The father of Billy Wright accused the Irish government of "indulging in selective justice" after being told then-taoiseach Bertie Ahern would not meet him to discuss holding a public inquiry into the Loyalist Volunteer Force leader's murder.
Wright, known as 'King Rat', was shot dead by three republican prisoners at the Maze Prison, where he was also a prisoner, in Co Down on 27 December 1997.
In October 1998, three members of the Irish National Liberation Army were convicted of his murder and given life sentences.
In a letter written by Wright’s father David to then-Taoiseach Bertie Ahern on 3 March 1999, he alleged that parties other than the three men convicted of the murder were "actively involved" in the killing.
This followed an inquest into Wright’s death in February 1999, where David Wright told the hearing that he believed his son's murder was State arranged, State sponsored and State sanctioned.
In the letter to Mr Ahern, released under the annual State papers, David Wright wrote: "Last week, an inquest into his death, the jury, in returning their verdict, included the words 'person or persons unknown, unobserved and undetected’, indicating quite clearly that parties other than the three men convicted of the murder were actively involved.
"This means that these parties remain undetected at present. As you are no doubt aware the inquest raised more questions than it answered.
"Serious matters relating to my son’s death were brought to light, including a failure by the prison authorities to act on information received before the killing took place.
"In view of these issues I am left with no alternative but to continue my campaign for a public inquiry into my son’s death."
David Wright then formally requested a meeting with Mr Ahern "to enable me to present my case fully to you and your administration".
On 4 May 1999, Mr Wright once again wrote to Mr Ahern where he claimed that while he received an acknowledgement of his first letter, there had been "no indication whatsoever as your willingness or otherwise to meet with me".
Mr Wright made reference to Mr Ahern meeting "at short notice" Paul Nelson, husband of Rosemary Nelson, a human rights lawyer, who was killed by a loyalist car bomb in March 1999.
He also highlighted "recent remarks" made by Mr Ahern in relation to the death of Pat Finucane, another human rights lawyer, who was shot dead in February 1989.
In the letter, which was marked by department officials as "for your urgent attention", Mr Wright wrote: "I am at a loss to understand why I am not afforded the same courtesy.
"With reluctance and disappointment, I and my family can only assume it is because we are not part of the Nationalist community in this part of Ireland.
"If this is the case, and it would appear so, then the Irish Government is guilty of indulging in selective justice and adopting a discriminatory attitude towards my section of the community."
In response to Mr Wright’s letter on 21 May 1999, David Feeney from the Office of the Taoiseach said that due to a heavy schedule of commitments, the taoiseach was "unable to accede to your request for a personal meeting".
However, Mr Feeney wrote that officials from the Department of Foreign Affairs would be available to meet Mr Wright and a family representative.
A public inquiry was held in 2010, following a recommendation from Canadian judge Peter Cory, which found there was no State collusion in Billy Wright’s murder.
Separately, newly released files show that a group of US senators including Hillary Clinton and John Kerry wrote to then-prime minister Tony Blair on 23 April 2004, urging him to hold a public inquiry into the death of Pat Finucane.
The letter was sent following the completion of a report from the Cory Collusion Inquiry.
Judge Cory had been tasked with conducting an independent inquiry into a number of deaths which occurred during the Troubles, including the Finucane case, the Wright case, the Nelson case and the Robert Hamill case.
Mr Finucane, who was 39, was shot at his home in Belfast by loyalist paramilitaries in front of his wife and children.
Judge Cory, on 1 April 2004, found that in Mr Finucane’s case, documentary evidence indicated that there were matters of concern which warranted a further and more detailed inquiry.
Several other examinations of the case in the years since found there had been collusion between his killers and security forces.
Following the publication of the Cory reports, public inquiries were announced into the deaths of Wright, Ms Nelson and Mr Hamill, but not Mr Finucane.
Amid the delay, then-US presidential candidate John Kerry, along with Ms Clinton and six other US senators, intervened and called on the British government to hold an inquiry into Mr Finucane’s death "without delay".
They wrote: "We are writing to express our concern about your government’s decision, in the wake of the Cory report, not to hold a public inquiry at thistime on the Finucane case.
"We welcome the public inquiries on the Hamill, Wright and Nelson cases, but we are concerned that the government did not announce an immediate public inquiry into the murder of defence lawyer Pat Finucane."
The letter stated that the Finucane family had "waited 15 years for the truth in this important and controversial case.
"The government has had 15 years to bring successful prosecutions. It is our strong belief that delay of a public inquiry will only undermine public confidence.
"We urge you to reverse this decision and agree to hold a public inquiry on the Finucane case without more delay, so that the troubling issues raised by this case can, hopefully, finally be resolved, for the benefit of the peace process and all the people of Northern Ireland," it concluded.
The British government only confirmed in September last year that it would establish a public inquiry into Mr Finucane’s murder.
