The RUC also wanted permission to use diggers and other heavy machinery owned by government departments in Northern Ireland.

JOHN Hume described Bertie Ahern's prediction of a united Ireland in 20 years as a "stupid remark".

THE Orange Order was subjected to a virtual ‘charm offensive’ in the run up to Drumcree 1997.

SINN Féin was opposed to the use of Parliament Buildings at Stormont as the permanent home of the new Northern Ireland Assembly.

Mr Ahern shared intelligence on the paramilitary group, composed of former Provisional IRA members who opposed the ceasefire and the peace process.

The genesis of former British prime minister Tony Blair's role in the Good Friday Agreement has been laid bare, after a cabinet briefing note weeks into his premiership hinted at a historic accord with his Dublin counterpart.

THE preservation of fish stocks in the Irish Sea was a major concern of the British Government, newly-released files from 1997 show.

DUP leader Ian Paisley came under attack from party supporters in 1997 for his ‘soft line’ over a lack of applications from the Protestant community for European Union funding for community development.