{{Short description|Term in the British Isles for government records}} {{Use dmy dates|date=February 2025}} {{More citations needed|date=April 2008}}
The term '''state papers''' is used in Britain and Ireland to refer to government archives and records. Such papers used to be kept separate from non-governmental papers, with state papers kept in the State Paper Office and general public records kept in the Public Record Office. When they were written, they were regarded as the personal papers of the government officials writing them, but in 1702, the State Papers Office was established and requisitioned them.
==Ireland== {{See also|Public Record Office of Northern Ireland}}
In Ireland, these records were held in a single repository, the Public Record Office. In 1922, this was in two locations, the Bermingham Tower of Dublin Castle and the Four Courts on Dublin's quays. However, the vast majority of records, particularly before 1790, were held in the Four Courts. When the Four Courts was occupied by anti-Treaty forces of the Irish Republican Army in April 1922, the pro-Treaty forces came under pressure to remove them. Following the assassination of the British Field Marshal, Henry Hughes Wilson by anti-Treaty forces on 22 June, the British government pressed the Provisional Government to take action or else British forces, still occupying Ireland, would intervene. On 27 June, Michael Collins, leader of the pro-Treaty IRA, gave the order to attack the occupying force in what is widely regarded as the opening shot of the Irish Civil War. In the process, whether by external artillery or internal sabotage, most of these records were destroyed.
The Irish State Paper Office contains papers from the offices of: * President of Ireland * Taoiseach * Oireachtas, i.e. Dáil Éireann and Seanad Éireann * Departments of State
There are papers also from former offices of state, including: * King of Ireland * Monarch of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland relating to Ireland * Lord Lieutenant of Ireland * Chief Secretary for Ireland * Under Secretary for Ireland * Irish House of Commons & Irish House of Lords * House of Commons of Southern Ireland * Attorney-General for Ireland * Governor-General of the Irish Free State
The Irish State Paper Office was formerly located in Dublin Castle, while the Irish Public Records Office was located at the Four Courts. In the late 1980s the distinction was abolished and both archives merged and moved to a new National Archives of Ireland in Bishop Street in Dublin.<ref>[http://www.rte.ie/news/2006/1017/macgiollacoilleb.html Death of former State archivist] RTÉ News, 2006-10-17.</ref>
==United Kingdom<span class="anchor" id="SP DOM"></span>== The National Archives of the United Kingdom is located in Kew, near London. The Royal Archives are kept separately at Windsor Castle.
There are separate national archives for Scotland (the National Records of Scotland) and Northern Ireland (the Public Record Office of Northern Ireland).
==See also== * Thirty Year Rule
==References== {{Reflist}}
==External links==
===Calendar of state papers relating to Ireland=== * [https://archive.org/details/calendarireland01greauoft CSPI 1509–1573] * [https://archive.org/details/calendarireland02greauoft CSPI 1574–1585] * [https://archive.org/details/1887calendarofstatep03greauoft CSPI 1586 – July 1588] * [https://archive.org/stream/calendarofstatep04greauoft#page/n5/mode/2up CSPI Aug 1588 – Sep 1592] * [https://archive.org/details/1890calendarofstatep05greauoft CSPI Oct 1592 – June 1596] * [https://archive.org/details/calendarireland06greauoft CSPI July 1596 – December 1597] * [https://archive.org/details/1895calendarofstatep07greauoft CSPI Jan 1598 – March 1599] * [https://archive.org/details/calendarireland08greauoft CSPI April 1599 – Feb 1600] * [https://archive.org/details/1903calendarofstatep09greauoft CSPI Mar 1600 – Oct 1600] * [https://archive.org/details/1905calendarofstatep10greauoft CSPI 1 Nov 1600 – 31 July 1601] * [https://archive.org/details/1912calendarofstatep11greauoft CSPI 1601–1603] * [https://archive.org/details/cu31924091770812 CSPI 1603–1606] * [https://archive.org/details/cu31924091770820 CSPI 1606–1608] * [https://archive.org/details/cu31924091770838 CSPI 1608–1610] * [https://archive.org/details/cu31924091770846 CSPI 1611–1614] * [https://archive.org/details/cu31924091770853 CSPI 1615–1625] * [https://archive.org/details/cu31924091770879 CSPI 1625–1632] * [https://archive.org/stream/calendarofstatep02grea#page/n3/mode/2up CSPI 1633–1647] * [https://archive.org/details/cu31924091770895 CSPI Adventurers for Land 1642–1659] * [https://archive.org/details/cu31924091770861 CSPI 1647–1660] * [https://archive.org/details/calendarstatepa00mahagoog CSPI 1660–1662] * [https://archive.org/details/calendarstatepa12offigoog CSPI 1663–1665] * [https://archive.org/details/cu31924091769590 CSPI Sep 1669 – Dec 1670]
Category:Politics of the Republic of Ireland Category:Collection of the National Archives (United Kingdom)