The Presidency: President Childers' wish to visit Army bases irritated some, writes Deaglán de Bréadún.
Evidence of protracted wrangling between President Erskine Childers and the Fine Gael-Labour Coalition about the nature of presidential access to the Defence Forces has come to light in State Papers for 1974.
Efforts by the late President to have greater contact with the Army in his role as supreme commander were rebuffed by the Fine Gael taoiseach of the day, Mr Liam Cosgrave, and his friend and party colleague, the late Patrick Donegan, who was minister for defence.
Documents show that for most of his short period in office, before he died in November 1974, President Childers was frustrated in his attempt to make a ceremonial visit to every barracks and military base in the State.
A top civil servant even saw the president's plan to inspect troops and have lunch with senior officers as contrary to fundamental State policy on the control of the Defence Forces, although another senior official considered this attitude "heavy-handed".
Mr Childers, who was the Fianna Fáil candidate for the presidency, was elected on May 30th, 1973. In a letter dated December 7th, 1973, the new president wrote to the Taoiseach, expressing a desire, as Supreme Commander of the Defence Forces, to make a ceremonial visit to "all the Barracks and Command Centres" over a two- or three-year period.
"It is perfectly obvious that I have a purely honorary function under the Constitution," Mr Childers wrote, "but I would like to demonstrate the President's interest in and his support of the Defence Forces."
Stressing that he would be "guided by the Minister for Defence" and that no extra expense was involved, the president continued: "I would simply call on the Barracks, an appropriate military ceremonial would be arranged, and I would have a meal with the officers in command without any special preparations or elaborate arrangements. In other words, I would eat lunch with them at the appropriate time and then leave."
The letter was passed on to the Secretary of the Department of the Defence, Mr S. Ó Cearnaigh, with a request for his views on the appropriate reply. Mr Ó Cearnaigh responded with a memorandum on the legal and constitutional position.
The memorandum outlines the role of the president in relation to the Defence Forces as set out in Bunreacht na hÉireann and the Defence Act 1954, and comments: "When the President says that he has a purely honorary function under the Constitution in regard to the Defence Forces he obviously means that all his functions are exercisable on the advice of the Government. It would seem that the Government would have to advise him in regard to his present suggestion."
The memorandum warns: "There could be embarrassment for a President and for the Government if, for instance, newspapers were to start speculating as to the reasons for unprecedented visits to military establishments or participation in military functions. It is possible to visualise situations where the Government might feel obliged to comment publicly on speculation of this kind."
However, a different view was taken at senior level in the Department of the Taoiseach, where it was felt the draft supplied by Mr Ó Cearnaigh was "too heavy-handed". The president's request should be granted, with control of each visit left to the Minister for Defence.
A further draft was prepared but, in the end, Mr Cosgrave long-fingered the president's request, telling him that: "With regard to your wish to call on military establishments I have asked the Minister for Defence to bear in mind your interest in more contact with the Army."
But Mr Childers persisted and, nearly a year later on October 7th, 1974, the minister for defence wrote to the taoiseach that: "The President has again approached me about making arrangements for him to visit military establishments."
Replying, the taoiseach told Mr Donegan: "If the President presses you, you might tactfully let him know that while you appreciate his desire to give more active service as President, you feel that the Government could well be embarrassed by public comment on any substantial increase of presidential interest in and involvement with the Defence Forces of the State."
President Childers died on November 17th, 1974.