Politics Archives - Page 33 of 134

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Robert Fisk exposed Tara, the organisation linked to MI5 and the Kincora scandal. His career was a counterbalance to the lies and distortions of the Murdoch media empire and its ilk.

by admin 2 November, 2020

By Joseph de Burca. It is no exaggeration to say that Robert Fisk, who has passed away, was one of the finest journalists of the last half-century. He reported on the Troubles during the 1970s for The Times of London before it was taken over by Rupert Murdoch, produced a book on the 1974 Ulster Workers Council strike and another on Irish neutrality during World War II. He had the dignity and self-respect to walk away from The Times after Murdoch began to interfere with his reporting. He soon became recognised as an international authority on the Middle East among his many other achievements. He purchased a house in Dalkey, County Dublin and became an Irish citizen. Clearly, he relished the intellectual freedom of the country and became a regular guest on the Pat Kenny and other radio shows. Hundreds of thousands of lrish people benefitted from his objective and insightful analysis of world events unlike the many millions who were fed drivel and propaganda by the Murdoch media, especially in the UK and USA. Significantly, he became a fearless opponent of the dirty tricks deployed by various Western intelligence services in their efforts to manipulate the press. He first clashed with these shadowy forces in Ireland in his 20s. 1. Fisk exposed the Loyalist paramilitary organisation TARA which was run by the ‘Housefather’ of Kincora Boys’ Home, William McGrath Although it is not mentioned in any of the many glowing – and well-deserved – tributes from around the globe, Fisk was one of a tiny number of journalists who attempted to expose the activities of Tara, a Loyalist paramilitary group. Tara was led by William McGrath, a long-time friend and associate of Ian Paisley, the leader of the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP). McGrath was probably the person who introduced Paisley to the notion that the Protestants of Northern Ireland were the descendants of one of the lost tribes of Israel (i.e. British-Israelites). McGrath, who was nearly a decade older than Paisley, met Paisley while the latter was in his early 20s. McGrath was convicted in 1981 of the sexual abuse of residents at Kincora Boys’ Home in Belfast. (See also: Blackmailed? [Updated Version] The man who supplied Fisk with the information about Tara was Captain Colin Wallace, a PSYOPS officer at British Army HQ at Lisburn. Wallace often supplied journalists such as Fisk with documents and briefings. This was always done on orders from his superiors as part of his job. Fisk published a report about Tara in London’s New Statesman magazine on 19 July 1976. In the report he explained that Tara had been the subject matter of a private British Army report and described it as “well-armed” with links to a Northern Ireland political party. He drew attention to the fact it was also “perfectly legal’. He then proceeded to quote from a document supplied by Wallace which read as follows: “Commanding officer uses non-existent evangelical mission as a front…Tara organised initially in platoons of 20, now probably in companies, and drawn almost exclusively from members of the Orange Order, each platoon has a sergeant/QM (quartermaster); and IO (Intelligence Officer)”. 2. MI5 exploits the provision of ‘restricted’ documents by Colin Wallace to Robert Fisk to destroy Wallace and protect a paedophile network. At the time William McGrath was acting as an agent of MI5 which is attached to the Home Office. Previously, he had been an agent of MI6 which is attached to the Foreign Office. Ian Cameron, a senior MI5 officer based at MI5’s station at Lisburn, had been alarmed at Wallace’s attempts to expose what had been going on at Kincora. Cameron was in overall charge of running the sordid and utterly reprehensible Kincora operation at ground level in the mid-1970s. McGrath and the Warden of Kincora, Joseph Mains, had supplied boys to other Loyalist terrorists such as John McKeague, who was blackmailed and recruited by MI5 in 1976. For further details about McKeague and MI5 see: The Anglo-Irish Vice Ring Chapters 8 – 10 The MP and leader of the Official Unionist Party, James Molyneaux, was also an abuser of underage males and a friend of McGrath see: JAMES MOLYNEAUX AND THE KINCORA SCANDAL. A senior figure within the DUP, “the Wife Beater” was also compromised by his association with McGrath and McKeague. Enoch Powell, Sir Anthony Blunt and others were likewise involved. Kincora was merely part of a wider Anglo-Irish Vice Ring. For details about Powell see: Suffer little children Cameron reported to Denis Payne, the Director and Co-ordinator of Intelligence (DCI) at Stormont Castle. Payne was fully aware of what was taking place at Kincora and at other childrens’ homes. Payne was also an MI5 officer. Some officials at Stormont such as Peter England and John Imrie were themselves paedophiles who raped children in care in Ireland. (See also: John Imrie, MI5’s Flasher-General Unlike MI5, there were some officers in the British Army such as Wallace and his superior, General Leng, who were quite prepared to expose the vile abuse of children in Ireland. Capt. Brian Gemmell also deserves credit for his part in uncovering what was afoot. MI5 set out to destroy Wallace to preserve the Kincora secret in 1975. They made their move in early 1975 after Wallace sent some papers to Fisk. Crucially, he had done so – as he had always – with the permission of his military superiors. Cameron also made a formal complaint against Wallace for allegedly “breaching security by briefing the press about Tara and McGrath”, Wallace has explained. “This was based on a piece that Robert Fisk wrote for The New Statesman… Cameron knew, of course, that I had been briefing the press about McGrath since 1973 at the request of my Army superiors”. Wallace’s boss at HQ NI in 1974, Peter Broderick, is on public record saying that he initialled a 1973 press briefing document about Tara that Wallace used and instructed him to disclose it. The document was also initialled by Lieutenant Colonel Peck, the then head

