The moral behind Robert Nairac’s disappearance
IN THE ABSENCE OF FACTS SPECULATION MUST FILL THE VACUUM AND WE HAVE FEEDBACK FROM FORMER COMBATANTS
Interestingly these sources, both British and Irish agree on two points.
1. Nairac was not in the Three Steps Inn, Drumintee, to meet an informer on behalf of Military Intelligence.
2. All combatant organisations knew that Nairac was working for Military Intelligence but he had a wider brief that included not alone the RUC Special Branch but liaising with OIRA and PIRA in the area. In fact his job description as G3 sounds very much like that of British Army liaison officers in various truces with the IRA reaching back to 1921.
Sam McBride’s article last week in the Belfast Telegraph, which sparked the most recent speculation on Nairac’s fate as one of the oldest cases of the ‘disappeared’, refers to a G2 officer at HQNI in Lisburn as one of his superiors. And Nairac also liaised with the SAS unit based in Bessbrook at the time.
The G2 at the time was almost certainly Major Clive Fairweather, a member of the Kings Own Scottish Borderers and himself an SAS member based in Lisburn. He subsequently returned to the SAS after his GSO2 posting and was the Officer on duty at Hereford when the Iranian Embassy incident occurred.
Nairac’s official role was as a GSO 3 Int Liaison officer.
Republican sources described Nairac as a Liaison Officer who met people in OIRA and PIRA from time to time in that role.
Expendable
While the main media focus has been on the role of the Paras in the area many other regiments served there as well and each had its own way of interacting with the local community, both nationalist and unionist. These ranged from the confrontational approach of the Paras, committed to dominating that community physically and psychologically, which frequently backfired, most spectacularly in 1979, to a ‘live and let live’ strategy by others.
Nairac was well known to members of republican organisations in his role as G3. But he also worked with the RUC Special Branch and is thought to have had contacts with the Garda Special Branch as well.
Everyone agrees that he would not have chosen a location like the Three Steps Inn to meet an IRA informer as both men would have been instantly recognisable to some customers.
The mystery remains.
One moral that does emerge from Sam McBride’s well researched article in the Belfast Telegraph, is that whatever side you are on the interests of the organisation you are serving will always taken priority over those of the individual. Everyone is expendable.
Secret file on Nairac shows it was a very dirty war
Suzanne Breen, Sunday Life, March 23rd, 2025
IRA KILLED SOLDIER, BUT BRITISH DISAPPEARED TRUTH ON HIS SHADOWY ROLE
In death, as in life, Captain Robert Nairac remains one of the most mysterious and divisive figures of the Troubles.
Before he was abducted and killed by republicans, he was in a south Armagh pub singing IRA songs.
The British Army intelligence officer put on a Belfast accent that night in May 1977, and told revellers he was Ardoyne republican Danny McErlean.
In a black donkey jacket and scuffed boots, he was dressed for the part. His hair was long and unkempt. Nairac (28) had downed a few pints of Guinness in the Three Steps Inn in Drumintee when he was invited onto the stage to sing with the band.
Introduced by them as “Danny, the whole way from Belfast”, he belted out The Broad Black Brimmer and The Boys of the Old Brigade.
He had a good voice, and received such applause after rousing renditions of both rebel songs that he sang three more.
But not all the 150 customers in the pub had fallen for his story. As he left the premises just after midnight he was challenged about his identity by a group of men in the car park.
In the ensuing struggle his 9mm Browning pistol fell to the ground. There was now no doubting that he was undercover military. “The bastard's got a gun,” one of his assailants shouted.
Nairac was unable to reach the panic button in his red Triumph Toledo. He was overpowered, bundled into a car and driven across the border to Flurry Bridge, Co Louth.
Savage Beating
Bloodstains, teeth and hair found there showed the savage beating he suffered before he was shot dead. This was murder as brutal as it comes. He was later secretly buried in a field. A dig for his remains last year was unsuccessful.
The IRA disappeared Nairac's body, and the British disappeared the truth about exactly who he was and what role he played in the conflict.
Like many journalists who have covered this story, I have previously written he went to the pub to meet an informer.
Now, there is not only concrete evidence that this was the case, but also that the authorities colluded to hide the truth.
