by Peter Taylor
4. For a more detailed account of the messages exchanged between the British and the Provisionals in 1993, see Provos, op. cit., pp. 331 ff.
5. Setting the Record Straight. A Record of Communications between Sinn Fein and the British Government October 1990–November 1993, published by Sinn Fein, pp. 26–7. These are Sinn Fein’s record and minutes of the critical dialogue between the Republican Movement and the British Government in 1993. The quotes in this paragraph are taken from HMG’s document submitted to the Provisionals.
6. Ibid., p. 27.
7. Ibid.
8. Lost Lives, op. cit., p. 1,317.
9. Ibid., p. 1,314.
10. Setting the Record Straight, op. cit., p. 28.
11. According to the Sinn Fein minutes, the Contact had met the British Government Representative on 26 February 1993 when he had passed on the message about HMG being prepared to talk to Sinn Fein on condition that there was a ‘no violence’ understanding ‘over 2/3 weeks of private talks’. For ease of comprehension I have incorporated this in Sinn Fein’s account of the meeting between McGuinness and Kelly and the BGR.
12. Lost Lives, op. cit., p. 1,318.
13. John Major. The Autobiography, op. cit., p. 444.
14. For the involvement of the loyalist UDA/UFF and the UVF in the peace process see Loyalists, op. cit., chapter 18, ‘Backstage’.
15. For the detail of the involvement of Albert Reynolds in what became known as the ‘Hume–Adams’ formula, see Provos, op. cit., pp. 335 ff.
16. Lost Lives, op. cit., p. 1,329.
17. Provos, op. cit., p. 338.
18. Lost Lives, op. cit., p. 1,329.
19. Irelandclick.com, 10 August 2000.
20. Provos, op. cit., p. 340.
21. Ibid., p. 341.
22. Setting the Record Straight, op. cit., p. 44.
23. Provos, op. cit., p. 342.
24. Ibid., p. 343.
Chapter Thirty: Getting Rid of the Guns
1. Northern Ireland. A Political Directory 1968–1999, op. cit., p. 238.
2. Northern Ireland. A Chronology of the Troubles 1968–1999, op. cit., p. 287.
3. John Major. The Autobiography, op. cit., p. 455.
4. Ibid., p. 457.
5. Lost Lives, op. cit., p. 1,475. The figures were: 1994, loyalists 37, IRA 19; 1993, loyalists 47, IRA 36; 1992, loyalists 36, IRA 34.
6. Ibid., p. 1,368.
7. Provos, op. cit., p. 346.
8. Loyalists, op. cit., pp. 239 ff. The Drumcree ‘stand-off began in 1995 and carried on every year thereafter. The Portadown Orangemen demanded the right to return to Portadown down the nationalist Garvaghy Road following their annual service at Drumcree Church. They insisted this was their ‘traditional route’. The residents of the Garvaghy Road objected, with the result that ‘Drumcree’ became an annual flashpoint. In 1995, David Trimble had joined hands with his DUP rival, Ian Paisley, in celebration at the end of the march down the Garvaghy Road in the teeth of nationalist protests.
9. John Major. The Autobiography, op. cit., p. 484.
10. Ibid., p. 483.
11. Loyalists, op. cit., p. 237.
12. Provos, op. cit., p. 351.
13. John Major. The Autobiography, op. cit., p. 486.
14. Lost Lives, op. cit., p. 1,389.
15. Ibid.
Chapter Thirty-One: Back to the ‘War’
1. Bandit Country. The IRA & South Armagh, Toby Hamden, Hodder & Stoughton, 1999, p. 6.
2. Ibid., p. 247.
3. Lost Lives, op. cit., p. 1,391.
4. Northern Ireland. A Chronology of the Troubles 1968–1999, op. cit., p. 326.
5. Daily Telegraph, 3 July 1997.
6. Ibid.
7. Daily Telegraph, 5 June 1997.
8. Daily Mail, 3 July 1997.
9. Guardian, 22 October 1997.
10. An Phoblact, 17 February 2000.
11. Lost Lives, op. cit., p. 1,399.
12. Ibid.
13. Ibid., p. 1,400.
14. Death of a Soldier. A Mother’s Search for Peace in Northern Ireland, Rita Restorick, Blackstaff Press, 2000, pp. 1–2. This is Rita Restorick’s moving and courageous account of the impact of her son’s death and what it drove her to do.
