Irish Military Archives

The Irish Military Archives is the official depository for the records of the Irish Department of Defence, the Defence Forces, and the Army Pensions Board, as established by the National Archives Act of 1986.[1]—The function of the archive is to collect, preserve, and make available material relating to the history of the development of the Defence Forces from the formation of the Irish Volunteers in November 1913 to the present day, including overseas service with the United Nations from 1958.

The archives is located in Cathal Brugha Barracks, Rathmines, Dublin.

The Military Archives has been the official place of deposit for records of the Defence Forces, the Department of Defence and the Army Pensions Board since 1990, as defined in the National Archives Act, 1986. Our brief is to collect material from the foundation of the State up until the present day, including records from overseas missions. From as early as 1924, the National Army, recognising the importance of the War of Independence, undertook to preserve historical documents from that time. Some of the earliest collections preserved by the Historical Section include the Collins Papers, Civil War Operations and Intelligence files and Captured Documents (Civil War up to 1925), which continue to be made available today.