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SMITHWICK’s SECRET WITNESS

by admin 29 October, 2020

By Deirdre Younge. The Smithwick Tribunal concealed its relationship with Freddie Scappaticci whom it treated as a credible source of information while the Kenova Inquiry is investigating him for multiple murders. The Smithwick Tribunal found Garda collusion in murder of RUC officers, but couldn’t name the colluder. This was partly because it allowed a motley band of FRU operatives, informants and agents like the serial ‘intelligence nuisance’ Fulton and elusive thug Scappaticci endlessly to mislead it on who the colluder was so that, when MI5 conduit Drew Harris gave definitive evidence to the contrary, the Tribunal was forced to give what the authorities, North, South and in the UK wanted: a false finding of collusion that was impossible for anyone, particularly an unnamed colluder, to challenge. Since this article was written the Public Prosecution Service of Northern Ireland has decided not to press charges relating to perjury against three people – two public officials and another, believed to be Freddie Scappaticci, on foot of files submitted by Operation Kenova. The present DPP N.I Stephen Herron, appears to have accepted that Scappaticci was entitled to rely on the ‘defence of necessity’ in May, 2003 when he took a judicial review against Jane Kennedy, a Minister in the Northern Ireland Office. Scappaticci had asked the Minister to deny allegations in the media that he was the agent called ‘Steaknife’ or ‘Stakeknife’ which she refused to do on the grounds that it was standard policy to give a ‘neither confirm nor deny’ (NCND) response to questions related to National Security. The Minister’s decision was upheld in August 2003 when Scappaticci’s application for Judicial Review was dismissed. An official in the Public Prosecution Service in 2006, reviewing Scappaticci’s sworn statements of 2003 on foot of complaints received, accepted that Scappaticci had committed perjury but that he was justified in claiming that he was not the agent ‘Steaknife’ or ‘Stakeknife’ in the circumstances, as to do otherwise would have put his life in danger – the ‘defence of necessity’. That decision was itself reviewed in 2018 by the then DPP Barra McGrory with the consequences explained below. The latest decision by the DPP Stephen Herron therefore, accepts Scappaticci’s defence. Freddie Scappaticci, the British spy who came to Dublin to testify. Chief Constable Jon Boutcher, from Bedfordshire Police, is leading operation Kenova whose independent team is investigating a range of activities surrounding an elusive individual intriguingly codenamed Stakeknife, or Steaknife. Kenova detectives arrested and interviewed the British Army agent Freddie Scappaticci, a 72-year-old Belfast man, in early 2018. He is widely suspected of being that individual. A member of the Belfast IRA from the early 1970s, he was recruited as an agent for the Army’s Intelligence Corps in the mid to late 1970s. He moved to British Army intelligence Force Research Unit (FRU) in Northern Ireland which secretly penetrated terrorist organisations in 1982 with his then handler, Major David