Behind the Scenes
Behind the Scenes: Annual Releases 2024
Under the National Archives Act of 1986, archives of Government Departments that became 30 years old on 31 December 2023 have been available for inspection by the public since 2 January 2024.
We are pleased to report that the National Archives’ online catalogue now features these 2024 releases. 35 transfers of records have been uploaded, comprising 14,547 individual descriptions of departmental files.
The update comprises of a mixture of material released under the 30 and 20-year rules:
- 30-year old records mainly dating to 1993 from a variety of departments and scheduled bodies
- Anglo-Irish records relating to the peace process and Northern Ireland, including the Good Friday Agreement, from the 1990s to December 2003, from the Department of the Taoiseach, the Department of Foreign Affairs, the Department of Justice and the Office of the Attorney General.
The complete finding aid for each transfer can be viewed on the website by searching under the relevant National Archives’ reference code, given below.
In the ‘Advanced Search’ section of the online catalogue, type 2023/1/* in the ‘Reference Code’ search field, to see individual file descriptions of all the Department of the Taoiseach: Central Registry files recently transferred.
The transfers include:
Department of the Taoiseach
Department of the Taoiseach: Central Registry (2023/1)
Department of the Taoiseach: Northern Ireland, 2000 (2023/154)
Department of the Taoiseach: Northern Ireland, 2001 (2023/155)
Department of Foreign Affairs
Department of Foreign Affairs: Anglo-Irish Section, 1999 (2022/45)
Department of Foreign Affairs: Anglo-Irish Section, 2000 (2022/47)
Department of Foreign Affairs: Anglo-Irish Section, 2001 (2022/48)
Department of Foreign Affairs: Central Registry (2023/47)
Department of Foreign Affairs: Embassy of Ireland to the UK, 1990 (2021/53)
Department of Foreign Affairs: Embassy of Ireland to the UK, 1991 (2021/54)
Department of Foreign Affairs: Embassy of Ireland to the UK, 1992 (2021/55)
Department of Foreign Affairs: Embassy of Ireland to the UK, 1993 (2021/56)
Department of Foreign Affairs: Embassy of Ireland to the UK, 1994 (2021/57)
Department of Foreign Affairs: Embassy of Ireland to the UK, 1995 (2021/58)
Department of Foreign Affairs: Embassy of Ireland to the UK, 1996 (2021/59)
Department of Foreign Affairs: Embassy of Ireland to the UK, 1997 (2021/60)
Department of Foreign Affairs: Embassy of Ireland to the UK, 1998 (2021/61)
Department of Foreign Affairs: Embassy of Ireland to the UK, 1999 (2023/51)
Department of Foreign Affairs: Embassy of Ireland to the UK, 2000 (2023/52)
Department of Foreign Affairs: Embassy of Ireland to the UK, 2001 (2023/53)
Department of Foreign Affairs: Embassy of Ireland to the UK, 2002 (2023/54)
Department of Foreign Affairs: Secretary’s Office (2023/48)
Office of the Attorney General
Office of the Attorney General: Anglo-Irish files (2023/2)
Department of Justice
Department of Justice: Security and Northern Ireland, 2003 (2023/153)
Department of Justice: prisoner/military service pension queries (2023/157)
Department of Justice: Royal Irish Constabulary (2023/158)
