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| Reference |
DOD/3/32769
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| Title |
Documents; Military Service Pension Acts 1934-1949. Referee. Custody of documents
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| Scope and Content |
File contains correspondence and memoranda relating to requests for the release of material gathered for both the administration of the military pension acts, and for the Bureau of Military History.
The earliest request was made jointly in 1959 by Seamus Robinson ( formerly Commandant General, 2nd Southern Division), Andrew McDonnell (formerly Brigadier, 2nd Dublin Brigade), and Eugene Sweeney (formerly Brigade Intelligence Officer, 1st Brigade 4th Northern Division), for the release of all material gathered under the 1934 Act and held by the Department of Defence. The applicants assert the 1934 Act made no stipulation that the material was either secret or confidential and as such should be released. The Minister for Defence referred this matter to the Attorney General for advice. The Attorney General advised 6 February 1960 that given the material was gathered for the administration of an Act of the Oireachtas (Legislature), there was no obligation for disclosure.
From 1969-1976 there are 24 items of correspondence relating to the request of Daniel Mulvihill (formerly Adjutant, Kerry 2 Brigade), for copies of material held by the Department of Defence in relation to the three Kerry Brigades. Other applicants include John F. Grealy, Terence Leyden, Teachta Dála (member of parliament), Páraic O’Farrell [Colonel PDF], and James Leonard, Teachta Dála. In all cases the Department of Defence maintained its position that the material was official documentation and not subject to release.
Documents 1980-1981 relate to the release of information supplied to the Bureau of Military History (established in 1947 to collect material relevant to the bid for Irish independence 1913-1921). A request by Winifred McCarthy (nee Fitzgerald) on behalf of her father George Fitzgerald dated 9 March 1981 to the Department of the Taoiseach was referred to and rejected by the Department of Defence on the basis of the bar on the release of material during the lifetime of those to whom the material pertains. A memorandum and correspondence with the Taoiseach (Prime Minister) Charles Haughey in 1980 documents the decision to extend the bar on release by 5 years following the expiration of the 25 year bar on 27 July 1981.
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