Moyles, who instructed him and channelled his information. Scappaticci was observed operating around Dundalk and the Border region North and South from around 1982 until 1990. He is believed to have attempted to take over a unit run by another IRA man in Louth in the early 1980s. He was also described as the co-ordinator of its North-South operations. Later he was second in command to JJ Magee in the Internal Security Unit which conducted IRA interrogations along the border. He is linked to at least 20 murders. But he fell out with the IRA, and in with MI5 and its emanations which paid him £80.000 a year. Serious allegations have emerged to the effect that, to protect his cover, the British government allowed up to 40 people to be killed via the IRA’s Internal Security Unit or ‘Nutting Squad’ which he led. It appears Kenova is pursuing several perjury cases against Scappatacci for denying he is Stakeknife or Steaknife. Some are sceptical whether he will be held to account as it has, for example, been alleged he retains tapes of his dealings with his handlers. A number of individuals connected to the Stakeknife scandal, and keen for an accounting, have claimed perjury is the easiest way to ensure the alleged spy will appear in a court of law. According to Henry McDonald in the Guardian, “The whistleblower who first publicly identified Stakeknife as Scappaticci, the former Force Research Unit soldier Ian Hurst, has described the perjury route as a ‘slam dunk’ if Boutcher and his detectives decide to prosecute on that front”. The focus of this article is on how such an eminently unreliable persona was allowed to elaborately subvert the naïve and misdirected Smithwick Tribunal that reported in the Republic in 2013. One gauge of the unreliability is perhaps that in court in 2019 counsel for Britain’s Ministry of Defence revealed the total number of lawsuits against the alleged spy. Tony McGleenan QC said: “There are 31 claims. Some have taken the form of correspondence [but] 24 writ actions have been issued. All of these name the second defendant (Scappaticci)”. Scappaticci had been outed as the alleged agent Stakeknife or Steaknife at the time of the Stevens Inquiry in London in 2003. The outing is credited to his sometime associate Peter Keeley aka Kevin Fulton. But it is also attributed to a former Sergeant in the Army Intelligence Corps and FRU, Ian Hurst aka Martin Ingram. Scappaticci was also the subject of allegations in relation to the Tom Oliver murder in County Louth in the book ‘Stakenife’ published in 2003 by Journalist Greg Harkin and Ian Hurst under his pseudonym Martin Ingram. That’s three different lineups alleging the identity. Keeley and Hurst are egregiously shadowy figures who were to feature in the Smithwick Tribunal and whose allegations led to Scappaticci being afforded unlikely credence and indeed getting legal representation there. Members or agents of British Army Intelligence were to play a huge role in the Smithwick Tribunal which investigated whether there was collusion between the Garda in Dundalk and the IRA killers of two RUC officers, Chief Superintendent Harry Breen and Superintendent Bob Buchanan, who were shot dead

