One of the books to which I referred in my post on 24 April was Nicky Curtis’ Faith and Duty (Andre Deutsch, London, 1998, ISBN 0-233-99415-7). This book, a “soldier’s eye view” of the Troubles in Northern Ireland, seems to be out of print but copies are available from Internet booksellers.  It ought to be required reading for anyone with a serious interest in that Province. It is a good read and makes sense of a lot of things that were previously incomprehensible to me.

The title may require explanation. “Faith” refers to the author’s Catholic faith, which initially caused him to be sympathetic to the Catholic Nationalists, whose denial of civil rights sparked the first protests in 1968. “Duty” refers to his duty to the Army and his regiment, the Green Howards. 1968 was a year of protest all over the world: African-Americans were marching in the USA; students were protesting in Paris; in the UK the LSE was a focus of dissent and protest. Why should Northern Ireland be any different? Mostly, the world’s eyes were fixed on Paris, where a real revolution at one moment seemed possible. Ulster seemed merely a sideshow.  The difference was that the almost-moribund IRA took a new lease of life from the unrest in the North; infiltrated and took over the civil rights movement; and threatened to start a civil war in the Province. The Royal Ulster Constabulary, mainly Protestant and Unionist, could not and did not contain the unrest.  The British Army was sent in to keep the two sides apart. Welcomed at first as rescuers by the Catholic population, this goodwill did not last. The soldiers became terrorist targets from 1970, when the Provisional IRA stepped up their campaign, and the situation degenerated further after 30 January 1972 “Bloody Sunday”.  The increasingly barbaric war in Northern Ireland tested Curtis’ Catholic faith and eventually he lost it. When Faith clashed with Duty, Duty finally won.

Nicky Curtis is one of the most highly decorated British soldiers to have served in Northern Ireland. Throughout his service he was an NCO: initially a Corporal, later a Sergeant. He turned down the chance to be commissioned as an officer, having decided to leave the Army, in 1976. In this remarkable book he portrays his experiences in the Province during the turbulent years of 1969-1976. After surviving nearly 2,000 fired rounds, Curtis’s duty as a uniformed soldier ended and he received the Military Medal from the Queen for acts of bravery in the field. He returned to the Province to serve in undercover operations, liaising closely with such figures as Captain Robert Nairac; a legend for his undercover work against the IRA. Hard-hitting, uncompromising and frank, Nicky Curtis’ account of his life in Northern Ireland encompasses the extremities of urban civil war, the intrigues of undercover operations, and the political machinations that helped to form them.

If Curtis became disillusioned with the Catholic Church and with God, his dislike and contempt for many of the officers under whom he served stands out clearly. This is somehow shocking: were they truly that useless and out of touch? What had gone wrong at Sandhurst? The uniformed troops’ war in Ulster is portrayed as a “corporals’ war” in which officers were seen as an encumbrance, rather than an asset.  They reportedly usually stayed behind and sent their men out to suffer. When they did involve themselves, the results could be fatal for the men on the ground, if Curtis is to be believed. Naturally there were exceptions: two whom he mentions at length are his platoon commander, Lt Chris Mather MC, and Robert Nairac GC, with whom he worked undercover. He has unlimited admiration for their courage and intelligence: “the same officer-bred authority at odds with a squaddie’s natural toughness in the eyes… Nairac and Chris obviously shared more than just a certain demeanour: their balls must have been forged in the same steel mill as well”: high praise, from a man who is sparing with it. Both officers came to bad ends: as is well-known, Nairac, another Catholic, was abducted, tortured and murdered by the IRA in 1977. Mather suffered post-traumatic stress disorder; seriously ill and unable to work, he was forced to sell his Military Cross to pay his bills. He received almost no support, financial or moral. This is a sickening indictment of the UK’s disregard of its soldiers’ welfare at that time. Things may have improved somewhat, but there is plenty of scope for further improvement.  Curtis himself suffered and describes his nightmares in horrific detail. You could not make them up. He too had difficulty in securing help and support. It seems that “Tommy Atkins is always shat on once he’s protected your arse and that of any other fucker who wants power without responsibility”, to quote another soldier.

For those looking for information on Nairac, the book offers some insights into that complex man. For all Curtis’s admiration for him, he admits that Nairac could be deceitful, devious and manipulative: “a slippery- tit”, and rarely took Curtis completely into his confidence. Sometimes he played cruel practical jokes: for example insisting on taking Curtis for a drink in a known Republican haunt, McCrory’s Bar in Coalisland. Curtis was instructed not to open his mouth, as he could not mimic an Irish accent, which Nairac could. He was horrified and afraid. Why could they not go to a safe Protestant bar? Soon after they arrived, Nairac disappeared, as did McCrory. Curtis became very worried and went for a discreet reconnaissance. He eventually saw them in an inner room, hunched over a table like old pals. What was their relationship, the undercover Guardsman and the Republican IRA sympathiser (to put it no more strongly)?  Curtis did not know and we still don’t know. Had Nairac recruited McCrory? It seemed unlikely. Was Nairac a double-agent? Curtis eventually dismissed that idea too, but a nagging doubt remained for some time. Nairac said that he was ‘just passing the time’, which was clearly untrue.

The secret world is a horrible place; no-one can operate there and keep their hands clean. Unsurprisingly, Nairac does not emerge as a selfless knight in shining armour. He clearly got a kick out of intrigue, risk and danger. Possibly more than that: after his own murder, a collection of gory “scene of the crime” photos of dead terrorists was found in his room, verging on the morbid. Why did he amass them? In particular, and if Curtis’ account is correct, two assassinations, of which Nairac has been accused by the IRA and of which others have exonerated him, cannot be quite discounted. One is the murder of an IRA commander within the Republic: John Francis Green.  It seems that Nairac and  others, probably including his immediate superior, Tony Ball, had staked out the Carville farm house where Green was eventually assassinated; watching it from a hide for days before the killing. The fatal shot appears however to have been fired by a Loyalist paramilitary. Had Nairac tipped him off? Peter Cleary, another senior IRA commander, was kidnapped and ‘shot while attempting to escape’ by an SAS soldier. However the soldier admitted to Curtis that he had been more-or-less instructed to shoot Cleary, whatever happened, by a “RUC Special Branch officer “with a strong Irish accent, whom Curtis immediately recognised from the description as Nairac, although he was using another name and identity. It is however clear that Nairac was not involved in the “Miami Show Band massacre”. One suspects that, had he been involved, there would have been no survivors or witnesses and the incident would have taken place outside Northern Ireland. The loyalist paramilitary who shot Green evidently was involved; the same gun was used in both incidents.  This person’s identity is known; he is now dead. We should not feel much grief for Green and Cleary; both were clearly nasty pieces of work and their elimination represented real progress in the war against terrorism in Ulster.  Of course, they both had grief-stricken families and friends: so, probably, had Hitler.

From another source it has emerged that the “English officer with a clipped accent” heard giving orders at scene of the “Miami Show Band massacre”, to which Nairac’s name has often been linked, was not Nairac but a Loyalist paramilitary and Ulster Defence Regiment soldier. This man was Irish but had lived long enough in England to have acquired an English accent.  He too has now been identified. Curtis’ grief at Nairac’s death, which occurred after he had left the Army and the Province, is real and his “Epilogue” rings true. However he adds that “my gut feeling had been that it was a death waiting to happen”.  The mysteries that surrounded Nairac in life have simply deepened with his death.  Curtis sums it up: “about the only thing that anyone agreed on (including, amazingly, the IRA) was that the courage of the man was unquestionable and evident in the way that he faced his death”.  He mentions, and discounts, the theory, which many Loyalists still seem to believe, that Nairac was indeed a double agent and that he was spirited away after a staged abduction and murder. Returning to Ulster as a civilian businessman in 1995, Curtis makes the mistake of drinking a Guinness in a Republican bar in Armagh. There he narrowly escapes the same fate as Nairac, having been identified as a “Brit bastard”.

What Curtis does not reveal is whether he and Nairac ever discussed their common Catholic faith. Yet they surely must have done. Curtis used to discuss his faith, or loss of it, with Chris Mather, who was at that time an atheist. I have a strong suspicion that Nairac, whose faith was described as being traditionally Catholic, of an almost mediaeval intensity, when he left Ampleforth, may have undergone a similar process of disillusion to Curtis: partly no doubt as a result of Vatican II (1962-65), but mostly as a result of his experiences in the Province.  There are indications from third parties who met him in the Army that he had ceased to be a regular churchgoer and latterly did not come across as being very religious at all. It would follow from this that moral restraints, previously held tightly in check by his faith, might by this time have been jettisoned as well.

For expatriate Irish with a sentimental regard for the IRA as freedom fighters, this will make salutary, unpalatable reading. Curtis pulls no punches. The description of an IRA “romper room” in which someone had recently been tortured to death, is stomach-churning. “No room to swing a cat, you might say, but the poor sod’s torturers had obviously found just enough room to swing the axe, the shovel, the claw-hammer, breeze blocks, or whatever they’d used as they laid into him on all sides. In  a space this confined they must have left splattered from feet to face….I didn’t even want to think about the discoloured meat hook that hung from the ceiling like a dead question mark.”

It would be good to think that this dark chapter has finally closed: I don’t think that it has, yet.

Faith and Duty – The True Story of a Soldier’s War in Northern Ireland by Nick Curtis is available at:

• Amazon.Com
• Amazon.co.uk

The Indigo Bird

An Erotic Novel by Max Markham

James Graveney, a young Major in a respectable regiment, is outwardly conventional. In private James is bisexual, with a strong urge for his own sex. Gay sex, however, is illegal in the Army, so he is discreet about this.

James’ world is turned upside-down when he meets Lieutenant Richard Finch. Richard is intelligent, charismatic and exceptionally handsome.  He doesn’t mess around. He gets what he wants, and is completely unscrupulous about how he gets it. Richard will stop at nothing to achieve this, including Machiavellian deception and a cunning and brutal murder.  James starts responding to Richard, cautiously at first, then gets swept along on the great love affair of his life.

The Indigo Bird is a rollercoaster of surprises set against backdrops varying from the jungles of Belize to London, the English countryside, and Ireland, and the scene is set for more shocks and adventures. [Read more...]

In my novel The Indigo Bird I have made passing reference to the disbanded Irish regiments of the British Army, especially the Connaught Rangers.  They feature more importantly in the sequel, The Vertical Land.

Following the Irish War of Independence six Irish regiments of the British Army that had recruited mainly in the counties that would now form the Irish Free State were disbanded. On 12 June 1922, at a solemn ceremony at Windsor Castle, King George V received the colours of five of these Regiments and a regimental engraving on behalf of The South Irish Horse, since they possessed no colours or standards. King George then made the following promise:

”I pledge my word that within these ancient and historic walls your Colours will be treasured, honoured and protected as hallowed memorials of the glorious deeds of brave and loyal Regiments”.  The colours are still there. I saw them recently at Windsor. The regiments in question were:

• The Royal Irish Regiment
• The Royal Dublin Fusiliers
• The Royal Muster Fusiliers
• The Connaught Rangers (aka “The Devil’s Own”)
• The Prince of Wales’ Leinster Regiment
• The South Irish Horse (which had no colours but presented an engraving to the King).

The future of the Connaught Rangers was in any case in doubt, given that on 28 June 1920 five men from C Company of the First Battalion at Wellington Barracks, Jalandhar, India, had decided to protest against the effects of martial law in Ireland by refusing to soldier. They were soon joined in their protest by other Rangers, declaring that they would not return to duty until British forces had left Ireland. The protest spread to the Connaught Ranger company at Solon.  However the third Connaught Ranger company at Jutogh remained loyal. A party of men led by Private James Daly made an attempt to recover their arms, storming the armoury. The loyal guard successfully defended it; two of Daly’s party, Privates Patrick Smythe and Peter Sears, were killed in the firefight. Within days both garrisons were occupied by loyal troops; Daly and his followers surrendered and were taken prisoner. Eighty-eight mutineers were court martialled: nineteen men were sentenced to death (eighteen later had their sentences commuted to life imprisonment). 59 were sentenced to 15 years’   imprisonment and ten were acquitted. Daly was shot by firing squad on 2 November 1920. The Rangers became Irish Nationalist heroes. The remains of Daly, Smythe, Sears and two comrades who died in prison were repatriated to Ireland in 1970, where they received an official funeral.

In fairness to the Connaught Rangers it should be stated that the Second Battalion remained loyal and that during the 1916 Easter Rising there had been no desertions or mutinies, despite the fact that the Rangers were soon deployed to Ireland to fight against the rebels. None of the Connaught Rangers were killed but one was wounded. In the days after the Rising the Connaught Rangers patrolled the Irish countryside and raided Irish homes. They captured hundreds of rebel volunteers and their weapons. A number of Connaught Rangers, who were in Dublin at the time that the Rising broke out, immediately volunteered to join other British army units, including the Royal Irish Fusiliers and the Royal Dublin Fusiliers, to fight against the rebels.  But by 1920 their loyalty was under great strain.

There was always a tension at the heart of these regiments. The soldiers were not immune to Nationalist sentiment. They handled it by cultivating a fierce loyalty to the regiment and, until that became impossible, to the King or Queen, while often disliking intensely the British Government; its policy towards Ireland; and the Anglo-Irish ascendancy.

The loss of these regiments must have had a significant impact upon the British Army, when one considers that the army commanded by the Duke of Wellington in the early 19th Century was comprised of one third Irishmen. During the First World War half a million Irishmen served voluntarily in the British Army, representing about one eighth of the total population of Ireland. In the Second World War the majority of the British Army’s Field Marshals were of Irish extraction. They included: Alanbrook (born in France, but the youngest child of Sir Victor Brooke, Baronet, of Colebrooke, Co. Fermanagh); Alexander (born in London, but a son of an Irish Peer, the Earl of Caledon, whose seat was in Co. Tyrone); Auchinleck (born in England, but his family were also from Co. Fermanagh); Dill (born in Lurgan, Co. Armagh); Gort (born in London but a member of the Prendergast Vereker family, an old Anglo-Irish noble family); Templer (born in Ulster and first commissioned into the Royal Irish Fusiliers); and Montgomery (born in England but the family seat was at New Park, near Moville in Co. Donegal). Although independent Ireland remained neutral – and, in the view of General Eisenhower, far too sympathetic to the Third Reich – and while there was no conscription in Northern Ireland, very large numbers of Irishmen, Northern and Southern,  volunteered to fight in the British forces against the Axis powers.  On their return to the Republic  they often suffered discrimination in jobs and housing and in some cases were shot by the IRA. So much for fighting against fascism!  The Irish soldiers who fought for Britain in its imperial wars and the First and Second World Wars were known for their dash and bravery.  It is not surprising, although it is also ironic, that some of the earliest SAS soldiers, like Roy Farran and “Paddy” Mayne were Irish.

