My News
Personalise your news feed by choosing your favourite topics of interest
#State Papers
# state-papers - Friday 1 January, 2016
The great Donegal postal voting scam of 1985
An enormous scam to rig postal voting in the north-western county took place. Fortunately, the scammers weren’t all that subtle…
This letter is most blatant Big Tobacco threat to a Taoiseach you're likely to see
Carroll Industries threatened to stop investing in businesses if new laws come in
The man who let the Taoiseach know exactly what he thought about Jack the Ripper being Irish
Talk about tarring us all with the same brush.
# state-papers - Thursday 31 December, 2015
That time an Irish minister got the UK's Northern Secretary so hammered he had to be walked around a park
Douglas Hurd struggled to keep up with our own Peter Barry it seems.
Garret FitzGerald really, really did not like Sinn Féin in 1985
The then Taoiseach even reached out to his nemesis Charles Haughey in an attempt to stymie Gerry Adams’ party.
Irish prisons ran out of overtime cash in 1984 - so they started letting prisoners go early
The process was known as ‘shedding’.
State Papers 1985: Garret Fitzgerald's government wasn't too keen on helping Stardust victims
An official wanted a redress scheme kept well away from the Taoiseach’s department.
30 years ago, Dublin was a crime-riddled joyrider's paradise
The damage being done with stolen cars in particular had the population terrified.
Governor warned of potential 'bloodbath' among IRA prisoners if rubber bullets were removed
The government wanted to stop using them as part of efforts to rid them from Northern Ireland.
# state-papers - Wednesday 30 December, 2015
'Say the daily rosary': This is the kind of fan mail you get when you're Taoiseach
Garret Fitzgerald got quite a bit when he signed the Anglo-Irish agreement.
Irish people really didn't like paying for their TV licence 30 years ago
The government needed to make savings in 1985, and RTE was very much in the firing line.
'It wasn't long after the hunger strikes... mayhem on the streets and we realised that something had to be done.'
Former Tánaiste Dick Spring talks about the tensions and troubles of 1985.
The government wanted to launch a phone-tapping bill in 1985...
And they were very worried about the legal ramifications of it.
David Cameron adviser apologises over 'offensive' 1985 memo about black rioters
The memo was sent to the then-Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher back in 1985.
An Archbishop, a Taoiseach and an angry face-off over IRA violence and 'genocide'
Garret Fitzgerald said the New York meeting was the most tense he has as Taoiseach outside Ireland.
30 years ago Dunnes Stores was involved in ANOTHER workers' dispute... one that shook the world
The protest of Dunnes workers against South Africa’s apartheid regime was one of the most compelling stories of 1985.
When Maggie dropped some epic shade on Garret FitzGerald...
Mrs Thatcher was not a fan of Ministers for Foreign Affairs.
Pornography being shown in pubs had the government in a fluster 30 years ago
The government of the time was not one bit happy at the thought of sex shops coming to these shores either.
Womanhood on trial: The letters received by the Taoiseach during the Kerry Babies saga
Documents released under the 30-year rule show the public interest in the tragedies.
# state-papers - Saturday 3 January, 2015
Mrs Brown, tourists, and the Luas: The week in numbers
Plus: What was the lowest temperature in Ireland this week?
What did Ronald Reagan eat on his visit to Ireland?
Not too much butter, anyway.
Government Buildings got a lick of paint when Ronald Reagan came to visit
Including varnishing, carpets, ceiling tiles and “general cleaning up”.
Iran wanted films of the Irish struggle... we wanted to send them nature docs
A rep from Iranian TV wanted a video from Ireland for broadcasting.
# state-papers - Thursday 1 January, 2015
The day an Irish fishing boat was sunk by a British submarine
Newly released documents show the Government had ‘no intention’ to get involved in the crew’s case against the UK.
Back in 1984 the Government was worried about banning smoking in classrooms
In some schools smoking in the classroom was “an accepted practice”.