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Jeff has enough money. Save Ireland’s publishers this Christmas.

by admin 27 October, 2020

By David Burke. I was fortunate to have a book published recently. I won’t personally be much affected by who sells it it but it did spark me thinking about the beleaguered publishing industry in Ireland. It does sterling work promoting diverse, minority and high-quality works. Writing is an Irish speciality. Reflecting this, thankfully Ireland has more than its fair share of small publishing houses, a fact that reflects well on this country. Unfortunately, even in good times many of them just about managed to scrape by. Without them, the work of many Irish novelists, poets and historians would never see the light of day. Covid-19 now threatens to crush many of them. While heroic efforts have been made by some small bookshops to set up click and collect facilities and others are able to remain open because they sell other essential items, many have had to shut their doors. Tragically, Amazon is set to make a killing in their place. This is a shame because most independent Irish publishers have their own websites which do exactly what Amazon does with one big difference: Jeff Bezos – who doesn’t even know their books exist – grabs an enormous slice of the purchase price for doing very little. This is a shame because most independent Irish publishers have their own websites which do exactly what Amazon does with one big difference: Jeff Bezos – who doesn’t even know their books exist – grabs an enormous slice of the purchase price for doing very little. This article is a plea to go directly to the website of an Irish publisher or your local bookshop if open (and many bookshops have their own websites too) if you wish to purchase a homegrown – or any – book instead of visiting Amazon. There are quite a number of Irish books which were selling well before the latest lockdown. The bestselling example of this – literally – is ‘Champagne Football’ by Mark Tighe and Paul Rowan. In this instance the authors and their publishers have received a well deserved reward for their superb effort and hopefully will continue to do so. But what about the books which have just been launched or are about to come out over the next day or two? Frank Greaney’s ‘Crowded House, The Definitive Story behind the Gruesome Murder of Patricia O’Connor’ is a perfect example of this. Greaney attended the trial on a daily basis of those accused of both the murder itself and other offences in the aftermath thereof and, in the finest traditions of quality Irish journalism, has produced a riveting book length account of it. He gets to grips with the story behind the tragic death and dismemberment of Patricia O’Connor as well as the lengthy trial that followed the discovery of her remains scattered in the Dublin Mountains. In human terms this is an important book because it sets the record straight about the victim who had, in the course of the evidence which unfurled during a seven-week-long trial been portrayed as a monster. Greaney’s work tips the scales very much in favour of the deceased to build up a picture of what she was really like: a warm, caring, generous individual, a solid employee – she worked as a caterer in Beaumont Hospital – and decent colleague. Greaney weaves in the evidence given at trial (particularly that of the forensic anthropologist who dealt with examination of the bones of the dismembered parts, and the pathologist) into a chronological narrative to give the story the feel of a novel. Patricia O Connor had no voice but Frank Greaney has given her one. Anyone who followed this trial will also be able to read about many of the events and facts that had to be kept from the jury and therefore were not reported in the media but are now. The book also provides a fascinating insight into how a modern trial is run in our democracy. Does Jeff Bezos deserve to scoop up the lion’s share of the proceeds from this book and all the others which are about to be published? Greaney’s publishers are Gill. If you or anyone you know is interested in this or any other Irish publication, bypass Amazon and go to the website of the publisher.