Irish regiments continued to serve with the British Army, based in Northern Ireland but in practice recruiting all over Ireland. They included the Royal Inniskilling Fusiliers, the North Irish Horse, the Royal lnniskilling Dragoon Guards, the Royal Irish Hussars in addition to the Royal Ulster Rifles, the Royal Irish Fusiliers and the London Irish Rifles.  As a result of swingeing cuts and mergers, there are now only two left: the Royal Irish Regiment, which has been reborn phoenix-like, following the merger of the Inniskilling Fusiliers with the Ulster Defence Regiment, and the Irish Guards, who are part of the Household Division. The London Irish Rifles, a Territorial regiment, survives – just – at company strength.  They were based in Duke of York’s Headquarters until 2000, when they moved to Flodden Road TA Centre, Camberwell.  They still wear the Irish caubeen beret. In addition, many Irishmen serve in parts of the armed forces that are not specifically Irish by designation.

The divorce between Britain and Ireland was prolonged and painful; particularly in the Army. As recently as the 1970s, I was training on Salisbury Plain where the demonstration battalion at the School of Infantry was the Royal Irish Rangers. They were not permitted to serve in Northern Ireland and tended to get given this type of role.  Speaking to some of the soldiers, I was struck by how many were from Dublin and places in the Republic. I had to be tactful when asking them about their reasons for joining the British Army, but the answer was usually “my father (or my grandfather) was a British soldier”.  It was the family tradition and it was being kept alight, even though they faced potential difficulties when home on leave. None of them seemed to take the Irish forces seriously. The modern Irish Army has not inherited the traditions of the old Irish regiments.

For more information on the subject, see also:

• The Royal Irish Regiment
• The Connaught Rangers Association
• The Royal Dublin Fusiliers
• The Prince of Wales’s Leinster Regiment Association

The Indigo Bird

An Erotic Novel by Max Markham

James Graveney, a young Major in a respectable regiment, is outwardly conventional. In private James is bisexual, with a strong urge for his own sex. Gay sex, however, is illegal in the Army, so he is discreet about this.

James’ world is turned upside-down when he meets Lieutenant Richard Finch. Richard is intelligent, charismatic and exceptionally handsome.  He doesn’t mess around. He gets what he wants, and is completely unscrupulous about how he gets it. Richard will stop at nothing to achieve this, including Machiavellian deception and a cunning and brutal murder.  James starts responding to Richard, cautiously at first, then gets swept along on the great love affair of his life.

The Indigo Bird is a rollercoaster of surprises set against backdrops varying from the jungles of Belize to London, the English countryside, and Ireland, and the scene is set for more shocks and adventures. [Read more...]

I am working with Wilfried Voss to establish some hard facts about the career of the late Captain Robert Nairac GC, Grenadier Guards. As regular readers of this blog will know, Captain Nairac, who was working undercover, was abducted, tortured and murdered by the Provisional IRA in May 1977.  His body has never been found and the file on his murder has never been closed. He is still a deeply controversial and emotive subject in Ireland and the UK. He has passed into legend.  To this day there are rumours that his abduction and murder were staged by the British authorities and that he is still alive somewhere, presumably in deep-cover or in some secret intelligence “dreamtime”.  A similar rumour persisted, especially among Arabs, about Nairac’s boyhood hero T E Lawrence, who was said to have staged his own death in 1935 and to have died in reality well after World War II in Tangier. Few historians have taken this legend seriously.

The most readily available books on Nairac are:

Blood Knots: A Memoir of Fishing and Friendship by Luke Jennings. Jennings knew Nairac from the time that he, Jennings, was twelve and Nairac was eighteen, until shortly before Nairac’s murder.  This book shows the private Nairac in a deeply sympathetic, although not wholly uncritical, light. The book is worth reading for its excellent prose and reflections on the art of angling, into which Nairac helped to initiate Jennings.

Death of a Hero by John Parker. This book has been republished with new material as Secret Hero. This is probably the best Nairac biography available, although it explicitly limits itself to Nairac’s military career. Out of deference to his family, there is little about his personal life and pre-Army experience.  John Parker is a distinguished biographer, whose subjects include the Duke of Windsor, Sean Connery and Jack Nicholson. He has also written a number of books on military subjects.

Faith and Duty by Nicky Curtis.  An excellent book about one soldier’s war in Northern Ireland; it is not just about Nairac. Nicky Curtis was a non-commissioned officer in the Green Howards; later in 14 Int. Unusually for an NCO memoir, it is well-written and deserves its place in the literature of war. It falls into two parts: Curtis’ career as a uniformed soldier in the streets of Belfast, and his second career in intelligence, under cover. During this time he worked closely with Nairac and seems to have become a friend and admirer. He understood him as well as anyone has ever understood that intelligent, versatile, complex, difficult man.

The Ultras by Eoin MacNamee. This is a novel about Nairac and others, written from an Irish perspective.  The author indicates that, while fiction, it is factually-based and I have been able to verify some details.  Some of it has to be supposition. Intriguingly, it has been suggested that the book was published as a novel for libel reasons; it might contain more fact than we realise.

Requiem for a Spy: the Killing of Robert Nairac by Anthony Bradley.  Published in Ireland, this book is bitterly anti-British and anti-Nairac. It also contains a number of irritating factual errors. The author seems to think that Nairac was born in Sunderland in England, not Mauritius. He gives his age at death wrongly: Nairac was 28, not 29, when he was murdered. Days in the Life is not an Oxford memoir by Duncan Fallowell:  it is a book about nineteen-sixties culture by Jonathon Green. It includes a large number of edited interviews. Fallowell is a minor contributor. One of his two interviews, about LSD abuse at Oxford, does provide an amusing vignette of Nairac at Oxford. I could provide other examples of inaccuracies. Nevertheless Requiem for a Spy, with The Ultras, provides an Irish perspective on Nairac, and some intriguing insights.

Nairac features in many other books, notably The Dirty War by Martin Dillon and Bandit Country: the IRA and South Armagh by Toby Harnden.  He is also treated with some attention in the writings of Fred Holroyd and Colin Wallace; neither of whom is a wholly reliable source. In addition, many Press articles have treated, and continue to treat, Nairac and his murder.

Faced with such a plethora of material; some of it misleading, much of it hard to verify, it is hard to establish even a timeline. Much published information is open to doubt. To give a few examples:

Place of birth. Robert Nairac was definitely born in 1948 in Mauritius, where his parents lived at the time. However at least one author asserts that he was born in Sunderland, in northern England.  Nairac’s parents really did live in Sunderland when he was small. This may have helped to cause the confusion. The City of Sunderland has adopted Nairac as a “famous son”, along with Sir Henry Havelock and the ancestors of George Washington, who lived nearby at Washington Old Hall. A project is in hand to erect a wall of remembrance to all Sunderland soldiers who have died in action since World War II. (Sunderland has lost its fair share of soldiers in Ireland, Iraq and Afghanistan). Nairac’s name will appear on it.

An Irish Connection. It is well-known that Nairac developed an early affinity for Ireland and often spent academic holidays there with his friends, the sons of Lord Killanin. However there are   persistent rumours that he was actually of southern Irish descent. I have not been able to find any confirmation of this. These rumours seem to have been started by Nairac himself and have been repeated by later biographers. Nicky Curtis states, presumably because he was told by Nairac, that “his parents were Irish and Catholic”. In fact, Nairac’s father was Catholic and Franco-Mauritian. His mother was English and Protestant.  I think that Nairac very much wished that he had had some Irish blood. For different reasons T E Lawrence was also apt to make misleading statements about his ancestry, and other things.

A French Connection.  This is much better substantiated. The Nairacs were of French descent, originally from the Bordeaux region.  The name is still found there. The wine Chateau Nairac once belonged to the family, although they sold the vineyard in the early nineteenth century. However the Nairac name stuck.  Robert Nairac’s branch settled in the Ile Maurice (Mauritius) as planters and landowners and remained there after the island became British, as did most of the French plantocrats. Robert Nairac’s photographs show him looking very southern French, with tough, dark good looks, slightly reminiscent of a young Jean-Paul Belmondo.

Old Catholic Gentry. Yes and no. Luke Jennings describes boyhood visits to Nairac’s family’s “almost absurdly beautiful” manor house in Gloucestershire, Master’s Keep. However this house was bought, not inherited. No doubt the Nairacs, with their charm, distinction and aptitude for field sports, fitted easily enough into county society. But they were not long-established in Gloucestershire, nor did they belong to the circle of old English Catholic recusant families whom Evelyn Waugh celebrates in Brideshead Revisited and the Sword of Honour trilogy. Again, they seem to have fitted in well there,   too. The Nairac brothers’ education at Ampleforth would have helped this process.  Not being an old-established family, they did not have a “family regiment” or a “county regiment” that Robert might have joined as of right. In the event he set his sights high: the Grenadier Guards. He was accepted by that elite regiment, thanks to the connections of his friend Julian Malins’ father.

I am happy to be corrected if any detail above is incorrect. I hope to return to this subject in a later blog entry.

“Danny Boy” (“Oh Danny Boy, the pipes, the pipes are calling”) was written by the English lawyer Frederick Edward Weatherly in 1910, and set to the tune in 1913.

Click here to view the video on YouTube.

History

The title of the air came from the name of County Londonderry in Ireland. The air was collected by Jane Ross of Limavady.

Ross submitted the tune to music collector George Petrie, and it was then published by the Society for the Preservation and Publication of the Melodies of Ireland in the 1855 book The Ancient Music of Ireland, which Petrie edited. The tune was listed as an anonymous air, with a note attributing its collection to Jane Ross of Limavady.

For the following beautiful air I have to express my very grateful acknowledgement to Miss J. Ross, of New Town, Limavady, in the County of Londonderry—a lady who has made a large collection of the popular unpublished melodies of the county , which she has very kindly placed at my disposal, and which has added very considerably to the stock of tunes which I had previously acquired from that still very Irish county. I say still very Irish, for though it has been planted for more than two centuries by English and Scottish settlers, the old Irish race still forms the great majority of its peasant inhabitants; and there are few, if any counties in which, with less foreign admixture, the ancient melodies of the country have been so extensively preserved. The name of the tune unfortunately was not ascertained by Miss Ross, who sent it to me with the simple remark that it was ‘very old’, in the correctness of which statement I have no hesitation in expressing my perfect concurrence.

This led to the descriptive title “Londonderry Air” being used for the piece; the title “Air from County Derry” or “Derry Air” is sometimes used instead, due to the Derry-Londonderry name dispute.

Click here to view the video on YouTube.

The origin of the tune was for a long time somewhat mysterious, as no other collector of folk tunes encountered it, and all known examples are descended from Ross’s submission to Petrie’s collection. In a 1934 article, Anne Geddes Gilchrist suggested that the performer Ross heard played the song with extreme rubato, causing Ross to mistake the time signature of the piece for common time (4/4) rather than 3/4. Gilchrist asserted that adjusting the rhythm of the piece as she proposed produced a tune more typical of Irish folk music.

In 1974, Hugh Shields found a long-forgotten traditional song which was very similar to Gilchrist’s modified version of the melody. The song, Aislean an Oigfear (in modern Irish Aisling an Óigfhir, “The young man’s dream”), had been transcribed by Edward Bunting in 1792 based on a performance by harper Donnchadh Ó Hámsaigh at the Belfast Harp Festival. Bunting published it in 1796. Ó Hámsaigh lived in Magilligan, not far from Ross’s home in Limavady. Hempson died in 1807. In 2000, Brian Audley published his authoritative research on the tune’s origins. He showed how the distinctive high section of the tune had derived from a refrain in The Young Man’s Dream which, over time, crept into the body of the music. He also discovered the original words to the tune as we now know it which were written by Edward Fitzsimmons and published in 1814; his song is ‘The Confession of Devorgilla’, otherwise known by its first line ‘Oh Shrive Me Father’.

The descendants of blind fiddler Jimmy McCurry assert that he is the musician from whom she transcribed the tune but there is no historical evidence to support this speculation. A similar claim is made that the tune came to the blind itinerant harpist Rory Dall O’Cahan in a dream, and a documentary detailing this version was broadcast on the Maryland Public Television in USA in March 2000.; reference to this was also made by historian John Hamilton in Michael Portillo’s TV programme “Great British Railway Journeys Goes to Ireland” in February 2012. – Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Londonderry_Air

THE LONDONDERRY AIR

Testament of an Ulster Gunman
A Novel by Garrad Gawler 

It all changed for Charles Cunningham, a Physics teacher at the local College of Technology in the County Derry town of Maddenstown, on a June afternoon in 1973 when a bomb exploded in his neighborhood. He answers an advertisement by the UDR, the Ulster Defence Regiment, but, in the time to come, he will experience the consequences of his decisions, and how his involvement complicates matters with family and friends, Protestants and Catholics alike, to an unexpected degree.

With “The Londonderry Air – Testament of an Ulster Gunman” Garrad Gawler describes in minute detail and with an astonishing level of authenticity not only the inner workings of the Ulster Defence Regiment, but also the activities of underground paramilitary groups of regular citizens who planned and carried out the assassination of suspected Republican terrorists in their neighborhood.

The Londonderry Air is available at Amazon.Com, Amazon Kindle (US), Amazon.co.uk, Amazon Kindle (UK), Barnes & Noble, smashwords.com, and any other good bookstore.

For more information on Garrad Gawler and to read an excerpt of “The Londonderry Air,” please see the author’s section on this website.

A intriguing new take on Irish history, exploring the ways in which outside influences have shaped Ireland from 433 B.C. to the modern day.

Author Neil Hegarty gives readers a fresh perspective on Irish history in this comprehensive and engaging book that places Ireland in an international context. Hegarty offers a new look at Irish history, challenging the accepted stories and long-held myths associated with Ireland. This book transports readers to the Ireland of the past, and, through events such as the Europe’s 16th century religious wars, the French and American revolutions, and Ireland’s policy of neutrality during World War II, examines how world events have shaped the country from 8000 BC to the present. Spanning Irish history from the first settlement to the current financial crisis, this book is sure to fascinate anyone who is interested in Ireland and its past.