My Belfast Telegraph colleague Sam McBride has uncovered declassified files in The National Archives in Kew.
A secret 1978 memo says the Ministry of Defence position was that it shouldn't be disclosed in the approaching trial of men accused of involvement in Nairac's murder that he had been at the pub to meet an informer.
Doing so would “compromise the Army's method of operation in this sphere”.
It is stated that the Northern Ireland Office agreed with this stance.
The MoD “believe that the risk of the failure of the prosecution is preferable to disclosure”.
Convictions
Gerard Fearon and Thomas Morgan were found guilty of murder.
Daniel O'Rourke was convicted of manslaughter.
Michael McCoy was found guilty of kidnapping, and Owen Rocks was convicted of withholding information.
But the British would have preferred that all five walked free rather than disclose the truth about Nairac's activities if that choice had to be made.
And if that is how they respond to the killing of one of their own — an Oxford-educated captain posthumously awarded the George Cross for his role in the war — then what hope is there of them ever voluntarily agreeing to tell the truth in the cases of murdered civilians, republicans, and run-of-the-mill Northern Ireland security force members?
Nairac worked for 14 Intelligence Company and operated out of Bessbrook Mill. He wasn't a member of the SAS, but he worked closely with the unit.
Speculation
There have been persistent but unproven claims that he colluded with loyalists and had close links with the UVF.
It has been alleged that he was involved in the 1974 Dublin and Monaghan bombings, and the Miami Showband massacre and murder of IRA member John Francis Green the following year.
There have been denials that he was involved in the bombings or the Miami Showband massacre, with military records reported to show he wasn't in Ireland at the time of the attacks.
Yet the lack of transparency over even what Nairac was doing that night in the Three Steps Inn unfortunately fuels all the other rumours.
Three decades into the peace process, the activities of those involved in the intelligence-gathering world remain shadowy and secret. It was, and still is, a very dirty war.
British Govt to challenge coroner's finding on SAS killing IRA gang
Adrian Rutherford, Sunday Life, March 23rd, 2025
The British Government is to seek a judicial review of a coroner's finding that the SAS was not justified in killing four IRA men at Clonoe.
Sean O'Farrell (22), Kevin Barry O'Donnell (21), Peter Clancy (21), and Patrick Vincent (20) were shot dead by soldiers minutes after they carried out a gun attack on Coalisland RUC station in 1992.
Last month, following a long-running inquest, presiding coroner Mr Justice Humphreys found the soldiers did not have an honest belief in the necessity of using lethal force, concluding that it was unjustified.
The case has since been referred to the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP), prompting unionist anger.
Speaking in the House of Commons last month, Shadow Northern Ireland Secretary Alex Burghart said: “If this is the state of the law, the law is an ass.”
Secretary of State Hilary Benn said the Ministry of Defence was considering the judgment. Now, the Government has indicated it will seek a judicial review of the findings.
The Government will also fund a parallel challenge from the Specialist Military Unit veterans.
Letter to Tory MP
The news emerged in a letter from Veterans Minister Alistair Carns to Conservative MP James Cartlidge.
Mr Carns wrote: “I have carefully considered and taken advice on the merits of judicially reviewing the findings and can confirm that the Ministry of Defence (MoD) has issued a pre-action protocol letter to the coroner which sets out the legal basis upon which we will ground our judicial review application.
“I have also agreed to the MoD funding the Specialist Military Unit veterans' judicial review of the findings; this is expected to run adjacent to the MoD's application.
“The veterans involved have been, and continue to be, offered welfare and legal support.
“As a veteran, I am deeply proud of the members of the armed forces who, along with police officers and members of the security services, sought to protect communities and peace during the Troubles and recognise the difficult choices they faced in extremely challenging operations. We owe a great deal to them, and I will continue to champion their cause.”
Mr Cartlidge, who initially raised the matter with Defence Secretary John Healey, welcomed the news.
Deep anger of veterans
“Given the deep anger this verdict has aroused in our veteran community, it was vital the Government showed it understood this sentiment and responded accordingly,” he said.
The IRA men were killed minutes after carrying out a gun attack on an RUC station on February 16, 1992.
Soldiers fired up to 570 rounds as the gang dumped a hijacked lorry used in the machine gun attack. They started shooting as the men arrived at St Patrick's Church car park in Clonoe.
