british infiltration of the ira

Mr Leahy said he did not find that republicans were reluctant to speak to him even as an 'outsider' researching such a controversial subject, but said some people were cautious due to the impact of the failed Boston college project. Gathering human intelligence became a central part of British strategy against the Provisionals between 1975 and 1994. The Belfast Newsletter reported that 7/10 UDR had been infiltrated by the IRA. Informers and agents not only betrayed the IRA’s secrets, but some, such as Denis Donaldson, were used over decades, to influence its strategy at the highest level. "Informers such as Stakeknife and Denis Donaldson were seen as a key factor, that the infiltration by British Intelligence had forced the IRA to engage in peace. It was the most active republican paramilitary group during the Troubles. Directly addressing the anti-Good Friday Agreement armed republican groups, he said that the level of British infiltration of the Provisional IRA had been "colossal and fatal" for the "armed struggle" long before the peace process began. As I think everybody knows there has been an upsurge in revelations about British intelligence agency infiltration of (some would say control over) the IRA in recent weeks. For republicans, the scale of infiltration within the IRA raises uncomfortable questions. Micheal Martin hit out at both Britain and IRA over keeping secrets on Troubles Irish PM said neither wanted the 'truth to come out' on the extent of infiltration The Irish Republican Army (IRA; Irish: Óglaigh na hÉireann), also known as the Provisional Irish Republican Army, and informally as the Provos, was an Irish republican paramilitary organisation that sought to end British rule in Northern Ireland, facilitate Irish reunification and bring about an independent, socialist republic encompassing all of Ireland. Both men were supposed to be working to a republican agenda. The dossier of evidence from Ian Hurst, a former member of British military intelligence who also claims half of all senior IRA members were working for … In other words, the dramatic claim has been that a key person within the IRA tasked with rooting out informers was himself an informer, actively involved in interrogating and executing wrongly accused ‘loyal’ IRA members. From the late 1960’s and for almost 3 decades, the Provisional Irish Republican Army (PIRA) waged a bloody terrorist campaign in Northern Ireland, Britain and Europe. Fulton, whose real name is Peter Keeley, infiltrated the IRA for the Army's Force Research Unit (FRU) in the late Seventies. His activities also attracted the attention of the IRA; on several occasions he narrowly escaped local disciplinary squads. When he was exposed as an agent in 1991 he was abducted by the IRA, but escaped and was resettled in England. It saw itself as the army of the all-island Irish Republicand as the sole legitimate successor to … Infiltration of The IRA. PIRA’s aim was the unification of Ireland, driving out the British presence by physical force and political guile. The Provisional IRA argued for a complete abstention from the political process until a unified Ireland was achieved… Emerging stronger after the split, the Provisional IRA is the group we now commonly know as the IRA. Membership: The IRA is thought to consist of up to 400 members and several thousand auxiliary supporters and sympathizers who could be called upon in emergency circumstances. From 1969 until 1997, the Provisional Irish Republican Army (IRA) conducted an armed paramilitary campaign primarily in Northern Ireland and England, aimed at ending British rule in Northern Ireland in order to create a united Ireland. Martin "Marty" McGartland (born 30 January 1970 in Belfast, Northern Ireland) is a former British agent who infiltrated the Provisional Irish Republican Army (IRA) in 1989 to pass information to RUC Special Branch.. Last week the BBC news and current affairs programme, Spotlight, broadcast a series of interviews and dramatic reenactments with a man they called "Martin", the pseudonym of a supposed British spy in the ranks of the (Provisional) Irish Republican Army. Last week the BBC news and current affairs programme, Spotlight, broadcast a series of interviews and dramatic reenactments with a man they called “Martin”, the pseudonym of a supposed British spy in the ranks of the (Provisional) Irish Republican Army. Commentators and academics initially concluded a stalemate situation explained why peace emerged. His activities also attracted the attention of the IRA and on several occasions he narrowly escaped local disciplinary squads. Speaking to The Irish News Mr Leahy said he became interested in the analysis by many historians as to why the peace