About Neil Hegarty

NEIL HEGARTY’s short fiction and essays have been published widely, and his writing has appeared in the Irish Times and Daily Telegraph. Neil holds a PhD in English literature from Trinity College Dublin. He lives in Dublin, Ireland.

Editorial Review

This island nation’s history teems with explosive, emotional issues that partisans tend to view in simplistic, black-and-white terms; such readers will find no encouragement here. “Nothing reduces me to despair more than a vision of Irish history that reduces the debate about the past to a simple paradigm of the Irish versus the English, who was right and who was wrong, as if history could be reduced to a crude morality play,” writes Irish author Hegarty (Dublin: A View from the Ground, 2008, etc.) at the outset of this ambitious survey of nearly 1,600 years of Irish history. His primary theme is that Ireland is a land repeatedly invaded and settled by foreigners, from the Vikings who founded Dublin to the Scottish Presbyterians invited into Ulster by the government of James I, and that each of these groups has contributed to the ethnic, religious and cultural diversity and conflicts on this divided island. Ireland has also been deeply affected by such outside influences as the Counter-Reformation and the French Revolution, and has in turn affected Europe and North America by the almost constant emigration of its people. Hegarty highlights the complexities underlying Ireland’s ongoing conflicts and sails through them without passing judgments, calmly observing as one communal massacre inspires another, or as British government policies fail to relieve the devastation of the Famine, or the Irish Free State descends into civil war. The broad scope of the work requires that the author move along briskly. There is no dreary catalogue of early Irish kings; even such giants as Oliver Cromwell and Charles Parnell receive only about a dozen each, and cultural history is given short shrift. The resulting focus on political events and social movements at the expense of colorful personalities and illuminating anecdotes, combined with Hegarty’s consistently objective tone, render the narrative sometimes disappointingly bland but never dry. – Kirkus Reviews

“The Story of Ireland: A History of the Irish People” by Neil Hegarty

The Washington Post Book Review – March 16, 2012 (Excerpt)

The collapse of the Celtic Tiger four years ago, in a spectacular collision of private and public corruption amid a wildly inflated real estate bubble, was a dreadful blow to the people of Ireland, who with some justification thought that after centuries of poverty and disappointment, their country had at last come into its own. As Neil Hegarty writes in “The Story of Ireland,” however, the implosion was easily explained by Irish history:

“There are specific cultural reasons why such a situation evolved. The history of Ireland had propagated a sense of failure and of inferiority, encapsulated in the forced emigration of generation after generation of young people in search of opportunities that their homeland simply could not provide. The economic boom seemed to put this traumatic history firmly in the past: it belonged in another era — virtually in another country. The ongoing moves towards resolving what had seemed an intractable conflict in Northern Ireland, moreover, served to copper-fasten this sensation that Ireland had indeed left its scarred past behind. The result was exuberance and confidence on a widespread scale.” [Read the full article...]

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THE BLEEDING HILLS
A Novel by Wilfried F. Voss

I have fought a good fight,
I have finished my course,
I have kept the faith.
- 2 Timothy iv. 7

The Irish War is officially a part of history, but not for Finnean Whelan, an IRA veteran of almost 40 years. British Intelligence has produced evidence that he is the mastermind behind a conspiracy to assassinate the First Minister of Northern Ireland. For Whelan this is not only a mission of revenge, but marks the beginning of a journey into the past and the return to the one true love: Ireland. [More...]

The Bleeding Hills is available at Amazon.Com, Amazon.co.uk, Barnes & Nobel, and any other good bookstore.

Some readers of my recent novel “The Londonderry Air – Testament of an Ulster Gunman” question me why characters, who are obviously from the protestant/unionist/loyalist community, use the term ‘Derry’ and not ‘Londonderry’.  I was raised in this community in a small village on the north coast of Ireland in the 1950’s and we regularly used the term ‘Derry’.  We talked about going shopping in ‘Derry’ and ‘what time is the Derry train?’  The second largest protestant marching society in Northern Ireland is called ‘The Apprentice Boys of Derry’.  On the other hand, the county badge on my Boy Scouts uniform called it ‘Londonderry’, the Royal Charter of 1662 named the city as ‘Londonderry’ and the local newspaper, established in 1929, was called ‘The Londonderry Sentinel’.

When the latest wave of ‘troubles’ began, in the 1960s, catholics made a point of referring to the city and the county as ‘Derry’ rather than the official ‘Londonderry’.  Unionists now started to insist on ‘Londonderry’.  When I sent Christmas cards to relatives in the county I always put ‘Londonderry’ in the address whilst my wife wrote ‘Derry’.  It was in the late 1970’s that I first heard the term ‘Stroke City’, in an ironic reference to the BBC who regularly used the term ‘Derry/Londonderry’. This was taken up by Gerry Anderson the BBC broadcaster and is now in common usage.  Anderson is one of the few nationalists who portrays a sense of humour about the enigma which is Northern Ireland.

BBC TV recently broadcast a programme about the railways of Ireland and, throughout, the presenter called the city ‘Derry/Londonderry’.  The BBC alternately uses both names in the same news item about the city.  In an example of life imitating art Mount Cook, the highest mountain in New Zealand, has been renamed  Aoraki/Mount Cook after a settlement with the Maori people in 1998.

With the collapse of the British Empire aboriginal people all over the world began to rename their cities and countries without incorporating the stroke.  Salisbury (Zimbabwe) to Harare,  Bombay (India) to Mumbai, Kingstown (Irish Republic) to Dun Laoghaire and Ceylon to Sri Lanka.  I do not expect Adelaide, Melbourne, Boston, Dallas or Seattle to revert. I will not even attempt to comment on Gdansk, St. Petersburg nor Ho Chi Minh City.

I guess it all comes down to who is the majority in a geographical area.  There is no doubt that the majority on the west bank of the River Foyle are catholic/nationalists and their council is officially called ‘Derry Council’.  The latest census figures available (2001) show that catholics with 55.6% are now the majority in the whole county.  So ‘Derry’ it is going to be.  My only concern is that in thirty years’ time it might become ‘Al Deerah’.

The people of Northern Ireland can always come up with a joke about their troubles.  A young Indian student was stopped at a UDA roadblock in Belfast. When challenged about whether he was a protestant or a catholic he was relieved to reply “Oh no, my name is Ravi, I am a Hindu, I am a visitor from Delhi.”  He was surprised when the paramilitaries gave him a hiding with their baseball bats but all became clear when they bundled him back into his car and said, “Remember next time Ravi, it’s Londondelhi.”

THE LONDONDERRY AIR

Testament of an Ulster Gunman
A Novel by Garrad Gawler 

It all changed for Charles Cunningham, a Physics teacher at the local College of Technology in the County Derry town of Maddenstown, on a June afternoon in 1973 when a bomb exploded in his neighborhood. He answers an advertisement by the UDR, the Ulster Defence Regiment, but, in the time to come, he will experience the consequences of his decisions, and how his involvement complicates matters with family and friends, Protestants and Catholics alike, to an unexpected degree.

With “The Londonderry Air – Testament of an Ulster Gunman” Garrad Gawler describes in minute detail and with an astonishing level of authenticity not only the inner workings of the Ulster Defence Regiment, but also the activities of underground paramilitary groups of regular citizens who planned and carried out the assassination of suspected Republican terrorists in their neighborhood.

The Londonderry Air is available at Amazon.Com, Amazon Kindle (US), Amazon.co.uk, Amazon Kindle (UK), Barnes & Noble, smashwords.com, and any other good bookstore.

For more information on Garrad Gawler and to read an excerpt of “The Londonderry Air,” please see the author’s section on this website.

Since the recent publication of my novel The Londonderrry Air: Testament of an Ulster Gunman many of my acquaintances in England, where I live, have asked me, “Who were the Ulster Defence Regiment?”  Wilfried F. Voss, author of The Bleeding Hills, has written an authoritative  summary of the origins, development and criticisms of the UDR but who were the actual members?

It is hard, for security reasons, to obtain demographic information about the UDR’s members; even general statistics are difficult to obtain.  Depending which source you read, between 40 and 50 thousand people served for some time in the UDR between its formation in April 1970 and its amalgamation with the Royal Irish Regiment in 1992.  Some, like myself, served for less than a year but many that I know served from start to finish putting in more than 20 years.  A question which seems to intrigue the UDR’s critics is how many were Roman Catholics?  Percentages are often quoted but how would they know?  I do not recall being asked for my religion when I filled in the application form.

I can only answer these questions from my own experience of serving for nine months with one of the companies of the 5^th (County Londonderry) Battalion in 1973/74.  Even then my company was atypical in so many ways.  An infantry company in the British Army, at that time, had an establishment of 120 personnel but most were lucky to turn out 100.  Some UDR companies had a strength as low as 50 but my company had 275 personnel on their muster roll at one time.

It was probably the best educated infantry company in the British Army.  The major commanding was a headteacher and his Intelligence Officer was the bursar at the local university.  My platoon commander, a lieutenant, was a schoolteacher as was the corporal in charge of my ten-man section.  I was a mathematics undergraduate, another private was a philosophy undergraduate, another was a post-graduate Ph.D. student and yet another was a grammar school teacher.  No, we did not discuss Wittgenstein nor Fermat’s Last Theorem as we bounced around County Derry in the back of a Landrover.  The amusing incident in Chapter Eight of my novel where the English regular officer quizzed a section of the UDR about their backgrounds is based on an event which actually happened.  Of course, the rest of the company included van drivers, bus drivers, mechanics, factory workers and many farmers.

We did not discuss each others’ religious views either.  They say that in Ulster you could work out, with 80% accuracy, someone’s religion as soon as they opened their mouth, with 90% accuracy when you found out what school they had attended, and with 95% accuracy when they told you their name.  I knew for a fact that there were two Roman Catholics in my ten-man section, I knew other RC members in the rest of the company and that the Company Sergeant Major of one of our sister companies was an RC.  In the previous year a prominent RC captain in our battalion had been kidnapped and murdered.

I estimate that about 15 to 20% of the company, including myself, had served in the British armed services.

The republican propaganda machine has had much success in its accusations that the UDR nurtured and trained protestant paramilitaries.  One statistic which is available is that 29 members were convicted of murder or manslaughter, 99 members of assault on the public and about 100 others for theft.  This is less than 1% of the membership.  On the otherhand, 953 UDR soldiers received gallantry medals or honours.

When I am asked why I joined the UDR, after revealing the scars on my hand, I answer, “What organisation should I have joined?”  What if there had been no UDR?  What if 1% of the 50 thousand i.e. 500 had joined the UVF or the UFF?  My hero, in the novel, leaves the UDR and then drifts into the fictional NVF but I never would have nor would have the guys I was proud to serve with.

THE LONDONDERRY AIR

Testament of an Ulster Gunman
A Novel by Garrad Gawler 

It all changed for Charles Cunningham, a Physics teacher at the local College of Technology in the County Derry town of Maddenstown, on a June afternoon in 1973 when a bomb exploded in his neighborhood. He answers an advertisement by the UDR, the Ulster Defence Regiment, but, in the time to come, he will experience the consequences of his decisions, and how his involvement complicates matters with family and friends, Protestants and Catholics alike, to an unexpected degree.

With “The Londonderry Air – Testament of an Ulster Gunman” Garrad Gawler describes in minute detail and with an astonishing level of authenticity not only the inner workings of the Ulster Defence Regiment, but also the activities of underground paramilitary groups of regular citizens who planned and carried out the assassination of suspected Republican terrorists in their neighborhood.

The Londonderry Air is available at Amazon.Com, Amazon Kindle (US), Amazon Kindle (UK), Barnes & Noble, smashwords.com, and any other good bookstore.

The time known as “The Irish Troubles” has seen the rise and demise of a great number of organizations that were established with the intention to protect the rights of either the Protestant or Catholic population of Northern Ireland. Whether or not the motives of these organizations were true or mere political statements or excuses for terrorism shall be of no consequence here. This is not the time for blame; it is the time to look at history and learn from it.

The newcomer to that part of Northern Irish history will be overwhelmed by the complexity of the military conflict, which finds it reflections in the great number of parties involved. Too many historians thrive in throwing around acronyms like UDR, USC, INLA, IRA, PIRA, SAS, RUC, UVF, and many, many more, making it difficult to determine to which side these groups belonged.

My special interest in the Ulster Defence Regiment (UDR) came after reading “The Londonderry Air – Testament Of An Ulster Gunman” by Garrad Gawler.

Garrad Gawler describes in minute detail and with an astonishing level of authenticity not only the inner workings of the Ulster Defence Regiment, but also the activities of underground paramilitary groups of regular citizens who planned and carried out the assassination of suspected Republican terrorists in their neighborhood.

“The Londonderry Air” is one of the very few novels devoted to the Protestant view of what became known as the “Irish Troubles,” but it does so without the purpose of a political statement, but rather describing the life of an angry Protestant civilian through the testament of an Ulster gunman.

The Ulster Defence Regiment

The Ulster Defence Regiment (UDR) was an infantry regiment of the British Army which became operational in 1970, formed on similar lines to other British reserve forces but with the operational role of defence of life or property in Northern Ireland against armed attack or sabotage. The UDR replaced the Ulster Special Constabulary (“B-Specials”) along with a separate police reserve, to assist the regular Armed Forces. It was the largest infantry regiment in the British Army, formed with seven battalions and an extra four added within two years.

The regiment consisted overwhelmingly of part-time volunteers until 1976 when a full time cadre was added. Recruiting from the local community at a time of intercommunal strife, it was accused of sectarian attitudes and collusion with loyalist paramilitary organisations through most of its term. The regiment was intended to be nonpartisan, and it began with Catholic recruits accounting for 18% of membership. However, in time suspicion and disenchantment among the Catholic community grew, and Catholic membership settled at around 3%.

In 1992 the regiment was amalgamated with the Royal Irish Rangers to form the Royal Irish Regiment.

In 2006 the Royal Irish Regiment was awarded the Conspicuous Gallantry Cross which entitled the Ulster Defence Regiment to now be known as The Ulster Defence Regiment CGC.

Background

The UDR was created in 1970, during the period of The Troubles in Northern Ireland. Before its creation, the police organisations charged with keeping order were the Royal Ulster Constabulary (RUC) and the Ulster Special Constabulary (USC or “B Specials”). The RUC was the main police force whilst the USC was a reserve force tasked with patrolling and protection of vulnerable points additionally acting as a personnel reserve. The USC was the object of the Catholic nationalist community mistrust especially given it was drawn exclusively from the Protestant community. Whilst not prohibited by regulation, it was very unlikely that a Catholic could join. Nationalists had protested against the USC even before the events of 1968-9, and disbandment of the force was one of the key demands of both the Northern Ireland Civil Rights Association and the Derry Citizens’ Defence Association. Unionists, however, generally supported the USC as contributing to the defence of Northern Ireland from subversion and outside aggression. The USC had played an important and effective role in combating the Irish Republican Army (IRA) Border Campaign of 1956 to 1962.

