Papers reveal Irish history like a jigsaw puzzle

Ryle Dwyer examines the highly selective way in which state archives have been withheld and released over the years

A CURIOUS feature of the state papers, officially released over the holidays, is the paucity of material on the arrest of Malcolm MacArthur in Aug 1982, while there are extensive files on a riot in Tralee in 1932 and the raid on the Magazine Fort in Phoenix Park in Dec 1939. It is another example of old bureaucratic habits dying hard.

Prior to the 1971, all state papers remained classified from the foundation of the State. But some selected authors were given access to certain material by ministerial permission.