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[Expanded] British Intelligence must have known that Seán MacStíofáin was a Garda ‘informer’.

by admin 18 October, 2020

By David Burke. The letter from the Garda officer who had served in C3. In 1973 a former Garda intelligence officer, Patrick Crinnion, wrote a letter which he addressed to three politicians: Garret FitzGerald, Conor Cruise O’Brien and Richie Ryan. All three were prominent government ministers at the time. Crinnion had served with the overarching Garda intelligence directorate known as C3 until the end of 1972. The letter refers to Seán MacStíofáin, the former Chief of staff of the Provisional IRA, as having misled the Garda into believing he was a bona fide informer during the 1960s and early 1970s. I have written about MacStiofáin’s machinations in my book, ‘Deception and Lies: the Hidden History of the Arms Crisis’. During my research I was able to speak to a number of former senior Gardaí about MacStíofáin’s masquerade as an informer. The letter from Crinnion emerged from a separate avenue of research and has no connection whatsoever to these former Gardaí. The letter merely adds to what they have said. It also shows that 47 years ago revelations about MacStíofáin’s role as an informer/double agent were circulating in Irish government circles. If this was part of an MI6 plot to destabilise the Provisional IRA as a sceptic might suggest, why did the story not surface until many decades later? In the letter Crinnion wrote that: Mac STIOPHAIN had until July 1972 conducted a brilliant masquerade as a Garda informant and been well paid to boot. His status would in all probability have continued but for documents found in the home of a retired Irish/American and a former Clann na Gael Treasurer, James CONATY, Drumshirk, Stradone. These documents were such that they were brought to the Minister for Justice for his personal perusal. That MacSTIOPHAIN should have been in receipt of State funds and regarded as an Informant must, to any sane objective person, appear the height of improbability but it is a fact. MacSTIOPHAIN was recruited in good faith in approximately 1961 but the justification of his later role must surely bewilder men of goodwill. You know how the PROVOS were formed, how SAOR EIRE acted as their Financial agents in the Republic so as not to incur the disapproval of the State against the Provos and until disenchantment about MacSTIOPHAIN occurred in July 1972 his immunity was at a reasonable level. Crinnion is a controversial figure. He was arrested at the end of 1972 for allegedly having attempted to pass certain highly sensitive documents to John Wyman, an acknowledged MI6 agent. Both men were convicted on lesser charges and released from custody in 1973. Crinnion knew Wyman but has always denied that he passed him State secrets. The more serious charge against Crinnion of having passed highly sensitive Garda documents to Wyman was dropped. The traditional appreciation of what happened is that this was done purely because the documents were too sensitive to produce in court, even behind closed doors (in camera). There are reasons to believe that the documents were planted in Crinnion’s car on the orders of certain security officials who were actually responsible for passing secrets to the British Secret Service, MI6, and that Crinnion served as their scapegoat. Ultimately, the cabal may have pulled the strings in the background to ensure that the more serious charges were dropped because they knew Crinnion was innocent. The real culprits proceeded to co-operate with the British Secret Service for decades. Crinnion’s life was destroyed. He had to go into exile. False evidence was furnished against Crinnion during his trial on the lesser charges but that is a story for another day. Further evidence of a high-level informer. The existence of a high-level informer has been known for five decades. The former Head of the Special Branch, John Fleming, spoke about him at the Public Accounts Committee in 1971. This means that British Intelligence knew about the existence of a high-level informer at the very latest at this stage. In addition, Peter Berry, who was Secretary General at the Department of Justice at the time of the Arms Crisis, confirmed the existence of an informer in his diaries which were published by Magill magazine in 1980. In his memoirs former Minister for Justice, Des O’Malley, stated that the Garda had received a “tip-off” about the pending arms flight from the Continent to Dublin Airport which sparked the Arms Crisis. Other gardaí who knew about MacStíofáin’s role as an informer The revelation that MacStíofáin had this strange relationship with the Special Branch was based on information provided by a number of Gardai. Since the publication of my book another retired Garda with knowledge of the MacStíofáin case has confirmed that he was once considered an ‘informer’ by the Gardai. Since the publication of my book another retired Garda with knowledge of the MacStíofáin case has confirmed that he was once considered an ‘informer’ by the Gardai. And there is more: Liam Clarke and Barry Penrose published an interview with Hugh McNeilis, a Special Branch officer in Meath, after MacStíofáin died. McNeilis told them that he and three other Garda officers had maintained contact with MacStíofáin – whom he stated had been an informer. This uneasy relationship was maintained during the mid-1970s. In other words, MacStíofáin continued to provide information which the Garda were prepared to accept from him even though he had concealed important intelligence from them in the past. Presumably, MacStíofáin was supplying details about his opponents inside the Provisional IRA who had blocked his return to a leadership role within the organisation. MacStíofáin also remained a potential thorn in the side of the Marxist Official IRA which he despised. A group of Officials set up the Irish National Liberation Army (INLA) in the mid-1970s. At one stage MacStíofáin offered himself as leader of the INLA. At another point in the 1970s MacStíofáin had considered setting up his own paramilitary organisation. Against this background, MacStíofáin possessed plenty of information which remained of interest to the Garda. One hopes

