Thomas Leahy - The Intelligence War Against the IRA

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Thomas Leahy 2020

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To Sara

There are many people whose time and efforts have assisted this books creation. This book is based on my PhD thesis, which was completed at Kings College London. I thank my thought-provoking supervisor Ian McBride (now at Oxford University) for encouraging, advising and developing my ideas. I also thank other academic staff at Kings College London including Paul Readman, Frank Foley, Tim Stevens, Stephen Lovell and Michael Kerr for their valuable feedback during the PhD process. I also appreciate the constructive reviews by the two referees for Cambridge University Press, whose input has significantly contributed to the formation of this book.

I am particularly indebted to Huw Bennett of Cardiff University. Huw has provided valuable feedback regarding how best to develop my thesis into a book. He also assisted me during my first academic position lecturing on the Northern Ireland Conflict at Cardiff University. Huws knowledge on the British military, the Northern Ireland conflict and the world of academia has been invaluable. The same words echo in relation to the feedback and support of Niall Dochartaigh of the National University of Ireland Galway. His innovative angle on the conflict also inspired me as an undergraduate student to further develop the existing research on the conflict.

Various colleagues and PhD students at Cardiff University and the National University of Ireland Galway have supported the creation of this book. These include: Claudia Hillebrand, Jon Kirkup, Ian Stafford, Branwen Gruffydd Jones, Stephen Thornton, Pete Dorey, Gary Hussey, Nomi Farkas, Anna Tulin Brett, Giada Lagana and Maciej Cupry. I am grateful for the help of all academic staff in the Politics and International Relations department at Cardiff University. The department has assisted this research by providing funding to update the PhD thesis. Students that I have worked with at Kings College London, Cardiff University and NUI Galway have also provided ideas that have developed the arguments in this book. I apologise for any names that I have missed.

I am very grateful to all the interviewees for participating in my research, and to all of those who helped to arrange interviews. The interviewees were generous with their time and patience on such a sensitive topic.

Special thanks goes to the Institute of Historical Research. Their Scouloudi Historical Research Award in 2016 allowed me to update the research from my thesis. Whilst I was pursuing my PhD, Kings College London provided me with research grants and a Kings Continuation Scholarship to support my research.

Michael Watson, Emily Sharp, Lisa Carter and Stephanie Taylor at Cambridge University Press, and Frances Tye as the copy-editor, have provided crucial guidance on academic publication.

The staff at the following institutions kindly granted permission to quote from their material and related archives: Imperial War Museum Sound Archives; Kings College Londons Liddell Hart Centre for Military Archives; the London School of Economics Library Archives; the Hardiman Librarys special collections at the National University of Ireland Galway; the Linen Hall Librarys Northern Ireland Political Collection in Belfast; the Bodleian Librarys Harold Wilson papers at Oxford University; the Labour History Archive and Study Centre in Manchester; and the National Library of Ireland. I appreciate the time and kindness of their staff.