Changing Northern Ireland's name to Ulster would be "false and dangerous" and could open a new field of bitter propaganda, according to secret British Government papers released at the Public Record Office in London yesterday.
In 1948, officials in London were considering a request by the Northern Ireland government to change its territorial name in order to make clear it was a separate territory ahead of Ireland's adoption of the title Republic of Ireland in 1949.
On December 21st 1948, the UK Representative to Ireland, Sir Gilbert Laithwaite, wrote to the Commonwealth Relations Office in London warning against a change in Northern Ireland's name: "Northern Ireland is not Ulster and the designation is false and dangerous."
However, a file from the Dominions Office recording a conversation between the Prime Minister of Northern Ireland, Mr Basil Brooke, and a British government official on January 6th 1949 suggested Dublin was not concerned about a change of name north of the Border.
Mr Brooke told the official that the Irish High Commissioner to London, Mr John Dulanty, had told him that day "that Mr MacBride had no objection to the government of Northern Ireland adopting this name."
However, a document from the Dominions Office, dated December 21st 1948, notes that a change in name would touch Eire "on the raw," since extremists would argue that by adopting the old Irish title of Ulster, it would imply Northern Ireland was claiming an additional three Irish counties.
Discussing the proposal to change its name, the document states that Northern Ireland was remembered as a part of Ireland "which played a decisive strategic role during the war. Moreover, the title of Ulster is inaccurate in the same way as the title Ireland to which the Northern Ireland government takes so strong an objection.
"It is even more misleading since the Eire government lay claim to all the 32 counties while the Northern Ireland government have no intention of claiming the remaining three counties. It would place His Majesty, Great Britain and Northern Ireland in a false position." The Dominions Office also noted, on December 14th 1948, that if Northern Ireland changed its name it would involve changing the UK's title to Great Britain and Ulster.