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Obit(ch)uary [Updated]: RUC Special Branch and MI5’s friend in the media passes away. Journalist who cast doubt on the truth about the Kincora Boys’ Home scandal has died. He once described the brutal abuse at it as ‘homosexual high-jinks’.

by admin 4 October, 2020

The legacy of Chris Ryder, the former Sunday Times (ST) journalist who passed away last Friday, is not one to be proud of: he was one of a number of journalists who helped MI5 and the RUC’s Special Branch cover up the rape of children who had fallen into the grip of a paedophile gang that revolved around Kincora Boys’ Home. Some of them were as young as 10-years of age. He did not understand that there was a difference between a person being a homosexual and a paedophile. He once described the abuse of children at Kincora as ‘homosexual high-jinks’. One of the abusers at Kincora was William McGrath. McGrath once described his sexual preference for ten-year-old boys. He was a prolific rapist. His victims did not think they were participating in ‘high-jinks’ rather excruciatingly painful rape and humiliation, something that destroyed their lives. Some of the victims of the Kincora rape gang later committed suicide. Ryder’s negligence also nearly led to the death of a British agent in the IRA called Louis Hammond in 1973. The Hammond fiasco appears to have acted as a catalyst which led to Ryder becoming one of MI5’s many assets in the Irish media. By 1977 he was sending the following type of reports on his colleagues in the media to British Army HQ at Lisburn where MI5 had a station. THE JOURNALIST DOTH PROTEST TOO MUCH Ryder became a frequent visitor to the private dining (and drinking) area at the RUC’s Knocknagoney HQ where he rubbed shoulders with his friends in the RUC Special Branch and MI5. When Ryder appeared at the Smithwick Tribunal he denied suggestions that he had worked for MI5. “That is what people of a Republican disposition have said against me – I did not know a soul in MI5.” He also said that at “one point a person did approach me but I was not interested.” Even if we are to take this denial at face value, it still raises the question: why did MI5 think he might work for them? Surely the person who made the ‘approach’ to him would have been from MI5 or a similar organisation such as MI6? It was hardly someone from the NI Roads Authority. Readers can make up their own minds if they believe Ryder never met anyone from MI5. RYDER AND THE BRITISH-IRISH ASSOCIATION Ryder was also a regular guest at the British-Irish Association (BIA) which was heavily infiltrated by MI5. Former Taoiseach Charles Haughey forbade his ministers from attending the BIA in the 1980s on the basis it was an MI5 front. Surely Ryder met many British intelligence officers and assets at it such as Dame Daphne Park (senior MI6 officer) and David Astor (MI6 media asset)? RYDER AND HAMMOND Ryder’s path crossed with that of Louis Hammond in 1973 courtesy of British Intelligence. On May 13 1972 the British Army arrested Hammond, a Royal Irish Ranger deserter, at a barricade in the Slievegallion area of Andersonstown, West Belfast. Hammond had been born in 1954 and had grown up in Andersonstown. Having joined the Army in 1970 , he had disappeared after a visit home in 1972. He opted to become a Military Reaction Force (MRF) spy instead of facing charges for desertion and IRA membership. The MRF had been set up by Brigadier Frank Kitson before he left NI in 1972. It was based at Palace Barracks, Holywood. It ran a network of informers and agents who identified IRA members who were then sought out by MRF assassination units. After two other MRF agents, Seamus Wright and Kevin McKee, were lifted by the IRA (and later ‘disappeared’), Hammond was spirited to Liverpool. That should have been the end of his entanglement with the intelligence services. However, the Psychological Operations [PSYOPS] unit at British Army HQ in Lisburn was engaged in an operation to sow dissent inside the Provisional IRA by planting stories that certain IRA members were embezzling the proceeds of robberies. A document was prepared which was made to look like it had been written by a senior IRA member being held in Long Kesh. The plan was to pretend it had been intercepted by the security forces. It was addressed to the IRA’s Belfast Commander, Seamus Twomey, and named IRA members who had allegedly misappropriated funds. It would not appear that Ryder was an asset of Her Majesty at this stage as an elaborate ruse was mounted to convince him that the Long Kesh forgery was genuine. The forgery was passed to Ryder who alerted The Sunday Times in London. The ST delegated Ryder and Paul Eddy, another journalist, to investigate the story. The teenage Hammond was now brought back into play. He was ordered to contact Ryder and reveal he had been the Intelligence Officer of the Provisional IRA’s E Company in Riverdale and was prepared to sell him information about IRA embezzlement. To Ryder, it appeared that Hammond was corroborating what was in the Long Kesh document. Ryder published an article in the ST which quoted an unnamed “former Intelligence Officer from E Company” as the paper’s source. The IRA quickly realised it was Hammond and ascertained that he was back in Belfast. He was lured to a house in the Markets district and interrogated for three days after which he was shot three times in the head and once in the stomach. Yet he somehow managed to survive albeit partially paralysed and blind in one eye. Ryder and the ST were clearly negligent in revealing that their information had come from a “former Intelligence Officer from E Company”. Following the publication of the story, the IRA considered killing Ryder. Ed Moloney has revealed on his Broken Elbow blog that they were talked out of this by a journalist – still alive and therefore unnamed – who advised them this would backfire on them by alienating the media. THE SPOOKS MOVE RYDER TO MANCHESTER The intelligence services decided not to take any

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Government must release Des O’Malley, the former Minister for Justice, from the shackles of official State-imposed secrecy – for the sake of history. UPDATE: O’MALLEY IS GOING TO TALK TO THE SUNDAY INDEPENDENT.

