Decoding the IRA

by Tom Mahon

  One way to generate money is to print it and this the Russians did. In October 1926, Seán MacBride reported from Paris: ‘Several bad £50 Bank of England notes have been passed here lately. These are said to emanate from Russia.’55 Later in 1929 the Soviets are known to have printed counterfeit American $100 bills.56

  Other than to say that Soviet cash was crucial to the IRA, it is hard to know exactly how much was handed over. The amount of money provided was continually changing. In January 1926 the OC. Britain received £200 from ‘James’.57 Later in the summer ‘James’ complained bitterly about the work the IRA was doing in London: ‘The expected progress has not been fulfilled’, the IRA had not sent over sufficient men to do the required work, had not provided information the Soviets wanted about Ireland and little material had been purchased and even that was slow in coming. At this time the stipend was temporarily cut in half (due to ‘the economic crisis in our country’), leaving £250 for the IRA.58 This suggests that the full stipend was £500 monthly, and is supported by George’s communication in November 1926 stating that he was owed £1,000 for October and November, of which ‘James’ had paid £350. However, at the same time the Russians also announced that henceforth the amount was being reduced to £100.59

  This threw the IRA into a financial crisis, and with Twomey temporarily imprisoned in Mountjoy, George requested Andy Cooney: ‘Come or send someone over to deal with the matter immediately.’60 Cooney met with ‘James’ on 26 November and ‘James’ said that ‘he was very anxious that we should continue to work for them, but [he] could not give any money, outside of minor expenses’. Cooney replied that the relationship was terminated and ‘James’ agreed to write to Moscow ‘for further instructions’. Cooney was furious with the Russians: ‘They let us down at a most critical time [their London] agent failed to carry out a definite agreement made with [the] late CS [Frank Aiken].’61 In Cooney’s opinion: ‘He [‘James’] may be replaced by another man, a thing we should encourage.’62 But despite Cooney’s attitude the IRA continued to gather material for the Russians.

  In America ‘Mr Jones’ asked ‘Stephen’ what the situation was from his perspective. ‘Stephen’ responded that he was ‘very enthusiastic re. [regarding] our relations. He said that his people were very doubtful when the thing first started, but now they decided that they were very pleased, not only to work with us, but that they would like to consolidate relations. That they further decided that they would also give us all the material [weapons] we needed, also the financial end of it would be satisfactory to us.’63

  By February 1927 the agreement was in a state of limbo, and aside from £150 that ‘James’ had handed over the previous December, the IRA had not received ‘a penny of [the] monthly amount guaranteed’.64 Twomey added: ‘[It’s] difficult to understand these people, [with] ‘Stephen’ desiring to continue and [the] London man [wanting] to break off, if [they’re] working under [the] same superior direction. It may be [that] they do not consider [the] London business very important, or [that it] justifies [their] expenditure. If it is finally decided to discontinue [the] London end, we can probably make a special arrangement about America. We will not continue or incur risks for nothing.’65

  Meanwhile, the Irish trade unionist and socialist leader, Jim Larkin went to Moscow in November 1926 to attend a meeting called by the Comintern to inquire into why an Irish Communist Party hadn’t been founded to replace that dissolved in 1924.66 Twomey mistook the visit as evidence of Larkin’s continued influence in Moscow, and suspected that this was an explanation for the withdrawal of Soviet support: ‘We have evidence that recently certain so called extremist and revolutionary labour groups in Ireland have cut across us … we would endeavour to squelch these people. We could prove they are not national[ist] and are really counter-revolutionary.’67 Twomey added: ‘Larkin is not a revolutionary [figure] now, except in speech, and outside of [a] section in Dublin, has no influence whatever.’ Desperate to find a culprit, Twomey even added Fianna Fáil to the mix: ‘We have strong suspicion Fianna Fáil have made touch also lately, and both this party and Larkin have cut us out.’68 Blaming Fianna Fáil was not as bizarre as it now seems. At the time there were a number of left-wing members of Fianna Fáil, including P. J. Rutledge, the vice-president, who supported land reform in Ireland. Furthermore, in the subsequent September 1927 general election Larkin called on voters to support Fianna Fáil,69 while in 1928 de Valera visited the League Against Imperialism’s Berlin office.70

  Finally, in March 1927, at Jones’ own urging, Twomey told him to stop working for ‘Stephen’ until £5,000 was handed over and a new agreement made. To confirm this, he sent Jones a cryptic cable: ‘Suspend deliveries immediately without cancelling contract’.