The inability of the RUC and the USC to cope with the large scale intercommunal rioting of 1969 brought concerns over policing in Northern Ireland to a head. On 14 August, on a day of severe disorder and the police now at breaking point, Home Secretary, James Callaghan granted a request from the Northern Ireland government to deploy the British Army. On the 28th August 1969 security in Northern Ireland, including the USC, was put under the direct control of the General Officer Commanding in Northern Ireland, General Ian Freeland.

The USC, which had no training in riot control, was mobilised to assist the RUC in dealing with the disorder. Widely reported incidents such as the death of a rioter in Tynan on 14 August and widespread allegations of misconduct from Catholic politicians and community leaders ensured that the USC were high on the political agenda for the British Government. Indeed the USC was so mistrusted by the Catholic population that at times this led to increased tension when deployed to Catholic areas. British Prime Minister Harold Wilson publicly declared that the USC being used for crowd control has caused great concern and that they would be progessively replaced by the British Army. He stated “they had up to now been exercing riot control duties… but that is not where they ought to be”. Whilst the Northern Ireland cabinet remained supportive of the USC, it was demonstrated to them at a London meeting on 19th August that disbanding the USC was top of the British Government’s agenda.

In response the Hunt Report was commissioned by the Government of Northern Ireland to: “examine the recruitment, organisation, structure and composition of the Royal Ulster Constabulary (RUC) and the Ulster Special Constabulary and their respective functions and to recommend as necessary what changes are required to provide for the efficient enforcement of law and order in Northern Ireland.” The report, published on 3rd October 1969, recommended that the RUC “should be relieved of all duties of a military nature as soon as possible”. Further; a “locally recruited part-time force, under the control of the G.O.C., Northern Ireland, should be raised”… and that the “force, together with the police volunteer reserve, should replace the Ulster Special Constabulary.” The report whilst recognising the “value of the the anti-guerilla patrols and armed guard duties they have carried out”, noted that whilst not prohibited from joining the USC “that for a variety of reasons, the fact remains that no Roman Catholic is a member” The report recommended that it be replaced with a force that would be “impartial in every sense” and “remove the responsibility of military style operations from the police force”.

The publication of the Hunt Report led to rioting on the Shankill Road in Belfast with both the RUC and army forced to battle loyalists. These disturbances led to the death of 3 people including RUC Constable Victor Arbuckle, the first RUC death in The Troubles. The USC itself suffered discontent and some resignations in the wake of the report.

The British Government accepted the findings of the Hunt Report and published a Bill and white paper on 12th November 1969 to begin the process of establishing the UDR. The resulting parliamentary debate in Westminster highlighted concerns about a continuing role for the USC. Jeremy Thorpe MP pointed to the fact that …”a substantial majority was to be recruited from former B Specials” and questioned if this was “likely to increase the chances of general acceptance in Ulster?” Roy Hattersley pointed out that this was due to “necessity” and that despite reservations towards some, the majority of the Specials were “men who have given good and honourable service to Northern Ireland.” Bernadette Devlin, MP for Mid Ulster, meanwhile stated that “What we are being offered, in my opinion, is the B Specials under another name”.

The Belfast Telegraph disagreed with the critics. In editorials several days apart it declared: “In no sense can the new Regiment be regarded like the old USC, as a vigilante force and a law unto itself. Inevitably the members of the new force will be provided by present B Specials and just as inevitably it is already being smeared in some quarters as simply the old force in new uniform. Every effort must be made to ensure that this is not so. No-one must be able to put a denominational tag on the UDR and if one of the senior officers in the force happened to be a Roman Catholic, so much the better…. The establishment of this new force should be regarded as a turning point in the life of the community.” (Source: Wikipedia.org)

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THE BLEEDING HILLS
A Novel by Wilfried F. Voss

I have fought a good fight,
I have finished my course,
I have kept the faith.
- 2 Timothy iv. 7

The Irish War is officially a part of history, but not for Finnean Whelan, an IRA veteran of almost 40 years. British Intelligence has produced evidence that he is the mastermind behind a conspiracy to assassinate the First Minister of Northern Ireland. For Whelan this is not only a mission of revenge, but marks the beginning of a journey into the past and the return to the one true love: Ireland. [More...]

The Bleeding Hills is available at Amazon.Com, Amazon.co.uk, Barnes & Nobel, and any other good bookstore.

Consequently, he answers an advertisement by the UDR, the Ulster Defence Regiment, where he receives military training, and serving part-time absorbs a great deal of his leisure activities. However, he can’t help feeling that the UDR’s mission of protecting the Protestant population might not be enough for him in the long run. Charles wants to become more pro-active, not only to bring the Republican perpetrators to justice, but to invalidate them and, if necessary, to kill them.

In the time to come, he will experience the consequences of his decisions, and how his involvement complicates matters with family and friends, Protestants and Catholics alike, to an unexpected degree.

With “The Londonderry Air – Testament of an Ulster Gunman” Garrad Gawler describes in minute detail and with an astonishing level of authenticity not only the inner workings of the Ulster Defence Regiment, but also the activities of underground paramilitary groups of regular citizens who planned and carried out the assassination of suspected Republican terrorists in their neighborhood.

“The Londonderry Air” is one of the very few novels devoted to the Protestant view of what became known as the “Irish Troubles,” but it does so without the purpose of a political statement, but rather describing the life of an angry Protestant civilian through the testament of an Ulster gunman.

More Information

“The Londonderry Air” is currently available through the Amazon.Com and Amazon.co.uk Kindle Store. Other eBook formats are available at smashwords.com.

A paperback version will be available through all major online bookstores (Amazon, Barnes & Noble, etc.) in March 2012.

For more information on Garrad Gawler and to read an excerpt of “The Londonderry Air,” please see the author’s section on this website.

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THE BLEEDING HILLS
A Novel by Wilfried F. Voss

I have fought a good fight,
I have finished my course,
I have kept the faith.
- 2 Timothy iv. 7

The Irish War is officially a part of history, but not for Finnean Whelan, an IRA veteran of almost 40 years. British Intelligence has produced evidence that he is the mastermind behind a conspiracy to assassinate the First Minister of Northern Ireland. For Whelan this is not only a mission of revenge, but marks the beginning of a journey into the past and the return to the one true love: Ireland. [More...]

The Bleeding Hills is available at Amazon.Com, Amazon.co.uk, Barnes & Nobel, and any other good bookstore.

This post is part of a series of articles on the life of Captain Robert Nairac. For more information see The Secret Life Of British Captain Robert Nairac.

My research on British Army Captain Robert Nairac is as much about Nairac’s secret life (if, in fact, it existed) as it is about homophobia, discrimination, and ignorance.

I had been warned that my continued research on the person of British Captain Robert Nairac might cause criticism and threats, specifically from residents in the United Kingdom, and, as a matter of fact, I have already been through several rounds of such fruitless communications. As they say, “Insult is the weak man’s imitation of strength,” and most of the criticism I received was filled with insults. Any requests to contribute facts that would complete, correct, or even contradict my research went unanswered.

The tragic story of Nairac’s abduction and murder by the IRA will remain in the minds of family, friends, and admirers, but what struck me as odd was the total refusal to look deeper into the childhood of one of the most charismatic characters in the United Kingdom’s military history of the 20^th century.

In January of 2012, I contacted Dr. Eamonn O’Neill through his website and raised the topic of Nairac’s alleged homosexuality and possible physical or sexual abuse at Ampleforth College. It is fair to say that Dr. O’Neill was not at his best when he answered, not being familiar with proper etiquette of online inquiries. I admit that, during the course of our brief communication, I lost all respect I had for an investigative journalist of Dr. O’Neill’s caliber.

I was flabbergasted how quickly and how arrogantly he dismissed such an essential part of Nairac’s psyche that might ultimately answer all questions Dr. O’Neill raised in his “Shadow Man” article, provided one looks into the psychological side of the topic, which he refused to do, claiming lack of expertise in psychology.

Dr. O’Neill had a valid point, though, by expressing that unless he had documentary proof he wouldn’t dream of publishing any such information. That may be part of responsible investigative journalism, but his response also indicated that he was not interested in investigating the topic in any shape or form. My point is, if you don’t dig you won’t find any documentary proof.

But even more compelling, if not stunning is a statement by John Parker, the author of  Secret Hero – The life and mysterious death of Captain Robert Nairac, whose “compelling biography uncovers the truth of Nairac’s secret war and heroic death.”

In deference to his family, Robert Nairac’s personal and private life will not form part of this book, other than in passing references.
- Excerpt from Secret Hero – The life and mysterious death of Captain Robert Nairac by John Parker

This is, in fact, an extraordinary admission, given that Nairac’s obsession with Ireland, the circumstances of Nairac’s presence in Northern Ireland, and his army career were all dependent on choices he had made and which were influenced by his character and background.

Moreover, John Parker is a biographer who has written biographies of the Queen of England, Prince Philip, Sir Sean Connery, and many other celebrities. Is it not his job to write about people’s personal and private lives? Imagine for a moment a book about Winston Churchill that did not examine his personal and private life, but confined itself to his literary and political careers.

Given that Nairac has been demonized by Irish media, would this not have been a chance to set the record straight? So what was the family problem?

Nevertheless, there are, in fact, several references that address Nairac’s possible homosexuality (ranging from cautious indication to outright claim) and physical abuse during his childhood. The question is, however, what constitutes “documentary proof”? Nobody should expect to find explicit photos or personal letters, not even personal accounts from alleged lovers. If there was a secret life, it had to be, given the circumstances of the time and the lack of a support system, secret.

On June 10, 2001, the Sunday Mirror (London, England) published an article titled “Nel of liar; DNA tests disprove woman’s claims that spy Nairac fathered her child” about an unfortunate event sufficiently described by the title itself. Without going into the details of the case, let me quote a few lines from the article:

Everything you read about British Captain Robert Nairac and related topics referring to the Irish Troubles on this website represents my very personal view and research on the topic. If you deem my findings objectionable or in err, please feel free to leave a comment below or write to me directly by using this website’s contact form. The same applies for any comments, in favor or not, and for information you would like to share. All I ask, is to keep a professional attitude on the subject.

Advertisement

THE BLEEDING HILLS
A Novel by Wilfried F. Voss

I have fought a good fight,
I have finished my course,
I have kept the faith.
- 2 Timothy iv. 7

The Irish War is officially a part of history, but not for Finnean Whelan, an IRA veteran of almost 40 years. British Intelligence has produced evidence that he is the mastermind behind a conspiracy to assassinate the First Minister of Northern Ireland. For Whelan this is not only a mission of revenge, but marks the beginning of a journey into the past and the return to the one true love: Ireland. [More...]

The Bleeding Hills is available at Amazon.Com, Amazon.co.uk, Barnes & Nobel, and any other good bookstore.

This post is part of a series of articles on the life of Captain Robert Nairac. For more information see The Secret Life Of British Captain Robert Nairac.

Nairac took on the role of liaison officer with 14 Int, linking Army and intelligence units and finding information in the “Intelligence desert” of the border area of South Armagh. Major Clive  Fairweather, who served in the top-level intelligence post of G2/Int inside the Lisburn-based British Army HQ in Northern Ireland, knew Nairac and is very clear that, despite many claims to the contrary, Nairac was never an SAS man. He was only attached to their unit and had never gone through full SAS training. (Source: http://www.eamonnoneill.com/shadow-man-an-investigation-into-robert-nairac/)

Nairac volunteered for military intelligence duties in Northern Ireland. Following completion of several training courses, he returned to Northern Ireland in 1974 attached to 4 Field Survey Troop, Royal Engineers, one of the three sub-units of a Special Duties unit known as 14 Intelligence Company (14 Int). Posted to South Armagh, 4 Field Survey Troop was given the task of performing surveillance duties. Nairac was the liaison officer among the unit, the local Army brigade, and the Royal Ulster Constabulary.

He also seems to have taken on tasks which were outside his jurisdiction as a liaison officer – working undercover, for example. He apparently claimed to have visited pubs in republican strongholds and sung Irish rebel songs and acquired the nickname “Danny boy”. He was often driven to pubs by now-Conservative MP Patrick Mercer, who was then an Army officer. Former SAS Warrant Officer Ken Connor, who was involved in the creation of 14 Int, wrote of him in his book, Ghost Force, p. 263:

Had he been an SAS member, he would not have been allowed to operate in the way he did. Before his death we had been very concerned at the lack of checks on his activities. No one seemed to know who his boss was, and he appeared to have been allowed to get out of control, deciding himself what tasks he would do.

(Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robert_Nairac)

Everything you read about British Captain Robert Nairac and related topics referring to the Irish Troubles on this website represents my very personal view and research on the topic. If you deem my findings objectionable or in err, please feel free to leave a comment below or write to me directly by using this website’s contact form. The same applies for any comments, in favor or not, and for information you would like to share. All I ask, is to keep a professional attitude on the subject.

Advertisement

THE BLEEDING HILLS
A Novel by Wilfried F. Voss

I have fought a good fight,
I have finished my course,
I have kept the faith.
- 2 Timothy iv. 7

The Irish War is officially a part of history, but not for Finnean Whelan, an IRA veteran of almost 40 years. British Intelligence has produced evidence that he is the mastermind behind a conspiracy to assassinate the First Minister of Northern Ireland. For Whelan this is not only a mission of revenge, but marks the beginning of a journey into the past and the return to the one true love: Ireland. [More...]

The Bleeding Hills is available at Amazon.Com, Amazon.co.uk, Barnes & Nobel, and any other good bookstore.

When it comes to the military career of British Captain Robert Nairac in Northern Ireland between 1973 (especially since 1974 when he joined “The Det” or “14 Int”) and his death in 1977, one name surfaces on a regular basis, that of Robert John “Robin” Jackson, known as the Jackal. If all allegations are to be believed, then British Captain Robert Nairac may have been responsible for a great number of killings, including the Miami Showband massacre, the 1974 bombings in Dublin and Monaghan, and more. The allegations also imply that Nairac’s activities were not limited to Northern Ireland, but also the Republic of Ireland.

