The latest release of State papers, mainly from the 1990s, contains the usual nuggets of fascinating detail – this time from the peace process and the aftermath of the Belfast Agreement to tensions over the role of the president and insights into Ireland’s relationship with the EU, then the European Community.
Some of what is revealed is striking and some more predictable. Among the documents are details of a discussion between Britain’s Prince Andrew and an Irish diplomat in 1998 in which he suggested that “the Irish would be laughing on the other side of their faces” if Sinn Féin increased its support in the Republic as a result of the Belfast Agreement, “a prospect he thought likely”. Meanwhile tensions between Mary Robinson and the government over the role of the president are outlined in detail, notably over a 1992 trip to Somalia.
Traditionally, the confidential documents were not released for 30 years, but more recently the British have started to move to a 20-year release date, and the Irish have now followed suit to ensure that the papers dealing with major Anglo-Irish developments are made available at about the same time.
One of the obstacles to introducing a 20-year rule has been the lack of resources devoted to archives. The National Archives has been underfunded and confined to a cramped space in the centre of Dublin while many departments and State agencies have been slow to employ qualified archival staff.
The result has been that, apart from the Departments of the Taoiseach, Foreign Affairs and Justice, the release of official documents has fallen hopelessly behind the legally binding 30-year rule. Plans to expand the staff at the National Archives and a number of departments should help.
Aside from British-Irish relations the latest release contains fascinating insights into this country’s developing relations with our European partners, Germany in particular. Back in 1992 then taoiseach Albert Reynolds threatened to vote against enlargement of the then EC if a commitment to double the structural funds for Ireland was not honoured.
German chancellor Helmut Kohl proved to be the key figure in ensuring that the Irish demands were largely met. As they were leaving the crucial meeting Kohl told Reynolds that “the Irish are popular in Germany. There is, I believe, lots more we can do together. We have no historic problems with Ireland. This is an exception among our partners and is very important.” That warm relationship was again important in more recent times with German support during the Brexit negotiations proving vital in the campaign to ensure that there was no return to a hard border on the island of Ireland.