Exhibition of the records of the Office of the Secretary to the President

Memorandum dated 15 December 1942, commenting on the wishes of British Ambassador to Ireland, Sir John Maffey, to secure tenancy of the former Private Secretary's Lodge, formerly part of the Presidential grounds. The proposal was turned down for a number of reasons, one of them being that it was considered 'very undesirable that...any branch of the Diplomatic Corp, particularly one representing a belligerent State' should be living so close to the President. Additionally, there was the fear that this close proximity to the President might be interpreted as 'a form of British influence on the President'. The memorandum also documents the request made by the Canadian High Commissioner to fish in the Presidential lake, a request that was not only refused but one that also prompted the decision to terminate all fishing permits from the end of that year.
(NAI, Office of the Secretary to the President, 98/1/17)