These are the two private records written by Mr Jack Lynch in 1980, some 10 years after the Arms Crisis, in which he was apparently prompted to record his thoughts by questioning from the journalist Vincent Browne. They are printed here verbatim in this order as the second seems to be a distillation of the first.

The first memo:

Mr Vincent Browne, Editor of Magill Magazine called to see me at 12.30 p.m. at Leinster House on Tuesday, 6th May 1980. He had asked for the appointment some days previously.

I understood that he was to discuss with me the succession of Mr C J Haughey as Taoiseach and as soon as he arrived I told him that any questions he would put I may or may not answer them and I had been approached to do either an autobiography or a biography of my career which would include, of course, that period. If I did not answer any questions he was not to attribute any particular motive to it.

I also mentioned that I understood from a newspaper report that he was writing the life of Mr Haughey and I said the same would apply in respect of any questions asked if this was the case. He replied to the effect that he was doing something along the lines of the latter but that would, of course, include the arms trial and now that we were approaching the tenth anniversary he thought he would do that part of his story first and publish it in the May issue of Magill.

He told me then that he had difficulty with some people; that they were unwilling or unable or afraid to talk to him because of the fear of some reprisals. I asked him from what source could the reprisals come and he replied in a rather vague way to me. He then put a number of propositions to me.

(1) That I had known as far back as October or November of 1969 of the alleged conspiracy to import arms. I denied this. He suggested that I had been speaking to Peter Berry when he was in hospital in Mount Carmel at that time. I said this was true but that Mr Berry had made no mention whatever of the alleged conspiracy. He did mention that there were, from time to time, a number of attempts to import arms with some success as they had monitored them and in at least one case they knew where the arms were being delivered. It was a small consignment. I asked him why the Guards had not "pounced". He said it would not be possible because the Guarda felt it more prudent not to do it at that stage as they felt that their source of information would be in danger.

He also put it to me that Mr Gibbons had informed me of the alleged conspiracy. This I said was unbelievable and I asked him who had told him so. He said a colleague of his did. He could take it from me that he had never informed me about any conspiracy to import arms. He then mentioned that Mr Michael Moran, then Minister for Justice for the time being, had brought this matter to my attention on a number of occasions. I told him that that was entirely untrue; that if he attempted to publish anything of that nature I would take my own remedy no matter what that might be. I assured him that Mr Moran never once brought any such thing to my attention.

He also suggested that when Mr Jerry Cronin had been appointed Minister for Defence there was a meeting at Army Headquarters, that it was a doomsday operation and there was some discussion as to what form it would take, that I was alleged to have phoned Mr Cronin at his office while he was in consultation with Army personnel. I said that I had no recollection whatever of this and I said that on any occasion that I sought to discuss such a matter with Mr Cronin I asked him to come to my office which in fact he did. As for any details of the doomsday operation, I said that the details were not for me to discuss or disclose.

He spoke about the transfer of some rifles to Dundalk and I told him that here again this was done without any recourse to me although I believe there was an attempt to contact me in the middle of the night but it was not successful. I suggested to him that he was acting on information which he ought to be careful about, that if he published any allegations against me that would in any way reflect on my integrity then I would have to consider my situation. He said he did not want to do me any harm politically so I told him that as far as I was concerned I had no further political ambitions.

The interview lasted almost an hour and on leaving he asked me if he could come back to me as he was to interview some other people. I left it open.

The second memo:

I understand that Mr Vincent Browne, Editor of Magill, proposes to write an article dealing with incidents surrounding the arms crisis of ten years ago.

Mr Browne came to see me in my office in Leinster House on Tuesday, 6th May. He put certain assertions to me which, if published in the form they were put, would completely misrepresent me and misconstrue the facts.

(1) He put it to me that I knew in October/November, 1969, of the alleged attempt to import arms and that some Members of the Government were involved. I said this was untrue.

(2) He suggested that on a visit I paid to Mr Peter Berry, the Secretary of the Department of Justice, while he was a patient in Mount Carmel Hospital about the end of October, 1969, that Mr Berry informed me then of alleged complicity of Ministers in the illegal importation of arms. This is not true. I visited Mr Berry in Mount Carmel and he was obviously very ill at the time. All he told me was that the Gardai knew of a number of attempts to import some small quantities of arms. One of these, he said, came through Dublin Airport but on that occasion the Gardai were unable to effect an arrest. There was no mention then by him whatever of any involvement of Ministers.

(3) On the alleged attempts on the importation of arms, Mr Browne put it to me that the then Minister for Justice, Mr Micheal O Morain kept me informed of the alleged complicity of Ministers. This is not true. Mr O Morain never once mentioned anything of this nature to me.

(4) Mr Browne then put it to me that the then Minister for Defence, Mr Jim Gibbons, had kept me informed of the alleged complicity of Ministers. This assertion was untrue and one on which I knew I could get immediate corroboration of my denials. I asked Mr Browne if Mr Gibbons had told him that he (Mr Gibbons) had kept me informed. Mr Browne replied that Mr Gibbons did not tell him but that "a TD friend of his did".

I wish to state categorically that the first time I knew of an attempt to import arms in which Members of the Government were alleged to be involved was when Mr Peter Berry came to my office at Government Buildings on Monday, 20th April, 1970, when he showed me copies of statements taken from members of the staff of the Revenue Commissioners and of the staff of Aer Lingus at Dublin Airport. These statements purported to involve some Members of the Government in the alleged conspiracy to import arms. That was the first time I knew of any alleged involvement of my Ministers.