These allegations add to the picture that Captain Nairac, most probably unknown to and not approved by officials of the British Military, may have fought his own war, abandoning the rules he once respected, taking on tasks that were outside his jurisdiction, and “running” violent agents inside opposing paramilitary organizations.

Robin Jackson

Robert John “Robin” Jackson, known as the Jackal (27 September 1948  – 30 May 1998) was a Northern Irish loyalist who held the rank of brigadier in the Ulster Volunteer Force (UVF) during the period of violent religious and political conflict in Northern Ireland known as the Troubles. He is alleged to have organised and committed a series of killings against the Catholic nationalist and republican community, although he was never convicted in connection with any killing and never served any lengthy prison terms.

An article by Paul Foot in Private Eye suggested that Jackson led one of the teams that bombed Dublin on 17 May 1974, killing 26 people, including two infants. RUC Special Patrol Group (SPG) officer John Weir, himself a convicted murderer, also maintained this in a sworn affidavit which was published in 2003 in the Barron Report, which was the findings of an official investigation into the Dublin bombings commissioned by Irish Supreme Court Justice Henry Barron. Journalist Kevin Dowling in the Irish Independent alleged that Jackson had headed the gang that perpetrated the Miami Showband killings which left three members of the Irish cabaret band dead and two wounded. Journalist Joe Tiernan and the Pat Finucane Centre also alleged this as well as his implication in the Dublin bombings. When questioned about the latter, Jackson denied involvement. Findings noted in a report by the Historical Enquiries Team (HET) (released in December 2011) confirmed that Jackson was linked to the Miami Showband attack through his fingerprints which had been found on the silencer specifically made for the Luger pistol used in the shootings.

It was stated by Weir, as well as by other people including former British soldier and psychological warfare operative Major Colin Wallace, that he was an RUC Special Branch agent. It was also said he had links to British Military Intelligence and Captain Robert Nairac. (Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robin_Jackson)

Links to Captain Robert Nairac

On 7 July 1993 the British television station Yorkshire Television broadcast, as part of First Tuesday series, the documentary Hidden Hand: The Forgotten Massacre, a programme on the 1974 bombings in Dublin and Monaghan.

It was stated by The Hidden Hand programme that Jackson had links to British Military Intelligence and Liaison officer Captain Robert Nairac. The Hidden Hand alleged that Jackson and his UVF comrades were controlled by Nairac who was attached to 14th Intelligence Company (The Det). Former MI6 operative, Captain Fred Holroyd claimed that Nairac admitted to having been involved in John Francis Green’s death and had shown Holroyd a colour polaroid photograph of Green’s corpse to back up his claim. Holroyd believed that for some months leading up to his shooting, Green had been kept under surveillance by 4 Field Survey Troop, Royal Engineers, one of the three sub-units of 14th Intelligence. This unit was based in Castledillon, County Armagh, and according to Holroyd, was the cover name of an SAS troop commanded by Nairac and Captain Julian Antony “Tony” Ball. Nairac was himself abducted and killed by the IRA in 1977, and Ball was killed in an accident in Oman in 1981. Justice Barron himself questioned Holroyd’s evidence as a result of two later Garda investigations, where Detective Inspector Culhane discounted Holroyd’s allegations regarding Nairac and the polaroid photograph. Culhane concluded that the latter had been one of a series of official photographs taken of Green’s body the morning following his killing by Detective Sergeant William Stratford, who worked in the Garda Technical Bureau’s Photography Section.

Weir made the following statements in relation to Jackson and Nairac’s alleged mutual involvement in the Green assassination: ”The men who did that shooting were Robert McConnell, Robin Jackson, and I would be almost certain, Harris Boyle who was killed in the Miami attack. What I am absolutely certain of is that Robert McConnell, Robert McConnell knew that area really, really well. Robin Jackson was with him. I was later told that Nairac was with them. I was told by…a UVF man, he was very close to Jackson and operated with him. Jackson told [him] that Nairac was with them”.

In his 1989 book War Without Honour, Holyroyd claimed that Nairac had organised the Miami Showband ambush in collaboration with Jackson, and had also been present at Buskhill when the attack was carried out. Bassist Stephen Travers and saxophonist Des McAlea, the two bandmembers who survived the shootings, both testified in court that a British Army officer “with a crisp, clipped English accent” had overseen the operation. However, when shown a photograph of Nairac, Travers could not positively identify him as the soldier who had been at the scene. Author Martin Dillon in The Dirty War adamantly stated that Nairac had not been involved in the Green killing nor in the Miami Showband massacre.

The Barron Report noted that although Weir maintained that Jackson and Billy Hanna had links to Nairac and British Military Intelligence, his claim did not imply that the British Army or Military Intelligence had aided the two men in the planning and perpetration of the 1974 Dublin bombings. While in prison, Weir wrote a letter to a friend claiming that Nairac had ties to both Jackson and James Mitchell, owner of the Glenanne farm.

The 2006 Interim Report of Mr. Justice Barron’s inquiry into the Dundalk bombing of 1975 concluded that Jackson was one of the suspected bombers “reliably said to have had relationships with British Intelligence and or RUC Special Branch officers”. (Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robin_Jackson)

The 1974 Bombings in Dublin And Monaghan

Both [Robert Nairac and Julian "Tony" Ball] have been linked, for example, to the worst single day of atrocity in the entire Troubles: the 1974 bombings in Dublin and Monaghan, which killed 33 people (the 1998 outrage in Omagh saw 29 victims murdered).

Solicitors representing the families of victims of these bombs have recently examined secret British Army documents that leads them to believe British military intelligence groups used Loyalist groups as agent provocateurs. It is alleged that the bombs were planted by Loyalists aided by an “out of control” British Army intelligence faction seeking to show Dublin that if it wanted to share power, it would also have to share pain, and as a warning to the area to stop acting as a haven for Republican terrorists.

Certainly, the Garda (the Irish police) knew within 72 hours of the bombs being detonated that the cars used were from Loyalist areas of Northern Ireland. Within weeks they had identified prime suspects, all of whom were members of the Mid-Ulster UVF (and all of whom are now dead, many as a result of terrorist activities). Dublin passed tis information to Belfast but no arrests or court appearances followed. However, experts have agreed that the UVF did not have the expertise to organise the detonation of three car bombs within 90 seconds and with 100 per cent effectiveness; only a military operation could achieve that.

Government authorities in Dublin have secret papers that point to British military involvement. A Dublin solder told me British correspondence from the time suggests “the Dublin and Monaghan bombings had been connected to a group known as the Protestant Action Force, or Protestant Task Force, which was controlled by a special-duties team from the British Army HQ in Lisburn. It has been known for some time that a special British Army unit operated in Armagh in 1974 unter the title of 4 Field Survey Group.” Nairac was in that group. (Source: Shadow Man: An Investigation into Robert Nairac by Eamonn O’Neill).

Nairac’s Interest in Loyalist Paramilitaries

Tomorrow marks the 30th anniversary of the murder by the IRA of undercover soldier Captain Robert Nairac. A former UDR officer who worked with Nairac tells Stephen Gordon of his disturbing memories of the SAS-trained soldier and how his cavalier ways alarmed him…

Ex-UDR officer ‘Dan’ will never forget his first meeting with Grenadier Guardsman Robert Nairac.

It was during that meeting in 1975 that Nairac asked the Co Armagh-based soldier if he knew any UDR men who wanted to “take on the IRA at their own game”.

Their first journey into south Armagh followed an order by his operations officer to take a new ‘MILO’ (Military Intelligence Liaison Officer) on a ‘familiarisation’ tour of the Battalion area.

“I first saw Bob Nairac when he arrived at my home near Portadown, parked his car in the drive, walked up to the front door and introduced himself as Captain Charlie McDonald. He said he was based at Castledillon.

“He wanted me to take him around the area, point out known ‘players’, that sort of thing. But he insisted on using his car, not mine!”

Nairac was driving what the military referred to as a ‘Q’ car – or covert vehicle – that had a military radio fitted behind the ordinary radio and a microphone beneath the seat so the operator did not have to use a handset.

Dan said that from the outset it was obvious Nairac was well trained in counter-surveillance techniques.

“He knew the ropes. He was clearly no ordinary ‘MILO’. He was much sharper than any others I had met. He asked very different questions. I soon realised this guy was not the ‘rookie’ he wanted me to think he was.”

Nairac was particularly interested in loyalist paramilitaries like Robin ‘The Jackal’ Jackson from Lurgan.

(Source: Nairac: An undercover hero or a maverick fool?)

Everything you read about British Captain Robert Nairac and related topics referring to the Irish Troubles on this website represents my very personal view and research on the topic. If you deem my findings objectionable or in err, please feel free to leave a comment below or write to me directly by using this website’s contact form. The same applies for any comments, in favor or not, and for information you would like to share. All I ask, is to keep a professional attitude on the subject.

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THE BLEEDING HILLS
A Novel by Wilfried F. Voss

I have fought a good fight,
I have finished my course,
I have kept the faith.
- 2 Timothy iv. 7

The Irish War is officially a part of history, but not for Finnean Whelan, an IRA veteran of almost 40 years. British Intelligence has produced evidence that he is the mastermind behind a conspiracy to assassinate the First Minister of Northern Ireland. For Whelan this is not only a mission of revenge, but marks the beginning of a journey into the past and the return to the one true love: Ireland. [More...]

The Bleeding Hills is available at Amazon.Com, Amazon.co.uk, Barnes & Nobel, and any other good bookstore.

Captain Robert Laurence Nairac GC (31 August 1948 –15 May 1977) was a British Army officer who was abducted from a pub in south County Armagh during an undercover operation and killed by the Provisional Irish Republican Army (PIRA) on his fourth tour of duty in Northern Ireland as a Military Intelligence Liaison Officer. He was posthumously awarded the George Cross in 1979. Whilst several men have been imprisoned for his murder, the whereabouts of his body remains unknown.

Nairac is one of nine IRA victims, whose graves have never been revealed and who are collectively known as ’The Disappeared’. The cases are under review by the Independent Commission for the Location of Victims’ Remains.

Robert Laurence Nairac

1948

Born: 31 August 1948 – Mauritius - Nairac was born in Mauritius to English parents. His family – long settled in Gloucestershire – had ancestors from the south of Ireland. His family name originates from the Gironde area of France. His father was an eye surgeon who worked first in the north of England and then in Gloucester. He was the youngest of four children, with two sisters and a brother.

1959

Prep School at Gilling Castle – Nairac, aged 10, attended prep school at Gilling Castle, a feeder school for the Roman Catholic public school Ampleforth College which he attended a year later.

1960 – ?

Ampleforth College - He gained nine O levels and three A levels, was head of his house and played rugby for the school. He became friends with the sons of Lord Killanin and went to stay with the family in Dublin and Spiddal in County Galway.

? – 1971

Lincoln College – Oxford – He read medieval and military history at Lincoln College, Oxford, and excelled in sport; he played for the Oxford rugby 2nd XV and revived the Oxford boxing club where he won four blues in bouts with Cambridge. There are unproven reports that, during this time, he was in a boxing competition which placed him against Martin Meehan, later a senior IRA commander, with whom he went three rounds. He was also a falconer, keeping a bird in his room which was used in the film Kes.

1971

Royal Military Academy Sandhurst - Nairac left Oxford in 1971 to enter Royal Military Academy Sandhurst under the sponsorship of the Grenadier Guards and was commissioned with them upon graduation.

1972

Dublin University - After Sandhurst he undertook post-graduate studies at Dublin University, before joining his regiment.

Military Career in Northern Ireland

1973

Second Battalion of the Grenadier Guards - Nairac’s first tour of duty in Northern Ireland was with No.1 Company, the Second Battalion of the Grenadier Guards. The Battalion was stationed in Belfast from 5 July 1973 to 31 October 1973. The Grenadiers were given responsibility first for the Protestant Shankill Road area and then the predominantly Catholic Ardoyne area. This was a time of high tension and regular contacts with paramilitaries. The battalion’s two main objectives were to search for weapons and to find paramilitaries. Nairac was frequently involved in such activity on the streets of Belfast. He was also a volunteer in community relations activities in the Ardoyne sports club. The battalion’s tour was adjudged a success with 58 weapons, 9,000 rounds of ammunition and 693 lbs of explosive taken and 104 men jailed. The battalion took no casualties and had no occasion to shoot anyone.

1st Battalion of the Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders - After his tour had ended he stayed on as liaison officer for the replacement battalion, the 1st Battalion of the Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders. The new battalion suffered a baptism of fire with Nairac narrowly avoiding death on their first patrol when a car bomb exploded on the Crumlin Road.

1974 – 1975

14 Intelligence Company - Rather than returning to his battalion, which was due for rotation to Hong Kong, Nairac volunteered for military intelligence duties in Northern Ireland. Following completion of several training courses, he returned to Northern Ireland in 1974 attached to 4 Field Survey Troop, Royal Engineers, one of the three sub-units of a Special Duties unit known as 14 Intelligence Company (14 Int). Posted to South Armagh, 4 Field Survey Troop was given the task of performing surveillance duties. Nairac was the liaison officer among the unit, the local Army brigade, and the Royal Ulster Constabulary.

He also seems to have taken on tasks which were outside his jurisdiction as a liaison officer – working undercover, for example. He apparently claimed to have visited pubs in republican strongholds and sung Irish rebel songs and acquired the nickname “Danny boy”.

1975

Return to London – Nairac finished his tour with 14th Int in mid-1975 and returned to his regiment in London. Nairac was promoted to captain on 4 September 1975.

1976

Following a rise in violence culminating in the Kingsmill massacre, army troop levels were increased and Nairac accepted a post again as a liaison officer back in Northern Ireland.

1977

Nairac on his fourth tour was a liaison officer to the units based at Bessbrook mill. It was during this time that he was killed.

Died: 15 May 1977 – Republic of Ireland – Nairac was abducted from a pub in south County Armagh during an undercover operation and killed by the Provisional Irish Republican Army (PIRA) on his fourth tour of duty in Northern Ireland as a Military Intelligence Liaison Officer. He was posthumously awarded the George Cross in 1979. Whilst several men have been imprisoned for his murder, the whereabouts of his body remains unknown.

References

• http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robert_Nairac

~-~

Further information to be added when they become available. If you would like to share any additional information, please feel free to leave a comment below or write to me directly by using this website’s contact form.

References: See Captain Robert Laurence Nairac – References

Everything you read about British Captain Robert Nairac on this website represents my very personal view and research on the topic. If you deem my findings objectionable or in err, please feel free to leave a comment below or write to me directly by using this website’s contact form. The same applies for any comments, in favor or not, and for information you would like to share. All I ask, is to keep a professional attitude on the subject.