by admin 26 September, 2020

UPDATE: Des O’Malley is going to reveal what he knowns about the new allegation that Seán MacStíofáin was a Garda informer in The Sunday Independent tomorrow. Hopefully, O’Malley will answer the 10 questions Village raised in the original version of this article In the event that O’Malley does not address these questions in The Sunday Independent, these pages are open to him to answer them here. By David Burke. To his credit, Des O’Malley is one of a small number of former government ministers who have taken the trouble to publish a memoir. In this respect Ireland compares poorly to other modern democracies where memoirs are more common. O’Malley was Minister for Justice at a crucial moment in our recent history fifty years ago this week. The Official Secrets Act was hardly designed to deny the citizens of this nation the insight of figures such as O’Malley who occupied sensitive positions such a long time ago. Seán MacStíofáin, the former Chief of Staff of the Provisional IRA, masqueraded as an IRA informer for years. Helen McEntee, the present Minister for Justice, indicated earlier this week that she is open to the possibility of declassifying some of the files the State possessses about him. Surely it follows that the government could relax the restrictions on former ministers such as O’Malley so that they too can provide their memories of MacStíofáin, the key figure in the creation of the Provisional IRA? When O’Malley was Minister for Justice in 1970, Chief Superintendent John Fleming was Head of Garda Special Branch while Peter Berry was in charge of the Department of Justice. To a greater or lesser extent, all of these key figures have revealed that the State was running a high-level informer, albeit that none of them ever named him in public. There was another high-level informer but he was in a separate paramilitary group called Saor Éire. For the avoidance of any confusion, it must be stressed that MacStíofáin was never a genuine informer. He abused his position to mislead and deceive the Irish State true to his agenda which was to bring about a military campaign to end partition. For the avoidance of any confusion, it must be stressed that MacStíofáin was never a genuine informer. On the contrary, he abused his position to mislead and deceive the Irish State. He was always true to his agenda which was to bring about a military campaign to end partition. In the event, he created one of the most dangerous and violent paramilitary organisations in Western Europe, the Provisional IRA. MacStíofáin went to his grave with a lot of blood on his hands. From a historical perspective, MacStíofáin’s masquerade as a mole is far too important to let sink into oblivion. As things stand, his deceitful machinations will make the work of historians extremely difficult to unravel. This is particularly unfair on all of the victims of the Provisional IRA for MacStíofáin was the key individual in its creations. The gardai have a serious question to answer over its staggering negligence in its handling of MacStíofáin. We now, after the dust has settled, have some important information about him from the key sources: PETER BERRY: The fact of the existence of a high-level informer became apparent when Vincent Browne published the ‘diaries’ of Peter Berry in Magill magazine in 1980. They were replete with references to the information which an unnamed informer had provided to the Special Branch in 1969 and 1970. The Berry papers included a reference to an allegation made by a high-level IRA source with access to the deliberations of the IRA Army Council, one of which was that “the previous week a Cabinet Minister had [held] a meeting with the Chief of Staff of the IRA [i.e. Cathal Goulding], at which a deal had been made that the IRA would call off their campaign of violence in the Twenty-six Counties in return for a free hand in operating a cross Border campaign in the North”. The fact that the then Taoiseach, Jack Lynch, had spoken out against the IRA on 19 August did not dent Berry’s confidence in the ‘information’ he was being fed. Instead of realising he was being played by MacStíofáin, Berry wrote that the Army Council “could not understand the Taoiseach’s statement on 19th August as it had been accepted that the Cabinet Minister was speaking to their Chief of Staff with the authority of Government”. A wiser man might have suspected that the story was a vortex of lies. An operation to test the information MacStíofáin was providing could have been set in train. Instead MacStíofáin continued to furnish information which was accepted as fact until June/July 1972 when it finally became clear MacStíofáin had been playing the Gardaí all along. Micheál Ó Móráin has been much derided – especially by Berry – despite the fact he never fell for the diet of lies which was being fed to the Branch. JOHN FLEMING: We also know there was an informer from the evidence provided by CS Fleming to the Public Accounts Committee in 1971. He alleged that the source had alleged that Irish military intelligence had provided funds to Cathal Goulding, the chief-of-staff of the IRA. The information was a potage of lies. DES O’MALLEY: In his memoirs, Des O’Malley wrote about a “tip-off” that the Garda received in April 1970 about a flight that was due to arrive at Dublin Airport with arms. This was the event that sparked the Arms Crisis. According to O’Malley: “Those involved had planned to bring arms through Customs without the consignment being examined; but the Gardaí had received a tip-off about the plot, as well as intelligence that Haughey, as Minister for Finance, had authorised passage through Customs”. (See pages 50-51). O’Malley’s memoirs also reveal that earlier, in the ‘autumn of 1969 the Special Branch received further information that small consignments of arms were being imported through Dublin Airport at times when a sympathetic customs officer was

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Minister for Justice confirms existence of unreleased “sensitive” Garda files about Arms Crisis but fails to commit to their release after Seán Haughey TD describes Seán MacStíofáin of the IRA as mis-informer in Dáil Éireann.

