Five things we learned from the State Papers

It's day one of four of the annual State Papers releases, so here's five things we have learned so far: Space Shuttle Atlantis approaching the runway at Kennedy Space Center in Florida in November 1995 Jonathan Powell believed that there would be political fall out once the PSNI said the IRA were involved in the Northern Bank robbery in 2004 NASA 'asked' for Ireland to designate Shannon Airport as an emergency landing zone Gerry Adams and Bill Clinton at Queens University in 1995 Frosty relations between Prince Charles and Princess Diana were the subject of jokes by Irish and British officials Powell believed DUP would go on 'rampage over IRA Northern Bank robbery link Then British prime minister Tony Blair's right hand man, chief of staff Jonathan Powell, believed the "top man" behind the Northern bank robbery in late 2004 was "too clever" to be caught - and feared the DUP would go on the "rampage" once the PSNI said they believed the Provisional IRA was involved. [Based on documents in 2025/127/90] NASA wanted Shannon Airport for space shuttle emergency landing option Next time you travel through Shannon airport, you might want to glance up just a little higher than where most of the planes are flying, given it's now 30 years since NASA "asked" Ireland to designate the airport as an emergency landing zone for the space shuttle . [Based on documents in 2025/124/266] White House did not want Clinton-Adams handshake photo White House officials were reluctant for then US president Bill Clinton to be photographed shaking hands with Sinn Fein leader Gerry Adams during a key cross-party event in Belfast when he visited in winter 1995 - while a genealogist told Irish officials claims of the US president's Irish ancestry were "a fantasy". [Based on documents in 2025/166/11; 2025/124/3; 2025/124/5; 2025/124/391] Christy Moore locked in a room in Holyhead Port Legendary Irish folk singer Christy Moore was at the centre of a previously unknown diplomatic incident in 2004 when he was locked in a room and questioned over why he was travelling to England by boat by UK officials. [Based on documents in 2025/127/1] Officials joked that Lady Di might upstage Prince Charles visit Although the then Prince Charles's visit to Ireland in 1995 was widely seen as a relative success, both Irish and British officials joked that tensions were so high between him and his estranged wife Princess Diana that Dublin should expect a call from her media team about a potential visit herself as she liked to "upstage" the royal family. [Based on documents in 2025/124/160]

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