Vol. 559 No. 1
150 Aengus Ó Snodaigh asked the Minister for Defence when the files held by the bureau of military history relating to the Tan War, 1919-1921, and the Civil War, 1922-1923, which were originally covered by the 50 year rule, will be released for the public to view. [25845/02]
The term "bureau of military history" is used to describe a collection of original documents from the period commencing with the formation of the Irish Volunteers in November 1913 and ending with the termination of hostilities at the close of the War of Independence in July 1921. This unique body of documentary material is currently housed within the national military archives at Cathal Brugha Barracks, Rathmines, as part of the wider National Archives. The bureau material comprises witness statements, press cuttings, voice recordings, photographs and other collections of documents.
The bureau was established in January 1947 with the task of assembling documentary material for the compilation of the history of the War of Independence. The bureau ceased to be active in March 1959 and the body of material by then accumulated was stored in the Department of the Taoiseach in Merrion Street. The material was moved from Merrion Street to its present location in Cathal Brugha Barracks in 1999.
In 1947, it was decided by the then Taoiseach and by the Minister for Defence that the archival material collected by the bureau of military history should not be released at all during the lifetime of those persons who had participated in the events covered by the bureaus archive. However, in 1987 the Government did decide that the Minister for Defence should have discretion to release copies of material entrusted to the bureau on application by the immediate relatives of the original donor. There has been a steady level of application from relatives for copies of such material over recent years.
In 1999, the National Archives authorities advised that they were of the opinion that the time had come for the selective release of bureau materials, particularly in the light of continuing and significant levels of interest amongst professional academics in the possibility of their gaining access to the bureau material in the course of research work. Accordingly, in March 1999, the Government approved the selective release of material held by the bureau. Since 1999 an enormous effort has been put into preparing the materials for wider release and it is hoped that arrangements can be finalised in 2003 for their release. The 50 year rule does not apply to the bureau of military history collection.