In statements at the time, the soldiers claimed the use of lethal force was justified to protect their lives and others from the IRA unit.
However, Mr Justice Humphreys said the use of force by the soldiers was, in the circumstances they believed them to be, “not reasonable”.
He said no attempt was made by the soldiers to arrest any of the members of the IRA unit, even as they lay seriously injured and incapacitated either on the ground or in the cab of the lorry.
He rejected the soldiers' claims the IRA members opened fire in the car park, saying they were “demonstrably untrue”.
Last month, the coroner confirmed he would refer the case to DPP Stephen Herron. He said he had no discretion in the matter under the law.
Prosecutors will now consider if further investigative steps are required before a decision on prosecutions is taken.
British Govt challenges ruling that SAS soldiers killing PIRA members unjustified
By Cillian Sherlock, News Letter, March 23rd, 2025
Four Provisional IRA members – Kevin Barry O’Donnell, 21, Sean O’Farrell, 23, Peter Clancy, 19, and Daniel Vincent, 20 – were shot dead by the soldiers minutes after they had carried out a gun attack on Coalisland RUC
Four Provisional IRA members – Kevin Barry O’Donnell, 21, Sean O’Farrell, 23, Peter Clancy, 19, and Daniel Vincent, 20 – were shot dead by the soldiers minutes after they had carried out a gun attack on Coalisland RUC
The Government intends to challenge a ruling that SAS soldiers were not justified in killing four IRA members in a 1992 ambush in Co Tyrone , according to an MP
Last month, coroner Mr Justice Michael Humphreys found that the soldiers did not have an honest belief in the necessity of using lethal force.
Four Provisional IRA members - Kevin Barry O'Donnell , 21, Sean O'Farrell , 23, Peter Clancy , 19, and Daniel Vincent , 20 - were shot dead by the soldiers minutes after they had carried out a gun attack on Coalisland RUC station in February 1992 .
In his ruling, Mr Justice Humphreys said that no attempt was made by the soldiers to arrest any of the members of the IRA unit, and the operation was not planned and controlled in a way to minimise to the "greatest extent possible" the need to use lethal force.
On Saturday, Conservative MP James Cartlidge said he had received confirmation from Veterans Minister Alistair Carns that the Government would challenge the findings.
Mr Cartlidge had called on the Government to seek a judicial review into in the inquest ruling.
In his reply which the opposition MP shared on X, Mr Carns states that the Ministry of Defence has issued a pre-action protocol letter to the coroner, which sets out the legal basis for the application for a judicial review.
He said: "I have also agreed to the MoD funding the Specialist Military Unit veterans' judicial review of the findings, this is expected to run adjacent to MoD's application.
"The veterans involved have been, and continue to be, offered welfare and legal support."
The minister added: "As a veteran, I am deeply proud of the members of the armed forces who, along with police officers and members of the security services, sought to protect communities and peace in Northern Ireland during the Troubles and recognise the difficult choices they faced in extremely challenging operations.
"We owe a great deal to them, and I will continue to champion their cause as we deal with Northern Ireland's legacy."
Mr Cartlidge said he was "delighted" with the development, adding that it would be welcomed by veterans.
Sinn Féin says Clonoe ruling challenge ‘disgraceful’
By Cillian Sherlock, PA, Irish News, March 23rd, 2025
Moves by the British government to challenge a ruling that SAS soldiers were not justified in killing four IRA members in a 1992 ambush are “disgraceful”, according to Sinn Féin.
Last month, coroner Mr Justice Michael Humphreys found that the soldiers did not have an honest belief in the necessity of using lethal force.
Four Provisional IRA members – Kevin Barry O’Donnell, 21, Sean O’Farrell, 23, Peter Clancy, 19, and Daniel Vincent, 20 – were shot dead in Clonoe, Co Tyrone, minutes after they had carried out a gun attack on Coalisland RUC station in Co Tyrone in February 1992.
In his ruling, Mr Justice Humphreys said no attempt was made by the SAS soldiers to arrest any of the members of the IRA unit, and the operation was not planned and controlled in a way to minimise to the “greatest extent possible” the need to use lethal force.
On Friday, Conservative MP James Cartlidge said he had received confirmation from veterans minister Alistair Carns that the Briitsh government would challenge the findings.
