Sinn Féin MLA Gerry Kelly was described as "the most dominant figure" within the Provisional IRA's strategy in a 1996 garda briefing note made public for the first time today.
The two page document, which has been transferred to the National Archives of Ireland as part of the annual State Papers releases, was written by then garda assistant commissioner Noel Conroy and sent to the Department of Justice's secretary general Tim Dalton in May 1996.
Mr Conroy later went on to serve in a senior role within the criminal assets bureau, and as garda commissioner between 2003 and 2007.
The letter, which is included in the State Papers file 2025/125/161, said "the current PIRA strategy continues to be dominated and controlled by the leadership" of a group of senior republicans including Mr Kelly.
Among five other senior republicans named are Martin McGuinness and Brian Keenan who have both since died.
The document continued: "Gerry Kelly is emerging as the most dominant figure within this group."
A spokesperson for Sinn Féin declined to comment on the file when contacted by RTÉ News.
Similarly, while a solicitor for Mr Kelly confirmed he would pass on a request for comment to him, there was no response to a number of subsequent RTÉ News requests for comment throughout today.
In 2017 Mr Kelly, who is currently an MLA for North Belfast, said he left the Provisional IRA after being jailed for London car bombings more than 50 years ago, in 1973.
At the time he said: "I was arrested and sent to jail. When you're arrested you are out of the IRA.
"And if you want to join the IRA again you have to re-apply when you get out. That’s the way it was and that is historical just to be clear."
While a separate British government file released earlier this year alleged Mr Kelly was involved in the re-organisation of the Provisional IRA in 1996, Mr Kelly said at the time the claim was "not true", telling the Belfast Telegraph: "[I was] not a member of the IRA in the mid-1990s, but I was a member of Sinn Féin’s negotiations team throughout the talks process leading up to the signing of the Good Friday Agreement and afterwards."
