Hillery: A Foreign Assessment
In 2002, state papers released by the British Public Record Office under the 'Thirty Year Rule' and published in the Irish media, revealed how Hillery was viewed. A briefing paper, prepared for then British Foreign Secretary, Sir Alec Douglas-Home and the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland William Whitelaw, observed about Hillery:
- Dr. Hillery is regarded as a powerhouse of ideas, one of the few members of Fianna Fáil who has new policies and is eager to implement them.
- The greatest example has been in his present job, where he has perforce concentrated on Anglo-Irish relations and, in particular the North (i.e., Northern Ireland). Policy in this field is determined primarily between him and the Taoiseach; and it is likely that the Fianna Fáil new line owes much to Dr. Hillery. . . .
- Dr. Hillery has a pleasant manner. He can appear diffident and casual but has an undoubted intellectual capacity and a strong will; since the government crisis of 1970 he has appeared much more assured – even brash – and has handled the Dáil with confidence.
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