process occurred when it did. The study looks back to the early 1970s and the infamous Four Square Laundry operation by the controversial Military Reaction Force unit of the British army, right up until the unmasking of double agents Denis Donaldson and Freddie Scappaticci, the informer known as Stakeknife, more than 30 years later. He is the source of the allegation that the … "There is no big revelation, these are things we already know, that wasn't what I was trying to achieve, it was a look at the successes and failures of the intelligence activities against the IRA. In 1994, the British government and Irish republicans were conducting a febrile political courtship. AN academic, who spent 10 years studying the British intelligence war against the Provisional IRA, has said many of the covert operations mounted against the organisation were "counter productive". Since the beginning of the Troubles, many Irish nationalists reported offences to Sinn Féin, a political party associated with the IRA, rather than the RUC. Martin was paid to betray other people’s secrets. Get the day's headlines delivered directly to your inbox. What I mean was that neither side were sloppy in how they did things. What I mean was that neither side were sloppy in how they did things. Video: Ronan McGreevy, Former British spy Denis Donaldson. Began to work as a double agent for MI5 but left the pay of the British secret service after the war and lived the high life in for a while in London. British collusion in Irish Republican Army internal discipline murders By Steve James 21 April 2017 €€€The BBC’s April 11 flagship documentary Panorama, “The Spy in the IRA” by veteran journalist John Ware, highlighted the decades-long British state infiltration of the Provisional Irish Republican Army (IRA). "Sometimes when these memoirs are released there is substantial attention given to their influence, I tried to look at them geographically in terms of activity during that time period. 13 Martyn Frampton believes that these high-level spies assisted the British forces in preventing various IRA operations from the 1980s. The signing of a peace treaty by IRA leader Michael Collins and others led to a split in Irish nationalism and the IRA. The IRA traces its ideology to Irish republicanism and the rejection of the British monarchy. The IRA is known and even … The council’s decisions were, they said, influenced by IRA insiders who were also secret British agents. The author found that the British army "came into Northern Ireland blind in intelligence terms" and so relied on the RUC who initially lacked any adequate intelligence. The IRA is believed to have kept its structure intact since 1994. Second, the tight-knit and semi-autonomous nature of rural republican units helped prevent significant infiltration. Brian Rowan. However, both were agents of the British state. It was established in 1982 during the Troubles to obtain intelligence from secretly penetrating terrorist organisations in Northern Ireland by recruiting and running agents and informants. THE BRITISH state has "permanent eyes and ears" inside armed republican dissident groups as a result of improved surveillance, a former IRA hunger striker has claimed.. Gerard Hodgins has been a vocal critic of Gerry Adams and has called on the New IRA, Continuity IRA and Óghlaigh na hÉireann (ONH) to declare ceasefires. Began to work as a double agent for MI5 but left the pay of the British secret service after the war and lived the high life in for a while in London. The IRA is composed of detached cells to protect against infiltration. Irish PM Micheal Martin claims neither Britain nor the IRA want the ‘truth to come out’ about the Troubles. McGartland became involved in petty crime, which brought him to the notice of the Royal Ulster Constabulary (RUC). His identity became publicly known after a minor court case. Sean O'Callaghan, a prominent former IRA informer, worked as a consultant to the Ulster Unionist Party (UUP) and was often interviewed as a media pundit, and wrote op-eds for British newspapers. IRA attacks in England alongside the ability of the IRA to import various consignments of heavy weapons from Libya suggests that the IRA leadership had not been infiltrated at its highest levels. "Informers such as Stakeknife and Denis Donaldson were seen as a key factor, that the infiltration by British Intelligence had forced the IRA to engage … In the lore of the IRA, there was traditionally no one more loathsome than the informer. Inside Politics - Is free speech under threat? Did the secret intelligence war force the IRA to renounce violence? Several months ago, I was contacted by a man who said he had a story to tell. IRA and British intelligence have much to hide Murky activities