15. Bandit Country, op. cit., p. 303.
16. Maginn was also found guilty of the murders of Thomas Gilbert Johnston, a former UDR soldier, in Keady in 1978, and Lance-Bombardier Paul Andrew Garrett, also in Keady, in 1993.
17. Daily Mail, 6 October 2000.
Chapter Thirty-Two: Out of the Mire
1. Northern Ireland. A Chronology of the Troubles 1968–1999, op. cit., p. 329.
2. Ibid.
3. John Major. The Autobiography, op. cit., p. 493.
4. Ibid., p. 489.
5. Northern Ireland. A Chronology of the Troubles 1968–1999, op. cit., p. 341.
6. Ibid.
7. Ibid., pp. 341–2.
8. Ibid., p. 345.
9. Ibid., p. 348.
10. For details about the formation of the ‘Real’ IRA, see the updated paperback edition of Provos, op. cit., pp. 355–62.
11. For details of the breaches of the loyalist and IRA cease-fires during the all-party talks, see Provos, op. cit., pp. 367–70 and Loyalists, op. cit., pp. 244–8.
12. Loyalists, op. cit. p. 250.
13. Irish News, 10 April 1998.
14. Loyalists, op. cit., p. 250.
15. Remarks made by the Prime Minister, Tony Blair, on his visit to the University of Ulster, Coleraine, 20 May 1998, Northern Ireland Information Service.
16. Provos, op. cit., p. 373.
17. The Agreement. Agreement Reached in the Multi-party Negotiations, HMSO, Cmnd. 3883, April 1998, p. 22.
18. The Agreement. Agreement Reached in the Multi-party Negotiations, op. cit., p. 20.
19. Ibid., pp. 8–9.
Chapter Thirty-Three: The Hand of History
1. Remarks made by the Prime Minister, Tony Blair, on his visit to the University of Ulster, Coleraine, op. cit.
2. Northern Ireland. A Chronology of the Troubles 1968–1999, op. cit., p. 365.
3. Provos, op. cit., p. 377.
4. Northern Ireland. A Chronology of the Troubles 1968–1999, op. cit., p. 365.
5. Ibid., p. 368.
6. Ibid., pp. 371–2.
7. Loyalists, op. cit., updated paperback edition, p. 260.
8. The former IRA ‘supergrass’ was Éamon Collins (45) who was battered to death near his home in South Armagh. He had been one of the IRA’s fiercest critics and had taken to ‘naming and shaming’ prominent republicans. He had written a book, Killing Rage (1997), in which he had spoken out against the IRA and its works. He had rashly returned to live in South Armagh and had received several death threats. Only fifty people followed his coffin (Real Lives, op. cit., p. 1,467).
