiernan took up an appointment in London as Secretary to Commissioner McNeill in the High Commission Office. He completed his Doctorate at London University.

It is fair to say they were an odd couple. A friend at that time, the distinguished civil servant and author León Ó Broin, noted the contrast:

I found him gentlemanly, courteous and desperately discreet. He was a retiring quiet man who smoked incessantly and I would say highly strung. He was very good looking, almost effeminate; and she was handsome, too, but bustling, almost rough. I wondered how they fitted into the Embassy scene abroad.
1

Another friend, the actor, Liam Redmond, observes:

Delia was an extrovert, she liked people who had the same openness as herself, and they liked her. Women with social pretensions and prissy men did not care for her. She just thought such people ridiculous and, typically she would seek out someone who was less hidebound by convention with whom she could have a bit of ‘craic'. If possible at all, she would start a sing-song and soon she would have everyone around her singing along in the chorus.
2

However their different strengths were to prove useful in the diplomatic service. She was a very well organised and generous hostess whereas her husband was not at all keen on entertaining. As her future son-in-law remarked some years later:

She was well able for the entertaining side of diplomatic life and I could imagine her taking on anything. I could imagine, however, stuffy formal occasions being very trying for her, but then she could get a laugh out of those. She was totally unaware of any social or class distinction.
3

As the years passed, Kiernan's career took a few interesting turns. The move to London had meant a transfer from Finance to Foreign Affairs and then in the mid 1930s he was transferred again to the Department of Post and Telegraphs on taking up an appointment as Director of Programmes at Radio Éireann. In the meantime, his wife was becoming increasingly well known as a singer and she had begun to record songs which were released by HMV later in that decade. She was encouraged in developing her musical career by Count John McCormack and the famous soprano, Margaret Burke Sheridan, and undoubtedly her husband's role as Director of Programmes was of assistance. Kiernan was a man of great integrity so it is unlikely that he ever asked anyone to play her music. At the same time, the fact that he was Director is likely to have influenced the selection of music in Radio Éireann. At one of the concerts she gave during those years we see an early example of her courage. She was singing at a concert in the Ulster Hall, Belfast, in April 1941 when the German bombers arrived. The
Irish News
reports:

The raid revealed many heroes and heroines among quite ordinary people in the city. The bravery of Delia Murphy, wife of Dr Kiernan, Director of Radio Éireann, Dublin, during the height of the blitz, has been the subject of much discussion in Belfast. She was singing at a céilidhe in a large city hall. As bombs rained down, many of the women present became fearful of the consequences. Miss Murphy, however, remained perfectly cool, and kept singing continuously, asking those present to join her.
4

Shortly after that, there was another significant change in her husband's career when he was appointed as a member of the Diplomatic Service in October 1941 to what was seen to be a very important post: Minister Plenipotentiary to the Holy See.

The Irish Government policy throughout the War was to remain neutral. Throughout this period the Taoiseach (Prime Minister), Éamon de Valera, also occupied the position of Minister for External Affairs (now Foreign Affairs). His chief adviser was Joseph Walshe, Secretary of the Department of External Affairs. In the early stages of the War, Walshe was of the view that Germany would almost certainly win:

Britain's defeat has been placed beyond all doubt. France has capitulated. The entire coastline of Europe from the Arctic to the Pyrenees is in the hands of the strongest power in the world which can call upon the industrial resources of all Europe and Asia in an unbroken geographical continuity as far as the Pacific Ocean. Neither time nor gold can beat Germany.
5

(July 1940)

So, while at an unofficial level Walshe was willing to co-operate with the British, he saw it as prudent from the Irish point of view to stay neutral. This view coincided with the Taoiseach's. Aside from any political considerations, the country was in no position to engage in any serious level of conflict. The army had 7,600 members and suffered from a serious shortage of equipment. The Navy had two vessels and three motor torpedo boats. The Air Corps was similarly equipped. At the beginning and during the early years of the War, Walshe maintained his pessimistic view of the situation.

However, as the War progressed, there is no doubt that assistance was given to the Allied side at an informal level, including the sharing of intelligence and the granting of permission for Allied aircraft to fly over Irish territory in north Donegal to give them more direct access to the Atlantic. As time went by, the Irish authorities distinguished between operational and non-operational flights. By implementing this policy they ensured that most British and American planes which landed on Irish soil were allowed to leave as these were interpreted as being non-operational flights. By contrast, it was highly unlikely that any German plane would make a flight across Irish soil that would qualify as non-operational. These policies, however, were governed by strict censorship arrangements which were then in operation in the country and so were not generally known. As regards activities abroad, the Government was very anxious that the policy of strict neutrality would be observed. Instructions were sent out to staff working in the diplomatic service to ensure that this policy of neutrality was implemented.

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