 However, he said that bishops in Ireland had a right to put forward their positions, but the Irish state would legislate for the common good.Between 1973-1977, Liam Cosgrave's (son of W. T. Cosgrave) government had a rift with the Holy See over the actions of Nuncio Archbishop Gaetano Alibrandi in relation to Northern Ireland in which Cosgrave wrote a letter to the Holy See, and approved by Garret FitzGerald, which was read by Alibrandi as the "closest thing to a declaration of war.