  Twomey now decided that ‘the only satisfactory way to fix things properly is to send a delegation to Stephen’s HQ [Moscow]. If we can get enough cash for expenses and arrange about passports we will do this.’ He proposed that he and Russell travel to the ‘fountainhead’. 71

  Twomey visited London to meet ‘James’ and to make arrangements for the trip. This time he came away believing that ‘James’ genuinely wanted to help. ‘James’ had explained that the problem for the Soviets was that ‘all resources are behind the Cantonese [the Chinese nationalists]’. Ironically ‘James’ also told him that the IRA could have dealt more cleverly with the Russians by charging for each item delivered, rather than depending on ‘grants at pleasure’.72

  Acquiring two false passports with visas for Russia posed problems; George could only secure passports with visas for western Europe: ‘I can only get passports for the continent, after that ye would require assistance from ‘James’ or the [Communist] Party, otherwise it would be impossible to get there without coming out in the open.’73 ‘James’ suggested that Twomey and Russell travel to France on British passports and then use American passports to either travel directly to Russia or go to Germany first, from where the Soviets could get them to Russia. Twomey reported ‘James’ ‘can arrange visas from Germany from his people’ and he forwarded a photograph of himself and Seán Russell to Connie Neenan asking him to arrange for two American passports in false names. He suggested the passports could be sent over to Ireland by courier on a transatlantic liner to Mick Burke in Cobh, or posted separately, one to John Williams and the other to Henry Irwin of Thomas Cook and Son, Grafton Street, Dublin.74 Neenan replied via a cryptic cable: ‘Suggestions for deliveries unacceptable’, indicating that he couldn’t get the passports,75 while George told Twomey that if he wanted a passport he’d need to go to London in person.76

  In view of the support ‘James’ and ‘Stephen’ gave to the proposed trip, Twomey wanted ‘Jones’ to continue supplying items to ‘Stephen’ but ‘you could slack off and let stuff accumulate. Just give a little.’77

  Constrained by a lack of cash for the trip and the difficulties in getting passports, Twomey sent one final plea for cash to ‘James’ on 25 April. The dubious premise of the letter was that £5,000 from the Soviets would fund the republican electoral alliance, leading to victory in the general election in June 1927. Once in power, the new republican government would renege on the Anglo-Irish Treaty, and withdraw from the British Commonwealth, which in turn would threaten the stability of the empire:

  My dear friend James, When speaking to you last, I explained how essential it is that we put forward revolutionary candidates at the forthcoming general election. To do this money is indispensable. I hope that you have represented the situation and its possibilities to your people and that they appreciate them.

  [I] believe [that] if we can finance enough candidates, a majority of republicans can be secured. Having a majority, a situation will be created in which England must either attack us or submit to the repudiation of the Treaty, under which the Free State was set up, and [with] the acceptance of a Republic here, you can appreciate the effect of this, especially on the Dominions [of] the British Empire and in fact the whole world. If we got £5,0
00 pounds at once we could put up our candidates. The time before the election is very short to conduct the campaign. We would appreciate this amount now, with such an opportunity to exploit a situation, [rather] than a greater amount after the opportunity might have been allowed to pass.

  We feel [that] you should stand by us financially. We have done our best for you and I am sure you will agree we are entitled to the amount requested. It is due almost as arrears on the agreement with you, apart from consideration of services rendered elsewhere.

  Please inform George without delay if we can have the money. With assurances of my regards. Your friend. Chairman [Moss Twomey].78

  The fall of the British empire for a mere £5,000 certainly seemed like good value!

