Published on Thursday29thJune2017

Records on Anglo Irish relations now available

20170629 Humphreys CAIN

Pictured from left to right are John McDonough, Director of the National Archives, Arts Minister Heather Humphreys and Dr Brendan Lynn, Ulster University’s CAIN Deputy Director 

Arts Minister Heather Humphreys has confirmed that previously secret records on Anglo-Irish relations dating from 1975-1980 are now available online. Just over 920 documents have been added to the Conflict Archive on the Internet (CAIN) website as part of an ongoing partnership involving Ulster University and the National Archives, Ireland.

The newly released material charts, amongst other things, the fallout from 1974 Ulster Workers’ Council Strike; the 1980 Republican Hunger Strike; as well as developments in Anglo-Irish relations culminating with the Haughey – Thatcher Summit in December 1980. The items selected have been drawn from material which has been released under the 30 year rule, but until now has not been available online.

Speaking today Minister Humphreys said:

These documents, which are held in the National Archives, have now been digitised so they can be made available online. They provide a fascinating insight into the official response to the unfolding events in Northern Ireland in the 1970s at a time of great political turmoil.

This latest set of documents builds on a selection of records which were made available by CAIN and NAI back in October 2012, with a further selection of documents in November 2013. It is anticipated that this latest batch of records will offer a valuable online resource for researchers looking for information on the conflict and politics of Northern Ireland from 1965 to 1980.

CAIN and the National Archives are to be congratulated for engaging in this ongoing work, with funding from the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade’s Reconciliation Fund, to bring to a wider audience this digital resource which it is hoped will contribute to a greater understanding of the conflict in Northern Ireland.