Lynch put in a spot on north by US congressman

THE government was embarrassed after New York congressman Mario Biaggi wrote to taoiseach Jack Lynch on January 24, 1978, congratulating him on an RTÉ interview a fortnight earlier in which he called on the British to declare their intention to withdraw their troops from Northern Ireland.

Biaggi had been a prominent member of the Irish National Caucus (INC) and was writing as chairman of a newly formed ad hoc congressional committee.

“The ad hoc committee is most interested in seeing this declaration of intent become a reality,” Biaggi wrote. His letter was a distinct embarrassment to the government, because he had been outspoken in his support of the Provisional IRA.