  Two weeks later George ‘had a letter from “James”. He is in Moscow. He told me to inform you [Moss Twomey] that everything would be fixed up and he is anxious that you cable this decision to our representative in America … He will be back in less than two weeks.’79 A few days later Twomey sent word to America to resume the work, but ‘until money is actually paid, however, do not give everything.’80 By mid-May the prospects of a republican election pact had ended in failure and Twomey was worried that ‘James’ could find out. He wrote to George: ‘Do not mention anything about this to “James” should you see him.’81

  On 27 May George sent a cryptic message to Twomey notifying him that ‘James’ was ready to hand over £1,000.82 After Twomey collected the money in London he wrote to Connie Neenan, summing up the extent of the financial crisis. He reported that the IRA were in debt to the tune of £300 to ‘friends’ and that none of the full-time officers at GHQ ‘had got a penny for a few months’.83 Twomey was also critical of the way ‘James’ had treated George, including ordering equipment costing £40 and then becoming uncontactable: ‘It was cool on [the] part of “James” to put you in such a position’.84

  Two weeks before the Russians handed over the money to Twomey, they suffered a major setback in London. For quite some time MI5 had been aware that the Soviet trade office, known as Arcos, was the headquarters for Red Army intelligence in Britain. Acting on the pretext of a stolen obsolete Royal Air Force training manual, the Special Branch carried out a raid on the Arcos offices on 12 May. When the Russians refused to hand over the keys to two massive safes the police brought in pneumatic drills and oxyacetylene torches and carried off piles of incriminating documents. The haul provided evidence of a huge Soviet intelligence and subversion effort and on 26 May Britain severed diplomatic relations with the USSR. Following this the RU declared Britain a ‘denied area’, meaning that espionage against it had to be carried out from adjacent countries and the base for intelligence operations against Great Britain was moved to Amsterdam, with only a few ‘deep cover’ networks left in the country.85 With the Special Branch active throughout the city, George reported to Twomey on 16 May: ‘Things are bad. Police very active. Have destroyed most of my stuff and dumped the rest. If I am pinched nothing will be found on me. Be careful what you say in letters coming across.’86 For some reason Twomey felt that George should be OK: ‘I do not think there is any cause for undue anxiety.’ Twomey also realised that the raid would make the Soviets more dependent on the IRA: ‘This business may result to our advantage.’87

  Figure 25. George, the OC in Britain, reported to Moss Twomey on the increased police activity in London following Scotland Yard’s raid on the headquarters of the Soviet trading offices (Arcos):

  Things are bad. Police [are] very active. Have destroyed most of my stuff and dumped the rest. If I am pinched nothing will be found on me. Be careful what you say in letters coming across.

  Not surprisingly, ‘James’ dropped out of sight, and George wrote in June: ‘I have not heard from “James” or his friend. I thought I gave you to understand that I had made definite arrangements, as to how we were to pick up again when they are in a position to do so. He has [a] covering address and calling addresses for getting in touch here.’88

  Though George continued to send books and journals to the Soviets, they were no longer covering his expenses: ‘Funds are getting very low. [The] book account has taken nearly all the cash in hand. Subscriptions overdue for many journals. If you can, will you please send me a little [money]. If we are to maintain the connection I think it is essential that we keep on sending the books etc.’89 By the beginning of October they had told him they would cover his expenses for book purchases. Taking advantage of this, Twomey asked for The Science of War, ‘provided you do not have to spend our money’.90

  ‘James’ contacted George again in September: ‘[I] received another letter from [our] friend [James]. He is in Amsterdam. He wants to see ‘Ambrose’ [Seán MacBride] immediately. [He] gives [the] name of a café where he can be met in. [He] says he has a present which he is anxious to get rid of.’91

  However, with Seán MacBride in jail (falsely accused of the killing of Kevin O’Higgins) Twomey replied that George’s request was ‘rather awkward and impossible to fulfil at the present’ and asked if ‘James’ could send on the ‘present’.92 Whatever the ‘present’ was, subsequent letters reveal that it doesn’t appear to have been money. George pressed Twomey to go to Amsterdam himself: ‘I have received another letter from [James’] representative and he mentions that he and another man are still waiting in Holland for the chairman [of the Army Council] or some officer, who will be in a position to settle some big questions. Would it be possible for you to come here this weekend?’93 Walter Krivitsky of the RU later claimed he met with three IRA officers in Holland in 1927.94

  It’s here in the autumn of 1927 that our information on the Soviet connection with the IRA in Britain ends. Given the degree of secrecy accorded the relationship, it would be conjecture to make any statements as to how the association continued, or indeed if it did. However, there is evidence to suggest it may have ended soon afterwards. Or did it just go deeper or was the centre of the relationship moved to America?

