The term state papers is used in Britain and Ireland to refer to government archives and records.
On 27 June, Michael Collins, leader of the pro-Treaty IRA, gave the order to attack the occupying force in what is widely regarded as the opening shot of the Irish Civil War.
In the process, whether by external artillery or internal sabotage, most of these records were destroyed.
[1] The National Archives of the United Kingdom is located in Kew, near London.
There are separate national archives for Scotland (the National Records of Scotland) and Northern Ireland (the Public Record Office of Northern Ireland).