Historical security files carry birth pains of the nation

HISTORICAL documents covering the decade following Ireland’s fight for Independence and the partition of the island were handed over to the National Archives yesterday by the Government.

Almost 190 files and records detailing matters of national security from 1923 to 1933 were transferred by Tánaiste and Justice Minister Michael McDowell. “The files being released this week give a fascinating insight into the decisions which ministers had to make at various times during a volatile and troubled period in Irish history,” he said.

Documents on the murder of the Minister for Justice Kevin O’Higgins in Dublin on July 10, 1927, are among those being released to the public. Others include reports on the activities of members of the anti-state IRA after 1923, and the general amnesty announced in 1924 for offences committed or alleged to have been committed in the period to the end of the Civil War.