Eamon Delaney's intimate memoir about his years in the Irish Foreign Service 1987 - 1995 is an entertaining, witty book. But it is not firmly balanced, nor is it entirely accurate. Delaney sacrifices objectivity to the witty line as he plays for laughs. At times it sounds like The Revenge of the Third Secretaries as he discusses former bosses, sometimes cruelly and unfairly. At its best, however, the book is a tribute to one of the most effective diplomatic services in the world. Most of the diplomats in the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) HQ &53 overseas missions are bright, hard-working, patriotic and, thank goodness, colourful and amusing. As such, they make good material for Delaney who gives a relatively junior and superficial insight into one of the most interesting periods in Irish diplomatic history.
Delaney is generous in his praise for most of the mandarins in DFA and some of the foreign ministers. Serving diplomats like Dermot Gallagher, ("the master diplomat, tough and flexible, and very focused), Seβn ╙ hUig∅nn and Ted Barrington are praised for their extraordinary contributions to successful Irish diplomacy in Northern Ireland and the EU. Dick Spring is singled out as a strong Minister but the picture of the energetic "Collins of Arabia" is less flattering.
Delaney, more cafΘ satirist than strategic analyst, sometimes gives the false impression that Irish diplomacy is mostly about wining and dining, whereas these are merely some of the necessary tools of a serious but not solemn organisation. His lack of objectivity is apparent in the portrayal of one Irish diplomat dubbed "Napoleon" because he totally fails to appreciate that diplomat's achievements, particularly in Spain and in wooing Irish-Americans away from support for violence in Northern Ireland. This one-dimensional portrait is akin to the shock of discovering that a stranger is taking seriously one's self-deprecation and self-mockery.
Call this naivetΘ or lack of experience, but it has more profound implications in the Northern Ireland section of the book where Delaney gives credibility to the hoary British and Unionist line that only extreme Irish nationalists in DFA would have wanted to change the status quo. This is a disservice to those like John Hume and Mo Mowlam who recognised that the old Northern Ireland was a dysfunctional society and could only be cured by full equality between both communities. Again, a more strategic observer would have dismissed the "Prince of Darkness" sobriquet for ╙ hUig∅nn as a clichΘd attempt to neutralise one of the many Irish diplomats who fought tirelessly for, and genuinely believes in, equal rights for Unionists and Nationalists.
Delaney does give overdue credit to Hume for doggedly preaching for 30 years the message of non-violent, mutual respect until all the other players, from the British to Irish-America, and eventually Sinn FΘin, were able to repeat the message back to him.
I would take strong issue with another observation about DFA's position on Northern Ireland. Delaney writes, "Really all that concerned the officials was the overall political situation, and the way it might be charted. Human beings were secondary." In my own 16 years experience of DFA (1972 - 1988) I saw no evidence of this. Quite the contrary, we were determined to defeat those very people who believed that "human beings were secondary." Delaney was also Vice Consul in New York and describes the important work of persuading Irish-Americans to support equality in Northern Ireland. In addition, there were 50,000 Irish illegals to be helped requiring "the fixing skills of a TD mixed with the sympathetic ear of a priest."
What to make of all this? Delaney fails to tell in any substantial detail the story of DFA's enormous contribution to the economic success of Ireland and to the peace process. His focus is more on the difficult, cloistered diplomatic life of long hours, loneliness, rivalries, hierarchies and endless moves across continents, causing strain on families, particularly dual career ones. Today, there are many rewarding and fulfilling careers in addition to the diplomatic service for talented and adventurous young men and women. Delaney indicates correctly that the DFA will need inspiring and creative leadership and better career development programmes if it is to continue to attract and retain the best and brightest. He writes of "The frustrations that the foreign service could only satisfy or reward a portion of this energy." One obvious reform would be to set retirement age at 60 years or 55, with real incentives to go early so as to free up opportunities for younger people and enable experienced diplomats to use their talents in business or academic life.
If Delaney's book succeeds in making more people appreciate the importance of Irish diplomacy he will have done a useful service. But as with his well-written The Casting of Mr O'Shaughnessy, he might have better achieved this objective by a fully-fledged novel and avoided some of the problems of trivialisation and hybridisation. However, in defence of Delaney and future diarists, we should leave the last words to C.H. Murray, former Secretary of the Department of Finance and Governor of the Central Bank: "They should keep in mind the words of Dean Swift. 'Providence never intended to make the management of public affairs a mystery to be comprehended by a few persons of sublime genius'."
Ted Smyth is Senior Vice-President at H. J. Heinz Company's world headquarters in Pittsburgh. He was an Irish diplomat from 1972-1988