The correspondence between Mr Bobby Molloy and the Minister for Justice's office began after the sister of a convicted rapist sent two affidavits to Mr Justice O'Sullivan. She wanted Mr Molloy to find out if he had read them, sources close to the case say.
It is understood the affidavits from Ms Anne Naughton, of Galway, were received by the judge's registrar but remained unopened. It is also understood that during an in-camera period of the court hearing, reference was made to the unopened letters containing the affidavits.
It is understood the envelopes containing the affidavits were handed back to Ms Naughton, who was sitting in court, and she was asked if she would read them to ensure they were the same affidavits which she had sworn.
It is believed, at this point, Ms Naughton decided to withdraw the affidavits, took them and left the court. Ms Naughton indicated during the week that the affidavits were available to newspapers prepared to pay for them.
It appears that the two affidavits were sworn possibly towards the end of 2000 and then sent on. Ms Naughton then began the contact with Mr Molloy to see if he could find out whether they had been received by the judge.
Her letters to Mr Molloy were passed to the Minister for Justice's office. Fifteen letters from this correspondence were released on Thursday.
The Irish Times contacted the Department of Justice yesterday to find out if Ms Naughton's letters could be released under the Freedom of Information Act. The Department replied that the letters contained serious allegations against another party and could not be released.
The Irish Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children has called for an independent inquiry into the events which led to Mr Molloy's resignation. Chief executive Mr Paul Gilligan said one of the reasons was that they centred around a very serious child abuse case.