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The Minister for Arts, Heritage and the Gaeltacht, Heather Humphreys TD, has today said that the National Archives of Ireland is making final preparations for the release of the 1986 State papers and records.

Minister Humphreys has also confirmed that the National Archives’ 1901/1911 Census website has had more than 132 million hits this year, with 2.5 million unique visitors across all the National Archives’ websites.

Minister Heather Humphreys said:
“Our archives are an invaluable resource. In particular, the release of State papers give us an insight into events which shaped this country’s history. The work the National Archives does each year, in ensuring public access to our 30 year old records, enriches our knowledge of Irish history and society and sheds new light on past events.

“The annual release of records is a cornerstone in Ireland’s democratic process and supports accountability and transparency across the public sector. I very much look forward to this year’s releases and recalling the events of 1986, which will shed further light on this fascinating period in Anglo Irish relations.

“The National Archives has enjoyed tremendous interest in its activities during this centenary year, where we have seen such a great level of public engagement in our heritage and our history. Its dedicated website for the 1901/1911 Census had more than 132 million hits, with 2.5 million unique users to the Archives’ websites. These figures underline the importance of investing in digitisation and online platforms across all of our cultural institutions, to ensure their wonderful resources are as accessible as possible.”

John McDonough, Director of the National Archives, said:
“Each December, staff at the National Archives undertake a programme of work to prepare records for public release in early January. This entails accessioning, sorting, cataloguing, repacking and storing over 5,000 boxes of records from Departments of State and the Courts service.

“As we enter 2017, we reflect on the success of 2016 in bringing people together with primary sources, and their shared history as a nation. It is important to remember that the annual release of state records underpins that right of access to our official history and memory and is something we in the National Archives undertake each year.”


Notes to Editors:

The National Archives is tasked with preserving records of
· Departments of State
· Bodies named in the schedule to the National Archives Act
· Committees and commissions of inquiry established by Government, by a member of Government or by the Attorney General

In doing so it supports the legislative requirement of these bodies to transfer records to its care, to preserve them and through their public availability, inform the idea of nation and statehood.

Key facts
· The National Archives facilitates nearly 7,000 visitors each day to our online collections and services
· The National Archives offers a free professional genealogy service in the Reading Room for those researching their family tree
· The National Archives developed a dedicated 2016 decade of commemorations site (http://centenaries.nationalarchives.ie) which holds the following digital collections:
o Dublin Metropolitan Police files
o Property Losses (Ireland) Committee
o Courts Martial records for the executed leaders
o Irish Trades Union Congress Annual reports

2016 in numbers
· 18,442 items produced for consultation
· 4,447 specific research queries answered
· 2,484,676 unique visitors to our websites
· 132 million hits on our 1901/1911 Census website


Contact details:

The National Archives Reading Room is located at Bishop Street, Dublin 8 and the opening hours are 9.15–17.00 Monday to Friday.

Website: www.nationalarchives.ie
E-mail: mail@nationalarchives.ie
Phone: 01 – 407 2300
Twitter: @NARIreland

The full list of the files for public release will be available in hard copy in the Reading Room of the National Archives on 3 January 2016 and on the National Archives website in the New Year.

The National Archives will also make a selected sample of records form 1986 available on its website through January 2017.

2016 transfers included the following departments:
· Office of the Attorney General
· Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade
· Department of Justice and Equality
· Office of Secretary to the President
· Department of Social Protection
· Department of the Taoiseach
· Department of Finance