Tens of thousands of secret files are released every year as part of the annual State Paper release.
This year, it is mainly 1995 that is in focus, although some older files often find their way into the huge tranche of papers.
It is up to journalists to comb through all of these documents carefully in the hope of extracting a few gems that reflect Ireland of years past.
Here are five things we learned from Day 2 of this year's State Papers:
One of the biggest talking points in 1995 was the referendum on the Fifteenth Amendment of the Constitution Act 1995, or in layman's terms, the divorce referendum.
Catholicism was still a major influence in Irish society at the time, meaning the question of legalising divorce was bound to be polarising.
As a result, the Vatican Church was thought to be taking a "keen interest" in the issue, meaning the Government would have to explain to the Holy See the reasoning behind the referendum.
Due to the "political sensitivity" involved and the potential influence of the Pope on how some people may vote, Ireland’s ambassador to the Holy See was given a briefing on how best to discuss the topic with the Vatican.
Another incident in 1995 which garnered international media attention was an attack on a Jewish cemetery located in Co Limerick.
The front gate of the cemetery was defaced with a blue swastika, a door was smashed, a prayer lectern was overturned and part of a perimeter wall was knocked down.
The newly-released files show how the Department of Foreign Affairs dealt with a media query on how the Government would respond to the incident.
While the death of a giant panda from China two years after a visit to Dublin Zoo created distress for staff after it was suggested his Irish holiday could have contributed to his passing is also detailed in a previously unseen file.
The documents received by the National Archives of Ireland which are specifically related to the Republic are dated from or before 1995.
However, files related to Northern Ireland can include those up to 2005 to stay in line with Britain, who releases its files, including those on the North, after 20 years.
A document from 2001 which will certainly catch the eye is one which relays the Government’s concerns over how the aftermath of the 9/11 terrorist attacks may affect US politicians’ views of the Northern Ireland peace process.
A government official warned that internal security matters and how to deal with terrorism would dominate the US government’s agenda for a "long time to come".
The memo flagged that the peace process would consequently have to compete for space on the Bush administration’s policy agenda, while US politicians could be likely to take an "exacting approach" when dealing with republicans in the North, as they would be doing so with a "whiff of cordite" in the air.
And another previously unreleased document shows how Irish telecommunication companies opposed a government plan to temporarily block mobile phone networks in specific locations to prevent a bomb being set off in Northern Ireland by a call or text message due to the impact on customers and potential technology costs involved.
[Divorce story based on documents in 2025/115/85, 2025/115/86, 2025/115/82, 2025/115/830, 2025/115/84, 2025/1/1090 and 2025/115/830]
[Other stories based on documents in 2030/50/525, 2025/120/37, 2025/115/932, 2025/124/352, 2025/124/345, 2025/123/50 and 2025/124/1]