9. Real Lives, op. cit., p. 1,441.
10. RUC Press Release, Omagh bombing, 16 August 1998.
11. Northern Ireland. A Political Directory 1968–1999, op. cit., p. 130.
12. Speech of David Trimble MP to the Labour Party Conference, Ulster Unionist Party, 30 September 1998.
13. Loyalists, op. cit., p. 256.
14. Northern Ireland. A Political Directory 1968–1999, op. cit., p. 133.
15. Northern Ireland. A Chronology of the Troubles 1968–1999, op. cit., p. 389.
16. Loyalists, op. cit., updated paperback edition, p. 265.
17. Ibid., updated paperback edition, p. 266.
18. Ibid.
19. Report of the Independent International Commission on Decommissioning, 2 July 1999, p. 4.
20. Ibid., pp. 3 and 8.
21. The Way Forward. A Joint Statement by the British and Irish Governments, 2 July 1999.
22. Daily Telegraph, 23 June 1999.
23. World Socialist Web Site. British cabinet reshuffle, 15 October 1999.
24. Loyalists, op. cit., updated paperback edition, p. 269.
25. Gu
ardian, 22 December 1998. Peter Mandelson, the architect of ‘New’ Labour’s electoral landslide in 1997, had been given a loan of £337,000 by Geoffrey Robinson to buy a £475,000 house in London’s Notting Hill. Mandelson had not notified either the Prime Minister or the Permanent Secretary at the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) of the loan. The matter was controversial because the DTI was investigating Robinson’s financial affairs. Mandelson insisted that there was nothing wrong with the loan. ‘At all times I have protected the integrity and professionalism of the DTI,’ he said. ‘Geoffrey Robinson asked for confidentiality and I respected that. I do not believe that accepting the loan was wrong. There is no conflict of interest in this. The loan was always intended to be short-term and I am repaying the remainder of the loan in full with the help of my mother.’
26. Guardian, 3 December 1999.
27. Ibid.
28. Report of the Independent International Commission on Decommissioning, 31 January 2000,
http://www.nio.gov.uk/000211dc-nio.htm.
29. Report of the Independent International Commission on Decommissioning, 11 February 2000,
http://www.nio.gov.uk/000211dc3-nio.htm.
30. Joint Governmental Statement from the Irish and British governments, 5 May 2000,
http://ince.org/assembly/proposal0500.html.
31. Statement on the Inspection of IRA Weapons Dumps – Martti Ahtisaari and Cyril Ramaphosa, 25 June 2000,
http://www.nio.gov.uk/000626a-nio.htm.
32. Ibid.
33. Irish Times, 24 August 2000.
34. Ibid.
35. BBC News, Web Site, www.bbc.co.uk, 7 October 2000.
36. Ibid., 4 November 2000.
37. Guardian, 25 January 2001.
38. Independent, 26 January 2001.
39. Daily Telegraph, 27 February 2001.
Chapter Thirty-Four: Farewell to Arms?
1. Irish Times, 9 June 2001.
2. In the Northern Ireland Assembly election of 20 October 1982. It was the first time Sinn Fein had contested a Stormont election.
3. In the local government elections of 7 June 2001.
4. BBC News Web Site, www.bbc.co.uk, 12 June 2001.
5. The American writer Mark Twain, author of Tom Sawyer and Huckleberry Finn, cabled from Europe to the Associated Press that the report of his death was ‘an exaggeration’.