Advertisement

THE BLEEDING HILLS
A Novel by Wilfried F. Voss

I have fought a good fight,
I have finished my course,
I have kept the faith.
- 2 Timothy iv. 7

The Irish War is officially a part of history, but not for Finnean Whelan, an IRA veteran of almost 40 years. British Intelligence has produced evidence that he is the mastermind behind a conspiracy to assassinate the First Minister of Northern Ireland. For Whelan this is not only a mission of revenge, but marks the beginning of a journey into the past and the return to the one true love: Ireland. [More...]

The Bleeding Hills is available at Amazon.Com, Amazon.co.uk, Barnes & Nobel, and any other good bookstore.

There were sixteen people who ‘disappeared’ during ‘the troubles’ in Northern Ireland. The Provisional IRA admitted responsibility for thirteen of the sixteen, while one was admitted by the INLA. No attribution has been given to the remaining two. To date the remains of nine victims have been recovered.

Joseph Lynskey
Joseph Lynskey was a former Cistercian monk from the Beechmount area of west Belfast. He went missing during the summer of 1972. His remains have yet to be located. Seamus Wright Seamus Wright was from Belfast and was working as an asphalt layer. He was married and 25 years old when he went missing in October 1972. Despite extensive searches undertaken by Commission in the Coghalstown area his remains have yet to be located.

Kevin McKee
Kevin McKee was from Belfast. Like Seamus Wright he also disappeared in October 1972. The Commission have carried out extensive searches in the Coghalstown area for the remains of Kevin McKee, as well as those of Seamus Wright, but his remains have yet to be recoverd.

Jean McConville
Jean McConville was a widowed mother of ten from west Belfast. She was 37 years old when she was abducted and killed in December 1972. In August 2003 her remains were found at Shelling Hill beach in County Louth.

Peter Wilson
Peter Wilson disappeared from his home in west Belfast in August 1973. He was 21 years old. His name was added to the list of the Disappeared in 2009 after new information became available. His remains were found at Waterfoot beach in County Antrim in November 2010.

Eamon Molloy
Eamon Molloy was abducted from his home in the Ardoyne area of Belfast in July 1975. He was named by the IRA as one of “the disappeared” in a statement issued by them in 1999. Following information received by the Commission in 1999, his body was discovered in a coffin left in a cemetery near Dundalk, Co. Louth.

Columba McVeigh
Columba McVeigh from Donaghmore, Co. Tyrone was 17 years old when he was abducted and killed in October 1975. He had been working as a painter in Dublin and had only returned to Northern Ireland a few days earlier. Although extensive searches, based on information received, have been carried out in Co. Monaghan his remains have yet to be recovered.

Robert Nairac
Captain Robert Nairac was an officer with the Grenadier Guards on a tour of duty in Northern Ireland when he was abducted in Co. Antrim in May 1977 and murdered. He was 29 years old. His remains have yet to be recovered. A man was convicted of the murder of Captain Nairac in 1977. Captain Nairac received a posthumous George Cross.

Brendan Megraw
Brendan Megraw was a 23 year old married man from west Belfast. His wife was expecting their first baby when he was abducted from his own home in April 1978. Although extensive searches, based on information received by the Commission, have been carried out his remains have not been found.

John McClory
John McClory was from west Belfast and was 18 years old when he was abducted and killed, together with his friend Brian McKinney, in May 1978. Following information received by the Commission in 1999 a search of the bogland at Colgagh, Iniskeen, Co. Monaghan was undertaken. After 30 days of searching, a double grave containing the remains of John McClory and Brian McKinney was discovered.

Brian McKinney
Brian McKinney was a Housing Executive Worker from Andersonstown in west Belfast. He was 22 years old when he disappeared in May 1978. He was abducted together with John McClory (see above). Following information received by the Commission in 1999 a search of the bogland at Colgagh, Iniskeen, Co. Monaghan was undertaken. After 30 days of searching, a double grave containing the remains of John McClory and Brian McKinney was discovered.

Gerard (Gerry) Evans
Gerry Evans was a 24 year old painter who disappeared in March 1979 as he was on his way home to Crossmaglen, Co. Armagh. In October 2010, following information received by the Commission, his remains were recovered from a site in Carrickrobin, Co. Louth. Gerard Evans was not included on the list of missing people issued by the IRA in 1999 and, to date, no group has admitted responsibility for his murder.

Danny McIlhone
Danny McIlhone was from West Belfast and went missing in July 1981. Two searches for his remains in 1999 and 2000 proved unsuccessful. However, following information received by the Commission, his remains were recovered in bogland near the Blessington Lakes in Co. Wicklow in 2008.

Charlie Armstrong
Charlie Armstrong was a married father of five from Crossmaglen in Co. Armagh. He was 54 years old when he was abducted and killed in August 1981 while on his way to collect a neighbour to go to mass. In July 2010 the Commission recovered his remains in County Monaghan. Charlie Armstrng was not included on the list of missing people issued by the IRA in 1999 and, to date, no group has admitted responsibility for his murder.

Eugene Simons
Eugene Simmons disappeared on New Year’s Day 1981. His body was found three years later (prior to the establishment of the Commission) on 24th May 1984 in a bog in Knockbridge, Dundalk, Co. Louth.

Seamus Ruddy
Seamus Ruddy, from Newry, was a 33 year old teacher of English in Paris, France when he disappeared in May 1985. In December 1995 the INLA admitted responsibility for his death. In February 1999 information emerged to suggest that his body was buried in Rouen, France, but despite searches having been carried out his remains have not yet been recovered.

Source: http://www.iclvr.ie/en/ICLVR/Pages/TheDisappeared

Click here to view the video on YouTube.

Everything you read about British Captain Robert Nairac and related topics referring to the Irish Troubles on this website represents my very personal view and research on the topic. If you deem my findings objectionable or in err, please feel free to leave a comment below or write to me directly by using this website’s contact form. The same applies for any comments, in favor or not, and for information you would like to share. All I ask, is to keep a professional attitude on the subject.

Advertisement

THE BLEEDING HILLS
A Novel by Wilfried F. Voss

I have fought a good fight,
I have finished my course,
I have kept the faith.
- 2 Timothy iv. 7

The Irish War is officially a part of history, but not for Finnean Whelan, an IRA veteran of almost 40 years. British Intelligence has produced evidence that he is the mastermind behind a conspiracy to assassinate the First Minister of Northern Ireland. For Whelan this is not only a mission of revenge, but marks the beginning of a journey into the past and the return to the one true love: Ireland. [More...]

The Bleeding Hills is available at Amazon.Com, Amazon.co.uk, Barnes & Nobel, and any other good bookstore.

Captain Robert Laurence Nairac GC (31 August 1948 –15 May 1977) was a British Army officer who was abducted from a pub in south County Armagh during an undercover operation and killed by the Provisional Irish Republican Army (PIRA) on his fourth tour of duty in Northern Ireland as a Military Intelligence Liaison Officer. He was posthumously awarded the George Cross in 1979. Whilst several men have been imprisoned for his murder, the whereabouts of his body remains unknown.

[1]  Robert Nairac
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robert_Nairac

[2] Independent Commission for the Location of Victims Remains
http://www.iclvr.ie/en/ICLVR/Pages/TheDisappeared 

[3] Robert John “Robin” Jackson, known as the Jackal
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robin_Jackson 

[4] Shadow Man: An Investigation into Robert Nairac
http://www.eamonnoneill.com/shadow-man-an-investigation-into-robert-nairac/

[5] Dublin and Monaghan bombings
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dublin_and_Monaghan_bombings

[6] Nairac: An undercover hero or a maverick fool?
http://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/sunday-life/news/nairac-an-undercover-hero-or-a-maverick-fool-13903699.html

Further references to be added when necessary…

Everything you read about British Captain Robert Nairac on this website represents my very personal view and research on the topic. If you deem my findings objectionable or in err, please feel free to leave a comment below or write to me directly by using this website’s contact form. The same applies for any comments, in favor or not, and for information you would like to share. All I ask, is to keep a professional attitude on the subject.

Advertisement

THE BLEEDING HILLS
A Novel by Wilfried F. Voss

I have fought a good fight,
I have finished my course,
I have kept the faith.
- 2 Timothy iv. 7

The Irish War is officially a part of history, but not for Finnean Whelan, an IRA veteran of almost 40 years. British Intelligence has produced evidence that he is the mastermind behind a conspiracy to assassinate the First Minister of Northern Ireland. For Whelan this is not only a mission of revenge, but marks the beginning of a journey into the past and the return to the one true love: Ireland. [More...]

The Bleeding Hills is available at Amazon.Com, Amazon.co.uk, Barnes & Nobel, and any other good bookstore.

I had been warned that my continued research on the person of British Captain Rober Nairac might cause criticism and threats, specifically from residents in the United Kingdom, and, as a matter of fact, I have already been through several rounds of such fruitless communications. As they say, “Insult is the weak man’s perception of strength,” and most of the criticism I received was filled with insults. Any requests to contribute facts to the lives of Robert Nairac and his fellow colleague Julian “Tony” Ball that would complete or even correct my research went unanswered.

For the record, I, a German citizen living in New England, am in continuous and truly appreciated communications with a number of British writers of whom two served in the British Army during the time known as “The Irish Troubles.” And even though we don’t necessarily agree on all aspects of the conflict, the communication remains pleasant and professional, and that is the picture of the British people I will keep in my heart (and I will continue listening to British rock music).

On 14 December 2011 I received the following email with the subject “Slander on your website?”:

Dear Sir/Madam

I am referring to:

http://thebleedinghills.copperhillmedia.com/tag/robert-nairac/

Where it is stated: “Ball has been described as “a nasty bit of work — a psychotic …”

Is this the view of Copperhills Media or the author’s view from the distance of a comfortable sofa in Germany or New England?

I would like to see your evidence for this that you feel the ability to publish this on your website. This certainly does not fit my knowledge of the man, who won the Military Cross for bravery.

P.S. Tony Ball was the father of my best friend at school and we also have many links to the SAS regiment through my father’s role in the army; I can check your references on this.

I would like to know who my lawyer should get in touch with, yourselves or the author?

Yours sincerely,

Dr. [Name Removed]

There were a number of thoughts that came to mind, including that I don’t have a sofa in Germany, not even an uncomfortable one. I was also flabbergasted that Dr. [Name Removed] had the audacity to mention his lawyer, especially under the view that I wrote not about his father, but the father of his best friend at school. Maybe he wants to bring legal charges on terms of emotional stress. I also wanted to tell him that I am fairly certain that British law does protect freedom of speech and freedom of the press (technically, I am part of the press when I publish through my website) as does the United States of America (and Germany).

Again, all these thoughts and a lot more came to mind, but I decided to answer in my trademarked sober German manner:

Dear Sir,

Let me say, first of all, that I reserve the right of publishing our communication on my website.

In regards to your inquiry, please read http://www.eamonnoneill.com/shadow-man-an-investigation-into-robert-nairac/, especially the article (PDF file) on the bottom of the page and in particularly the paragraph:

“In 1974, ROBERT NAIRAC met Julian “Tony” Ball, a serving SAS man attached to 14 Int and operating out of South Armagh. Ball, an ex-Para, was described to me by one former colleague as “genuinely ruthless – and in some ways I think Nairac modelled himself on him.” Another source put it bluntly: “Ball was a nasty bit of work – a psychotic, I would say. He bit his fingernails down to the white half-moons and was living on his nerves continually, possibly taking drugs.”

I believe, my statement beginning with “Ball has been described…” is valid, and I did put the description in quotation marks.

See also http://thebleedinghills.copperhillmedia.com/from-the-author/ where I list my references.

Last, but not least, if you wish to contribute information on the person of Julian Ball, please feel free to do so. All I ask is to keep a professional attitude.

Regards,

Wilfried F. Voss

As of today, I have not received a response, but I will keep my breath until that legal letter arrives…

Everything you read about British Captain Robert Nairac and related topics on this website represents my very personal view and research on the topic. If you deem my findings objectionable or in err, please feel free to leave a comment below or write to me directly by using this website’s contact form. The same applies for any comments, in favor or not, and for information you would like to share. All I ask, is to keep a professional attitude on the subject.

Advertisement

THE BLEEDING HILLS
A Novel by Wilfried F. Voss

I have fought a good fight,
I have finished my course,
I have kept the faith.
- 2 Timothy iv. 7

The Irish War is officially a part of history, but not for Finnean Whelan, an IRA veteran of almost 40 years. British Intelligence has produced evidence that he is the mastermind behind a conspiracy to assassinate the First Minister of Northern Ireland. For Whelan this is not only a mission of revenge, but marks the beginning of a journey into the past and the return to the one true love: Ireland. [More...]

The Bleeding Hills is available at Amazon.Com, Amazon.co.uk, Barnes & Nobel, and any other good bookstore.

As an author and micro-publisher I am, thanks to the Internet, in contact with a number of people throughout the world. This led to the publication of Joy J. Kaimaparamban’s The Ayurvedic Healer (Joy lives in India) and Peter Carroll’s Queen of Misfortune (Peter lives in Torbay, England).

I also published John Patrick Doyle and his novel Boiled Peanuts. John grew up in London to Irish parents, moved to Australia as a teenager, and then moved to Virginia in the United States.

As of lately, I am in contact with two more British citizens, whose names I am not at liberty to disclose. Both were, to different degrees, involved in matters related to the Irish Troubles. The first contact found me due to articles I wrote on the subject of British Captain Robert Nairac, an underground agent who was active during the Irish conflict. This communication inspired me to revise parts of my view on Nairac’s violent behavior – See my post Case Reopened: The Secret Life of British Captain Robert Nairac.

The second contact is an author looking to publish his novel, and just this morning we agreed to do business with each other. The tentative title of his novel is “Testament of an Amateur Terrorist,” and the story is about an Ulster rebel, fighting the Irish nationalists. My Irish-American, red-headed, multi-freckled wife looked at me and asked, “You are not publishing him, are you?” I answered, I surely would, but I felt obligated to write to him.

“Ironically, I am married to an Irish-American woman, who is a staunch supporter of the Irish Republic and Sinn Fein. On the other hand, we are Episcopalians, meaning we are with the Church of England. My wife’s paternal grandfather came from Scotland, while the maternal grandmother came from County Galway in Ireland.

