THE year 1965 was calm and stable and this is reflected in the State papers for that year, which will be released to the public today.
There was a general election, which confirmed the status quo but left Sean Lemass without his elusive overall majority; the Clann na Poblachta Party, which had promised so much and delivered so little, finally wound up its affairs and James Dillon stooddown as Fine Gael leader.
In international terms, it was the year in which a single European Commission and Council of Ministers came into existence, the Vietnam war was at its height, while in Ireland the visit of the South African rugby team intensified the campaign against apartheid.
All of these themes are reflected in the new batch of State papers, though Gen de Gaulle's veto on the British entry to the Common Market meant that activity on this front lacked the urgency of early years.
In overall terms, there appears to be little that is sensational in this batch of papers.
Rather, they reveal the slow, structured working of government, the reasons why decisions are made or not and in particular bring into focus the strengths or weaknesses of various Ministers and Departments.
The papers rarely capture the anger or frustration which may lie behind particular decisions or the personal animosities and rivalries which enliven or embitter Cabinet and other meetings.
This year's release gives prior warning of problems to come as far as papers relating to Northern Ireland are concerned. If 1965 was a relatively quiet year, the years of the late 1960s were not, when decisions were taken which are still relevant to the problems in the North.
It has become standard practice in recent times to release some papers in five year batches, in effect making for a 25 year rule rather than a 30 year rule. In most cases, this makes little difference, since the matter is uncontroversial and a five year release gives a fuller picture.
In today's release, however, virtually all of the Northern Ireland material for 1966-70 is marked "restricted".
It would not be unreasonable if a decision was taken not to release material considered sensitive as far as the "Troubles" are concerned, but the list of material marked "restricted" strikes some odd chords.
For example, the briefing given to Taoiseach Jack Lynch by the London Embassy on relations with Northern Ireland in 1967 is so classified as are newspaper cuttings on events in Derry in October 1968 and even more bizarrely the file on the employment of temporary shorthand typists during the press campaign of October-December 1969.