Bureau of Military History The Bureau of Military History was established in January 1947 by Oscar Traynor TD , Minister for Defence and former Captain in the Irish Volunteers . The rationale for the establishment of the Bureau was to give individuals who played an active part in the events which brought about Irish Independence a chance to record their own experiences . Those who took part included members of groups such as the Irish Volunteers and subsequently the Irish Republican Army ( IRA ) , Cumann na mBan , the Irish Republican Brotherhood ( IRB ) , Sinn Féin , the Irish Citizen Army , and relatives of deceased not associated with any organisation . Contemporary documents . In the subsequent ten years 1773 witness statements , 334 sets of contemporary documents , 42 photographs , 12 voice recordings , 210 photographs of action sites Easter Week and a collection of press cuttings were assembled . The objective was then ‘ to assemble and co - ordinate material to form the basis for the compilation of the history of the movement for Independence from the formation of the Irish Volunteers on 25 November 1913 , to 11 July 1921 . ’ In recent years , under the direction of Comdt . Victor Laing , four civilian archivists were involved in processing the collection . During processing the collection itself was closed to the public . When the Bureau members had completed their commission , they oversaw the placing of the witness statements into 83 steel boxes , together with 66 annexes to witness statements , 54 collections of records of people who did not contribute statements , 178 collections of press cuttings , 12 voice recordings , 246 photographs and 322 bundles of original documents . In March 1959 , archive was locked in the strongroom in Government Buildings , not to be released to researchers and the general public until after the death of the last recipient of the military - service pension who had testified to the Bureau . Formally opened . On 11 March 2003 , the Bureau of Military History collection of Witness Statements was formally made available to the public . Copies of the Statements ( less the Contemporary Documents ( CDs ) , still held at Cathal Brugha Barracks ) , were deposited at the National Archives of Ireland where they can now be examined by all . In attendance at the hand - over were the Taoiseach Bertie Ahern TD , Minister for Defence Michael Smith TD , Chief of Staff Lieutenant General C . Mangan , and a number of officers and soldiers of the Irish army . Also present were a number of historians and several children and grandchildren of witnesses . Bertie Ahern in his opening address said : " I am delighted to be here this evening in the historic setting of Cathal Brugha Barracks to mark an event of the utmost significance to the birth of our modern democracy . " Commenting on the collection he continued " The Bureau of Military History collection is truly a treasure trove of the personal memories and reflections of the men and women who nursed this country into existence . It records an era of sacrifice , bravery and vision , by those who played an active part in the irresistible final momentum to our national independence . " According to Margaret Mac Curtain , who comments on Professor F X . Martin , who " had glumly described the inaccessible Bureau of Military History as being cut off from the public by an ‘ official iron curtain ’ on the occasion of the fiftieth anniversary of the 1916 Rising , states " the definitive history of the 1916 Rising has yet to be written ; these statements will be indispensable for those who seek to write it . " Digitisation and online access . A substantial part of Bureau of Military History records have now been digitized and made available in searchable format . The online data , comprising 35 000 pages , 42 photographic collections and 12 voice recordings was officially launched by Arts Minister Jimmy Deenihan on 07 - 08 - 2012 .