by admin 22 September, 2020

By Michael Smith. Justice Minister Helen McEntee has confirmed the existence of secret and “sensitive’” Garda files relating to the Arms Crisis. She did not rule out releasing them in “appropriate” circumstances. Her comments were made on Tuesday evening in response to Seán Haughey TD of Fianna Fáil who was asking her to confirm that Seán MacStíofáin, the former chief-of-staff of the Provisional IRA, was a Garda informer but – crucially – one who had misled the Special Branch for his own devious ends and had sparked the Arms Crisis. This week marks the 50th anniversary of the opening of the Arms Trial. Haughey was looking for the files on MacStíofáin insofar as they related to information he had provided to the Special Branch about the Arms Crisis. Haughey made a compelling case to distinguish the MacStíofáin case from those of other informers who deserve anonymity and protection: MacStíofáin misled and damaged the State wilfully and was never a bona fide informer. Furthermore, that the Dáil was misled about events connected to MacStíofáin and that the record remains in error 50 years on. Seán Haughey is the son of the former Taoiseach Charles Haughey who was put on trial exactly 50 years ago this week. Haughey began his call as follows: The events which became known as the Arms Crisis convulsed the politics of this island 50 years ago. Some people came to believe that certain Fianna Fáil ministers, along with a cabal of Irish Army officers, attempted to import arms for the IRA through Dublin Airport. A trial involving four defendants opened exactly 50 years ago today (22 September). All were acquitted. An account of these events was provided a decade later by the late Peter Berry, Secretary General of the Department of Justice, who made it clear that the Special Branch had a source inside the IRA who had had access to the deliberations of the IRA Army Council. Colonel Michael Heffron, the Director of Military Intelligence, G2, in 1970, knew that the Special Branch had two paramilitary sources. One was in the IRA, and the other in Saor Éire. In his 2016 memoirs, Des O’Malley, who was Minister for Justice in 1970, revealed that the Special Branch had received a “tipoff” about the incoming arms flight at Dublin Airport, that foreshadowed the Arms Crisis. The informer has now been identified as Seán MacStiofáin, a member of the IRA Army Council, in a new book to be published on 23 September, ‘Deception & Lies, the Hidden History of the Arms Crisis’ by David Burke. The author reveals that MacStíofáin exploited his position to create mischief for his arch rival, Cathal Goulding. In August of 1969 MacStíofáin convinced the Special Branch that the Army Council had struck a deal with the Irish government led by Taoiseach Jack Lynch to assist a campaign of violence in Northern Ireland. This was untrue. In October 1969 Capt. Kelly of G2 hosted a meeting of the Citizens Defence Committees of Northern Ireland at a hotel in Baileboro. It was called to discuss the defence of Catholic communities and the possibility of arms being supplied to them by the Irish government. The ranks of the defence committees included priests, lawyers, a future SDLP minister, Paddy Devlin, as well as some IRA veterans. Yet, MacStiofáin portrayed Baileboro as a gathering of the IRA in furtherance of Goulding’s alleged links with FF. Seán Haughey added that: During November and December 1969, MacStíofáin told the Special Branch that FF was channelling funds to Goulding via Capt. Kelly. This was also untrue. The IRA as we know split into the Provisional and Official IRA in December 1969. In March 1970 MacStíofáin, who joined the Provisionals, discovered that G2 was about to land an arms shipment at Dublin docks. It was destined for a monastery in Co. Cavan and earmarked for release to the citizens defence committees — not the Official IRA — in the event of a pogrom. Even then, the guns were only to be released after a vote at Cabinet. MacStiofáin sent a Provisional IRA unit to hijack the weapons. In the event, the arms were not on the boat and the hijack was called off at the last minute. This demonstrates that MacStiofain was not a genuine informer and that the guns were not destined for the Provisional IRA. By April 1970 the Provisionals had established their own arms supply from America and did not need the inferior arms that G2 was now arranging to fly into Dublin. Deviously, MacStiofáin told the Special Branch that guns were on their way to Goulding’s Official IRA. This sparked the Arms Crisis. Haughey asserted that it was clear from the foregoing that: the Special Branch had what they believed was a genuine source of information at the highest reaches of the IRA; But that he was peddling misinformation, and that; Des O’Malley, the Minister for Justice at the time, was aware of a tip-off to the Special Branch about the arms flight. Seán Haughey then turned to an inference that flowed from the new facts, namely that the Dáil had been misled: Regrettably, this house was misled about how the State came to learn of the imminent arrival of the arms flight. It was told it had been discovered by civil servants who were concerned about certain aspects of the paperwork associated with the flight. After McEntee had confirmed the existence of “sensitive” Garda files, Haughey said, I am calling on the Minister to confirm that MacStíofáin was in fact an informer and to declassify all files relating to the information, he provided to the Special Branch about the events I have just outlined. I appreciate what the Minister has just said in relations to the sensitive nature of these files. However, I think this House was given inaccurate information on 8 May 1970 when it heard a version of events which purported to explain how the State had discovered the