340.1115A/629: Telegram
The Secretary of State to the Ambassador in the United Kingdom (Kennedy)
896. Your 1259, May 18, 1 p.m.55 The President is taking a keen interest in the evacuation of Americans and has read your telegram and requests that you be advised of the following:
First, that he is not satisfied with either Galway or Cobh as points of departure. The objection to Cobh is very apparent. The objection to Galway is for similar reasons and while not so apparent they are nevertheless sufficient to convince the President and the Department as to the inadvisability of using Galway.
Instead of using either of those ports, Bantry Bay is suggested by the President as being desirably located from the point of view of protection, good harbor with plenty of depth and accessible by rail. Realizing there are no facilities in the immediate vicinity for accommodating evacuees, nevertheless arrangements could be made for a special train to carry them from the larger centers. While there are no docking facilities for a large ship, passengers could be embarked from small boats. The appeal lies in its favorable location and its protected geographical position as well as the sheltered harbor and adequate depth.
The Navy has been consulted and from the point of view of that Department it is accessible and adequate for the purposes.
[Page 97]We are awaiting information from Dublin as to the number of probable evacuees before making arrangements. It may take several weeks for a boat to arrive there, and the boat will not be selected until it will be known approximately how many persons need to be accommodated.
There are many people in different localities in south Atlantic European ports and still in Mediterranean ports, and they are being evacuated with American-flag ships, but the same ship cannot proceed to Ireland. Consequently an entirely different ship and one adequate to the circumstances will be selected as soon as information is available and every arrangement facilitated with the hope and expectation that Bantry Bay will prove satisfactory.
- Not printed; it stated there were two ports from which Americans could be evacuated from Ireland: Galway and Cobh. The Ambassador pointed out that while Cobh was nearer to the belligerent area it had advantages as to accessibility, steamship operation, and facilities.↩