Former SDLP deputy leader Seamus Mallon thought Gerry Adams's speeches in the early 1980s were being written by a priest.
During a particularly vicious phase of the Troubles, the MP for Newry and Armagh thought the Sinn Fein president's statements were well put together but not penned by him.
In government documents released under the 30-year rule, mr mallon said he thought that Belfast priest Fr Des Wilson was the brains behind the republican leader's speeches.
The state papers show the unsubstantiated claim was carried back to the Department of Foreign Affairs in Dublin in late 1983 following one of its fact-finding missions in the north.
Diplomat Daithi o Ceallaigh reported back on meeting mr mallon.
"He referred on a number of occasions to the speeches made by Adams in recent times which he thought were very well written," he said.
"He claimed that Adams could not himself write such speeches and said it was his guess that they were being drafted by Fr Des Wilson."
Fr Wilson, originally from the ormeau road in Belfast, is well regarded in communities in the west of the city after setting up the Springhill Community House in Ballymurphy and educating young disadvantaged people.
He has written a column for the Andersonstown News for more than 30 years. Mr Adams has spoken highly of Fr Wilson, describing him in the same breath as the late Fr Alec Reid as a tenacious peacemaker.
He credited him, alongside Fr Reid, as a key facilitator in ending inter-republican disputes in the 1970s and also helping to open dialogue with loyalist paramilitaries.
In one of his books, mr Adams referred to Fr Wilson resigning from clerical positions in the Church over the use of resources.
* CLAIM:
Fr Des Wilson. Inset, former SDLP deputy leader Seamus Mallon