'This is not a Place for Delicate or Nervous or Impatient Diplomats': The Irish Legation in Perón's Argentina (1948-55)

Abstract

This paper seeks to assess the approach taken by Ireland in its diplomatic relations with Argentina during the tenure of President Juan Perón (1946-55). A permanent Irish legation in Buenos Aires was opened in 1948, with long-serving career diplomat Matthew Murphy assuming the role of Irish chargé d'affaires of what was effectively a one-man mission. On the evidence of his confidential reports back to Dublin, Murphy integrated into the tight-knit Buenos Aires diplomatic community with ease. Working life during the period was challenging, given the Perón government's general antipathy towards the diplomatic corps. Furthermore, Perón's rise to power resulted in a considerable decline in the level of influence that the country's elite, of which the Irish-Argentinean community formed a significant component, would have over Argentinean socio-economic life. Through his interactions with diplomatic and journalistic contacts as well as with IrishArgentinean acquaintances, Murphy perceptively documented both the dubious economic policies and the increasing totalitarianism of the government, which ultimately paved the way for Perón's downfall. In this sense, Murphy's reports back to Iveagh House constitute a valuable analysis of one of the defining regimes of Latin American populism.