The collection is divided into seven main sections, three covering the Irish revolution, 1916–23, and a further four covering the modern Troubles, 1969–77. For students of the Irish revolution of 1913–23, the ‘surveys of the state of Ireland’—presented to the cabinet by, amongst others, the chief secretary of Ireland, the secretary of state for war, the GOC of the armed forces in Ireland, the inspector general of the RIC, the directorate of intelligence and the commander-in-chief of the admiralty in Ireland—provide a wealth of information on the independence struggle, including statistics on troop strengths and locations, details of rebel attacks, intelligence briefings and civilian resistance. The reports are augmented by the minutes of significant government meetings, including an important series of ‘conclusions of cabinet meetings’. Along with the independence struggle, the papers cover the period after the truce in July 1921, including the evacuation of the Crown forces, the disbandment of the RIC and the gradual slide into civil war.
