THE constant use of the term "Ireland" to describe the Republic in official documents proved a major irritant to the unionist government in the" 1950s, according to Cabinet papers released in Belfast this week.
In January 1955, W.N. McWilliams, a Stormont official, reminded departments of the government's desire to avoid the use of the term "Republic of Ireland" in documents.
He wrote "Republic of Ireland is a phrase which it is government policy both here and in Great Britain to avoid unless its use is absolutely unavoidable."
The whole issue of terminology was the subject of a long memo circulated to the Cabinet by Mr Eric Montgomery, the Stormont Director of Information in April 1959.
Referring to the South's anti partition propaganda, he wrote "We, while vigorously denying their claim, yet often appear to contradict ourselves and even to support their case by our use of the word `Irish'.
"All this tends to make people in Great Britain and abroad think of the partition of Ireland as an artificial, ephemeral thing and emphasises the perils we may face at home if, as seems to be happening, the tensions between North and South begin to ease."
The position, he went on, "was made worse by the attitude of the local BBC television station which seems to view Irish collage plays, jigs and reels, pipes and harps and colleens singing laments, as a picture of our Ulster way of life."
The press chief argued that the use of "Ireland" to describe Northern Ireland organisations and sporting teams, including the Grand Orange Lodge, caused major ambiguity.
He added "We should do more to emphasise our separateness by ceasing to refer to Northern Ireland as a `province' and finding a better description of our status."