State Papers: Secrets of the powers that be   The very real fear that the government, or at least the Taoiseach, Mr de Valera, felt in the summer of 1940 is a fact unintentionally revealed by some of the files. The trail through documents began with a query from Prof. R. Dudley Edwards in UCD…

State Papers: Secrets of the powers that be   The war in Europe came to an end on May 7, 1945, but Europe remained (and perhaps remains) haunted by the consequences. In the current harvest of files a couple relate to aspects, not so much of the immediate aftermath, but of later years. Two episode…

State Papers: Echoes of the past from the archives   To lose one of Ireland’s leaders, albeit, in symbolic form is an odd thing to do. But Dáil Éireann managed it. On June 22, 1987 Tom Ryan RHA, then the distinguished president of that academy, rang the Taoiseach’s department in Mr Hughes’s second term as…

State Papers: Echoes of the past from the archives   The value of these annual releases is not always to understand the immediate past, as so many journalists seem to think, but to cast light on obscure matters over the last two centuries. People abroad often write directly to the government seeking information, often about…

State Papers: Secrets of the powers that be   These days the poet Patrick Kavanagh is seen by some as something close to a saint, certainly a man of sensitive expression and deep spirituality. But this was not the opinion in 1938 of Dublin booksellers or the gardaí in College Green barracks, as a police…

State Papers: Secrets of the powers that be   Cultural goods from colonised countries whether secular or sacred, are becoming of increasing concern to colonising nations like Ireland (albeit as a part of the United Kingdom). The National Museum, for instance, has rich collections of African, Asian and American artefacts of all kinds, which are…

State Papers: Echoes of the past from the archives Controversy over the Irish National Anthem is a continuing matter. It was certainly so in the late 1980s   To some, ‘The Soldier’s Song’ seemed inappropriate for today. A nun from Bessbrook wrote to the Taoiseach that she had attended an event at which the audience…

State Papers: Echoes of the past from the archives   Many people have wondered over the years about the ‘promise to pay’  of the Irish Republic in the 19th Century and early 20th Century. Great sums of money were collected but never really accounted for. Mystery surrounds these funds. One of the files deals with…

Chai Brady compiles a list of seven sport stars to watch out for   The world of sport can be a challenging one, with athletes often pushing themselves to the limits of their physicality, while some may be driven by hopes of fame and renown others put their faith in God and thank Him for…