Mr Cartlidge had called on the government to seek a judicial review into the inquest ruling.
In his reply, which the Tory MP shared on X, Mr Carns said the Ministry of Defence has issued a pre-action protocol letter to the coroner which sets out the legal basis for the application for a judicial review.
He said: “I have also agreed to the MoD funding the Specialist Military Unit veterans’ judicial review of the findings, this is expected to run adjacent to MoD’s application.
“The veterans involved have been, and continue to be, offered welfare and legal support.”
The minister added: “As a veteran, I am deeply proud of the members of the armed forces who, along with police officers and members of the security services, sought to protect communities and peace in Northern Ireland during the Troubles and recognise the difficult choices they faced in extremely challenging operations.
“We owe a great deal to them, and I will continue to champion their cause as we deal with Northern Ireland’s legacy.”
Mr Cartlidge said he was “delighted” with the development, adding that it would be welcomed by veterans.
However, Sinn Féin described the move as “deeply concerning” and “disgraceful”.
Cynical attempt to deny justice
Cathal Mallaghan, the party’s MP for Mid Ulster, said: ““This is yet another cynical attempt by the British Government to deny families truth and justice.
“The coroner came to his findings in this case based on the facts. He rightly sent a file to the Public Prosecution Service to take the matter forward.”
Mr Mallaghan said the development highlights concerns over the Independent Commission for Reconciliation and Information Recovery (ICRIR), which was set up by the previous UK government as part of its Legacy Act, but has faced opposition from political parties in Northern Ireland and victims’ organisations.
While the Labour government is repealing parts of the Act, including the offer of conditional immunity for perpetrators of Troubles killings, it has decided to retain the truth recovery commission.
Mr Mallaghan added: “This case highlights why families have a preference to have inquests and inquiries in their pursuit of justice, as opposed to the ICRIR process, where the British Secretary of State retains a power of veto on what may go into a victim’s family report.
“It is essential that our judicial processes are free to carry out their duties independently, free from state interference.
“The British government must proceed expeditiously to fully ‘repeal and replace’ the Legacy Act, as it committed to do, including the full reinstatement of all inquests, and all the legacy mechanisms agreed in the Stormont House negotiations, in a human rights-compliant manner.”
UFF logo flyers posted in mixed housing estate
Ciaran Barnes, Sunday Life, March 23rd, 2025
COPS PROBE THREATENING LEAFLETS
SECTARIAN leaflets put through the letterboxes of homes in a new social housing development in Lisburn are being investigated by police.
Containing a UFF logo, the letters, which are strewn with spelling and grammatical mistakes, warn: “This is loyalist Lisburn, not republican west Belfast. Anyone caught removing loyalist flags from lampposts will be dealt with.”
The homes targeted are in the Altona Drive and Altona Gardens area of Lisburn, off the Hillsborough Old Road.
A PSNI spokesman said: “Police in Lisburn are aware of letters being delivered to homes in Altona Gardens and Altona Drive. The letters used threatening language and purported to be from a loyalist paramilitary organisation.
“The matter is being investigated, and officers would ask anyone with any information about the incident or who may be able to help with the investigation, to come forward.”
Last year a £16m mixed-use development was opened in Altona by Choice. It consists of 30 three-bedroom homes, 46 two-bedroom properties and three four-bedroom houses.
A further 11 properties have been specially designed for disabled tenants and are made up of three houses, two bungalows and six apartments.
The UFF leaflets were placed through several letterboxes in the development earlier in the week.
They read: “This is a (sic) area controlled by loyalist paramilitaries under are (sic) rules beware you don't mouth about the streets in are (sic) areas fight over children and think your (sic) in your own west Belfast area this will not happen. Beware who you open your mouth to you could be next.”
Some of the residents targeted took to social media to condemn the threats, writing: “To the faceless cowards who are posting these leaflets to residents in Altona Drive and Altona Gardens in Lisburn, these will not intimidate us.
“We don't need a community representative. Stay out of Altona, you are not welcome. This is a mixed area, not a loyalist area.
“Anymore intimidation of residents in Altona Drive/Gardens, you will be reported to the police along with your photographs.”