In June of this year, Gary Hickinbottom was appointed to chair the inquiry, which will have full powers under the 2005 Inquiries Act, including the power to compel the production of documents and to summon witnesses to give evidence on oath.
The inquiry is expected to begin its substantive work soon.
Stakeknife's identification a 'huge internal distraction' for Sinn Féin
One story from Northern Ireland that emerged through this year's release of the State Papers relates to Agent Stakeknife.
The fall-out from the publication in the media in 2003 of Stakeknife’s identity is discussed and provides more insights into the impact that he had on the politics across the island of Ireland and in the UK.
A British army agent at the heart of the IRA for many years, Stakeknife - widely believed to be Belfast man Freddie Scappaticci - died in 2023 aged 77 in England.
A central figure in the IRA's internal security unit, the 'Nutting Squad’, whose job was to root out and kill suspected informers in the ranks, his name was back in the headlines recently with the publication of the Operation Kenova report.
While the report found that Scappaticci was "a critical person of interest’, he had died before prosecutors reached a decision on charges linked to the irinvestigation, and he was never convicted of any Troubles-related offences.
Connected to 14 murders and 15 abductions, the Kenova team said that his activities had probably cost more lives than they had saved.
The newly released files show the impact that the identification of Stakeknife had on Sinn Féin in 2003 with senior Sinn Féin figure Ted Howell saying during a meeting with an official from Department of Foreign Affairs that it was a "huge internal distraction".
Stakeknife’s impact was clear too from a note of a conversation when Jonathan Powell, Chief of Staff to then British Prime Minister Tony Blair was pressing Gerry Adams to support policing policies later in May 2003.
Mr Adams said that this is something that could be looked at when his party managed "to get over some of the difficulties which have been created for the republican movement by some recent developments, including Stakeknife".
Ahern's concern over act
Another familiar name in the files, is that of former taoiseach Bertie Ahern.
The newly-released files show that he had concerns over the proposed Ethics in Public Office act which was being championed by then-tánaiste, Dick Spring.
When Mr Spring proposed legislation aimed at creating more transparency around the "interest" of politicians in 1993, he met some opposition.
Arising from the erosion of public confidence in the political system due to controversies including the Beef Tribunal, Mr Spring proposed to roll out the Ethics in Public Office act.
Newly released files at the national archives show that Mr Ahern, who was minister for finance at the time, had issues with the draft legislation.
His opposition to it included the requirement for office holders to declare the interests of their spouses and children under the terms of the act.
Then-minister for defence and the marine, David Andrews, another senior Fianna Fáil party member, also questioned the proposal, and claimed the legislation was "very extreme and quite unwarranted".
The Ethics in Public Office bill was developed as a measure to require office holders, including TDs, senators and senior public servants to disclose financial interests and gifts as well as follow procedures for the appointment of special advisers.
It also provided for the establishment of the Standards in Public Office (SIPO) Commission and a register of interests of members of the Houses of the Oireachtas.
Mr Spring prepared a memorandum for the government in November 1993, that referred to Mr Ahern’s issues with the creation of SIPO, as well as provisions relating to the directors of State bodies.
Saudi Arabia's Irish oil interest
There are some fascinating insights too into the mysterious tale about the $1bn proposed investment by a group of Saudi Arabian financiers in Ireland’s oil facilities.
The investment was part of an ambitious proposal from a group of Saudi Arabian investors in the Cork oil refinery in Whitegate and the Whiddy Island oil terminal, and it raised eyebrows in government and amongst officials in the mid-1990s.
The Saudi group’s proposals included constructing a new refinery with a capacity of up to 150,000 barrels per day for distribution around Europe.
They proposed taking an 80% shareholding in the State-owned Irish National Petroleum Corporation and transferring crude oil shipped to Whiddy Island via a pipeline to Whitegate.
However, there were concerns about the quality of the proposals and the competency of the investors' plans.
One Irish official described the group’s submissions as "gobbledygook," while it was also felt that the group had suffered from being advised by "a plethora of advisers, bankers and lawyers".
Diplomats still haven't found the tickets they were looking for
One group that still hasn't found what it's looking for is a group of diplomats across America who were big fans of U2 and eagerly anticipating the sold-out Joshua Tree tour, which is another story contained within the files.
The newly-released documents reveal that in 1987, the rising popularity and influence of the band across America was seen as a golden opportunity for promoting Ireland by the Department of Foreign Affairs.
Irish diplomats were keen to get in on the action, and documents detail a lunch meeting hosted by U2’s Paul McGuinness in February 1987 with three officials from the department that make for intriguing reading.
The meeting was described in documents as being "very useful" and was held to "discuss possible mutual cooperation towards the benefit of Ireland's image abroad".
The plan was for officials to get tickets so they could host people at the gigs across the US major cities, but some diplomats got a bit too carried away with their guestlists, leading to "an embarrassing situation".
[Based on documents 2025/127/100, 2025/127/92, 2025/127/106, 2025/115/737, 2025/124/247, and 2025/124/461].