6. BBC News Web Site, op.cit., IRA Statements 1998–2001, 14 August 2001.
7. An Phoblacht/Republican News, 20 September 2001.
8. Taken from the appendix to the IRA’s training manual known as the ‘Green Book’.
9. BBC News Web Site, op.cit., 23 October 2001.
10. Ibid., 23 October 2001.
11. Ibid., 23 October 2001.
12. Ibid., 26 October 2001.
13. Ibid., 7 November 2001.
14. Ibid., 28 August 2001.
15. Ibid., 12 December 2001.
16. Independent, 13 December 2001.
17. Ibid.
18 An Phoblacht/Republican News, 6 December 2001.
19. Independent, op.cit.
20. Guardian, 17 August 2001.
21. Irish Times, 12 December 2001.
22. BBC News Website, op.cit., 12 December 2001.
23. Guardian, 13 December 2001.
24. Daily Telegraph, 13 December 2001.
25. Irish News, 14 December 2001.
26. BBC News Web Site. op.cit., 23 October 2001.
Glossary
ANC
African National Congress
APC
Armoured Personnel Carrier
ASU
Active Service Unit
BGR
British Government Representative
CCTV
Close Circuit Television
CESA
Catholic Ex-Servicemen’s Association
CIRA
Continuity IRA
CLMC
Combined Loyalist Military Command
COP
Close Observation Platoon
CQB
Close Quarter Battle
CSM
Company Sergeant Major
DAAD
Direct Action Against Drugs
DCI
Director & Controller of Intelligence
DET
Detachment (of 14 Intelligence Company)
DTI
Department of Trade and Industry
DYH
Derry Young Hooligans
ECHR
European Commission on Human Rights
ECM
Electronic Counter Measures
EOKA
(initials of Greek ‘terrorist’ organisation)
FARC
Revolutionary Armed Forces of Columbia
FLOSY
Front for the Liberation of South Yemen
FRU
Force Research Unit
GBH
Grievious Bodily Harm
GOC
General Officer Commanding
GPMG
General Purpose Machine Gun
HME
Home Made Explosive
HMG
Her Majesty’s Goverment
HMSU
Headquarters Mobile Support Unit
HQNI
Headquarters Northern Ireland
HSB
Head of Special Branch
IBA
Independent Broadcasting Authority
IICD
Independent International Commision on Decommissioning
INLA
Irish National Liberation Army
IPLO
Irish People’s Liberation Organization
IRA
Irish Republican Army
IS
Internal Security
LVF
Loyalist Volunteer Force
MISR
Military Intelligence Source Report
MO
Modus Operandi
MOD
Ministry of Defence
MOE
Methods of Entry
MPSB
Metropolitan Police Special Branch
MRF
Mobile Reconnaissance Force
NICRA
Northern Ireland Civil Rights Association
NIO
Northern Ireland Office
NLF
National Liberation Front
OC
Officer Commanding
OIRA
Official Irish Republican Army
OP
Observation Post
ORBAT
Order of Battle
PAC
Provisional Army Council
PIRA
Provisional Irish Republican Army
PLO
Palestine Liberation Organization
POA
Prison Officers’ Association
PSNI
Police Service of Northern Ireland
PUP
Progressive Unionist Party
PUS
Permanent Under Secretary of State
QMG
QuarterMaster General
QGM
Queen’s Gallantry Medal
QRF
Quick Reaction Force
RIC
Royal Irish Constabulary
RSF
Republican Sinn Fein
RUC
Royal Ulster Constabulary
RV
Rendezvous
RVH
Royal Victoria Hospital
SAM
Surface to Air Missile
SAS
Special Air Service
SASLO
SAS Liaison Officer
SCT
Special Collation Team
SDLP
Social Democratic and Labour Party
SLR
Self Loading Rifle
SOP
Static Observation Post
TCG
Tasking and Co-or
dinating Group
TPU
Timer Power Unit
TUAS
Tactical Use of Armed Struggle
UDA
Ulster Defence Association
UDP
Ulster Democratic Party
UFF
Ulster Freedom Fighters
UPNI
Unionist Party of Northern Ireland
UPV
Ulster Protestant Volunteers
UUP
Ulster Unionist Party
UUUC
United Ulster Unionist Council
UVF
Ulster Volunteer Force
UWC
Ulster Workers’ Council
VCP
Vehicle Check Point
WPC
Woman Police Constable
Bibliography
Books
Gerry Adams, Before the Dawn. An Autobiography, William Heinemann, London, in association with Brandon Book Publishers Ltd, Dingle, 1996.
Gerry Adams, The Politics of Irish Freedom, Brandon Books, Dingle, 1994.
James Adams, Robin Morgan and Anthony Bambridge, Ambush, The War between the SAS and the IRA, Pan Original, London, 1998.
Don Anderson, 14 May Days. The Inside Story of the Loyalist Strike of 1974, Gill & Macmillan Ltd, Dublin, 1994.
David Beresford, Ten Men Dead. The Story of the 1981 Irish Hunger Strike, Grafton Books, London, 1987.
Paul Bew and Gordon Gillespie, Northern Ireland. A Chronology of the Troubles 1968–99, Gill & Macmillan, Dublin, 1999.