I am originally from Germany (in the process of applying for American citizenship), and my sympathies are with the people of Ireland AND Northern Ireland, whether they’re Protestants or Catholics. As you well know, my country has seen the most heinous crime against humanity, and thus my attitude is that we should remember the past, learn from it, assume responsibility, and assure that, as a result, violence does not return.

I know that the topic of Northern Ireland and its violent history can be a very sensitive issue for some UK citizens, and I want to make sure you are comfortable with my background.”

His answer came prompt and to the point:

“I am an Ulster Scot or Scots Irish as you would say, married to an Irish Roman Catholic from a nationalist background.  “Poor Ireland” as they say.  It has had too many people from both backgrounds in the past, too ready to take up arms against each other for the sake of religion/culture without realising that the real struggle is against poverty.”

As I wrote, we are in the process of deciding for the final title. Another one of his e-mails suggested “The Londonderry Air”:

“‘The Londonderry Air’ is a tune very widely known in Ireland and mainland UK. It was used as the tune for the famous Irish song ‘Danny Boy’. I know that Danny Boy is widely known in the north-east of the USA because of the Scots Irish and general Irish immigration there but I do not know whether ‘The Londonderry Air’ is familiar there. It is now sometimes called ‘The Derry Air’ because ‘Londonderry’ is not acceptable to the nationalist community.”

Derry or Londonderry is the second-biggest city in Northern Ireland and the fourth-biggest city on the island of Ireland. The name Derry is an anglicisation of the Irish name Doire or Doire Cholmcille meaning “oak-wood of Colmcille”. In 1613, the city was granted a Royal Charter by King James I and the “London” prefix was added, changing the name of the city to Londonderry. While the city is more usually known as Derry, Londonderry is also used and remains the legal name. – Source: Wikipedia.org

My turn was:

“I do like the title “The Londonderry Air,” and I am aware of the Derry/Londonderry issue. By the way, just north from here, in New Hampshire, there are two little towns located just a few kilometers from each other, named Derry and Londonderry. I always say, the Americans have a different way of dealing with conflicts…;-)”

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THE BLEEDING HILLS
A Novel by Wilfried F. Voss

I have fought a good fight,
I have finished my course,
I have kept the faith.
- 2 Timothy iv. 7

The Irish War is officially a part of history, but not for Finnean Whelan, an IRA veteran of almost 40 years. British Intelligence has produced evidence that he is the mastermind behind a conspiracy to assassinate the First Minister of Northern Ireland. For Whelan this is not only a mission of revenge, but marks the beginning of a journey into the past and the return to the one true love: Ireland. [More...]

The Bleeding Hills is available at Amazon.Com, Amazon.co.uk, Barnes & Nobel, and any other good bookstore.

Click on image to buy from Amazon.Com

The tragic story of Captain Robert Nairac’s abduction and murder by the IRA in 1977 has until now been shrouded in mystery. At last, John Parker’s compelling biography uncovers the truth of Nairac’s secret war and heroic death. Drawing on unprecedented first-hand accounts from senior army colleagues and IRA sources, John Parker reveals the answers to the questions that have haunted the imagination for so long. Source: Amazon.Com

About John Parker

John Parker has been a journalist and writer all his working life. To date, he has published 28 books in hardback which have appeared in 64 editions in the UK and more than 40 international editions. He has built a reputation as one of the country’s most respected military writers. His previous titles include The Gurkhas, The Paras, Commandos, SBS and Inside the Foreign Legion.

Review by Wilfried F. Voss

The life and death of Captain Robert Nairac is one of the most compelling stories related to the Irish troubles, regardless of which side you’re on. That being said, it is a pity, that the author fails to live up to the vast potential of this particular topic, especially considering that he tried to glorify the memory of Captain Nairac – as the title implies. Admittedly, the book is based on meticulous research, but the author might have been of better service to a greater readership had he considered adding more background information for those not familiar with all the details of the Irish Troubles.

In addition, the book’s relevance must suffer in view of a serious omission, namely the private and personal life of Robert Laurence Nairac. Let me quote:

In deference to his family, Robert Nairac’s personal and private life will not form part of this book, other than in passing references.

- Source: Secret Hero: The Life and Mysterious Death of Captain Robert Nairac by John Parker

This is, in fact, an extraordinary admission, given that Nairac’s obsession with Ireland, the circumstances of Nairac’s presence in Northern Ireland, and his army career were all dependent on choices he had made and which were influenced by his character and background.

Moreover, John Parker is a biographer who has written biographies of the Queen of England, Prince Philip, Sir Sean Connery, and many other celebrities. It is his job to write about people’s personal and private lives! Imagine for a moment a book about Winston Churchill that did not examine his personal and private life, but confined itself to his literary and political careers.

Given that Nairac has been demonized by Irish media, wouldn’t this have been a chance to set the record straight? So what was his family problem?

Everything you read about British Captain Robert Nairac on this website represents my very personal view and research on the topic. If you deem my findings objectionable or in err, please feel free to leave a comment below or write to me directly by using this website’s contact form. The same applies for any comments, in favor or not, and for information you would like to share. All I ask, is to keep a professional attitude on the subject.

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THE BLEEDING HILLS
A Novel by Wilfried F. Voss

I have fought a good fight,
I have finished my course,
I have kept the faith.
- 2 Timothy iv. 7

The Irish War is officially a part of history, but not for Finnean Whelan, an IRA veteran of almost 40 years. British Intelligence has produced evidence that he is the mastermind behind a conspiracy to assassinate the First Minister of Northern Ireland. For Whelan this is not only a mission of revenge, but marks the beginning of a journey into the past and the return to the one true love: Ireland. [More...]

The Bleeding Hills is available at Amazon.Com, Amazon.co.uk, Barnes & Nobel, and any other good bookstore.

During the research for my novel The Bleeding Hills I stumbled upon the intriguing story of one charismatic character, British Captain Robert Nairac, an undercover agent active during the Irish troubles, and in May of 2009 I wrote a post titled Robert Nairac – Hero, Butcher, Homosexual…?

The interest in Captain Nairac was sparked by an article titled Shadow Man and written by Eamonn O’Neill for the Esquire Magazine. Let me quote:

British Army Captain Robert Nairac fought his own war on the streets of Seventies’ Belfast, heading out on patrol with a cowboy hat, trainers and a pump-action shotgun. His undercover activities won him both the George Cross and accusations of treachery, but doubt surrounds almost everything he did.

Source: http://www.eamonnoneill.com/wp-content/uploads/ROBERT-NAIRAC.pdf

Captain Nairac is generally described as charismatic and brilliant, but there was also a dark side to him, something that most of his contemporaries were unable to interpret.

“It’s simple: Nairac didn’t just stick his head in to the lion’s mouth - that wouldn’t have been enough for him. Instead, he had to go and stick it right up the lion’s arse.”

Source: http://www.eamonnoneill.com/wp-content/uploads/ROBERT-NAIRAC.pdf

Almost immediately after reading O’Neill’s fascinating article the thought came to mind that Captain Robert Nairac, in view of his tendency toward flamboyant appearances, might have been gay. The initial premonition was substantiated by further research represented, among other resources, by articles of which some hinted and others openly addressed his homosexuality.

There was also the topic of unexplained behavioral patterns that some described as a death wish, a view that is reinforced by accounts of his irrational, and in some cases outright suicidal activities, and this is not a typical gay feature. However, Captain Robert Nairac was also a devoted Catholic, and in Roman Catholicism, homosexual acts are considered contrary to natural law and sinful, while homosexual desires are considered “disordered” but not themselves sinful. For me, the conflict between being Catholic and being gay was sufficient evidence explaining his suicidal tendencies, and I left it at that.

Case closed; or so I thought. As of lately I have received information that provided a much more sophisticated insight into Nairac’s psyche, namely the “death wish” theory. I am at a point where I distance myself from that assessment. Yet still, in my very personal opinion, Captain Robert Nairac was gay.

Before I go into further details let me make a statement to counter potential accusations such as smearing the memory of a British soldier on one end or discrimination of gay rights at the other. I strongly support the view that homosexuality is not a mental disorder. In the same sense, a person’s sexual orientation is not a matter of choice; individuals have no more choice about being homosexual than heterosexual. I am heterosexual, but I accept homosexuality as a different form of life style.

My conclusion that Robert Nairac was gay is still a theory, and I am far from trying to cast a blame of any sort; my mere intention was to find an understanding of what was described as irrational behavior, a behavior that eventually led to the slaying of Captain Robert Nairac, a British officer with a bright future.

I am aware of the concerns and complaints from people who knew him and their demand to respect the Nairac family’s right to privacy. It is my belief, though, that everybody loses that privilege as soon as they happen to dwell in the limelight, voluntarily or not. The question is, what exactly put him into that position? I believe, it was his violent nature, or at least the records – right or wrong – thereof. The fact remains that he is now, for tragic reasons, public property and therefore arguably a legitimate subject for research.

Available records of Robert Nairac’s life (including John Parker’s Biography “Secret Hero”) have mostly ignored his secret personal life, which represents an extraordinary omission, given that Nairac’s obsession with Ireland, the circumstances of Nairac’s presence in Northern Ireland, his army career, and, most importantly, his death were all dependent on choices he had made and which were influenced by his character and background.

Keeping in view Nairac’s role and accomplishments in the Irish conflict, it is only logical to penetrate to some extend the mystery about him and his fate. Nothing that may be unearthed during this investigation can take away from the image we already have of an extraordinary man.

Everything you read about British Captain Robert Nairac on this website represents my very personal view and research on the topic. If you deem my findings objectionable or in err, please feel free to leave a comment below or write to me directly by using this website’s contact form. The same applies for any comments, in favor or not, and for information you would like to share. All I ask, is to keep a professional attitude on the subject.

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THE BLEEDING HILLS
A Novel by Wilfried F. Voss

I have fought a good fight,
I have finished my course,
I have kept the faith.
- 2 Timothy iv. 7

The Irish War is officially a part of history, but not for Finnean Whelan, an IRA veteran of almost 40 years. British Intelligence has produced evidence that he is the mastermind behind a conspiracy to assassinate the First Minister of Northern Ireland. For Whelan this is not only a mission of revenge, but marks the beginning of a journey into the past and the return to the one true love: Ireland. [More...]

The Bleeding Hills is available at Amazon.Com, Amazon.co.uk, Barnes & Nobel, and any other good bookstore.

Guardian.co.uk - Bloody Sunday - PM Apologizes

David Cameron today issued a formal apology on behalf of the state for the “unjustified and unjustifiable” killing of 14 civil rights marchers by British soldiers on Bloody Sunday in Derry 38 years ago.

The prime minister said the Lord Saville inquiry’s long-awaited report showed soldiers lied about their involvement in the killings, and that all of those who died were innocent.

He said the inquiry was “absolutely clear” and there were “no ambiguities” about the conclusions.

Cameron told the Commons: “What happened on Bloody Sunday was both unjustified and unjustifiable. It was wrong.”

Relatives cheered as they watched the statement, relayed to screens outside the Guildhall in Derry.

Bloody Sunday, as the events on 30 January 30 1972 came to be known, was one of the most controversial moments of the Troubles. Paratroopers opened fire while trying to police a banned civil rights march.

They killed 13 marchers outright, and wounded another 13, one of whom subsequently died later in hospital.

The conclusions of the 5,000-page, 10-volume report, which took 12 years to compile at a cost of almost £191m, prompted the first formal apology to victims’ families in almost four decades.

The prime minister began his statement by saying he was deeply patriotic and did not want to believe anything bad about his country. But he said that the conclusion of the 12-year inquiry were “absolutely clear”. He went on to outline the findings of the inquiry before making the apology.

“The government is ultimately responsible for the conduct of the armed forces, and for that, on behalf of the government and on behalf of the country, I am deeply sorry.”

The inquiry found that the order that sent British soldiers into the Bogside “should not have been given”, said Cameron.

It found none of those killed by British soldiers was armed with firearms and no warning was given by the soldiers.

Cameron said the casualties were down to the soldiers “losing their self control”. Some soldiers had “knowingly put forward false accounts” to the inquiry.

Lord Saville uses the word “unjustifiable” repeatedly throughout the report to describe the fatal shootings carried out by the parachute regiment – a judgment that opens up the possibility of legal action against soldiers involved in the atrocity.

In terms of declaring the Bloody Sunday dead innocent, the report concludes: “None of the firing by the Support Company (paratroopers) was aimed at people posing a threat or causing death or serious injury.”

While the report clears the 14 civilians killed that day, it appears to exonerate some of the army officers who were in charge of the military operation.

The report finds that Lieutenant Colonel Wilford blatantly ignored the advice of senior military commanders not to send troops into the Bogside.

Many of the soldiers lied to the inquiry, Lord Saville also concludes in his report. “Many of these soldiers have knowingly put forward false accounts in order to seek to justify their firing.”

Under the rules of the inquiry this conclusion means that soldiers can also be prosecuted for perjury. Lord Saville said that on Bloody Sunday there had been “a serious and widespread loss of fire discipline among the soldiers”.

Reacting to the report, a former priest who was on the fated march 38 years ago, Denis Bradley, said: “The city has been vindicated, the city has been telling the truth about Bloody Sunday all along.”

Source: http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk/2010/jun/15/bloody-sunday-report-saville-inquiry

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Queen of Misfortune

A Lady Jane Grey Novel by Peter Carroll

A Love Story of Almost Shakespearean Dimension!

Queen Of Misfortune is the fictional story of Lady Jane Grey as told by her beloved tutor, John Aylmer. At the time of her execution a stranger is recorded to have assisted her when, blind folded, she lost her way upon the scaffold. Was it the same ‘stranger’ who was also recorded to have visited her when she was imprisoned in the Tower? Little is known of this unfortunate girl who was beheaded for treason in the 16^th Century. She was only 16. She is omitted from the list of monarchs but was actually queen for nine days. Author Peter Carroll, in his novel, follows John Aylmer’s close relationship with Jane as her tutor and later, as she grows up, her lover. [More...]

Available at Amazon.Com, Amazon.co.uk, Barnes & Noble, and any other good bookstore.

In my novel The Bleeding Hills I raise the view that conservative powers, including those of the British security establishment, are, in a passive aggressive way, not interested in upholding the Good Friday agreement, and, in all consequence, refuse to support lasting peace in Northern Ireland.

In my book I also refer to Tony Blair as “the first prime minister with a brain.” In fact, Tony Blair, despite his failure of handling the Iraq question, was the first prime minister who successfully established peace in Northern Ireland, which included the disarmament of paramilitary organizations of both sides, Protestant and Catholic.

