The former chairman of The Irish Times, Major Thomas B. McDowell, has denied that he described Mr Douglas Gageby, editor of the newspaper for 20 years, as a "white nigger" during a discussion on Northern Ireland in 1969 with the then British ambassador in Dublin.
The allegation was made by Sir Andrew Gilchrist in a confidential letter which he sent on October 2nd 1969 to Mr Kelvin White of the UK Foreign and Commonwealth Office's Western European Department.
Sir Andrew reported meeting Major McDowell for lunch that day and discussing The Irish Times's coverage of the North.
The ambassador wrote: "McDowell is one of the five (Protestant) owners of the Irish Times, and he and his associates are increasingly concerned about the line the paper is taking under its present (Protestant, Belfast-born) editor, Gageby, whom he described as a very fine journalist, an excellent man, but on Northern questions a renegade or white nigger.
"And apart from Gageby's editorial influence, there is difficulty lower down, whereby sometimes unauthorised items appear and authorised items are left out."
Major McDowell said yesterday, however, "I have never used the words 'white nigger' in my life about anybody. I have always had the highest respect for Douglas Gageby, both as a person and as a journalist."
Rejecting the letter's suggestion that he may have sought to interfere with editorial policy, Major McDowell added: "My only interest at that time was to help solve the problems in Northern Ireland. I asked No 10 Downing Street if The Irish Times Ltd could contribute towards a peaceful and satisfactory outcome."
Major McDowell, who served as chief executive of The Irish Times between 1962 and 1997, retired as chairman of the trust in December 2001, when he was awarded the honorific title of President for Life of the Irish Times Group.
UK State papers released in January 2000 revealed that Major McDowell was, in 1969, prepared to be used as "a link" between the Irish and British governments and to encourage contacts between prominent people in the Republic and in the North so that a solution might be found to the growing political crisis.
The October 2nd letter, which was published yesterday in the Sunday Independent, was included in the documents released three years ago under the 30-year rule.
Sir Andrew preceded his comments about Major McDowell's view of Irish Times editorial policy with an explanation for their meeting. "It is all about something he mentioned to me before, but now he is hotter under the collar about it."
The ambassador said: "McDowell went on to say that he now felt that a certain degree of guidance, in respect of which lines were helpful and which unhelpful, might be acceptable to himself and one or two of his friends on the Board; this was what he had had in mind in telephoning to No. 10."
Sir Andrew wrote that he was destroying the correspondence relating to the matter, adding that Major McDowell's "present approach requires rather careful handling and I shall discuss it in London next week. I am writing this letter merely in case you wish to brief No. 10 and to assure them that we will do what we can to exploit this opening."
A reply from from Mr White to Sir Andrew, dated November 1969, noted Major McDowell had offered to help as a "link", because "the present situation was so serious and so different".
Of Mr Gageby, who was editor of The Irish Times in 1963-1974 and 1977-1986, Major McDowell said yesterday: "The success of The Irish Times was entirely due to his editorial judgment, with which there was no interference from me or other persons on the board.
"He set The Irish Times on the path of being a newspaper for all of the people of the island of Ireland and this policy was enshrined in the objectives of the Irish Times Trust when it was established in 1974 to protect the editorial independence of the newspaper.
"Almost 30 years later, his successor, Conor Brady, played a major role in supporting the Hume-Adams dialogue, leading to the peace process of today," said Major McDowell.