Snubs and confusion in lead up to 1979 papal visit

One of the files in the state papers just released by the Department of Foreign Affairs relates to the visit of Pope John Paul II to Ireland in Aug 1979.

There was considerable confusion about the plans for the visit.

After months of speculation the Irish ambassador at the Vatican, John Molloy, informed Dublin in late July that he had information from “a very reliable source” that the Pope intended to stop in Ireland for a few days while on his way to address the United Nations Organisation in New York.