Government was worried about hiking up tax on booze in 1984 because we were so broke...
… but they did it anyway.
# state-papers - Tuesday 30 December, 2014
Could Britain's State Papers give a 'one-sided' view of Anglo-Irish history?
One Fianna Fáil councillor believes so, as the British papers are being released ahead of Irish papers.
British spies had "excellent relations" with gardaí
And Irish ministers didn’t know it.
Stop it! RTÉ was told to stop jamming pirate radio stations
Taoiseach Garret Fitzgerald said the Government were not trying to be “spoil-sports”.
Thirty years ago, a Fine Gael government was worried that Sinn Féin 'could deliver'
Foreign Affairs Minister Peter Barry didn’t like that Sinn Féin representatives were being listened to.
# state-papers - Monday 29 December, 2014
Were there nuclear missiles stored in Northern Ireland?
That was a big question back in the early 1980s.
This American lady begged the Prime Minister to save the leprechaun
“In our hearts we know they are still there.”
# state-papers - Sunday 28 December, 2014
Ads for Transformer toys and Barbie's Star Traveller were a big worry in the 1980s....
The country was in the midst of a recession with unemployment up to 16.1%.
Water cannons could be "more lethal than plastic bullets". That's what the UK told Ireland...
17 people were killed by either rubber or plastic bullets during The Troubles.
Ireland wanted to sell water to Saudi Arabia for $5 a barrel in the 1980s
There was one problem… Japan also wanted to.
# state-papers - Saturday 27 December, 2014
Thatcher in '84: 'The Irish don't like to move, but they're all terribly happy to move to Britain'
The PM’s comments have been revealed in newly released state documents.
"I would have preferred not to have seen Mr Browne at all"
Vincent Browne wanted to interview the Irish Ambassador in 1984 – who wasn’t happy about it.
This man warned that Ireland could end up needing a bailout... 30 years ago
State papers reveal how Alan Dukes warned his cabinet colleagues of the need to cut spending.
In 1983 there was a chance a Soviet spy satellite would fall on Ireland
There was one in 10,000 chance nuclear-powered Cosmo 1402 would fall over Ireland.
Thousands of Northern refugees streamed over the border in the 1970s - some were called "ungrateful"
The situation is detailed in a memo to Government from 1973.
Your say
View more polls
Poll: Who will win the US presidential election?
KAMALA HARRIS HAS been chosen as the running mate of Joe Biden, the former US Vice President who is facing Donald Trump in the US presidential election.
Harris’ addition to the ticket has refocused attention on the November election. Trump is looking for another four-year term, alongside his VP Mike Pence.
Biden is generally outperforming the president in opinion polls but, as the last election showed, polls don’t always get it right.
Let us know: Who do you think will win the US presidential election?
Poll Results:
Joe Biden (1483)
Donald Trump (823)
I'm not sure (356)
Share your story: voices@thejournal.ie
What we can learn from the world's 'Blue Zones' - where people regularly live into their 90s and 100s
By Professor Ciaran O’Boyle
Opinion: 'An unjustified panic against all international travel has developed in Ireland'
By Robert Dagg
Money Diaries: A construction contracts manager on €67K with a young family in Galway
By TheJournal.ie reader
Dublin Weather
Change location-
Wednesday
Pleasant with periods of sun
Max: 22 °C
Min: 15 °C
-
Thursday
Periods of sun with a couple of showers
Max: 21 °C
Min: 15 °C
-
Friday
A couple of showers and a thunderstorm
Max: 19 °C
Min: 14 °C
Pleasant with periods of sun
Max: 22 °C
Min: 15 °C
Periods of sun with a couple of showers
Max: 21 °C
Min: 15 °C
A couple of showers and a thunderstorm
Max: 19 °C
Min: 14 °C
Most Popular
Most viewed articles in the past 24 hours
Most Commented
Most commented articles in the past 3 days
Download our app
