Irish Boundary Commission - Non-publication of The Report

Non-publication of The Report

Both Irish prime ministers agreed in the negotiations on 3 December to bury the report as part of a wider intergovernmental settlement. The remaining Commissioners discussed the matter with the politicians at length, and expected publication within weeks. However, W.T. Cosgrave said that he:

"..believed that it would be in the interests of Irish peace that the Report should be burned or buried, because another set of circumstances had arrived, and a bigger settlement had been reached beyond any that the Award of the Commission could achieve."

Sir James Craig added that:

"If the settlement succeeded it would be a great disservice to Ireland, North and South, to have a map produced showing what would have been the position of the persons on the Border had the Award been made. If the settlement came off and nothing was published, no-one would know what would have been his fate. He himself had not seen the map of the proposed new Boundary. When he returned home he would be questioned on the subject and he preferred to be able to say that he did not know the terms of the proposed Award. He was certain that it would be better that no-one should ever know accurately what their position would have been."

For differing reasons the British government and the remaining two Commissioners agreed with these views. Even this inter-governmental discussion about suppressing the report remained a secret for decades.