340.1115A/650: Telegram
The Ambassador in the United Kingdom (Kennedy) to the Secretary of State
[Received 9:30 p.m.]
1277. Your 896, May 18, 5 p.m. You may want to pass on to the President the following information on Bantry Bay.
The Naval Attaché informs me that a vessel of any size would have to anchor 4 or 5 miles from the town. The anchorage is exposed to southwesterly winds which frequently make boarding from small boats hazardous. In the opinion of shipping people here, it would be dangerous for passengers to board a ship in Bantry Bay from small boats except in very good weather.
Consul Smale of Cork reports that there are no accommodations except a 20-room hotel, that there is no tender available, that the facilities for servicing ships are extremely limited, that for 8 or 9 hours out of each 12 hours, it is impossible to reach vessels because of mud flats, and that there are no facilities except one small crane for handling baggage and stores. I doubt if it would be feasible to embark perhaps over 1,000 people or more in small boats. For that reason, if Bantry Bay is selected, it will undoubtedly be necessary to bring a tender around from Cobh.
I realize, of course, that the military angle is the most important one. Consul Smale has taken this matter up with the appropriate authorities and is of the opinion that the west of Ireland is definitely less desirable from this standpoint than is Cobh.
There is a feeling of tension in Ireland that may even necessitate reconsidering Ireland as a temporary place of refuge.