UDA condemns ‘clowns’
UDA sources in Lisburn denied the leaflets were the work of the paramilitary gang, blaming them instead on a handful of “clowns”.
“The UDA in Lisburn is involved in positive community work through the Resurgam Trust charity, it isn't intimidating anyone from their homes,” said an insider.
“The organisation definitely wasn't behind these leaflets, and anyone who got one put through their door should contact the police. You can see from reading them that they were put together by a bunch of clowns.”
However, our source did concede that there could be problems in the run-up to the bonfire season as loyalist flags have been placed on lampposts in the new religiously-mixed Altona development.
“Obviously we aren't against that, but any flags that do go up in Lisburn will not be paramilitary — they'll be Union, Ulster or Orange Order banners,” said the veteran UDA member.
Anyone with information on the threatening leaflets have been asked to call the PSNI in Lisburn on the non-emergency number 101, quoting reference number 1199 19/03/25, or the Crimestoppers charity anonymously on 0800 555 111.
Trouble with plays about the Troubles
Ivan Little, Sunday Life, March 23rd, 2025
DISAPPEARED-THEMED STORY RIVETING DESPITE STAGE OIRISHISMS AND CLICHES
It's undeniable that plays about the Troubles — like The Ferryman which I saw the other day in Dublin — often cause division, much like the conflict itself.
English and American critics adored Jez Butterworth's play on Broadway and in the West End, and even though the productions won heaps of awards on both sides of the Atlantic, some reviewers from nearer home weren't quite so enthusiastic.
The play has the Disappeared at its very core as the Carney family in rural Armagh in 1981 try to come to terms with the accidental discovery of a loved one's body in a bog near the border after he had been disappeared by the Provos 10 years earlier. Englishman Butterworth was apparently inspired to write the piece by the fact his actress wife Laura Donnelly's own uncle was one of the Disappeared.
Only this year has a professional production of The Ferryman finally reached Ireland, so I took myself off to the Gaiety Theatre in Dublin to see the play for myself. Although it was indeed riddled with Oirish stereotypes and cliches that made some northern reviewers uncomfortable, I still found it a riveting watch despite my posterior aching that the three-hour duration was harder to take.
Mind you, I was just as concerned about what I found to be the gimmicks — like a live goose, a live baby and a live rabbit that were bigger talking points among some audience members than the storyline, which also dealt with the ongoing deaths of the hunger strikers in the Maze at the time.
Everything including the kitchen sink was tossed into the mix and though I was assured the Paddywhackery had been scaled back from the London production, I was niggled by the portrayal of an IRA leader and his two monster goons who visited the Carneys to warn them to say nothing — sound familiar? — about the body in the bog in case it deflected attention from the hunger strikes.
The trio were straight from the Irish-American school of IRA playing and all they needed were broad black brimmers and an Up the RA banner to ensure the audience didn't get the message.
Were local IRA Volunteers on leave?
Also, the Provos were clearly from Derry. So, what were they doing warning a family in Armagh at least 65 miles away?
They'd also travelled to warn the local priest to keep his mouth shut making me wonder if the south Armagh battalions were on a bit of a break.
The ending of the play shocked critics and audiences alike. I won't spoil it but while it was definitely dramatic, it didn't surprise me. After three hours Butterworth was hardly going to end his epic with a whimper.
What was impressive was how the producer managed to get all 23 cast members on stage for the finish.
The size of the cast and the expense in staging the play has been cited as the reasons why The Ferryman has never been produced professionally north of the border.
Which is a pity. The same was said 18 years ago about Owen McCafferty's Scenes from the Big Picture which had been a huge hit at the National Theatre in London and which insiders said would never be staged in Belfast.
But Prime Cut Productions somehow raised enough money to present the play at the Waterfront where I was privileged to be in the cast of 21 actors. In Dublin, The Ferryman is destined to clean up at the theatre awards and the performances of Aaron McCusker, Charlene McKenna and Niall Buggy will be contenders for the acting gongs.
On a personal note, it was exhilarating to see Robert Hamilton from Belfast among the younger actors playing a blinder.
Last year Robert made his stage debut playing my grandson in Gary Mitchell's play Pride of the Shore at the Mac in Belfast.
To go from there straight into such a massive production at the Gaiety was one helluva achievement. But trust me, young Robert will be going a lot further.