  The refusal of the Russians for much of 1927 to pay the IRA was, aside from financial constraints, likely a deliberate ploy. Stalin had committed himself to ‘socialism in one country’ and the duty of the RU was to help strengthen the revolution at home, not entangle the Soviet Union in the dreams and plans of the IRA, which on discovery would have been detrimental to Soviet interests. Walter Krivitsky said that the Russian politburo ‘temporarily forbade any dealings with the Irish to avoid possible prejudice to their attempts to obtain credits in London’.95 In addition, it was natural for the Soviets to try and get as much from the IRA for as little expenditure as possible, and to continually endeavour to run their IRA contacts as individual agents. The RU was prepared to give a little money to the IRA in return for useful intelligence, but not to provide significant financing or weapons.

  Figure 26. The OC. Britain, George, reported to Moss Twomey that ‘James’, the Soviet intelligence officer, wanted to meet Seán MacBride (‘Ambrose’) in Amsterdam. This letter was written in September 1927, and not 1924:

  Received another letter from [our] friend [‘James’]. He is in Amsterdam. He want[s] to see ‘Ambrose’ immediately. [He] gives [the] name of a café where he can be met in, says he has a present, which he is anxious to get rid of.

  Krivitsky said that when he renewed contact with IRA personnel, he worked with them until they presented him with ‘definite suggestions for collaboration in a terrorist plan’, and, judging the risk too great, he again terminated the contacts.96 He also said that when Soviet intelligence wanted to recruit an agent ‘their first recruiting ground is the Communist Party: if that fails they invariably try and seek out an Irishman.’97

  Was Walter Krivitsky ‘James’? Krivitsky was a senior RU agent stationed in Berlin and from his own admission (following defection to the west) had contacts with the IRA over a period of time. ‘Mr X’ we know was stationed in Berlin, and this was probably another name for ‘James’. While ‘James’ usually met with George in London he did not have to b
e based there, and could have regularly travelled from Berlin under the guise of a Soviet diplomat or trade representative.

  Another RU agent, Ignace Poretsky, alias ‘Ludwik’, was stationed in Holland from 1928 to 1929 and had contacts with the IRA but found them ‘to be of little use’ as ‘they were convinced that their own problems were the world’s most important’. After he was observed by British intelligence meeting with IRA representatives, sketches of him were published in English newspapers, forcing his reassignment.98

  The IRA and Russians in America

  It was ‘Mr Jones’ in New York who provided the Russians with the most important intelligence. ‘Jones’ was a highly colourful character: aggressive and arrogant, outrageous and confident. In a typical exchange with Twomey, after an IRA officer from Clare complained that he couldn’t make contact with ‘Jones’ in New York, ‘Jones’ told Moss Twomey: ‘When I see him he won’t write home any more.’99

  Initially ‘Jones’ was both An Timthire (the IRA’s chief representative in the US) and the IRA’s intelligence agent assigned to work with ‘Stephen’ of Red Army intelligence. In the autumn of 1926 ‘Stephen’ asked him to devote himself full time to intelligence work and that this would ‘necessitate very long journeys’. ‘Jones’ therefore wrote to Andy Cooney in October, stating in his own inimitable way: ‘If you don’t send over a man at once [to take over An Timthire’s duties], I will appoint one myself, as it will be impossible to carry on the two jobs after next week.’100 By the end of the year, Cooney and Twomey had appointed Connie Neenan to replace him as An Timthire. ‘Jones’ and Neenan worked well together and Neenan appears to have been the only other person in the US fully aware of what ‘Jones’ was up to.

  In November, ‘Jones’ was working flat out for ‘Stephen’, spending up to five days a week outside of New York. ‘My job is getting very hard … wine and women. I am onto the right people now and can produce material of a high order but I have to bring good whiskey along and stay up all night drinking with whores and the people who give me the stuff. ‘Stephen’ is satisfied and offered me a raise in pay. I refused, as I don’t want him to think I am doing it for the money. I may not last long at this pace. If you hear of me being mixed up in a scandal, you will understand.’101 He added: ‘I may have to put up in swank hotels in future [and] to do this I must have good clothes. I intend to ask him to furnish these if necessary as I couldn’t afford to buy them.’102 Twomey reasonably replied: ‘Expenses of clothes and extra hotel expenses should be borne by Stephen.’103