IRIS first appeared in April 1981 and its content focused heavily on The Troubles in Northern Ireland.

The magazine was originally intended to be a quarterly news and current affairs publication aimed at foreign readership.

The magazine faced considerable difficulties in first two years but appeared regularly between 1982 and 1993.

Gerry Adams described the magazine as being "of central importance of discussion, debate and education to the ongoing development of the republican struggle".

[4] The Sinn Féin book shop continued to sell issues of IRIS until 2012, when it appears to have ceased publication.