of ‘Stakeknife’ and other agents face fresh scrutiny from Operation Kenova Sat, Jun 11, 2016, 01:00. Over months, I listened to Martin, I never stopped asking him questions and I corroborated as much detail as possible without compromising him. "Knowing about chronology of events I just didn't find that convincing. Amazingly, perhaps half of all senior IRA members, and a quarter of all IRA members overall, worked for intelligence services during the ‘Troubles'. The more we learn about security force infiltration of the IRA and Sinn Féin the more intimate the relationship appears. The argument that the British won the intelligence war just didn't stack up. It exposes the reality of the dark, claustrophobic world of the Provisionals: the iron grip they hold over their communities; their ruthless and cynical disregard for human life; the single-minded professionalism of some IRA volunteers — and the rank incompetence of others. ... tasked with catching informers, was working for the British. :: The Intelligence War Against the IRA by Thomas Leahy is published by Cambridge University Press. 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The Real IRA has been cracked wide open by an MI5 spy who is set to testify at the trial of the dissident terror grouping's suspected leader, according to reports. The FRU emerged in the mid 80s after a succession of attempts by the British army to contain the IRA through infiltration … And when Martin betrayed a boast made by Donaldson, it set off a chain of events which ultimately led to the unmasking of Donaldson as an agent of British intelligence. While his book The IntelligenceWar Against the IRA does not contain any major revelations and relies mainly on already public facts and statistics, it does give a comprehensive overview of the scale of the intelligence war. Sources close to the Real IRA last night said they were unaware that a major undercover operation involving British, Irish and US security services had reportedly laid bare the murky grouping. Mr Leahy said he spoke to a number of self confessed informers as part of his research. Did spies within its own ranks bring the IRA in from the cold? The IRA is composed of detached cells to protect against infiltration. His very survival was premised on his ability to tell lies. I provide reasons to explain the lack of infiltration of IRA units in England and the IRA leadership. At its height both sides fought with a great deal of professionalism. Buy Dead Ground: Infiltrating the IRA First Edition by Gilmour, Raymond (ISBN: 9780316879675) from Amazon's Book Store. This effectively made the IRA a police force in some areas. Thomas Leahy, a lecturer in British and Irish politics at Cardiff University, conducted one of the most in-depth and far reaching studies into the infiltration of the IRA by British intelligence services. 51 A documentary about him was screened by the BBC. It takes in the rural and city divide, when it came to intelligence gathering and concludes that the "popular perception" that the IRA was brought to its knees and forced into peace does not bear out in facts. The teenage spy, Martin McGartland, who infiltrated the IRA and saved at least 50 lives. Hodgins said the recent IRA and ONH bombings across Northern Ireland over the last 18 months, "played into Sinn Féin's agenda". ... County Down, where British soldiers frequently drank after what was generally a football match between the prison wardens. His admission went to the heart of the secret intelligence war between the IRA and the state, because Donaldson was an “agent of influence”. Thousands were killed, injured or displaced in a brutal and complex campaign of violence. ... and the Irish Republican Army of the anti-treaty forces on the other. They tell them to me in their homes, coffee shops, cars and parks and, more often than not, they are alone. He also looked at memoirs by high profile outed agents, comparing their claims with IRA activity at the time. The Force Research Unit was a covert military intelligence unit of the British Army part of the Intelligence Corps. “The Provisional IRA was younger, tougher and advocated a more intensive military campaign against the British administration. The Smithwick Tribunal also revealed much about British state infiltration of the IRA, Sinn Fein and the Garda. British intelligence, the IRA and the Northern Ireland Peace Process After 29 years and over 3,700 deaths, the Good Friday Agreement ended the Northern Ireland conflict in 1998. At one point you say of the British infiltration of the IRA that, as messy and morally dubious as it may have been, "There's this: it worked." Freddie Scappaticci pictured at an IRA funeral in 1987. 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