The events of Bloody Sunday, almost 40 years ago, were particularly damaging to Britain’s reputation as was the Widgery report which is widely – even in Great Britian – considered a white-wash. I am counting that the Saville report, which will be released today, will provide an objective finding of what really happened during the events of Bloody Sunday. After all those years it is not a matter of pointing to the guilty; this is a matter of admitting a wrong-doing that shouldn’t have happened and never should happen again. In order to make a better future we need to learn from the past – See above quote by George Bernard Shaw.

My view that conservative powers and the British security establishment are not interested in finding the truth are, with the upcoming Saville report, being confirmed on a daily basis – See the Guardian’s article below and read my post Bloody Sunday – Saville Report Will Be Published.

Bertie Ahern says security chiefs pressed Tony Blair not to call inquiry

Guardian.co.uk – Monday 14 June 2010

Britain’s security establishment tried to dissuade Tony Blair from agreeing to the Bloody Sunday inquiry, the former Irish prime minister Bertie Ahern said today. Ahern, who was taoiseach at the time the Saville inquiry was set up in early 1998, also said its creation had helped build nationalist confidence in the Northern Ireland peace process.

The inquiry’s long-awaited report into the killing of 14 civil rights marchers by British paratroopers in Derry in 1972 will be published at 3.30pm on Tuesday in Derry and London. The 5,000-page, 10-volume report took 12 years to compile, at a cost of almost £191m.

Ahern said its impact on the peace process had been critical. “It was immensely important because at that time we were trying to build confidence and help the people of Derry, who had been dealing with this for years,” Ahern said.

Martin McGuinness, the former IRA chief of staff who is now Northern Ireland’s deputy first minister, today denied claims that he had told Blair an apology from London over Bloody Sunday would be enough. The Sinn Féin MP said the assertion by Jonathan Powell, Blair’s chief of staff in Downing Street, that McGuinness told Blair a multimillion-pound inquiry was not necessary was “erroneous.”

In his book Great Hatred, Little Room, Powell alleges McGuinness made the observations to Blair during secret talks. But McGuinness said: “The citizens of Derry, to a man and woman, want Saville to make it absolutely clear that the 27 people who were shot on that day – murdered and injured – were completely innocent people and that those people who inflicted those deaths and injuries were the guilty parties.” In evidence, McGuinness told the inquiry that on Bloody Sunday he was adjutant of the Derry IRA.

Read the full article…

Banner and Crosses carried by the families of the Bloody Sunday victims on the annual commemoration march.

More than twelve years after the hearings started, and after numerous delays, the Saville Report addressing the findings of the events of Bloody Sunday will finally be released tomorrow.

Also today I found an article in The Guardian which represents the most critical account of British handling of the affair I have ever read in an English newspaper. It bluntly addresses the cover-up by British troops that continues to this day.

In my novel The Bleeding Hills I refer to the British Army’s poor handling of the situation during and after the events of Bloody Sunday, and my views are definitely not shared by British militaries. Nevertheless, I feel great satisfaction that my views are confirmed by the Guardian’s reporter, Richard Norton-Tayler.

And there is yet another aspect in my novel that is being confirmed in the article, namely the different handling of the affair by the new conservative government. I raise the point that a conservative government will change Great Britain’s course on achieving lasting peace in Northern Ireland, and it will change it dramatically. In fact, I predict that, in the long run, a conservative British government will challenge the validity of the Good Friday agreement and thus fuel violence in the Northern Provinces again.

The Guardian article also refers to the justice secretary Kenneth Clarke complaining about costs and timeline of the Saville report, and the tone used indicates to me a very critical view not limited to expenses. Yes, the inquiry took longer than expected, and the continued delays angered many. The most important aspect, however, is finding the truth, and it seems the truth will not sit well with British conservatives and militaries. In all consequence, they will criticize every aspect that comes with the report.

Bloody Sunday: Amnesia among troops, inflammatory claims by officers

Source: Guardian.co.uk, Sunday 13 June 2010

A week after Bloody Sunday, Field Marshal Michael Carver, chief of the defence staff, met soldiers from 1 Para. He told them they would be supported if they had acted in good faith and if they told the truth at the Widgery tribunal. If they did not, “God help them”, Carver told the soldiers.

They did not tell the truth to Widgery. No disciplinary action was taken against them even though that inquiry, accepted as a whitewash (the secretary to the tribunal said Widgery would “pile up the case against the deceased”, according to declassified documents) concluded that firing by some soldiers “bordered on the reckless”.

Nor did the soldiers tell the truth, years later, to the Saville inquiry. By then they had long since left the army. Most – though not all – fell back on their lawyers’ advice, blocking questions with the refrain “I can’t remember”.

Read the full article…

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The Bleeding Hills

A Novel by Wilfried F. Voss

I have fought a good fight,
I have finished my course,
I have kept the faith.
- 2 Timothy iv. 7

The Irish War is officially a part of history, but not for Finnean Whelan, an IRA veteran of almost 40 years. British Intelligence has produced evidence that he is the mastermind behind a conspiracy to assassinate the First Minister of Northern Ireland. For Whelan this is not only a mission of revenge, but marks the beginning of a journey into the past and the return to the one true love: Ireland. [More...]

The Bleeding Hills is available at Amazon.Com, Amazon.co.uk, Barnes & Nobel, and any other good bookstore.

The Bleeding Hills - A Novel by Wilfried F. Voss

During the research for my novel The Bleeding Hills I found information on British Captain Robert Nairac whose behavioral patterns during the Irish Troubles can only be described as bizarre, to use a mild expression. I have posted two articles on Nairac on this blog, Robert Nairac – Hero, Butcher, Homosexual…? and Robert Nairac – Supplement to previous entry. I understand that my assessment that Nairac was gay is provocative to those who are unable to accept homosexuality as a different form of lifestyle, and I had to learn to live with criticism.

It is an unfortunate situation, though, that comments not agreeing with my assessment of Captain Robert Nairac’s sexual orientation are harsh to the degree of unfairness, and they are usually insulting, which indicates to me that the commenters are unable, if not incompetent, to contribute solid facts that would contradict my writings. The only solution out of their dilemma is plain rudeness. All they offer are unsubstantiated opinions.

In earlier days I would re-engage into more research on the topic just to learn that my previous research activities on the subject of Robert Nairac, even though he is not the central part of my novel, were thorough. At the same time, nobody who ever criticized my research has been able to prove me wrong. The information I found on Robert Nairac is primarily from English and Irish newspapers and through books written on the subject. I found further information, including a personal testimony, on sexual abuse at Ampleforth College during the time when Nairac was a student there. The speculation that Nairac may have been one of the victims is not out of this world, considering his self-destructive behavior as recorded by the previously mentioned newspapers.

These days I am familiar with the pattern of the criticism and the insult that comes with it, and I use these comments to post them here on my blog. The language of the comments speaks for itself.

April 28, 2010:

Comment:
“Nothing that you’ve grubbed up, googled or just plain guessed at constitutes research in any meaningful sense. Trawling through blogs written by embittered ex-squaddies and republican sympathisers certainly doesn’t, nor does regurgitating damaging hearsay.

For your information, there is absolutely nothing that anyone has ever said or written which suggests that Nairac was abused as a child, at Ampleforth or anywhere else. Your assertion that abuse occurred at Ampleforth, and Nairac was at Ampleforth (although not at the time of the abuse), and therefore Nairac was abused is typically specious. Even an apprentice in his first week on a local newspaper would know that you can’t get away with that kind of post hoc ergo propter hoc rationalisation. But then, I suspect, such a person would know a lot more about writing than you do.

Robert Nairac was a valiant soldier who died in tragic circumstances, and he and his long-suffering family deserve better than to have individuals like you making prurient, pseudo-psychological claims about his private life. Nor, for your information, do you have the moral right to distort the facts in the interest of your (presumably vanity-published) “novel”.

Following one of the links on this site, I note that you are putting together another masterwork, entitled American Male Prostitute. Might I suggest that you direct a little of that “research” towards yourself, and your own fantasy life?”

Response:
“It is funny, but every comment that does not agree with my view is harsh to a degree of unfairness, and they are usually rude, which indicates to me that the commenter is unable to contribute solid facts that would contradict my writings. The only solution out of their dilemma is plain rudeness. My research on the subject of Robert Nairac, even though he is not the central part of my novel, was thorough, and nobody who ever criticized my research has been able to prove me wrong.

I do encourage comments on my work, may they agree with my view or not, but I will not give in to unsubstantiated opinions.”

April 29, 2010:

Comment:
“Your “research” as you call it, is no more than a rehashing of other men’s work and (usually tendentious) opinions. Anyone who knows anything about this subject would recognise the sensationalist articles, no-check blogs, republican propaganda-pieces, and shameful would-be novelisations that you’ve drawn your conclusions from. There’s nothing remotely original about any of it. It’s not a question of not agreeing with your “view”, because the regurgitation of hearsay and rumour does not constitute a view.

There are two respectable sources on Nairac’s life, namely John Parker’s Death of a Hero and Martin Dillon’s The Dirty War. Both writers employ professional journalistic methodology. They have talked to primary sources, remained personally objective, and where facts cannot be established, they have said so. Learn from them.

Your blundering pseudo-psychology (Freddy Mercury? Elton John? Please) would be harmless if it didn’t involve real people and their families. Can’t you see how offensive your comments are? Are you surprised that people get angry when they see people like you, with their glib, shallow, second-hand opinions, trying to make a fast buck out of these tragic events?”

Response:
“Ray,
I have both books, that of John Parker and Martin Dillon, in my book shelf. I also own “War Without Honour: True Story of Military Intelligence in Northern Ireland” by Fred Holroyd and Nick Burbridge. Other sources I used were English and Irish newspapers.
Let me, for a moment, ignore your insulting tone and ask you: In what way are my comments offensive? I would like to learn your view on gay rights, because your comments point toward a despicable discrimination of homosexuals, and that may be the root of your anger.
Regards,
Wilfried”

Comment:
“You should know that Fred Holroyd’s account of events in NI has long been discredited for more reasons than there are time to go into here.

I have absolutely no problem with gay people or gay rights, and if Nairac was gay (which Martin Dillon suggests, and which many people have believed for some time), then that’s fine by me too. As ever, your pseudo-psychology is a mile wide of the mark.

What I find offensive is your crude fixation with Nairac’s sexuality, and the way you use it to try and generate publicity for yourself and your “novel”. If you can’t see that a headline like “Robert Nairac – Hero, Butcher, Homosexual” is crass and sensationalist, then there’s no more to be said. For your information, no reputable source suggests that Nairac ever “butchered” anyone, and Dillon comprehensively refutes all such claims.”

Response:
“Ray,
I thank you for confirming that my assertion that Nairac was gay is valid. As to the reputation of Fred Holroyd let me state that my research activities do not exclude any sources that may not be pleasing to either side in the conflict. I engage into thorough research and when finished I form an opinion.
You have the right to disagree with my marketing techniques. I only wished you had expressed your concern a bit more to the point and, after all, I wished you kept a professional tone. You should be aware that your accusatory style only damages your credibility.
I consider this matter closed.
Regards,
Wilfried”

The Bleeding Hills - A Novel by Wilfried F. Voss

Today, The Guardian reports:

A car bomb exploded last night outside a police station in a Northern Ireland village close to the border with the Irish Republic. The explosion in Newtownhamilton in South Armagh came half an hour before midnight and damaged the building and nearby houses.
:
Senior police sources have recently warned that the threat by dissident republican terrorists is higher than at any time since the Omagh bomb almost 12 years ago.

Read the full article at http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk/2010/apr/23/northernireland-uksecurity.

More soldiers have died in the South Armagh region than any other part of Northern Ireland. Even today, in peacetime, the South Armagh region is a fertile recruiting ground for the Real IRA, and British soldiers never dare to patrol there on foot.

Earlier this month, on April 12, the Real IRA claimed responsibility for a separate car bomb attack outside MI5′s headquarters in Holywood, but it is now believed that a smaller republican group, Óglaigh na hEireann, was behind the MI5 attack rather than the Real IRA. It seems that Óglaigh na hEireann has a number of experienced ex-Provisional IRA bomb makers within its ranks .

A car bomb exploded early this morning on the outskirts of Belfast, timed to coincide with the transfer of power as the Stormont parliament took over judicial and policing powers at midnight. Northern Ireland now has its first justice minister in nearly four decades.

A spokesman for the Police Service of Northern Ireland said: “A device has exploded in a vehicle at the rear of Palace Barracks, Holywood. The explosion occurred at approximately 12.24am. The investigation in ongoing, and there are no further details at this stage.”

It was reported that one person was injured in the blast.

Read the full article at http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk/2010/apr/12/northern-ireland-justice-minister-david-ford.

The MI5′s office in Northern Ireland is located in the British Army Palace Barracks in Holywood, on the outskirts of East Belfast. During the high time of the Irish troubles, the Palace Barracks were the site for in-depth interrogation of Republican detainees. There they were beaten and subjected to noise and sleep deprivation. One of the more popular detainees was Gerry Adams, the leader of Sinn Fein, who was arrested and interrogated there in 1972. The official establishment of an MI5 office in Northern Ireland was, and still is, highly controversial.  See also Gerry Adams’ article No room for MI5 in the North.

While any violent act in Northern Ireland these times is a futile attempt of dragging it back to its past, the perpetrators, the Real IRA, tried to make a valid point, even if they chose the most useless means to make that point.

In another article on April 13, 2010, The Guardian reported:

Although no one was killed or seriously injured, the bombing was a highly symbolic attack. The Real IRA chose the MI5 headquarters to make a political point – that Ford and the devolved justice ministry have no control over the British agents stationed there. MI5′s operations are independent of the power-sharing executive in Belfast and are only answerable to the home secretary in London. The security services now play the lead role in counter-terrorism both in Britain and Northern Ireland.

Read the full article at http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk/2010/apr/13/northern-ireland-justice-minister.

Let me also quote from the previously referenced article by Gerry Adams:

MI5 is a not a new player on the intelligence scene in the six counties. No more than MI6 in the 26 counties.

It is true, British Intelligence Services were instrumental in supporting terrorist acts in the Irish Republic as well as Northern Ireland, and, as I have pointed out in previously published posts, the political system in the United Kingdom has still not managed to take control of MI5 and MI6.

Let me close with a quote by George Bernard Shaw (and that quote is addressed to all sides in the conflict):
If history repeats itself, and the unexpected always happens, how incapable must Man be of learning from experience.