Blair suggested 'hoovering up' dissidents after Omagh Just two weeks before the Omagh bombing, taoiseach Bertie Ahern assured British prime minister Tony Blair that Irish security were "keeping a handle" on dissident … State Papers • 30 Dec 21
7 things we learned from the State Papers: Day three The State Papers are the secret letters, memos and minutes written by politicians and civil servants as they wrestled with the problems of the day. … State Papers • 30 Dec 21
State Papers 1997-98: The hard slog towards agreement "Of all the people that I talk to in this whole damn thing, I feel that we are on the same wavelength now...". Quite the … State Papers • 30 Dec 21
Keeping a 'frightened' Trimble onside The final chaotic scramble to get the Good Friday Agreement over the line is revealed in newly released State Papers, which detail the close contact … State Papers • 30 Dec 21
Drumcree 1997: 'An offence against reason' Reaching an all-party agreement on Good Friday 1998 was an historic achievement; but implementing the document was to prove incredibly difficult, with progress threatened by … State Papers • 30 Dec 21
The whispering campaign against Mo Mowlam Irish officials in London were concerned about a whispering campaign to undermine Mo Mowlam in her early months as secretary of state for Northern Ireland. State Papers • 30 Dec 21
Bruton feared that Sinn Féin 'hold all the cards' Less than a year after the IRA ceasefire in 1994, then-taoiseach John Bruton was concerned that Sinn Féin "hold all the cards" and that his … State Papers • 29 Dec 21
The Great Escape They thought they were plotting The Great Escape; but in reality, they were taking part in occupational therapy. State Papers • 29 Dec 21
'Foolishly impaled': RUC's view on weapons demands The British Government demand for IRA decommissioning before Sinn Féin could enter political talks was a major factor in the collapse of the ceasefire in … State Papers • 29 Dec 21
Politicians behaving badly Politicians are no different to the rest of us. When they're under pressure, they can get grumpy; sometimes they bad mouth their enemies – or … State Papers • 29 Dec 21
8 things we learned from the State Papers: Day two "Mind-boggling" and "rubbish": John Bruton didn't pull his punches when he heard about a plan to bring the North's political leaders on safari to South … State Papers • 29 Dec 21
State Papers 1994-97: Ceasefire's end tests relations John Bruton's election as taoiseach in December 1994 was the result of a series of unlikely events. The Fianna Fáil-Labour coalition had an unassailable majority … State Papers • 30 Dec 21
Drumcree 1996 'could have been a lot worse' Hugh Annesley was worried. Speaking to an Irish diplomat in March 1996, the RUC chief constable predicted that the forthcoming marching season would be difficult, … State Papers • 29 Dec 21
Extent of Libyan backing for IRA 'shocked' British The massive scale of Libya's support for the IRA in the 1970s and 1980s is outlined in secret documents released by the National Archives today. State Papers • 28 Dec 21
British 'hurt' by US backing for Adams visa Irish diplomats in Washington weren't expecting much from the new US president Bill Clinton when it came to foreign policy. His approach to foreign affairs, … State Papers • 28 Dec 21
State Papers 1991-94: The rocky road to peace It seemed an impossible dream. But when the new taoiseach and the relatively new British prime minister met in Downing Street in February 1992, they … State Papers • 30 Dec 21
IRA 'emboldened' by reaction to Warrington bomb The IRA's Warrington bomb in March 1993, which killed two children, caused a huge outpouring of emotion, whipped up anger against the Irish government, and … State Papers • 28 Dec 21
'The shared objective of reaching peace' At the start of 1992, Margaret Thatcher's successor as British prime minister was widely seen as a bit... boring. State Papers • 28 Dec 21
'Test to destruction': Concerns on ceasefire response Newly released State Papers from 1994 show that Irish officials became increasingly frustrated by the "bloody-minded" British response to the IRA ceasefire of that year. State Papers • 28 Dec 21
12 things we learned from the State Papers: Day one The State Papers are the secret letters, memos and minutes written by politicians and civil servants as they wrestled with the problems of the day. … State Papers • 28 Dec 21
State Papers 1990 - 'The hand of history' This year's release of material from the National Archives faced two challenges: the pandemic and that the Irish releases are increasingly out of line with … Ireland • 27 Dec 20
Troubles and diplomacy dominate 1989 State Papers The State Papers from 1989 were dominated by concerns about The Troubles and involvement in international diplomacy. Ireland • 28 Dec 19
Gibraltar killings led to shocking series of events The killing of three IRA volunteers by the SAS in Gibraltar in March 1988 was the catalyst for a horrific series of events that left … State Papers • 28 Dec 18
1938 file reveals Kavanagh demanded book in shop window An 80-year-old file has revealed that a garda investigation was opened in 1938 after the renowned poet Patrick Kavanagh called to several Dublin book shops … Ireland • 28 Dec 18
Papers show Haughey-Thatcher relations soured over IRA In a year marred by violence, the relationship between then Taoiseach Charlie Haughey and British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher sank to a new low in … Ireland • 28 Dec 18
