The murder of an Ambassador

When the IRA killed the British Ambassador Christopher Ewart-Biggs in 1976 a shocked nation was outraged, writes Caroline O’Doherty.

THE murder of the British Ambassador to Ireland by the IRA in 1976 caused massive anxiety for the Cosgrave government which was concerned about how the incident would be viewed internationally.

Officials were instructed to gather press clippings from newspapers all over the world — even the USSR — to see how the news was reported and what comments were made in opinion pieces.

Much of the coverage highlighted the security lapses which allowed the killers to gain access to the embassy residence grounds to both set the bomb and activate it when the Ambassador’s car passed by.

Ambassador Christopher Ewart-Biggs, who had only taken up the post two weeks earlier, died along with Judith Cooke, private secretary to the permanent under-secretary in the Northern Ireland Office, when the bomb went off at the Glencairn estate in Sandyford, south Co. Dublin at 9.40 am on July 21 1976. The permanent under-secretary, Brian Cubbon, and the chauffeur, Brian O’Driscoll, were injured.

Taoiseach Liam Cosgrave was only made aware of the news when he arrived at his office at 10.45am.

At that early stage it was thought the Ambassador, his wife, Jane, and their driver had all been killed but this was later corrected. Immediately plans were made for an official call of condolence to be made to the British Prime Minister in Downing Street and all government ministers were instructed to cancel their attendance at official functions until after the funeral.

Flags on State buildings were also ordered to be lowered until the funeral was over and a £20,000 reward was offered for information leading to the conviction of the culprits.

The taoiseach’s department also intervened to protect the identity of the main eye-witness to the bombing, a revenue official called Donal Wills who, a note records, was “appalled” to hear his name mentioned on the RTE lunchtime news.

The head of the Government Information Service, Ted Nealon, got to work contacting RTE and the newspapers to ask that Mr Wills not be named again as he feared for his safety.

The various media outlets agreed but it was too late for the Evening Press whose editions were already on the street although the newspaper agreed not to repeat the Mr Wills name in the following day’s Irish Press.

The Ambassador’s family opted for a funeral in Britain and declined the offer of a State removal with full military honours. An official note records that only the Irish Examiner reported that such an offer had been made — the other dailies failed to make reference to it.

The Cabinet was appraised by Minister for Justice Patrick Cooney of the incident. A memo from their meeting on July 23 reads: “bomb weighed 200lbs, placed in culvert 317 yards from Embassy gate — probably fixed in position on morning of murder. Culvert bombs are S (south) Armagh specialities.”

The British Embassy was in touch the same day to say that it would probably be some time before a replacement could be found for Mr Ewart-Biggs but this was not to be taken as reluctance on the part of the British to appoint a replacement.

It was left to Minister for Foreign Affairs, Garret FitzGerald, to publicly express the government’s sentiments at the memorial service held for the Ambassador at St Patrick’s Cathedral on July 28th.

He emphasised the depth of public revulsion and said that if the murderers had hoped to drive a deeper wedge between Britain and Ireland, they had failed. “No doubt the perpetrators calculated, with their unfailing lack of insight or understanding, that Anglo-Irish relations would be severely weakened, perhaps permanently damaged by such an atrocity. That the opposite has been the case is now evident to all.”

FitzGerald seemed to strike the right note. In a heartfelt letter of thanks as he prepared to leave his convalescent bed in Dublin for a hospital nearer his family in England, Brian Cubbon wrote to the minister on August 11th: “Your words on 28 July, about Judith and also about poor Christopher, caught our feelings exactly, and my Department is grateful to you for them. The violent men who contrive and carry out these attacks are a terrible threat to both our countries; and a common enemy.”