Mark McGovern - Counterinsurgency and Collusion in Northern Ireland

Counterinsurgency and Collusion in Northern Ireland

Counterinsurgency and Collusion in Northern Ireland

Mark McGovern

First published 2019 by Pluto Press
345 Archway Road, London N6 5AA

www.plutobooks.com

Copyright Mark McGovern 2019

The right of Mark McGovern to be identified as the author of this work has been asserted by him in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.

British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data

A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library

ISBN 978 0 7453 3898 9 Hardback

ISBN 978 0 7453 3899 6 Paperback

ISBN 978 1 7868 0435 8 PDF eBook

ISBN 978 1 7868 0437 2 Kindle eBook

ISBN 978 1 7868 0436 5 EPUB eBook

This book is printed on paper suitable for recycling and made from fully managed and sustained forest sources. Logging, pulping and manufacturing processes are expected to conform to the environmental standards of the country of origin.

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Simultaneously printed in the United Kingdom and United States of America

For Nicola, Oisn and Sim

And in memory of my Dad

From the outset I would like to thank and pay tribute to the victims relatives whose testimonies lie at the core of this book. Their efforts to preserve the memory of their loved ones and search for truth over many years are what have ensured that collusion remains such an important issue to be addressed in dealing with the past of the conflict in and about Northern Ireland. I hugely appreciate the time they took to invite me into their homes and I was humbled by their willingness to talk to me about some of the worst memories of their lives. The book could not have happened without their help, understanding and perseverance. I would therefore like to thank Michael Armstrong, Siobhan Nugent, Briege ODonnell and Poilin Quinn, Martin Bogues, Mary Bogues and Anna Shanaghan, Suzanne Bunting, Danny Carey, Colette Casey, Fran Casey and Janet McGrail, Una and Geraldine Casey, Pauline Davey Kennedy, Johnny Donaghy, Paddy Fox, Bernadette McKearney and Tommy McKearney, Eileen Hughes, Martin Mallon, Donna and Oonagh Martin, Gerry McEldowney, Henry McNally, Kevin McNally and Lawrence McNally, Sean and Charity McPeake, John OHagan, Suzanne Bunting and the family of Liam Ryan. A special note, too, in memory of those family members who have passed away since the start of this project, including Neecie Kelly, Eamonn Hughes, Bridget Mallon, Peggy Quinn and Maura McKearney. There were some occasions, given the information already in the public realm, when it felt better to limit the pain of putting someone through remembering and retelling their story again, but I want to thank all those relatives who had already made those memories available via newspapers, news programmes and testimonies, particularly the families of Danny Cassidy and Eddie Fullerton.

I would like to thank the families and friends of other victims who I met and talked to and who provided invaluable insight into the workings of collusion in the killing of their own loved ones, including the family of Rory and Gerard Cairns, the family of Pat Finucane, the family and friends of Sam Marshall, the families of the victims of the McGurks pub bombing, those of the Ormeau Road massacre and the relatives of the victims of the Loughinisland massacre.

A great many people helped make this book possible, but none more so than Mark Thompson, CEO of the human rights and victims organisation Relatives for Justice. From the inception of the research and throughout its course, Mark and Relatives for Justice were partners in this work, providing support, access, information and insight. No one knows more about collusion than Mark aside, perhaps, from those who were involved in it. I am grateful to Mark and to all the victims families and staff at Relatives for Justice, particularly Andre Murphy, Pauline Fitzpatrick, Mark Sykes and Mike Ritchie.

I want to thank a number of legal figures, political representatives and human rights and community activists who gave up their time to talk to me and whose knowledge and perspectives helped guide the work. They include Dr Michael Maguire (Police Ombudsman for Northern Ireland), Barra McGrory (former Director of Public Prosecutions for Northern Ireland), Niall Murphy (KRW Law), John Finucane (Finucane and Toner), Bernadette McAliskey, Denis Bradley (former Co-Chair of the Consultative Group on the Past), Mitchell McLaughlin (former Speaker of the Northern Ireland Assembly), Jefffrey Donaldson MP, Mark Durkan (former Deputy First Minister for Northern Ireland and MP), Patricia McBride, Barry Monteith, Breandn Mac Cionnaith, Jim Hasson, Johnny Rush and members of the Pat Finucane Centre, Bloody Sunday Trust, Bloody Sunday March for Justice, Coiste and the Committee on the Administration of Justice. A big thank you to Peter Heathwood who provided access to (and copies from) his unique archive of troubles-related television programmes. I am also very grateful to everyone at the Institute of Race Relations (IRR) and Race and Class, particularly IRRs director Liz Fekete, for their unstinting support for the work.

The book would not have happened without funding support from several bodies, so I am very grateful to Edge Hill University, the British Academy and the European Union under the Peace III Special Programme for Peace and Reconciliation Fund, via the Harms to Rights strand of the Relatives for Justice Transitional Legacies programme. I am thankful for the support and help of colleagues at Edge Hill and other universities, including Allison Moore, Paul Reynolds, Sally Hester, Victor Merriman, Bob Brecher, Cathy Bergin, Fionnuala N Aolin, Kieran McEvoy and John Newsinger. I would also like to thank family and friends including my mum, brothers, sister and the wider McGovern, Gallagher, Foster and McPhee clans, Robbee, Tracey and the kids, Mark, Bobby, Roy (and Tommy) and all in the Park End and the Winslow.

Finally I would like to thank my wife Nicola and our two sons Oisn and Sim. Nicola provided an invaluable contribution to the project itself, transcribing interviews and reviewing drafts, and throughout the love, support and forbearance of my family has been an irreplaceable source of strength and inspiration.